PART 4: INTO THE FRAY: ROUND-BASED SYSTEMS
Black Ops 6 Zombies Gameplay Systems
Perk-a-Colas
Cost to Access: Essence
If you’re after a tasty beverage that also has the benefit of granting abilities to aid you and your teammates’ survival chances, then get ready to hunt down your preferred vending machines, as Perk-a-Colas are back and with more of a kick than ever: For Black Ops 6 Zombies, every Perk-a-Cola Can comes with up to six Augment options to choose from (three Minor, three Major).
Perks are purchased using Essence and have been designed to offer a wide variety of bonuses that suits your style of play, allowing you to choose the order and number you need. Seek out specific Perk Machines, scattered throughout the play-space, or seek out the infamous Der Wunderfizz Machine, offering all available Perks in a single, usually dangerous, location.
Each time you purchase a new Perk, the Essence cost increases, and your Perk collection – displayed along the bottom of your HUD – lasts as long as you do: If you’re downed, expect to lose Perks depending on how many you’ve obtained, and how long you’re downed for.
At launch, expect to access the following returning Perk Machines across Terminus Island, each with six Augments to unlock and choose from, to further bolster the following base effects:
After swigging down a can of Melee Macchiato and using it for a few games, focusing on researching this Perk between matches, you begin to learn and unlock both Minor and Major Augments to add additional benefits to future uses of the Perk. Once you fully research this Perk, you have three Minor Augments, and three Major Augments to choose from. We chose the following:
Minor Augment:
Ammo Mods (The Arsenal Machine)
Cost to Access: Salvage
Along with Rarity and Pack-a-Punch capabilities, your Primary Weapon can be outfitted with an upgrade known as an Ammo Mod. Obtained in-game via rare ground loot, and more specifically at the Arsenal Machine using Salvage you’ve collected as payment, Ammo Mods grant the affected weapon a percentage chance of dealing a special effect upon a successful projectile impact. Only one Ammo Mod can be applied to the weapon at a time, though you can purchase a new Ammo Mod as necessary.
At launch, expect to access the following returning Ammo Mods, each with six Augments to unlock and choose from, to further bolster the following base effects:
After some encouraging anomalies from the warp inflicted impressive damage to the shambling hordes, research began in earnest on cultivating additional Augments for this Ammo Mod. We ended up going with the following combo of Augments:
Minor Augment:
“Tear them to pieces!”
Those considering themselves advanced enough not to be troubled by zombies in the early rounds of a match should seek out an orange-hued container of Aether crystals. When activated (and with all team members agreeing on the activation), this drives zombies into an absolute frenzy. Zombies will appear and move more quickly for the first 20 rounds, and providing you aren’t overwhelmed, this allows you to speed through the early rounds of a match. Or you can return to the Rampage Inducer and vote to switch it off, if the challenge was more than you bargained for!
Ground Loot
Gather a variety of useful items dropped by the recently deceased, with the knowledge that most of what you need will be automatically picked up. Loot comes in the following types:
Ammo Caches
Cost to Access: Essence
Dotted around the maps are familiar military caches, and interacting with them refills your currently held weapon for a sum of Essence. This includes any weapon in your immediate repertoire that takes bullets or shells, including Wonder Weapons. The cost of the ammo increases as the power of your weapon goes up, so keep an eye on your Essence levels as you continue to visit the Pack-a-Punch!
Tactical Raft
Cost to Access: Essence
Terminus features boat delivery portals allowing for on-demand transportation around the vicinity of the main island, usually on a well-utilized dock or pier. As swimming in the choppy waters of the ocean under current circumstances is possible but not advised, the Tactical Raft is the fastest way to reach the outer islands and the abandoned shipwreck, as further discoveries are made.
Trials
Cost to Access: Essence
Phasing in and out of reality across the map is an odd and intriguing terminal, which intermittently allows you to complete [[REDACTED]] special objective trials. With enough Essence, you can activate a terminal unit and begin a short challenge. This could involve holding a specific zone, dispatching enemies in a skillful manner, or a host of other conditions. Succeed, and a special chest warps into reality, offering up [[REDACTED]] variety of interesting rewards. The computer is then beamed out of existence, only to periodically return for further trials to be completed.
