The smell of rotting flesh and the sound of screaming groans fill the air once again—Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s Zombies mode has been revealed.
Treyarch pulled back the curtain on an all-new Zombies experience, revealing what players can expect when the game launches on Nov. 13. And there’s a lot to be excited about.
Half the fun of Zombies is discovering things for yourself, so Activision didn’t reveal too much. But there’s still plenty of new information about the co-op mode.
Here’s what has been revealed so far.
Nacht der Untoten is back, with a twist
The default map in Black Ops Cold War Zombies is Nacht der Untoten—but heavily remixed and expanded.
The first map, Die Maschine, is set in the same building as Nacht der Untoten, the very first Zombies map in Call of Duty: World at War. But the area is expanded, allowing players to explore its depths to find a new story and secrets beneath.
The story
The story in Black Ops Cold War’s Zombies is a continuation of the story that came to a conclusion in Black Ops 4. This time, it’s set in the early 1980s and things are new and different in exciting ways.
Here’s the full teaser of Black Ops Cold War’s Zombies story. The rest will be left up to the players to discover on their own.
As part of Requiem, a CIA-backed international response team led by Grigori Weaver from the original Black Ops story, operatives explore a World War II bunker that hasn’t only been ravaged by time…
While fighting to suppress the unnatural phenomena at this graffiti-skinned, boarded-up bunker, Requiem team members investigate what lies beneath this structure that’s been left to crumble after decades of disservice. Should they succeed, Requiem may uncover a cache of decades-old secrets that upend the global order.
At the same time, a Soviet-led division and rival to Requiem, the Omega Group, enters the fray. The Omega Group also has a keen interest in studying and harnessing the unexplained events and anomalies manifesting around the globe.
Between Requiem and Omega Group, there are plenty of characters who may aid or hinder your journey, while others have separate, unknown agendas that will be up to players to discover. Among this cast, there is one particular contact – Sam – who seems eager to share intel discovered from deep within the KGB.
Bolstered by various pieces of intel that players can track in-game, this incredible Zombies story will start to unfold in mysterious and unexpected ways…
Operators are playable
Instead of having specific characters, Black Ops Cold War’s Zombies mode will let you play as Operators from multiplayer. This includes characters like Frank Woods, Lawrence Sims, Russell Adler, and many more.
Battle pass progression and loadouts
This time around, Zombies will include the battle pass. This means that experience gained in Zombies will count toward battle pass progression. The Zombies mode will also use loadouts, so players can craft their own weaponry and equip them before heading into a round.
Weapon rarity and Field Upgrades
Kind of like Warzone, Zombies weapons will now include rarity, meaning that the rarer a gun is, the stronger it’ll be. Rarer weapons will have higher damage output and more equipped attachments
Weapon rarities include Common/Loadout, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, and Legendary. Loadout weapons will all be Common rarity, but they can be upgraded via random Wall Buys and the Mystery Box.
Zombies also now has Field Upgrades, like the multiplayer component of Black Ops Cold War. It’s supposed to “add another layer to squad-based tactics.”
“Charge them up by killing zombies, then deploy them in times of desperate need,” Activision said. “From offensive buffs to abilities that aid in evasion or healing and reviving, these Field Upgrades are made to fit numerous playstyles and situations.”
Field Upgrades at launch:
- Frost Blast: Create a frigid blast of wind that deals frost damage and slows enemies caught inside of it. Slowed enemies take additional damage.
- Healing Aura: Summon beams of energy down on yourself and allies to instantly heal to full health.
- Energy Mine: Create a mine of pure energy that detonates in the proximity of enemies, dealing explosive damage.
- Ring of Fire: Create a ring of ethereal fire that boosts damage for you and allies. Normal enemies who enter gain a burning effect that deals fire damage. Lasts 15 seconds.
- Aether Shroud: Phase into the Dark Aether for five seconds becoming hidden from enemy detection.
Perks
Classic perks return “with a reimagined Cold War aesthetic.” Activision has confirmed Juggernog and Speed Cola so far. But now there’s no longer a limit to how many perks can be consumed, so your loadouts might get pretty crazy.
Perks at launch include:
- Jugger-Nog: Increase maximum health by 50.
- Quick Revive: Reduce the time it takes to regen to full health by 50 percent. Reduce the time it takes to revive an ally by 50 percent.
- Speed Cola: Increase reload speed by 15 percent.
- Stamin-Up: Increase run and sprint speed.
- Deadshot Daiquiri: Aiming down sights moves to enemy critical location. Remove scope sway.
- Elemental Pop: Every bullet has a small chance to apply a random base Ammo Mod effect.
Scorestreaks and Support
Support items will occasionally pop up out of the Mystery Box, as will Scorestreaks like the Chopper Gunner.
Support items at launch include:
- Combat Bow
- Sentry Turret
- War Machine
- Chopper Gunner
- Self-Revive
Exfiltration
A new option in the Zombies experience is Exfil. Black Ops Cold War adds the ability to escape if you’re becoming overrun by the undead hordes. If you try to leave, zombie spawn rate will increase, but “you should expect to earn some rewards” if you’re able to escape with your life.
Post-launch content
Treyarch confirmed that all post-launch content will be free in Black Ops Cold War Zombies. The co-op mode will also feature cross-platform play, cross-gen, and cross-progression.
With a good amount of new Zombies information to digest, it’s now left to the players to hunt down every Easter egg, secret, ending, and weapon when Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War releases on Nov. 13
