Here's the gigantic deep dive for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Zombies mode

We just talked about multiplayer, with a huge drop you can view via the bookmark below. Now, it's time for Zombies. The horde has gotten bigger, as has the mode, with a ton to discuss. The biggest news of the day might be that Zombies is coming to the Black Ops 7 beta, a first for Call of Duty. Check out the details straight from the Call of Duty Blog below as you prep to take on the undead!

Extensive intel from the Treyarch Zombies Team unveils Ashes of the Damned, spanning new environments, Wonder Weaponry, enemies, and challenges—plus a new Wonder Vehicle, Augments, GobbleGums, progression systems, the all-new Cursed mode, and the chaotic return of Dead Ops Arcade.

Part 1: Ashes of the Damned

Summary: Ashes of the Damned

Prelude: Eight dedicated crew members collide across timelines, confronting a soul-harvesting entity and awakening in the Dark Aether. Ashes of the Damned launches November 14, igniting Black Ops 7 Zombies’ twisted journey.

The Environment: Explore Ashes of the Damned, a Dark Aether hellscape where warped locations collide, each fractured landmark looming through the fog and linked thoroughfares offering perilous passage.

Wonder Vehicle: Ol’ Tessie is your Wonder Vehicle—upgradable, repairable, and driven with T.E.D.D.’s volatile guidance, this rusting pickup becomes both a lifeline and weapon across fog-choked roads.

The Bestiary: Ashes of the Damned teems with horrors: swarming zombies, scavenging Ravagers, the hulking Zursa, and volatile Wraith Seeds, each twisting survival into a brutal contest of endurance, precision, and squad comms.

Wonder Weapon: The sinister Necrofluid Gauntlet manipulates a mysterious fluid by hardening it into deadly spikes, impaling foes and feeding on their life force with vampiric hunger.

Jump Pads and Traps: Jump Pads appear across the launch map as rapid traversal tools once powered up. The Saw Blade Trap debuts as a grotesque contraption powered by gasoline and Essence.

Welcome to Ashes of the Damned, the first Black Ops 7 Round-Based Zombies map available to play at the launch of the game on November 14.

Black Ops 7 Zombies: Narrative Overview

Though the story picks up where we left off at the culmination of Black Ops 6’s Reckoning, players would be wise to question exactly where this new crew has been transported to. The entire Black Ops 7 story takes place within the “beating heart” of the Dark Aether — including future maps — as different timelines collide in the form of a combined, eight-person crew.

Dempsey, Nikolai, Takeo, Richtofen, Maya, Weaver, Carver, and Grey are all “Dedicated Crew” characters, and although any Black Ops 7 Operator can be chosen in Zombies, you’ll experience additional conversations and the richest story if you and your teammates choose from the crew. Long-time Zombies fans will recognize three familiar voices returning to portray the new Black Ops 7 incarnations of Dr. Edward Richtofen (voiced by Nolan North), Nikolai Belinksi (voiced by Fred Tatasciore), and “Tank” Dempsey (voiced by Steve Blum), along with the debut of Nelson Lee as the voice of Takeo Masaki, now hailing from 16th-century feudal Japan.

The entire Black Ops 7 Zombies experience is a wild ride across the Dark Aether, with a full complement of maps planned across the post-launch seasons. Expect more Round-Based Maps, the second of which will drop during Season 1, as well as additional Survival Maps throughout the seasons.

Ashes of the Damned: The Environment

Though the crew may have doubled, the whereabouts of support members are unknown, and they must explore an environment doing its level best to kill them all the time. This exploration occurs in unprecedented territory where the earthly rules of engagement do not apply, and now more than ever, staying together as a squad is the key to survival.

Ashes of the Damned can best be described as an off world “Bermuda Triangle,” where various earthly and celestial locations were transported and dropped into this place. Beginning with a twisted, otherworldly Janus Towers that once resided in Liberty Falls, there are six terrifying and surreal main locations to investigate, all linked together by treacherous and unforgiving roadways teeming with deadly threats.

Ashes of the Damned: A Cursory Glance at a Strange Land

This map is an exploration into the Dark Aether, a purgatory where scattered places from other times and dimensions loom out of the fog. Below is a mere cursory glance at some of the areas to investigate:

Janus Towers Plaza

A triple-towered superstructure, violently crashed into a warped and hostile dimension. One tower has collapsed completely, while electricity sparks and crackles from severed power lines, arcing into the oppressive skies.

Vandorn Farm

A once-idyllic homestead, now a horrific memory of one family’s descent into madness and ritualistic terror.

Blackwater Lake

Tormented phantoms and a drowning in the dark waters. A single act of horror is remembered across an afterlife of guilt.

Ashwood

A frontier town sunken into a rift, overrun, and its inhabitants massacred in a war of a bygone era. The dead are more than memories here.

Exit 115

Once thriving, this rest stop and crumbling freeway overpass was torn from its original location. There are faint echoes of a doomed confrontation; only desperation and betrayal remain.

Zarya Cosmodrome

Those hearing voices before reaching this world now speak of betrayal, sabotage, and scientific hubris. Greed and darker influences have prevented an ascension.

The Fog

Referred to simply as “The Fog”, much of the traversal roads, some with additional areas of investigation — such as a grounded ship, or a forest of monoliths — are blanketed in a layer of foreboding mist. Transportation is advised through these shrouded areas, as only the bravest or most foolhardy venture through these areas on foot.

Don’t expect a gradual increase in difficulty if you decide to run through fog-laden areas; skill and preparation are needed before venturing here, and overstaying your welcome in these zones may result in a significantly challenging environment.

Enemies here seem to be far more powerful, appearing more rapidly, and moving at faster speed. While you’re dealing with this increased threat, watch your step; explosive growths are also lurking in the fog.

New Wonder Vehicle: Ol’ Tessie

Ashes of the Damned has a deadly network of roadways to travel between its main locations. Fortunately for you, there’s a rusting pickup truck nearby that looks tough enough to withstand an undead battering, though it isn’t quite battle ready… yet.

This truck is tough, but it isn’t impervious to the forces of the Dark Aether, and after a severe battering, it can become temporarily inoperable. Keep an eye on its reinforced steel frame and react accordingly if Ol’ Tessie needs a pit stop. Methods to repair this Wonder Vehicle remain to be seen...

Those who explore carefully enough may even discover a series of upgrades to improve their chances of survival, from a familiar former bus driver’s head to a mountable DG-2 turret.

New Wonder Weapon: Necrofluid Gauntlet

In addition to blasting maggot-sacks to atoms with the classic Ray Gun and the Ray Gun Mark II, there’s a brand-new Wonder Weapon to wield in Ashes of the Damned.

Upon discovery, the Necrofluid Gauntlet is a black, skull-fanged glove that glows with a bilious greenish hue. This ancient artifact seems to be deadly at both melee and long ranges, its umbral surface veins choked by a viscous liquid that the gauntlet seems to control. In fact, the entire weapon seems alive... and hungry!

Command the Gauntlet, and the dark liquid can be reshaped into powerful spikes that shoot forth, skewering targets at range before being summoned back into the Gauntlet, inflicting further damage. It’s rumored that the Necrofluid Gauntlet has vampiric tendencies and can also pull in items and Power-Ups from a distance.

Ashes of the Damned: A Brief Bestiary

Forced through the veil and into the Dark Aether, you’ll face an array of damned souls, some torn from their realities, that now wander across forbidden lands, cursed to hunt without end. This is not a full accounting of the horrors you’ll encounter, but a glimpse of the threats and oddities awaiting you in Ashes of the Damned.