Power-Ups
As a reward for clearing enemy incursions, expect a variety of well-known Power-Ups to make an appearance in Black Ops 6 Zombies. Encouraging you and your team to work together, there’s strategy in when to automatically activate a Power-Up prior to its eventual disappearance during battle, sometimes resulting in you escaping certain death! Expect the following Power-Ups to be available, depending on the situation on the ground:
Black Ops 6 Zombies continues to utilize damage sources with an elemental association, and each one has a specific benefit or behavior associated with it. You are wise to experiment with such powers, as the enemies you encounter are likely to be weakened more effectively by at least one of the following types of elemental damage:
Weapon Rarity Upgrades (The Arsenal Machine)
Cost to Access: Salvage
The Upgrade Tier of your weapon is visible on your HUD, as the color behind the ammo and reserves, along with a small diamond icon, signifies the Tier of damage your weapon is capable of inflicting. Use increasing amounts of Salvage to add potency to your weapon damage:
Cost to Access: Essence
Daubed on walls and boards across the island are chalk outlines of a weapon, complete with a glowing color representing the rarity of the weapon; green (Uncommon), blue (Rare), purple (Epic), or Orange (Legendary). The rarity of a Wall Buy increases with the number of Rounds you complete. Wall Buys have a number of uses:
Cost to Access: Essence
Plating up is also important to lengthening your survival, and the new Armor Wall Buy ensures you added protection. There are likely to be two different types of Armor Wall Buys, and these increase your Armor Level:
Mystery Boxes
Cost to Access: Essence
With crate power comes great responsibilities, and the classic Mystery Box is back, appearing in a semi-random location, and allowing you to obtain a random weapon, including some that are only available from the Mystery Box.
The purchaser can elect to keep the weapon, drop it for a teammate, and/or spin again. Rewards include:
In addition, thanks to the Zombie Build system, there’s a chance that a Mystery Box weapon spawns one you’ve already built out in the Loadout Menu, but with the added benefit of a Rarity Upgrade.
After a few spins, the Mystery Box displays everyone’s favorite undead cuddly rabbit, and Mr. Peeks teleports with the Box to a different part of the map, a shard of vertical blue light indicating where a Mystery Box is located.
Increase Your Firepower: The Pack-a-Punch Machine
Cost to Access: Essence
Arguably the most important machine on a Round-Based Zombies map, the Pack-a-Punch (or PAP) Machine is used to upgrade your weapons into more powerful variants using the Essence gained from slaying zombies. Initially, the machine lacks any power, but once the outpost is back online and enough Essence is acquired, you can easily reach the machine and automatically upgrade with a single button press – no more menu to slow down the action.
Your Primary and Melee weapons can all be upgraded up to three times at the Pack-a-Punch machine, as well as any Wonder Weapon you may have to hand. The actual firepower enhancement varies depending on the gun or melee weapon you’re using, occasionally comes with surprising effects, but usually increases the potency, chambered ammo, and ammo reserves of the weapon.
Though you may elect to keep the current cosmetic look of the weapon you’re Pack-a-Punching by toggling PAP camos on or off in Settings, each of the three PAP tiers include an impressive, and usually glowing camouflage, as well as a change in audio, especially when firing the weapon.
Wonder Weapons
Incredibly rare and exceptionally potent, occasionally you may uncover highly secretive plans to construct several prototype armaments with almost unimaginable power. Research on Terminus Island has uncovered the existence of just such a device, known colloquially as a “Wonder Weapon”.
Beamsmasher
Visually, the Beamsmasher is comparable in size and shape to a light machinegun and features a single barrel emitting a super-charged and incredibly damaging Aetheric beam. Set around the barrel are Resonator Focus flaps that direct the energy created by the weapon. The weapon is reloaded by swapping out the side-mounted DAPP canister.
The Beamsmasher has two firing modes:
*Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III / Call of Duty: Warzone on the pre-ordered platform required to redeem Woods Operator Pack. Sold / downloaded separately. Must be redeemed by October 25, 2025.
**Actual launch date(s) and platform availability of Open Beta subject to change. See www.callofduty.com/beta for more details. Minimum Open Beta duration is 2 days. Limited time only. Internet connection required. Online multiplayer subscription may be required.
© 2024 Activision Publishing, Inc. ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, MODERN WARFARE, CALL OF DUTY WARZONE, and CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.
For more information, please visit http://www.callofduty.com/ and http://www.youtube.com/callofduty, and follow @Activision and @CallofDuty on X, Instagram, and Facebook. For Call of Duty Updates, follow @CODUpdates on X.
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Black Ops 6 Zombies Gameplay Systems
Perk-a-Colas
Cost to Access: Essence
If you’re after a tasty beverage that also has the benefit of granting abilities to aid you and your teammates’ survival chances, then get ready to hunt down your preferred vending machines, as Perk-a-Colas are back and with more of a kick than ever: For Black Ops 6 Zombies, every Perk-a-Cola Can comes with up to six Augment options to choose from (three Minor, three Major).
