Ashes of the Damned — Black Ops 7 Zombies Easter Egg Guide

In this guide: full main-quest walkthrough, map layout, recommended loadout, best GobbleGums, per-map augments, calling cards, interactive solvers, side Easter eggs & songs, boss strategy · Very Hard, ~70–120 min.

Open the interactive guide →
Black Ops 7 · 2025

Ashes of the Damned

The huge launch map — a Dark Aether collapse spanning Ashwood, Vandorn Farm, Blackwater Lake and more, linked by the drivable Ol' Tessie. Free Klaus, brew the serum, and defeat Veytharion in the Dust to Dust main quest.

Released 14 Nov 2025 Wonder Weapon: Necrofluid GauntletVehicle: Ol' TessieBoss: Veytharion
Very HardEst. time70–120 minPlayers1–4 (solo-capable)
How this guide was verified · method
BasisCross-checked against multiple published guides and the community wikiSources cross-checked3SolodocumentedCo-opdocumentedLast reviewed8 Sep 2026
Documented here15 walkthrough steps · 7 side Easter eggs (incl. 1 song, 1 free perk) · 3 interactive solvers · 3 weapon builds · 6 per-map augment picks · 6 named areas · 3 sources cross-checkedCounted from this page, not estimated. We publish what is documented rather than a percentage of what might exist — nobody can honestly claim to know the full list.

Quick answers

Ashes of the Damned is the launch map for Black Ops 7 Zombies and the biggest round-based map in series history — a 15-step main quest called 'Dust to Dust'. You power the map, build the Necrofluid Gauntlet, complete four POI soul quests, then fight the boss Veytharion from the drivable Ol' Tessie. Expect 70–120 minutes; solo-capable.

Where is Pack-a-Punch on Ashes of the Damned?

Pack-a-Punch is fitted to the back of Ol' Tessie, the drivable truck. Install Ted's head on Tessie, power all three generators (Blackwater Lake, Vandorn Farm and Ashwood), then install the Pack-a-Punch unit on the back of the truck at Ashwood — after that you upgrade weapons wherever you park it.

What is the Wonder Weapon on Ashes of the Damned?

The Wonder Weapon is the Necrofluid Gauntlet. You build it by reading the three red symbols on the Vandorn Farm barn roof from the jump pad, setting them on the farm-cellar cube, then surviving a tutorial lockdown that teaches its barb-fire, reload-recall and detonate controls.

Who is the boss of Ashes of the Damned?

The boss is Veytharion, fought from Ol' Tessie. Charge boost, ram the boss up the centre ramp to expose its weak-point mouths and gun those with the DG-2 turret; during immunity phases race the boss to a blue beam, infuse Tessie and ram to break immunity.

How long is the Ashes of the Damned Easter egg?

The Dust to Dust main quest runs roughly 70–120 minutes across 15 steps and is rated Very Hard, solo-capable for 1–4 players. As the biggest round-based map in series history, learning the area names with one practice drive first saves a lot of time.

How many serum parts are on Ashes of the Damned?

There are six serum parts — Human Bones, Ravager Eyes, Horde Husk Chunks, Fungus, Mysterious Limb and Powder of the Forgotten. They can be collected in any order and are best chipped away at in parallel with the Wonder Weapon build.

How do you complete the Ashes of the Damned Easter egg?

It is rated Very Hard and takes about 70–120 min. The run breaks down like this:
  1. Install Ted's head on Old Tessie → power all three generators
  2. Fit Pack-a-Punch to the back of Tessie at Ashwood
  3. Collect the six serum parts (run in parallel with everything)
  4. Round 8+: kill the Uber Klaus at Janus Plaza for the Stabilizer Chip
  5. Wake Klaus in the Ashwood jail with bounced stun grenades
  6. Retina scan at Zarya → aether canister → charge all three generators (timed)
  7. Read the three barn-roof symbols → set the cube → Necrofluid Gauntlet
  8. Yuri's Lab: decode the pigpen cipher → add blood → survive the lockdown
Each stage is written out in full — with the exact locations, the order things must be done in and what to do when a step refuses to trigger — in the walkthrough below.