Base Zombies & Armored Zombies

The foundation of every horde: ceaseless, ravenous, and relentless in their pursuit. They converge in swarming masses, clawing until nothing remains. Should you escape their reach, they resort to a revolting improvised display — tearing flesh from their own decaying forms to fling as grotesque projectiles.

Ravagers

Said to be a tortured minion of an unknown evil, the Ravager prowls the Dark Aether on all fours, usually in packs, lurking in the shadows until the moment it can strike. Drawn to material spoils, the creature consumes salvage and other dropped provisions — a habit that can directly impact your survival in the field. Packs of Ravagers are especially dangerous, overwhelming squads with relentless flurries of sharp-clawed wounding. More than just scavengers, Ravagers can also latch onto moving vehicles even at high speeds.

Zursa

An apex predator twisted by the Dark Aether, the Zursa is no ordinary bear, but a hulking, undead monstrosity whose thick hide and parasitic infestations make it an Elite level threat. Driven by madness and aggression, it mauls with bite and claw strikes that not only deal heavy damage but also wound victims, leaving them vulnerable to lingering harm until they recover.

When the Zursa roars into combat, expect it to charge in on all fours, battering through teams or slamming into Ol’ Tessie.

As if its raw strength weren’t enough, the Zursa is host to parasitic insects, so-called “Zombees” that swarm from hive-like growths infesting the beast’s fur and skin. These clouds of stinging death add chaos to an already fraught fight.

When taken on alone, the Zursa is a towering menace. Amid other threats, it becomes a mauling engine of devastation.

General Intel: Black Ops 7 Changes to Enemies

Expect some adjustments and changes to Enemies in Black Ops 7 Zombies:

Audio Cues: Did you hear that? Expect to hear a special round audio stinger when zombies’ strength increases as the Rounds progress.
Fewer Super Sprinters: Fast moving zombies, (AKA “Super Sprinters”) which start to appear at higher rounds, will increase in frequency at a lower rate as rounds continue past 55, and the maximum number of Super Sprinter zombies in a round will be lowered slightly, while still keeping the challenge high.
Armored Zombie Adjustments: Heavy and Light Armored Zombies are weighed down by their protective skeletal armor and are slower and more durable.
- Armored Zombies no longer “super sprint” in higher rounds.
- Overall, zombie armor is more easily destroyed, but more durable against explosive splash damage.
- Certain weapon and attachment combinations are more effective at Armored Zombie takedowns.
Sliding Knockdowns: Sliding into a normal zombie knocks it down but doesn’t inflict a lot of damage.

Jump Pads

Once power has been restored to the local area you’re navigating around, aside from bringing some illumination to the horrors you’re confronting, you can also investigate several mysterious technical marvels across Ashes of the Damned known as Jump Pads.

Rapid Navigation: Jump Pads allow players to navigate across the vast landscape of the map, rather than brave the thoroughfares of this hellscape.
Jumping Off Point: For a nominal Essence fee that’s comparable to an inexpensive Door Buy, you interact with the Jump Pad console, which may have more than one destination available, and choose your landing spot.
Landing Pads: You’re then instantaneously launched into the skies, traveling in a vast arc over the map and landing at a second landing pad in the chosen location.
Tactical Repositioning: Jump Pads are useful in a variety of situations, like assembling a team in a hurry, navigating without the need for Ol’ Tessie, or quickly returning to a previously explored locale to obtain a valuable item like a Self-Revive Kit or Perk.

The Saw Blade Trap

Survivalists lost in time to the Dark Aether seem to have gathered a variety of junk equipment and fashioned it into a viciously effective chimera of a trap: A small plastic doll sat on three megaphones, below which is a chainsaw with circular saw blades embedded into it, attached to a vehicle engine and connected to a power switch.

Flip that switch by expending Essence, and a haunting beat complete with soft wailing sounds wafts through the ether. The eerie music attracts the zombies. The multi-bladed chainsaw brings the carnage, and any nearby undead foe gets minced into offal.

Part 2: Dark Preparations: Modes and Loadouts

Summary: Dark Preparations

Modes: Black Ops 7 Zombies expands with Standard, Directed, Survival, and Cursed modes — offering story-driven quests, streamlined guidance, tighter endurance maps, and high-risk Relic hunts — plus Dead Ops Arcade 4, back for the first time in 5 years. Find more intel on DOA4 at the end of this Blog.

Loadouts: Prepare for a match with a Loadout catering to 30 Weapons you can unlock and level up, along with new and returning equipment, Field Upgrades, and GobbleGums. Weapon Prestige, Build Codes, and Melee Criticals add depth, letting squads personalize survival strategies from match start... unless they’re looking for something a little more old-school in Cursed.

Black Ops 7 Zombies Modes

Black Ops 7 launches with several Modes, and along with the highly anticipated return of Dead Ops Arcade 4 (detailed later in this Blog), expect Zombies experiences designed for all manner of undead slayers, from the novice to the hardcore Zombies veteran.

Standard

Play the new Round-Based Map Ashes of the Damned, continuing the fight against the undead within the Dark Aether, and searching for clues to the truth of what lies ahead. Recommended for experienced players, this will include access to Main Quest and Side Quest content and will be available at launch on November 14.

Directed

Opt for a streamlined path through a Zombies map, where clear objectives and guided progression keep you locked on the Main Quest. This is an experience that’s more approachable for new players, or those chasing story-driven completion. Expect Directed to launch after Standard, in a similar cadence to Black Ops 6.

Survival

Survival Maps are coming to Zombies for the first time since Black Ops 2, delivering a focused, unfiltered experience based on a small part of Ashes of the Damned at launch. There are no quests, other than you and your squad surviving against the relentless undead for as long as you can!

Cursed

Take on a new experience featuring some legacy mechanics, with numerous side quests to unearth increasingly potent (and cursed) Relics. Activate these Relics to face harder challenges in exchange for new levels of power, replayability, and rewards.

Relics, Rewards, and an Old-School Challenge: Cursed Mode

Tailor-made for the hardcore. Crafted for those seeking a more demanding experience, with new layers of challenge to discover and overcome for access to unique rewards. This is one of Black Ops 7’s biggest innovations, directly inspired by feedback from the Zombies community.

You can’t even enter Cursed until you’ve fulfilled certain criteria. Once you’ve figured out how to access the mode itself, you’ll start your Cursed match with some familiar friends: only a trusty pistol in your hand with no Loadout weapons available, no minimap, and a classic point system inspired by Black Ops 3.

From there, your focus is on finding archaic artifacts of great power, hidden away across Dark Aether time and space. These are known as Relics, each one themed around a totem from Black Ops Zombies history. Every Relic has a unique condition to discover it, and the requirements needed can be unforgiving.

These cursed Relics aren’t simply here to display in a trophy cabinet; they provide a debuff modifier making your subsequent matches even more challenging! Each Relic offers a unique challenge to overcome, and once unlocked and applied to a match, several of these modifiers can enable further restrictions that long-time fans will find familiar; a limit of four Perk-a-Colas, or the removal of Ammo Caches are just two examples.

With Relics becoming available in varying degrees of cursed power, your future Cursed matches – available as Private matches with the host’s collection of Relics available to pick from — are set to become even more hectic as you hunt down more dangerous artifacts. Each Black Ops 7 Zombies map will also have more Relics to discover throughout the post-launch seasons.

Why curse yourself by choosing Relics to increase the challenge? Because doing so is the key to unlocking more powerful Relics, as well as granting you [CLASSIFIED] benefits and rewards unique to the mode.

Good luck... you will need it.

Down on the Farm: Survival Mode Intel

The first Survival Map coming at launch is a focused, bite-sized experience set on the Vandorn Family Farm that lies within the larger Round-Based Zombies map. This is just a taste of the main event waiting for you in Ashes of the Damned, providing an opportunity to jump in and simply slay some zombies with no distractions.