Perks are purchased using Essence and have been designed to offer a wide variety of bonuses that suits your style of play, allowing you to choose the order and number you need. Seek out specific Perk Machines, scattered throughout the play-space, or seek out the infamous Der Wunderfizz Machine, offering all available Perks in a single, usually dangerous, location.
Each time you purchase a new Perk, the Essence cost increases, and your Perk collection – displayed along the bottom of your HUD – lasts as long as you do: If you’re downed, expect to lose Perks depending on how many you’ve obtained, and how long you’re downed for.
At launch, expect to access the following returning Perk Machines across Terminus Island, each with six Augments to unlock and choose from, to further bolster the following base effects:
- Jugger-Nog: Increase maximum health by 100.
- Quick Revive: Reduce the health regen delay time by 50%. Reduce the time it takes to revive an ally by 50%.
- Speed Cola: Increase reload and armor replating speed bonus by 30%.
- Stamin-Up: Increase movement speed.
- PhD Flopper: Immunity to all self-inflicted damage and status effects. Dive to prone triggers an explosion, which increases the higher you fall. Immunity from fall damage while diving to prone.
- Deadshot Daiquiri: Aiming down sight moves to enemy critical location. Increase enemy critical damage.
- Elemental Pop: Every bullet you fire has a small chance to apply a random Ammo Mod effect.
- Melee Macchiato: Replace weapon gun butt with a deadly punch that sends enemies flying.
After swigging down a can of Melee Macchiato and using it for a few games, focusing on researching this Perk between matches, you begin to learn and unlock both Minor and Major Augments to add additional benefits to future uses of the Perk. Once you fully research this Perk, you have three Minor Augments, and three Major Augments to choose from. We chose the following:
Minor Augment:
- Hidden Impact: Melee kills reload a portion of your held weapon.
- Vampirism: Successful melee attacks heal for 25 health.
Ammo Mods (The Arsenal Machine)
Cost to Access: Salvage
Along with Rarity and Pack-a-Punch capabilities, your Primary Weapon can be outfitted with an upgrade known as an Ammo Mod. Obtained in-game via rare ground loot, and more specifically at the Arsenal Machine using Salvage you’ve collected as payment, Ammo Mods grant the affected weapon a percentage chance of dealing a special effect upon a successful projectile impact. Only one Ammo Mod can be applied to the weapon at a time, though you can purchase a new Ammo Mod as necessary.
At launch, expect to access the following returning Ammo Mods, each with six Augments to unlock and choose from, to further bolster the following base effects:
- Brain Rot: Bullets deal toxic damage. Each bullet has the chance to turn a Normal or Special enemy into an ally.
- Cryo Freeze: Bullets deal frost damage. Each bullet has a chance to slow Normal or Special enemies.
- Dead Wire: Bullets deal electrical damage. Each bullet has a chance to stun any Normal and Special enemy, generating a field that deals electric damage to nearby enemies.
- Napalm Burst: Bullets deal fire damage. Each bullet has a chance to ignite Normal and Special enemies.
- Shadow Rift: Bullets deal shadow damage. Each bullet has a chance to spawn a black hole if striking Normal or Special enemies, warping nearby zombies away and dropping some from the air at high speed.
After some encouraging anomalies from the warp inflicted impressive damage to the shambling hordes, research began in earnest on cultivating additional Augments for this Ammo Mod. We ended up going with the following combo of Augments:
Minor Augment:
- Targeted: Dropped zombies fall on other zombies.
- Explosive Rain: Zombies that are dropped from portals will explode on contact with the ground.
“Tear them to pieces!”
Those considering themselves advanced enough not to be troubled by zombies in the early rounds of a match should seek out an orange-hued container of Aether crystals. When activated (and with all team members agreeing on the activation), this drives zombies into an absolute frenzy. Zombies will appear and move more quickly for the first 20 rounds, and providing you aren’t overwhelmed, this allows you to speed through the early rounds of a match. Or you can return to the Rampage Inducer and vote to switch it off, if the challenge was more than you bargained for!
Ground Loot
Gather a variety of useful items dropped by the recently deceased, with the knowledge that most of what you need will be automatically picked up. Loot comes in the following types:
- Salvage (Green): These are automatically picked up, adds to your Salvage total, and is used to increase your Weapon Rarity (Arsenal Machine), purchase or swap an Ammo Mod (Arsenal Machine), or craft Tactical, Lethal, or Support Equipment (Crafting Machine).