Can you do the Ashes of the Damned Easter egg solo?

Players: 1–4 (solo-capable). It is solo-capable. Co-op mainly helps with the timed steps, where a second player can hold a zombie or cover a second position, and it makes the ending far more forgiving.

What are the main areas on Ashes of the Damned?

6 are documented: Janus Towers Plaza, Ashwood, Vandorn Farm, Blackwater Lake, Zarya Cosmodrome and Reba's Diner / Exit 115. Knowing the names matters more than it sounds — most guides, including this one, describe locations by area name rather than by direction.

How many side Easter eggs are on Ashes of the Damned?

7 are documented here — song, free perk, free weapon, side quest, character quest and mechanic. Each one has its own steps rather than a one-line mention, so they can be followed mid-game.

Are there solvers for the Ashes of the Damned puzzles?

Yes. Ashes of the Damned has randomised puzzles whose answer changes every match, so there is nothing to look up — this guide ships 3 interactive solvers that take what your own game is showing you and return the answer for that run. They are embedded at the step that needs them and listed together in the solvers section.

When was Ashes of the Damned released?

14 Nov 2025.

Map & Key areas

The map layout first, then the areas worth knowing by name. Map imagery © Activision, self-hosted.

Ashes of the Damned map layoutAshwoodWall Buy (CODA 9 Pistol)Fast TravelExfilWall Buy (M34 Novaline)TrapAmmo CacheAmmo CacheAmmo CacheWall Buy (X9 Maverick)Crafting TableJugger-NogFast TravelDouble TapMystery BoxArsenalArmor VestVulture AidWall Buy (VS Recon)Wall Buy (Akita)Power DoorPower DoorPower DoorPower DoorBlackwater LakeArmor VestWall Buy (Dravec 45)Speed ColaGobbleGum MachineArsenalAmmo CacheAmmo CacheMelee MacchiatoFast TravelWall Buy (M10 Breacher)Crafting TableMystery BoxWall Buy (M8A1)ExfilPower DoorJanus Towers PlazaWall Buy (CODA 9)GobbleGum MachineAmmo CacheQuick ReviveFast TravelWall Buy (Warden 308)Vandorn FarmFast TravelWall Buy (Echo 12)Armor VestGobbleGum MachineStamin-UPWall Buy (Peacekeeper MK1)Saw Blade TrapWall Buy (Ryden 45K)Crafting TableAmmo CacheExfilDeath PerceptionMystery BoxPower DoorArsenalWall Buy (MK.78)Exit 115Zarya CosmodromeAmmo CacheElemental PopSaw Blade TrapWall Buy (AK-27)GobbleGum MachineAmmo CacheArsenalWall Buy (Shadow SK)Fast TravelCrafting TableDeadshot DaiquiriArmor VestWall Buy (XM325)ExfilPower DoorArmor VestWisp TeaFast TravelAmmo CacheGobbleGum MachineAmmo CacheAmmo CacheMystery BoxWall Buy (XR-3 ION)ArsenalPhD FlopperCrafting TableExfilWall Buy (M15 Mod 0)Wall Buy (DS20 Mirage)Power Door

Tap a category to show or hide it. Pinch or double-tap to zoom in — marker positions come from the official Call of Duty map data.

Janus Towers Plaza

Spawn. Server Room holds the T.E.D.D. Head; Uber Klaus spawns west.

Ashwood

Sheriff's Office (Klaus's cell), Tailor Shop mirror, clock tower.

Vandorn Farm

Farmhouse Roman-numeral clock; serum basement; crafting table.

Blackwater Lake

Spores Jar; the docks where you start the final boss.

Zarya Cosmodrome

Support Systems — the Aether Barrel.

Reba's Diner / Exit 115

Freezer (Abomination Carcass); rooftop clock.