In Survival, you (and optionally your teammates) venture within the perimeter of a map — in this case, the farmstead — and hold out for as long as possible. There are fewer places to run, Ol’ Tessie is out of commission, and tactical positioning is the key to keeping the undead forces at bay.

Once the power to the farm has been restored, you have a focused plan: to survive for as long as possible, but with little chance of escape!
Any accessible caches and machines available in Standard Mode appear in an identical location in Survival Mode.
Any other interactive Crafting Tables, Wall Buys, or machines not in the Standard Mode area of the map are moved into the Survival map, allowing you to be fully tooled up, provided you’ve got the necessary Essence and Salvage.
- For example, in Standard Mode, Vandorn Farm doesn’t have a Pack-a-Punch or Der Wunderfizz machine, so both are dropped into the Survival Mode map.

In Survival, your options are clear: fight for as many Rounds as you can, judging the best time to flee via Exfil before you’re overwhelmed by the dead!

Survival Mode: Playable in the Black Ops 7 Beta!

And the best part? You’ll be able to play Survival Mode in the Black Ops 7 Beta! Get ready to sink your teeth into a small taste of the full Ashes of the Damned experience next weekend. Look for more information about accessing this Mode in our forthcoming Call of Duty: NEXT coverage on September 30.

Match Preparation: Loadouts (Cursed Exempt)

Tool up and choose your preferred offensive capabilities in the Weapons > Zombies Loadout Menu, where you can bring the following with you into the Dark Aether in modes other than Cursed:

A ranged weapon from the Primary or Secondary categories. Specific Attachments within the Gunsmith continue to offer Zombies-specific benefits, like an increased chance at Criticals or Salvage.
A single melee weapon.
A Field Upgrade (that can be changed in-match at the Pause menu).
Tactical Equipment (including stalwarts like Decoy and old favorites like the Cymbal Monkey and LT53 Kazimir, along with Black Ops 7-specific Tacticals).
Lethal Equipment (including Black Ops 7-specific Lethals).
GobbleGum Pack (five GobbleGums that can be swapped to another, player-chosen Pack in-match at the Pause menu). Note: GobbleGum inventories from Black Ops 6 will be accessible in Black Ops 7.

Black Ops 7 Loadout: Confirmations and Changes

Build Codes: In addition to the return of Zombies Preferred Builds, Weapons you construct in the Gunsmith now have an associated Build Code that you can both share with friends, or import using a code you see someone using.
30 Weapons to Level Up and Unlock: There are 30 weapons to choose from at the launch of Black Ops 7 that you can take into Zombies, each with an impressive leveling journey, with multiple Military, Special, and Mastery Camos to unlock. Consult the Multiplayer Intel Blast Blog for further details.
Weapon Prestige: Weapon Prestige is available in Zombies for all Black Ops 7 weapons, including the ability to unlock a unique Prestige Attachment and more Weapon Camos with each weapon.
Support Weapons: These return to Black Ops 7, including the all-new Disciple Injection, as well as a selection of Black Ops 7 ordinance. Find these as dropped loot or build them at your Crafting Table.
Melee Weapon Adjustments: There’s a beneficial change coming to Melee weapons in Black Ops 7, allowing them to inflict Critical and more damaging attacks, allowing for much more personality with every melee weapon you use. Look for a full explanation of this feature later in this blog.

Part 3: New and Returning Features

Summary: New and Returning Features

Essence, Salvage, and Power-Ups Intel: Essence can now be gained by recycling GobbleGums, Salvage drops scale in value with missed rewards returned at milestones, while Power-Ups gain a Random Perk option while Fire Sale discounts Traps alongside Mystery Boxes.

Enhancement Overload: Black Ops 7 Zombies launches with a huge variety of Perk-a-Colas, Ammo Mods, and Field Upgrades, a massive Augment expansion with 66 new choices (192 total Augments), Research progress continued from Black Ops 6, and a new Overheal mechanic letting you stack buffs and customize your survival chances like never before! There’s so much information that we’ve carved off an entire blog detailing all of the Augments coming at launch! Read it here.

Wall Buys, Ammo Caches, and Mystery Boxes: Wall Buys add ammo for the weapon you bought, and armor upgrades are newly streamlined. Ammo Caches return with updated visuals and scaling costs. Mystery Boxes return, now granting Aether Tools and improved rarities as rounds progress.

Crafting Tables, Arsenal Machines, and Pack-a-Punching: Crafting Tables introduce new and returning Tacticals, Lethals, and Support, including the new Disciple Injection!

T.E.D.D. Tasks, HUD options and Exfil: T.E.D.D. Tasks evolve S.A.M. Trials, HUD customization continues, and Exfil shifts to eerie phone booths, summoning High Value Targets before escape can occur.

And More: Solo Save, pause, and Armory systems continue from Black Ops 6. New additions include Firing Range loadout testing, expanded Zombies Intel, Weapon Prestige, Weekly and Mastery Badge Challenges, and more.

Currencies Confirmed: Essence and Salvage

The two main forms of Zombies “currency,” Essence and Salvage, are returning.

Essence

Essence is a distilled universal energy earned quickly by slaying the undead. Spend Essence to keep yourself alive in the following ways:

Power up Objective devices to progress the mission.
Door Buys: Unlock doors, optionally splitting the cost with a teammate or paying for half to return later with more Essence to complete the unlocking.
Access Wall Buys (Armor and Weapons), Ammo Caches, Jump Pads, Mystery Boxes, Perk-a-Cola Machines, Pack-a-Punch Machines, Vehicle Summon Stations, T.E.D.D. Trials, and Traps.
Certain GobbleGums, Gunsmith Attachments, as well as Vulture Aid Perk Augments, can influence the amount of Essence dropped.

Salvage

Salvage takes the form of small piles of scrap, usually found at random from fallen enemies. Salvage drops remain player-specific, and have the following general uses:

To access an Ammo Mod and apply its associated elemental power to your current weapon, via the Arsenal Machine.
To upgrade the Rarity Tier of your weapon (from Base (Grey) to Uncommon (Green) to Rare (Blue), Epic (Purple), and finally Legendary (Orange)) so it inflicts more damage, via the Arsenal machine.
Certain Gunsmith Attachments, as well as the Vulture Aid Perk, can influence the amount of Salvage dropped.

Black Ops 7: Changes to Essence and Salvage

GobbleGums can now be recycled to receive instant additional Essence. The amount you receive is determined by the GobbleGum rarity.
The Salvage bonus from certain Silencer Attachments that perform similarly to their Black Ops 6 counterparts have been lowered so other Muzzle Attachments become a valid choice.
Amassing Missed Salvage: If you find Salvage hard to come by, expect some help in this regard. Every ten rounds, you’re awarded around 50 percent of any Salvage you previously missed picking up, and which subsequently disappeared, along with an on-screen message indicating this good fortune!

Power-Ups

The randomly appearing, gold-plated rewards that grant a temporary buff for a limited time are back, usually appear after you slay an impressive number of foes, and remain on the map for a few seconds.

Power-Ups are also available via specific GobbleGums.
Power-Ups can still be found in other, more secretive ways.

