Call of Duty: Mobile Season 9, Vampires vs Werewolves, is a Halloween-themed update shaped by community votes. Activision has detailed a new Leader’s Kill Confirmed playlist, the Grav assault rifle on free Battle Pass tiers, the Fang Wars faction contest and a separate Call of the Dead reward event. Before choosing where to spend your time or COD Points, distinguish confirmed progression rewards from premium cosmetics and limited-time shop offers.
What makes Season 9 different?
Activision calls this the game’s first community-voted season. Players helped choose the vampire-versus-werewolf theme and designs that will appear in Operator Skins and weapon blueprints. That vote does not mean every cosmetic is automatically unlocked: rewards depend on the Battle Pass tier, event progress or store purchase.
How Leader’s Kill Confirmed works
Each team has a designated Leader, a mech-equipped Operator visible to both teams. Eliminating that Leader drops a tag worth substantially more points, and the role then passes to another teammate. Regular players receive special combat abilities as the match progresses. Defending your own Leader, intercepting the opposing Leader and collecting tags are all separate tactical jobs.
First-match tactics, not guaranteed wins
Rather than having the entire squad chase the highlighted opponent, leave cover and escape routes for your Leader and assign one player to collect tags after an elimination. Avoid treating the Leader’s marked position as a guaranteed kill: their mech equipment changes the risk of close fights. These are editorial recommendations, not official rules or a ranked meta claim.
Is the Grav rifle free?
Yes: Activision explicitly places the new Grav Assault Rifle in the free tiers of the Season 9 Battle Pass. Its high bullet velocity is positioned for longer ranged engagements, but the announcement does not provide verified damage-per-second charts, a single best attachment build or an automatic unlock on login. Check its actual tier and complete progression before judging its feel.
Free tiers versus Premium Pass
The free track includes Grav and selected cosmetics. The Premium Pass adds community-voted designs including Minotaur — Pack Commander, Sparrowhawk — Moonlight Vengeance, the CX9 — Wolven Moonrise blueprint and 3-Line Rifle — Cantus Rubra. Paid access, a draw and ordinary play are different acquisition methods; do not label premium looks as free drops.
Fang Wars: pick a side knowingly
Choose Vampires or Werewolves and complete faction missions for milestones. The faction-specific blueprints are SO-14 — Moonlit Marksman for Vampires and Type 25 — Lone Wolf for Werewolves. Shared milestones can include Purifier — Deadly Nightshade and Type 19 — Petal Pattern. Activision says both sides receive both basic victory calling cards, while the winner gets a gold version of its own card; a faction choice is not an automatic guarantee of every reward.
Call of the Dead and 100 Howlbones
The Día de Muertos event rewards participation with Howlbones, spent on event-store items such as themed grenades, cosmetics and calling cards. The prominent goal is 100 Howlbones, which automatically unlocks the **K-9 Unit — Fantasma Operator Skill Skin**. That is a skin for an Operator Skill, not a promise of a new playable dog character; verify event availability before spending time grinding.
Which modes and maps return?
Attack of the Undead is scheduled for Haunted Hacienda and Haunted Standoff, with their own themed playlists appearing at various points in the season. Limited-time returning collaborations include Shoryu and Hadoken inspired by Street Fighter 6, and Honkai: Gleaming Front. No single source confirms every playlist is continuously available on launch day, so use the in-game Events and mode rotation.
When do the limited-time events run? UTC calendar
The official COD Mobile community-team calendar, posted October 7, lists these UTC date windows: Attack of the Undead, October 15–21; Leader’s Kill Confirmed and Fang Wars, October 15–November 11; and Call of the Dead, October 23–November 11. These are playlist/event windows, not confirmation of a universal season launch hour. Activision's blog says October 14 at 5 PM PT, while the team post says October 15 at 5 PM PT. Check the in-game countdown and any corrected announcement before scheduling a match.
Challenge Pass without confusing currencies
Daily and weekly tasks in Challenge HQ earn seasonal Challenge Pass tokens, which can buy rewards including QXR — Rose Requiem and the Showoff emote. Keep these tokens separate from Howlbones in Call of the Dead, from faction progress in Fang Wars, and from COD Points in the paid store: the four systems serve different goals.
Download updates earlier
Season 9 introduces an opt-in seasonal download option inside the in-game Download Manager. If offered on your device, check available storage and download content ahead of the new season to reduce launch-day loading. This is a convenience feature, not a guarantee that server availability starts earlier or that connection problems disappear.
Halloween Store Sale: October 28 to November 3
Activision lists a Halloween Sale from October 28 through November 3, including discounts on selected draws, crates, boxes and bundles. Lucky Draws and Armory items are separate premium offers; a promotional banner does not make the whole collection free. Check the price, regional eligibility, offer expiration and odds inside the relevant store screen before purchasing.
A practical priority checklist
Before the season starts, save the official announcement and check the corrected in-game launch notice. Once content is actually available, unlock Grav through the free Pass, inspect Fang Wars’ faction-exclusive blueprint before choosing a side, track progress toward 100 Howlbones, and collect Challenge HQ tokens separately. Reserve COD Points for a cosmetic you have evaluated rather than assuming premium items are required to compete.
Quick checklist before launch
- Free-weapon goal: find Grav’s real free Battle Pass tier and progress toward it.
- Faction goal: compare SO-14 (Vampires) and Type 25 (Werewolves) before selection.
- Event goal: track Call of the Dead until 100 Howlbones for the Fantasma skill skin.
- Mode goal: use Leader’s Kill Confirmed positioning and tag collection, not only eliminations.
- Spending goal: check Oct 28–Nov 3 store offers individually; never assume every draw is free.
Sources and accuracy note
Official feature and reward details: Activision’s October 7 COD Mobile Season 9 announcement — https://www.callofduty.com/blog/2026/10/call-of-duty-mobile-season-9-vampires-werewolves . The conflicting start-time wording appears in the game’s official community-team October 7 notice — https://www.reddit.com/r/CallOfDutyMobile/comments/1x0b0pk/introducing_season_9_vampires_vs_werewolves/ . As of October 8, 2026, this is a preview of announced content, not a hands-on review or proof that the season has already launched. Match availability, store conditions and the final date can be updated by the operator.