Steps at a glance

  1. Install Ted's head on Old Tessie → power all three generators
  2. Fit Pack-a-Punch to the back of Tessie at Ashwood
  3. Collect the six serum parts (run in parallel with everything)
  4. Round 8+: kill the Uber Klaus at Janus Plaza for the Stabilizer Chip
  5. Wake Klaus in the Ashwood jail with bounced stun grenades
  6. Retina scan at Zarya → aether canister → charge all three generators (timed)
  7. Read the three barn-roof symbols → set the cube → Necrofluid Gauntlet
  8. Yuri's Lab: decode the pigpen cipher → add blood → survive the lockdown
  9. Three glowing keys from the fog zones → the Ashwood pyramid
  10. Fit the DG-2 turret → stop the ethereal clock to go purple
  11. Four POI soul quests: Farm ritual, Exit 115 lightning, Zarya rocket, Blackwater reels
  12. Wisp drive — 3 souls per fog zone, never leave one early
  13. Boss: boost-ram with Tessie, turret the mouths, chase the beams in immunity phases
It's the biggest round-based map in series history, so learn the area names (shown in yellow at the top of the screen) with one practice drive first. Many steps can be done in any order.

Before you start

What to have in hand before step 1 — from the loadout notes, from the walkthrough itself, and from the map's own quest documentation where the gate is never stated in a step.

Recommended
  • Aether Shroud Field Upgrade — Setup & safety

Set aside 70–120 min · 1–4 (solo-capable) · the full loadout is further down this page

Where your run will differ

Gathered here so you meet them before they cost you a run rather than after — quoted word for word from the guide below, or researched from the map's own quest documentation.

Solo or co-op

What changes with your player count. The rest of the guide is the same either way.

  • “In co-op, have someone cover you.” step 4
  • “Carrying it means no sprinting and no jump pads, so solo players want the truck waiting…” step 5
  • “The artifacts have health, so keep zombies off them — one player per circle in co-op, and Kazimirs…” step 10

Full walkthrough

0% complete

The quest in the order this guide runs it — tap any step to jump to it, and it fills in as you tick steps off.

1
Old Tessie → all three generators

Power the map and fit Pack-a-Punch

+

Grab Ted’s head and install it on Old Tessie. Drive to Blackwater Lake or Vandorn Farm, clear the spore infestation off the power pump and switch the power on. Then drive to Ashwood — zip line either side, opening onto Ashwood Bridge — destroy the infestation there, turn the power on, and install Pack-a-Punch on the back of Tessie.

Do not skip the third generator. Go back and power whichever of Blackwater or the Farm you left — all three are needed later for the timed canister run, and discovering that mid-timer is miserable.

Open the rest of the map by driving Tessie through the barriers between POIs.

Loadout trade-off: MrDalekJD runs the Nikita shotgun, strong against the boss’s red critical mouths up close. MrRoflWaffles says long-range only, no shotguns, because the boss sits at distance. Both work — pick based on whether you expect to be on foot near the crit heads. Cryofreeze and Napalm Burst are both strong against Uber Klaus, and Napalm Burst melts the zursa bears.

Quick win: The Max Ammo statue is in the Server Room ceiling directly above Quick Revive — stick a C4 to it before you leave spawn and detonate it the first time you run dry. The vending machine in the plaza pays random loot for one crouched melee per round (punch it with Melee Macchiato and it breaks for a bigger one-off drop).

2
All over the map — run in parallel

Collect the six serum parts

+

Six parts, order flexible, and worth chipping away at alongside the Wonder Weapon build. Track them in the HUD under Serum.

Tomahawks and Molotovs: craft at the barn bench with salvage, or take the free ones — a tomahawk in the diner and at Blackwater Lake, Molotovs in Ashwood.

Worth doing all game: keep destroying the purple ground plants with Tessie’s beam even after you have the Horde Husk Chunks — at high rounds they drop tier-3 Pack-a-Punch crystals.

The other guide: MrDalekJD attributes the fridge key to a special Cook zombie at Exit 115, and says the spore jar needs only two rounds.

Quick win: One free perk a match from Reba's Diner soda fountain (the Mixologist Easter egg) — drop three ingredients and drink. Quick Revive: bleach on the Server Room desk, the fish opposite the Blackwater box spawn on the pier, the Stim Shot in the Zarya Control Room cabinet. Juggernog: the plant on the raised road out of Janus Towers to Blackwater, the bottle in the Barn wall gap before the cellar, the eggs on the diner kitchen rack. Speed Cola: the plant behind the crashed cart entering Blackwater (go prone), the nuts in a crate in Hargrove's Mercantile, the sugar packets on the diner table. Stamin-Up: nuts on the cellar's south-west shelf, the bean bag behind Hargrove's counter, the gas can by the service-station bin. The first drink also pays the Soda Sommelier calling card.