The following Power-Ups are confirmed to be coming to Black Ops 7 Zombies:

Insta-Kill: One-hit kills normal enemies. Higher tier enemies have specific rules but take greater damage. These kills don’t recharge your Field Upgrade. Lasts 30 seconds.
Double Points: Doubles the amount of points gained. Lasts 30 seconds.
Max Ammo: Fills your ammo and equipment on all carried weapons. Instant.
Nuke: Kills all normal enemies on a map. Higher tier enemies have specific rules but take damage. Future spawning enemies are delayed a few seconds. Instant.
Fire Sale: Activates all Mystery Box locations and reduces the cost to 10 Essence. First appears only after the Mystery Box has moved to a new location for the first time. Also reduces the cost of Traps to 10 Essence. Lasts 30 seconds.
Bonus Points: Grants all players a number of Essence points. Instant.
Full Power: Refills all players’ Field Upgrade which can now be employed. Instant.
Max Armor: Fully repairs armor to the maximum tier the player has (one plate, two or three via a previous Wall Buy). Instant.
Random Perk: Grants players a randomly chosen Perk they do not own. Instant.

Black Ops 7: Changes to Power-Ups

The Max Ammo Power-Up now fills your equipment as well as your ammunition.
The Fire Sale Power-Up now also temporarily reduces the cost of Traps and Wall Buys.
The Random Perk Power-Up has been added to the randomly dropped Power-Ups available.
- A number of Perks must be purchased by all teammates before the Power-Up can appear.
Multiple Power-Ups randomly dropping within a single Round is now a more frequent occurrence.
There’s a new GobbleGum (Power Vacuum) that increases the chances of Power-Ups spawning after zombie kills.
Any GobbleGums that summon Power-Ups like Kill Joy (Rare), On the House (Legendary), and Hidden Power (Ultra) now automatically activate the Power-ups they summon, adjusting the tactics of when to employ them, and removing the need to physically run into them.

Black Ops 7: Enhancements Overview

Spending time in the research laboratory certainly starts to pay dividends, as Black Ops 7 launches with a huge selection of Perk-a-Colas, Ammo Mods, and Field Upgrades, as well as a massive influx of new Augments across all this content. There are new research diagrams for every enhancement, as well as new, powerful buffs to wield across the Dark Aether.

Black Ops 7 Zombies arrives with 24 different types of enhancements, divided into three familiar categories:

12 types of Perk-A-Cola (one new, 11 returning)
- Wisp Tea, Jugger-Nog, PhD Flopper, Elemental Pop, Melee Macchiato, Vulture Aid, Double Tap, Quick Revive, Deadshot Daiquiri, Death Perception, Stamin-Up, and Speed Cola.
Six types of Ammo Mod (one new, five returning)
- Fire Works, Brain Rot, Napalm Burst, Shadow Rift, Dead Wire, and Cryo Freeze.
Six types of Field Upgrade (one new, five returning)
- Toxic Growth, Dark Flare, Healing Aura, Frenzied Guard, Energy Mine, and Aether Shroud.

Every one of these enhancements arrives with a set of Augments to unlock and use. Some returning Augments have received tuning changes and tweaks, so forget (some of) what you know and prepare to learn some new tricks!

For each returning enhancement (Jugger-Nog, for example), expect six Augments from Black Ops 6 plus two brand-new Augments (one Major, and one Minor).
Black Ops 6 Augment Research continues with all your completed Augment unlocks for every returning Perk-a-Cola, Ammo Mod, and Field Upgrade accessible in Black Ops 7.
Research all eight Augments in your Research diagram, and you can then unlock the “Extra Slot” Minor Augment, which enables you to equip a second Minor Augment in-game.
- Therefore, once you fully research a specific Perk, an Ammo Mod, or a Field Upgrade in Black Ops 7, you have a total of eight Augments, with three — one Major, two Minor — being active during a match.
You may have noticed two Black Ops 6 Ammo Mods (Light Mend and Shatter Blast) and three Field Upgrades (Tesla Storm, Frost Blast, and Mister Peeks) aren’t listed as returning. Expect them all to appear (each with two new Augments and an additional Minor Augment slot to unlock) to bolster your offensive capabilities still further during Season 1!

Black Ops 7: General Changes to Augments

Complete Coverage on Augments Intel: We’ve prepared an entire separate Augment Research Blog to detail all the returning, adjusted, and new Augments available across all Perks, Ammo Mods, and Field Upgrades. Learn all about them here!

In the Augments Intel Blog, there are lists of adjustments to Perks, Ammo Mods, and Field Upgrades that are specific to each type (Jugger-Nog example shown, above). To start with though, here are some general changes to Augments:

Round Preservation: Any time an Augment enables an enemy to be “charmed” (Brain Rot Perk is the obvious example), charmed zombies now avoid slaying the last zombie in the Round, allowing you or your teammates to inflict the final blow. Especially helpful if you’re kiting an enemy while investigating a map more closely.
Bigger Game: All “Big Game” Augments for Ammo Mods will receive a buff to damage or frequency that they trigger.
- Augment example: “Big Game” (Brain Rot and Napalm Burst Ammo Mods) will now charm or burn Elite enemies more frequently.
Area of Effectiveness: Damage types without a hit location — Dead Wire’s Lightning Strike Augment for example — are no longer automatically considered Critical hits (or headshots). Note this also applies to any Equipment and some Traps.
One Shot, One Chance: Augments that operate on a “per shot” influence regarding ammunition, or weapons that have multiple pellets or an area-of-effect damage, now have a very small cooldown so as not to make them overwhelmingly effective for those weapon types.
- Augment examples include “Dead Again” (Deadshot Daiquiri Perk) and “Critical Eye” (Death Perception Perk).
Health Overcharge: A new feature for Black Ops 7 Zombies is “Overheal,” a modifying buff that allows players to temporarily increase their maximum health using certain Augments or Equipment. Look for a full explanation later in this blog.

Perk-a-Cola Intel and Wisp Tea

A total of 12 Perk-a-Colas are available to bolster you and your team with different abilities. You can obtain as many Perks as there are available in a map and can also receive random (or all) Perks using specific GobbleGums.

New Perk: Wisp Tea

Drink to summon a companion wisp after killing zombies.

This Perk specializes in adding a protective ethereal creature that remains near the player, appearing only after the player inflicts a large amount of damage to the enemy. Use of Field Upgrades, Equipment, and other high-damage items quickens the summoning.

Once summoned, the Wisp begins to slay nearby zombies for around 30 seconds. Two minutes later, it can be summoned again.
The Wisp is summoned after defeating a number of zombies. The number is important rather than the speed of slaying, though obviously, the Wisp will appear more quickly if the enemies are killed with haste.
The Wisp targets all zombie types indiscriminately.
The Wisp also realizes the importance of turning around and will refrain from killing the last zombie remaining.

Major Augments:

Mask of Wrath: The Demon does more damage.
Mask of Salvation: The Fox can revive you while it’s active. This can be done up to three times per match.
Mask of Distraction: The Monkey attracts enemies and does damage in an area.
Mask of Benevolence: The Maiden does not attack but will periodically heal you.

Minor Augments:

Extension: Increase the Wisp’s lifetime.
Haste: Decrease the cooldown before a Wisp can be summoned.
Zombie Sitter: The Wisp will attract and avoid damaging the last zombie in the round until the round times out.
Fetcher: The Wisp will pick up items and Powerups for you (aside from the Nuke).

Black Ops 7: Perk-a-Cola and Der Wunderfizz Updates

The base purchase price of Perk-a-Colas is based on previously purchased Perks and increases to the price now don’t include ones you may have obtained for free (using Power-Ups, GobbleGums, or Easter Eggs, for example).
In Black Ops 6, Der Wunderfizz Machines became available at Round 25. In Black Ops 7, the arrival of a Der Wunderfizz Machine is dependent on you and your teammates. It now also arrives after a certain number of Perks have been bought (including repurchases) by all players.