- Armor Plates (White): Providing you have fewer than three Armor Plates in your reserve inventory (that you are carrying, not wearing), Plates found on the ground are automatically picked up.
- Tacticals, Lethals, Support Equipment, Ammo Mods (Blue): Dropped Tacticals and Lethals, and much less commonly, Support Equipment and Ammo Mods, are also available to be manually grabbed from the ground, if you’re wanting to swap out parts of your current setup or have a space free.
Ammo Caches
Cost to Access: Essence
Dotted around the maps are familiar military caches, and interacting with them refills your currently held weapon for a sum of Essence. This includes any weapon in your immediate repertoire that takes bullets or shells, including Wonder Weapons. The cost of the ammo increases as the power of your weapon goes up, so keep an eye on your Essence levels as you continue to visit the Pack-a-Punch!
Tactical Raft
Cost to Access: Essence
Terminus features boat delivery portals allowing for on-demand transportation around the vicinity of the main island, usually on a well-utilized dock or pier. As swimming in the choppy waters of the ocean under current circumstances is possible but not advised, the Tactical Raft is the fastest way to reach the outer islands and the abandoned shipwreck, as further discoveries are made.
Trials
Cost to Access: Essence
Phasing in and out of reality across the map is an odd and intriguing terminal, which intermittently allows you to complete [[REDACTED]] special objective trials. With enough Essence, you can activate a terminal unit and begin a short challenge. This could involve holding a specific zone, dispatching enemies in a skillful manner, or a host of other conditions. Succeed, and a special chest warps into reality, offering up [[REDACTED]] variety of interesting rewards. The computer is then beamed out of existence, only to periodically return for further trials to be completed.
Power-Ups
As a reward for clearing enemy incursions, expect a variety of well-known Power-Ups to make an appearance in Black Ops 6 Zombies. Encouraging you and your team to work together, there’s strategy in when to automatically activate a Power-Up prior to its eventual disappearance during battle, sometimes resulting in you escaping certain death! Expect the following Power-Ups to be available, depending on the situation on the ground:
- Insta-Kill: Base zombies are dispatched with one hit, and more powerful enemies aren’t killed, but receive additional damage. Does not count towards Field Upgrade charging.
- Double Points: Doubles the amount of Essence points gained for enemy takedowns.
- Max Ammo: Refills all ammunition carried for every weapon and equipment.
- Nuke: Destroys all base zombies, and more powerful adversaries aren’t killed, but receive additional damage. Enemy spawns are delayed by a few seconds.
- Fire Sale: After the Mystery Box moves, this may appear, activating all Mystery Box locations and reducing the purchase cost considerably.
- Bonus Points: Grants all players an additional amount of Essence points.
- Full Power: Instantly fills all players’ Field Upgrade.
- Max Armor: Fully repairs armor to the maximum Tier you own.
Black Ops 6 Zombies continues to utilize damage sources with an elemental association, and each one has a specific benefit or behavior associated with it. You are wise to experiment with such powers, as the enemies you encounter are likely to be weakened more effectively by at least one of the following types of elemental damage:
- Frost: This slows or freezes foes. Sources: Cryo Freeze (Ammo Mod).
- Fire: Burst damage and damage over time. Sources: Napalm Burst (Ammo Mod), Molotov (Lethal Equipment).
- Electric: Stunning and area-of-effect damage. Sources: Dead Wire (Ammo Mod).
- Toxic: Corruption and mind control. Sources: Brain Rot (Ammo Mod).
- Shadow: Gravity and associated damage. Sources: Dark Flare (Field Upgrade), Shadow Rift (Ammo Mod), LT53 Kazimir (Tactical Equipment)
Weapon Rarity Upgrades (The Arsenal Machine)
Cost to Access: Salvage
The Upgrade Tier of your weapon is visible on your HUD, as the color behind the ammo and reserves, along with a small diamond icon, signifies the Tier of damage your weapon is capable of inflicting. Use increasing amounts of Salvage to add potency to your weapon damage:
- Uncommon (Green): Tier 2 Damage
- Rare (Blue): Tier 3 Damage
- Epic (Purple): Tier 4 Damage
- Legendary (Orange): Tier 5 Damage
Cost to Access: Essence
Daubed on walls and boards across the island are chalk outlines of a weapon, complete with a glowing color representing the rarity of the weapon; green (Uncommon), blue (Rare), purple (Epic), or Orange (Legendary). The rarity of a Wall Buy increases with the number of Rounds you complete. Wall Buys have a number of uses:
- They allow you to obtain a different weapon type, in case your loadout isn’t doing the job, or you want a secondary Primary weapon to replace the Handgun.