Ammo Mod Intel and Fire Works

The elemental upgrades you secure for your weapons through the Arsenal machine using Salvage (or via items drops or GobbleGums) return, and there are six to choose from.

You can apply a single Ammo Mod to any weapon you are carrying.
You can have any Ammo Mod active on any of your loadout weapons (up to two Main and one Melee), but each weapon requires a separate Ammo Mod purchase.
They give the affected weapon a percentage change to inflict a special effect if an attack lands on an enemy.
The Ammo Mod also usually has an elemental damage effect, which can inflict extra damage on enemies that are weak to a particular element.
After an Ammo Mod activates, it enters a cooldown state before the chance at activation begins again.

New Ammo Mod: Fire Works

Each bullet that hits a Normal or Special Enemy has a chance to launch fireworks that target enemies.

Last seen in Black Ops 3 Zombies, this Ammo Mod is as brightly colored as it is deadly, filling the air above and illuminating the nearby combat zone in a fiery lightshow, leading to a series of firework explosions that detonate and rip the undead apart in a vivid display of wanton violence.

As the initial explosive lightshow has occurred, damaging zombies caught in the vicinity, stars are launched into the skies before exploding.
This subsequent explosion launches a set of individual flares from the stars that fly out and home in on additional random threats within the general vicinity.
The chance of Fire Works activating depends on the enemy type, and once the lightshow is over, expect a small cooldown window before it is available again.

Major Augments:

Big Game: Fire Works can activate on Elite Enemies, creating a bigger lightshow.
Starburst: Fire Works explodes immediately, sending flares through enemies in all directions.
Weeping Willow: Instead of targeting enemies the flares will land on the ground and explode for a while.
Fire Wheel: Create two Fire Wheels that spin around and damage enemies.

Minor Augments:

Starlight: Fire Works launches more flares.
Big Bang: Fire Works flares deal more damage to Special and Elite Enemies.
High Yield: Increase the area of effect.
Short Fuse: Fire Works cooldown is reduced.

Field Upgrades Intel and Toxic Growth

Expect six Field Upgrades, that are still swappable during a match via the Pause menu and continue to scale in damage as the rounds continue, with the following changes:

Field Upgrades have lower charge costs earlier in matches (the number of foes you need to defeat before the Field Upgrade is fully charged and can be activated).

Expect to slay a small additional number of enemies before activation as the rounds progress. Each additional use will have a slightly increased cost to fully charge.

New Field Upgrade: Toxic Growth

Summon a deadly growth of thorns in front of you.

Supporting a more defensive playstyle, and extremely useful if you’re guarding a narrower entry point from an advancing horde, Toxic Growth allows you to deploy a thicket of viciously sharp thorns that have the additional benefit of being poisonous.

Hold down and block pathways and/or incoming enemies with the latest in mutant plant life.
Add a powerful improvement to your capabilities that inflicts Toxic damage.
This bush of vines grows rapidly on the ground, with a specific width, height, and depth to learn the dimensions of to aid in tactical placement.
Enemies that move through Toxic Growth are slowed as they are poisoned and torn apart, as the Toxic Growth weakens before finally disintegrating after time or after inflicting a set amount of damage.
Toxic Growths don’t harm you or your teammates. No more than three Toxic Growths can be active at once.

Major Augments:

Urticant: Toxic Growth takes up a wider area and enemies that enter the growth continue to be slowed after leaving it.
Cordyception: The first Normal or Special Enemy to walk into the growth is entangled and charmed, attacking other enemies that enter.
Pollination: Enemies killed by the growth explode, dealing Toxic damage to nearby enemies and slowing them.
Zoochory: The first Normal or Special Enemy to walk into the growth becomes the Toxic Growth itself.

Minor Augments:

Ankle Shredder: Enemies moving through the growth are even slower.
Green Thumb: Significantly increases the Toxic Growth health.
Extra Charge: Increases Max Charges by one.
Plant Food: Killing enemies with Toxic Growth has a chance to drop healing fruit.

Something to Chew On: Black Ops 7 GobbleGums

The single-use, edible power-ups that provide unique and mostly powerful benefits to the player are also back with some new and delicious flavors, and Packs are assembled in the same way as before.

You can have up to five Packs (each with five GobbleGums in them) in your Loadout to choose from before a match, or at the Pause Menu within a match.
Additional GobbleGums are awarded by playing matches of Black Ops 7 Zombies, available to purchase as Packs in the Call of Duty® Store, available within seasonal Battle Passes, or as rewards during limited time modes, and Events.
All GobbleGums you’ve obtained in Black Ops 6 will Carry Forward into Black Ops 7 at launch.
GobbleGums are only removed from your inventory after activation and once the effect is completed.
The color of a GobbleGum is related to their rarity (color) and generally, how powerful the effect of the GobbleGum is. Here’s the list, increasing in rarity:
- Blue: Rare
- Epic: Purple
- Orange: Legendary
- Red: Ultra
- Rainbow: Whimsical
The pattern of a GobbleGum is related to their type and how they generally function:
- Swirled/Striped: Instant effect as soon as you consume the GobbleGum.
- Plain/Solid: Timed effect that starts immediately, then counts down for a period of seconds.
- Flecked/Speckled: Conditional effect that only activates once something else happens to trigger it.
GobbleGums have been incorporated into Dead Ops Arcade 4, though there are “purist” DOA4 modes where GobbleGums are disabled.

Black Ops 7 Changes: GobbleGums

An Acquired Taste: You can now recycle any GobbleGum and convert them into Essence (see below).
There’s Enough for Everyone: When multiple players are accessing a GobbleGum machine, expect a small cooldown every time you obtain a GobbleGum to allow other teammates a chance to interact with the machine
Instant Gratification: Power-Up summoning GobbleGums, like Kill Joy (Rare), On the House (Legendary), and Hidden Power (Ultra) now automatically activate the power-ups they summon, adjusting the tactics of when to employ them, and removing the need to physically run into them
A Hasty Departure: Exit Strategy (Epic, Activates Exfil vote immediately, reduces zombie spawns during Exfil) now automatically Exfils the player who used the GobbleGum, counting as a successful Exfil. This is partly due to the new Exfil feature in Black Ops 7 (see later into this blog below for more details).

Available GobbleGums (Black Ops 7 Launch)

Black Ops 7 Zombies arrives with 47 different types of flavorful GobbleGums (six new, 41 returning), divided into the following Rarities:

10 Rare GobbleGums (Blue; one new, nine returning)
- Aftertaste, Kill Joy, Cache Back, Temporal Gift, Stock Option, Anywhere But Here, Power Keg, Tactical Diffusion, Arsenal Accelerator, and Shields Up.
11 Epic GobbleGums (Purple; two new, nine returning)
- Requipment, Power Vacuum, Respin Cycle, Dead Drop, Who’s Keeping Score?, Free Fire, Exit Strategy, Profit Sharing, Explosive Flourish, Soda Fountain, and Nowhere But Here.
12 Legendary GobbleGums (Orange; two new, ten returning)
- Round Off, Armor Gettin’, Idle Eyes, Wall Power, Flavor Hex, Immolation Liquidation, Support Group, Phoenix Up, Modified Chaos, On The House, Wall to Wall Clearance, and Crate Power.
Seven Ultra GobbleGums (Red; one new, six returning)
- Gift Card, Perkaholic, Wonderbar!, Time Out, Near Death Experience, Reign Drops, and Hidden Power.
Seven Whimsical GobbleGums (Rainbow; seven returning)
- Newtonian Negation, Indiegestion, Rainburps, Quacknarok, Die Pitched, Holiday Cheer, and [CLASSIFIED].

New GobbleGums

A variety of potent sweet treats are available at the launch of Black Ops 7, ranging in both rarity and power. Here are the six new GobbleGums arriving with 41 returning pieces of hardcore candy:

New GobbleGum (Rare): Aftertaste

Conditional - Activates on Revive
Keep all your Perks after being revived.

New GobbleGum (Epic): Requipment

Timed - Lasts 5 minutes
Your equipment slots refill over time.

New GobbleGum (Epic): Power Vacuum

Timed - Lasts 5 minutes
Kills have a higher chance to spawn Power-Ups.

New GobbleGum (Legendary): Round Off

Conditional- Activates on Round Transition
Rounds prevented from advancing for two Rounds.

New GobbleGum (Legendary): Armor Gettin’

Instant
Receive a 3-Plate Armor Vest and Full Plates.

New GobbleGum (Ultra): Gift Card

Instant
Gain 30,000 Essence. Cannot be combined with other bonuses.

Recycling Your Gums (for Fun and Profit)

In Black Ops 7, one or more of your chosen GobbleGums can be crushed during a match while they’re in your inventory and converted into Essence on the fly. The GobbleGum is removed just as if it had been consumed, and Essence added to your inventory.

Instead of using the GobbleGum in the normal way, you have a second option to crush it in your hand, once you select it in your HUD. Once converted, Essence is automatically awarded.
The amount of Essence you receive is dependent on the Rarity of the GobbleGum, with Whimsical being the lowest, and Ultra being the highest.
The Double Points Power-up stacks with this Essence reward, awarding you double the normal amount of Essence.
The Epic Rarity “Profit Sharing” GobbleGum also stacks with this Essence reward, awarding it to nearby players as well as yourself.
This feature may be disabled for specific Zombies games modes.

Rampage Inducer

The Rampage Inducer, a strange container with unstable Aether crystals inside it, returns and allows you to interact with it, usually in the early stages of a match, to ensure zombies spawn in a “Rampage” state:

Zombies spawn faster, move faster and are more aggressive.
Reduces the delay between rounds.
All players must vote to activate the Rampage Inducer. It can also be turned off.
In Black Ops 7, Rampage Inducers won’t spawn the fastest-moving zombies (“super sprinters’) until Round 20.

Wall Buys (Armor, Weapons, and Ammo)

Use Essence to purchase a new weapon from a glowing outline seared into a wall. The glow of the outline indicating the rarity, which upgrades to a more valuable rarity on the Wall Buy as the match progresses. Or add to your protection by securing Armor from glowing plated outlines across the map.

Weapon Wall Buys now allow you to purchase ammo at a discounted price for the weapon indicated on the Wall Buy, once that initial Wall Buy weapon is bought.
Armor Wall Buys have been combined, allowing you to purchase Level II Armor, then Level III Armor from the same Armor Wall Buy.
Armor Wall Buys continue to offer you a full Repair to your Armor if you have the Essence, once you purchase the armor Level upgrade.

Ammo Caches (Armor, Weapons, and Ammo)

Ammo Caches return to Black Ops 7 with a new look and audio and provide a refill of the weapon you’re currently holding.

Ammo Cache prices are specific to each weapon and increase each time the weapons are Pack-a-Punched.
In addition to Ammo Caches, Wall Buys (see above) are now another way to obtain ammunition.

Mystery Box

The Mystery Box is a strange and infernal machine, sitting on the ground as monolithic slabs of indeterminable technological origin. For 950 Essence, you can activate (or “spin”) it, allowing you to obtain a random armament. When activated, a strange skull-carved sarcophagus slowly rises from its obsidian base, presenting the weapon as the coffin floats apart into disparate pieces.

What’s in the Box?: Activate the Mystery Box, then wait a few seconds as weapons and equipment randomly cycles through a selection, with a final choice appearing in a crackling storm of electricity.
The Right Tools for the Job: Once the weapon the Mystery Box has gathered for you is displayed, the color of the small electrical storm indicates the weapon’s rarity.
- You have a chance to obtain an Uncommon, Rare, Epic, or Legendary weapon, or a Wonder Weapon.
- Weapon rarity continues to improve as the Rounds progress, meaning fewer times spent looking at common rarity armaments in later Rounds before re-spinning.
The Mystery Box now has a chance to provide an Aether Tool to instantly upgrade your weapon’s rarity.
Support items (AKA “Scorestreaks”) no longer appear in the Mystery Box.
Melee weapons no longer appear in the Mystery Box.
The chance to obtain Wonder Weapons now gradually increases a bit more than previously as rounds progress, but are still a rare phenomenon.

Crafting Tables and Equipment

Equipment can once again be constructed using Salvage you’ve gathered. This occurs as the Crafting Table, a tinkerer’s paradise, with tables dotted across the map. Naturally, you’re not safe for long, so keep your crafting quick: Tactical, Lethal, and Support Scorestreaks can be crafted at the table providing you have enough Salvage.

This type of Equipment also occasionally falls to the ground from slain enemies.
The Vulture Aid Perk can increase the frequency the loot falls, as well as the exact type, providing the correct Augment is chosen.
Tactical Equipment includes mainly healing items or defensive projectiles.
Lethal Equipment includes planted or thrown explosive devices.
Support items return to Black Ops 7, including the all-new Disciple Injection, as well as a selection of Black Ops 7 Scorestreaks.

Available Tacticals

At launch, expect the following Tactical projectile weapons to use, find as ground loot, or construct at Crafting Tables. Note that Overclocks for Tacticals are only available in Multiplayer.

Confirmed Tacticals: Stun Grenade, Stim Shot, Psych Grenade, Hunter Bot, Smoke, Decoy, Cymbal Monkey (Ground Loot or Crafting Table only), and LT53 Kazimir (Ground Loot or Crafting Table only).
Psych Grenade: Explodes on impact with the ground, releasing a lingering red cloud of hallucinogenic gas, which seems to charm zombies.
Hunter Bot: This seems to home in towards nearby Special and Elite enemies before exploding on impact.

Available Lethals

Choose from the following lightweight, single-use armaments that provide explosive countering to advancing enemy hordes. Choose as part of your Loadout, find as ground loot, or construct at Crafting Tables. Note that Overclocks for Lethals are only available in Multiplayer.

Confirmed Lethals: Frag, Sticky Grenade, C4, Molotov, Combat Axe, Cluster Grenade, and Point Turret.
New: Cluster Grenade: Grenade that scatters small explosives when detonated, allowing for secondary impacts that can really hammer a horde.
New: Point Turret: Small deployable sentry turret that sticks to surfaces and automatically shoots at enemies, distracting and damaging them.

Supports and Scorestreaks

If you’re after some major protection or a much larger, powerful hand weapon or bombardment-style single-use weapon designed to clear a horde and stop you from becoming overwhelmed, consider crafting a Support item (or Scorestreak) at the Crafting Table. Note that Overclocks for Support Scorestreaks are only available in Multiplayer, and a complete list of Support equipment and Scorestreaks will be revealed closer to launch, with one important exception:

Disciple Injection

Temporarily transforms you into a Disciple.

After injecting yourself with an unstable serum, your crew member’s writhing body quickly transforms into a ferocious floating killing machine! With this devastating new power, you’re able to cause some serious havoc, including:

Grab and Hurl: Raise a normal zombie (at range) into the air and hurl them at other foes, inflicting powerful Dark Aether damage.
Drain Life: Focus your feeding powers to slow down and drain the energy from any normal, Special, or Elite zombie.
Unholy Scream: Release a sonic blast that stuns those caught in this audio emanation.

The Arsenal

The Arsenal is back and provided you’ve powered it up, have enough Salvage, and can withstand the verbal abuse from the soul of the Drill Instructor trapped inside, you can improve your currently held weapon just as before.