- A Wall Buy weapon already has a rarity value associated with it (and is therefore more powerful).
- If you’ve defined a Zombie Build, the weapon you purchase will be a rarified version of that customized Weapon or Blueprint, complete with your preferred Attachments and Cosmetics!
Cost to Access: Essence
Plating up is also important to lengthening your survival, and the new Armor Wall Buy ensures you added protection. There are likely to be two different types of Armor Wall Buys, and these increase your Armor Level:
- Level II Armor Vest (Rare/Blue): Two plates can be worn.
- Level III Armor Vest (Epic/Purple): Three plates can be worn.
Mystery Boxes
Cost to Access: Essence
With crate power comes great responsibilities, and the classic Mystery Box is back, appearing in a semi-random location, and allowing you to obtain a random weapon, including some that are only available from the Mystery Box.
The purchaser can elect to keep the weapon, drop it for a teammate, and/or spin again. Rewards include:
- A random Weapon.
- A random Wonder Weapon.
- A random Support item.
In addition, thanks to the Zombie Build system, there’s a chance that a Mystery Box weapon spawns one you’ve already built out in the Loadout Menu, but with the added benefit of a Rarity Upgrade.
After a few spins, the Mystery Box displays everyone’s favorite undead cuddly rabbit, and Mr. Peeks teleports with the Box to a different part of the map, a shard of vertical blue light indicating where a Mystery Box is located.
Increase Your Firepower: The Pack-a-Punch Machine
Cost to Access: Essence
Arguably the most important machine on a Round-Based Zombies map, the Pack-a-Punch (or PAP) Machine is used to upgrade your weapons into more powerful variants using the Essence gained from slaying zombies. Initially, the machine lacks any power, but once the outpost is back online and enough Essence is acquired, you can easily reach the machine and automatically upgrade with a single button press – no more menu to slow down the action.
Your Primary and Melee weapons can all be upgraded up to three times at the Pack-a-Punch machine, as well as any Wonder Weapon you may have to hand. The actual firepower enhancement varies depending on the gun or melee weapon you’re using, occasionally comes with surprising effects, but usually increases the potency, chambered ammo, and ammo reserves of the weapon.
Though you may elect to keep the current cosmetic look of the weapon you’re Pack-a-Punching by toggling PAP camos on or off in Settings, each of the three PAP tiers include an impressive, and usually glowing camouflage, as well as a change in audio, especially when firing the weapon.
Wonder Weapons
Incredibly rare and exceptionally potent, occasionally you may uncover highly secretive plans to construct several prototype armaments with almost unimaginable power. Research on Terminus Island has uncovered the existence of just such a device, known colloquially as a “Wonder Weapon”.
Beamsmasher
Visually, the Beamsmasher is comparable in size and shape to a light machinegun and features a single barrel emitting a super-charged and incredibly damaging Aetheric beam. Set around the barrel are Resonator Focus flaps that direct the energy created by the weapon. The weapon is reloaded by swapping out the side-mounted DAPP canister.
The Beamsmasher has two firing modes:
- Primary: This fires a solid beam of Aetheric energy, causing organic matter to break down at the molecular level. This occurs almost instantly, and enemies appear to explode in a cloud of vaporized innards. Further testing is needed, but it appears that the longer the weapon fires, the more ungainly it becomes to move.
- Secondary: Focused soundwaves cause the molecules of multiple enemy targets to vibrate at alarmingly fast rates. Targets are wracked with pulsing head trauma that incapacitates by slowing the target rather than damaging them. Entities in this state become much more easily damaged by both the primary firing mode and conventional firepower.
*Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III / Call of Duty: Warzone on the pre-ordered platform required to redeem Woods Operator Pack. Sold / downloaded separately. Must be redeemed by October 25, 2025.
**Actual launch date(s) and platform availability of Open Beta subject to change. See www.callofduty.com/beta for more details. Minimum Open Beta duration is 2 days. Limited time only. Internet connection required. Online multiplayer subscription may be required.
© 2024 Activision Publishing, Inc. ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, MODERN WARFARE, CALL OF DUTY WARZONE, and CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.
For more information, please visit http://www.callofduty.com/ and http://www.youtube.com/callofduty, and follow @Activision and @CallofDuty on X, Instagram, and Facebook. For Call of Duty Updates, follow @CODUpdates on X.
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