Ammo Mods (including the new Fire Works Ammo Mod) can be purchased and added to your weapon’s capabilities, with an icon appearing in the bottom-right corner of your HUD to indicate the elemental power associated with the Ammo Mod.
Only one Ammo Mod can be purchased and added to your weapon; buy another and the new Ammo Mod is applied. See the Ammo Mods section of this Blog for more information and the full range of available Ammo Mods and Augments for them.
Your weapon’s Rarity can also be upgraded with purchases here, bolstering the damage the weapon causes. Salvage costs for Rarity upgrades have been adjusted from their Black Ops 6 values to further incentivize Mystery Box and Wall Buy use.
Upgrade the Rarity Tier of your weapon as follows:
- Uncommon (Green) – now 1,000 Salvage
- Rare (Blue) – now 1,500 Salvage
- Epic (Purple) – now 2,000 Salvage
- Legendary (Orange) – 5,000 Salvage
The Rarity of your weapon can also be occasionally upgraded via rare ground or reward loot, called Aether Tools.

Returning Damage Modifiers: Elemental Weakness

In addition to normal, non-elemental impacts, damage sources from the player’s Ammo Mods may have an elemental type associated with it. There are six types of elemental damage, and all are confirmed to return to Black Ops 7 Zombies:

Frost: Slows or freezes enemies.
Fire: Burst damage and burning damage over time.
Electric: Stunning and area-of-effect damage.
Toxic: Corruption and mind control.
Light: Healing.
Shadow: Gravitational impedance and damage.

Each element has associated benefits or behaviors tied to it, and every undead entity aside from regular zombies has one or more elemental weakness.

Pack-a-Punch Machine

The Pack-a-Punch is the beating heart of any Round-Based Zombies map. Once you’ve gathered enough Essence, step up and upgrade your weapon instantly. Primary, melee, and even Wonder Weapons can be enhanced up to three times, each tier boosting damage, ammo capacity, renaming the weapon, and sometimes adding surprising effects. Alongside raw power, every upgrade delivers a striking new look and sound, with glowing camos that can be toggled on or off in Settings if you’d rather keep your weapon’s original look.

In Ashes of the Damned, there’s one important difference to the Pack-a-Punch machine: it is mobile, being clamped to the exhaust as an upgrade to Ol’ Tessie (the Wonder Vehicle).
Pack-a-Punch machines return to more expected, stationary position during Survival Mode matches.
You can enable or disable Pack-a-Punch Weapon Camos in the menu before a match, or by bashing the machine before obtaining the Pack-a-Punched weapon.
There are more investigations needed to fully understand the secrets of the Pack-a-Punch machine in Black Ops 7!

T.E.D.D. Tasks

Periodically phasing in and out of the Dark Aether is a strange interface console with an oversized T.E.D.D. head attached to it. Access it, then complete a specific timed task that T.E.D.D. has assigned for you.

The rewards you receive increase in Rarity depending on how well you completed the Task.
Expect rewards to include equipment, tools, and random Perks.
Perk rewards are usually related to those a player doesn’t already have.

Zombies HUD Presets and Customizations

Black Ops 7 allows you to customize your HUD in new and familiar ways and is easily accessed via Zombies HUD Presents Menu, with additional tweaks available in the Settings Menu.

This includes the removal of the Minimap and Compass, Prompts, zombie Health Bars, and Damage numbers.
Pack-a-Punch Camo can be switched on or off, and you can even choose to remove HUD elements, or all of it entirely.

There are two additional ways to adjust your HUD experience in Zombies: Via Themes and Layouts:

Layouts: You can also select from a variety of HUD interface layouts just like in Black Ops 6, and though individual HUD elements can’t be moved, the layout variety includes magnified elements for accessibility, or those seeking a cleaner look to their brand-new Zombies experience.
You can apply a custom color to your HUD that has two settings: a set of 45 basic colors, or a custom color menu with Hue, Saturation, and Brightness sliders. This menu is so granular it includes a place to input a six-character Hex code for an incredibly precise color!
There are several planned Themes to choose from, with some elements familiar to those with long appreciation of Call of Duty: Zombies.

The New Exfil Phone Booth

With Raptor One’s fate currently unknown, you won’t be relying on a helicopter airlift to Exfil you and your team when the going gets overly chaotic. Fortunately, an archaic German telefonzellen booth, repurposed as a cosmic gateway portal, can be called upon — both literally and figuratively — to extricate you from the mayhem.

These booths activate periodically through the match. The phone rings, and if you answer it, a portal is conjured where the player requested the Exfil.
However, this also brings in a fearsome High Value Target (HVT) entity and its minions.
This HVT and its underlings must be slain before a time limit expires, and if successful, the portal becomes fully accessible. Fail, and you die. Horribly.
During the fight, all the other phone booths throughout the map start to activate their own portals. Step through these portals, and they link to the Phone Booth with the HVT. This allows other teammates elsewhere on the map to quickly teleport in to lend a hand.
In Black Ops 7, it’s important to decide whether to participate in the Exfil or not:
- If all teammates accept, you should all focus on slaying the HVT within the time limit and escaping via the Phone Booth where the HVT was summoned, to end the match.
- If all teammates accept and you fail to slay the HVT within the time limit, you are all overwhelmed by zombie forces and fail to Exfil.
- New to Black Ops 7: If some teammates decline the Exfil, they can choose to help or ignore their fellow player(s) engaged in HVT combat. Whether the HVT is slain or not, players declining to Exfil can continue in the match afterward without penalty. Players who voted to accept the Exfil will end their match, whether they defeat the HVT (success!) or die trying.

Additional Features

There’s a variety of updated and new features you definitely need to know about, that can benefit your Zombies experience in several diverse and interesting ways:

Melee Weapon Adjustments

There’s a beneficial change coming to Melee weapons in Black Ops 7, allowing them to inflict Critical and more damaging attacks, allowing for much more personality with every melee weapon you use:

Critical Hits: This means you’re able to aim at a target, strike them at the head, and cause Critical attacks, which in turn grant you more damage and Essence.
You have more control over the swing and arc of the weapon from start to impact, and more importantly, the timing of the attack, to ensure a Critical hit is achieved.
Melee Heavy Attacks: The heavy attack you can use with any melee weapon is now adjusted to be a little slower but able to deal more damage.

New Enhancement: Health Overcharge

A new feature for Black Ops 7 Zombies is “Overheal,” a modifying buff that allows players to temporarily increase their maximum health using certain Augments or Equipment. Here’s how this works:

Enhanced Health: The most you can raise your Health (by combined Augment effects like Jugger-Nog’s Probiotic Augment and the Stim Shot Equipment, for example) is +100 Health above your current Health maximum.
Overheal: Employ specific tactics, and you can increase your health still further. This bonus to your Health is temporary, meaning unlike your regular Health, it does not regenerate over time.
The bonus is lost once your current Health drops below the normal maximum, but it can be temporarily reacquired.

Auto-Revives and Area Criticals

Auto-Revive on New Round: When a Round completes, expect any player in a prone position to be auto-revived.
Area of Effectiveness: As noted in the Augments section of this blog, damage types without a hit location — Dead Wire’s Lightning Strike Augment for example — are no longer automatically considered Critical hits (or headshots). Note this also applies to any Equipment and some Traps.

Up For a Challenge? Zombies Gameplay Systems

Black Ops 7 Zombies offers an impressive amount of content, and much of it can be unlocked across all game modes, along with a thoroughly rewarding Camo grind, all-new Weapon Prestige, and much more. Here are some confirmed Gameplay Systems features:

New Intel Inspection: With Audio Logs, Artifacts, and Documentation strewn across a dark universe of terror, gathering all evidence in one place for further investigation is a must. In the Zombies Intel Menu, each piece of Intel can now be studied and inspected (including zooming in and out and rotating).
Save, Load, and Rejoin: Save and Load, Scoreboard, and Rejoining features all return in Black Ops 7 Zombies.
Solo Pausing and the other innovations brought to Zombies in Black Ops 6 continue in Black Ops 7.
The Firing Range is back, allowing fine-tuning of ranged weapons before or between matches, and the testing of weapons you’ve obtained a Build Code for.
The Armory returns, and allows players who may have missed unlocking items, equipment, or weapons in Black Ops 6 or previous seasons of Black Ops 7 the chance to do so via Challenges.

Progression and Challenges Confirmed

Although the Black Ops 7 Multiplayer Intel Blast Blog covered this in detail, Zombies players can expect similar linked Progression, a deep Player Prestige grind, all-new Weapon Prestige, and more Weapon Camos to unlock than ever before! For the complete run-down of content available in Multiplayer, click here for a Deep Dive.

Black Ops 6 Content Available in Black Ops 7 Zombies

On November 14, expect the following content you’ve acquired or unlocked from Black Ops 6 to be accessible in Black Ops 7 Zombies:

All Double XP Tokens (Level XP, Weapon XP, and Battle Pass XP).
All GobbleGums.
All Augments and Augment Research progression.
The Black Ops 6 Zombies Dedicated Crew: Carver, Grey, Maya, and Weaver, along with any Operator Skin rewards earned from completing Main Quests in Black Ops 6 Zombies.
The Prestige Level 1,000 “New Orders” Operator Skin reward for Samuels, if earned in Black Ops 6.

Part 4: Get Ready for Dead Ops Arcade 4: Papaback in Black!

Summary: Dead Ops Arcade 4

Papaback in Black: Born as a secret Easter Egg in Black Ops, Dead Ops Arcade evolved into a chaotic, self-aware twin-stick saga — now continuing with Dead Ops Arcade 4: Papaback in Black!

The Story So Far: Dead Ops Arcade’s saga escalates as Papaback joins the Silverback clan’s vendetta, battling players who’ve stolen the family’s gun-wielding chicken and ally Fidolina in an over-the-top arcade war of revenge.

Core Gameplay: Battle through 80 levels across 20+ arenas, Silverback Challenges, and new Slayer Maps. Face Papaback in chaotic battles, uncover Bonus Rooms, and stock up at SlayerMart for goodies and greater chance at survival.

Weapons, Enemies & Vehicles: Arm up with 9+ upgradable weapons, including the Wunderwaffe DG-2 and Jet Gun, while battling zombies as well as a variety of bosses including the Z-Rex, Zursa, Golem, and Mega Abomination. Control three devastating vehicles and collect 25+ classic and new DOA pickups.

Modes & Progression: Dead Ops Arcade 4 expands with Round-Based mechanics — Ammo Mods, Field Upgrades, GobbleGums — alongside twin-stick and first-person mode options. Player level progression links across Campaign, Multiplayer, Zombies, DOA 4, and Call of Duty: Warzone™ for unified leveling.

It’s been five years… it’s time for a new Dead Ops Arcade experience!

Dead Ops Arcade: The Origin Story

First unveiled in Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010), Dead Ops Arcade began as a tongue-in-cheek Easter Egg, hidden behind the main menu computer terminal for those curious enough to type in the correct code. What awaited wasn’t a typical Zombies match, but a frantic twin-stick shooter riffing on arcade classics while still embracing undead mayhem. Its popularity ensured a return in Black Ops III (2015) with Dead Ops Arcade II: Cyber’s Avengening, this time embedded within the Campaign’s Safehouse as a hidden diversion, expanding the formula with more elaborate arenas and a delightfully absurd meta-plot.

With Black Ops Cold War (2020), Dead Ops Arcade 3: Rise of the Mamaback arrived, embracing its identity as a full-fledged mode accessible from the main menu, combining scale and spectacle with an unrestrained storyline that reveled in parody. Now, fifteen years since the original DOA, Black Ops 7 resurrects the chaos with Dead Ops Arcade 4: Papaback in Black.

Dead Ops Arcade: The Actual Story

Across battles with the dreaded Cosmic Silverback and his vengeful kin — his brother Cyber, the Mamaback and now the Papaback — the fight rages on. In Dead Ops Arcade 4, the Silverback family isn’t holding back in its desire to win back their pet chicken from the player, who has attempted to abscond with the beloved bird named Fidolina over the course of the past three games. This time, the Silverback clan isn’t messing around: The Papaback has taken up the mantle of this challenge to keep the player’s hands off their chicken once and for all.

Dead Ops Arcade 4: The Gameplay

Ready up for a journey through the Silverback Trail and take on a multitude of unique arenas, mastering numerous weapons both familiar and brand new, to reach the final showdown with the Papaback himself.

Play Solo or in a team of up to four players.
Over 20 unique arenas and an unprecedented 80 levels of chaotic action to reach the confrontation with Papaback.
Over 10 Bonus Rooms to encounter.

More than 10 weapons, both new and classic. New weapons (to DOA games) include the Wunderwaffe DG-2 and the Jet Gun Wonder Weapons!
Multiple “Silverback Challenge” Events that feature a different kind of chaotic experience, such as:
- Redins Rally: Drop into an ATV and race around a circular track, not stopping to avoid any zombie obstacles.
- The Fall 100: a descent through a hazardous chamber as you collect treasure and avoid instant death.
- The Room of Fate Mountain Challenge: a milestone chamber where you get to pick a permanent “Fate” to use for the rest of the game.
Three all-new Slayer Map experiences, which really turn up the heat:
- If the player manages to survive, they have access to the SlayerMart. The player can purchase over 70 powerful upgrades here, allowing them to push further into the Silverback territory.
Over 30 DOA style pickups returning, along with some cool new additions such as Mutant Injector.
Over 20 different enemies to face, including epic mini bosses from new and previous Zombies maps:
- Find extra firepower to face down the Z-Rex, Zursa, The Guardian Golem, and Mega Abomination.
Access multiple insanely overpowered vehicles to control in combat.
For the first time, familiar Round Based Zombies gameplay mechanics are available in Dead Ops Arcade! This includes:
- Ammo Mods
- Field Upgrades
- GobbleGums
Ammo Mods and Field Upgrades occupy the same function in DOA4 compared to Zombies.
Select Ammo Mods, Field Upgrades, and GobbleGum have specific effects that may differ from regular Zombies.
Want that original DOA experience? Don’t worry; there are modes available for purists without any round-based mechanics present.
There are multiple ways to play, with “twin-stick” top-down action interspersed with first-person areas:
- Casual: A more forgiving DOA experience with Round-Based Zombies elements.
- Standard: Regular difficulty level with Round-Based Zombies elements.
- Hardcore (Post-Launch): Classic DOA gameplay, as the Papaback has taken away your GobbleGums, the SlayerMart, and a few other luxuries.
- Standard Advanced Start (Post-Launch): Begin your next Standard Solo game at the highest round you previously achieved. Stats, challenges, and leaderboards are not available.

First-Person Modes: Prefer your DOA experience up close and personal? Expect Casual and Standard modes to have first-person variants to play at launch.
Progression Confirmed over Five Modes: Player progression is also tied to Dead Ops Arcade 4, meaning you can level up in five separate modes: Co-Op Campaign, Multiplayer, Zombies, along with Dead Ops Arcade 4 (and Call of Duty: Warzone at Season 1)!

Stay tuned to GamingTrend for more Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 news and info!

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