Quick win: While you are at the Farm for the bones, reload-interact the haystacks for the Playmates document, and melee Chompy's bin when it is active — feed it a weapon or a piece of equipment for salvage, occasionally a Ray Gun.

Quick win: Death Perception shows bear prints in the fog roads (Crashed Rocket / Orda Graveyard). Follow the five prints to a hidden Zursa and kill it with melee only for the Claw Talisman — permanent double points on every melee kill for the rest of the match. (Two guides; their spawn zones differ.)

Cursed only — Feed your starting pistol to Chompy before you replace it: that is the Common rung of Samantha's Drawing, and the Uncommon, Rare, Epic and Legendary rungs can follow at any round before the round-40 Wonder Weapon hand-in.

  • Human Bones — in the Vandorn Farm barn, a body hangs with a foot dripping blood. Throw a tomahawk at the foot to sever it, then a Molotov to burn it down to bone
  • Ravager Eyes — on a ravager round, activate any sword or saw trap and let the trap itself kill a ravager. If nothing drops, try a different trap next ravager round
  • Horde Husk Chunks — kill a good number of zombies inside the Exit 115 diner until the fridge key drops (check outside too, the key-zombie can wander), open the diner freezer for the Abomination Carcass, install it on the front of Tessie at the Ashwood garage to unlock the beam, then destroy a purple glowing plant at ground level in the fog zones
  • Fungus (Widow's Lantern) — take the serum jar from the Blackwater Lake cabin kitchen, plant it on the spore-covered horse just outside Vandorn Farm, wait three to four full rounds, then interact again
  • Mysterious Limb — from round 16, damage a yellow-eyed zursa bear with bullets then land the killing blow with Tessie's beam. Blue-eyed fog bears do not count, and if nothing drops your gun did too much of the work
  • Powder of the Forgotten — buy Wisp Tea, activate your wisp by shooting zombies, lead it into the Ashwood tailor shop with the mirror, then shoot the mirror with the Necrofluid Gauntlet

Serum Symbol Matcher

Yuri's Lab — Zarya Cosmodrome

Interact with the Powder of the Forgotten (5th bowl) and three pigpen words appear on the chalkboard — top, middle and bottom, a different set each game. Each tile below shows an item's pigpen symbols; match the chalkboard words to the tiles and tap them in that order (you only need the first symbol to tell them apart). The bowl to use and where to collect each item show below.

What this is based onCross-checked against multiple published guides and the community wiki · 3 sources cross-checked · guide last reviewed 8 Sep 2026.Not matching your game? It answers from the inputs you give it — re-check those against your screen, then see the walkthrough step.
3
Janus Towers Plaza — round 8+

Kill the Uber Klaus for the Stabilizer Chip

+

From around round 8, be at the Janus Towers Plaza as the round turns — an Uber Klaus climbs out of the Project Janus container. Stand close to the container if he will not appear, and take another round if needed.

Come prepared: have at least Pack-a-Punch tier 1 and a few perks. He is weak to Cryofreeze and Napalm Burst. Shoot the shoulder pads off, and when his health empties he collapses into a core — destroy that.

Confirmation cue: he drops the Stabilizer Chip, highlighted yellow.

Quick win: You can be holding the Necrofluid Gauntlet by round 8 if you push this straight after power — it is what makes every later step (and the Teddy Bear relic hunt) quick.

4
Ashwood jail → Zarya Support Systems

Wake Klaus and pass the retina scan

+

Take the Ashwood left zip to Market Square and open the Sheriff’s Office. Klaus is in the jail cell — not the Uber Klaus cage. Interact with the terminal to install the chip.

Now buy or craft stun grenades at 250 salvage each — bring three or four, and spawning in with stuns equipped makes them free. Stand to the left of the jail cell and bounce them off the wall in quick succession.

Confirmation cue: sparkles above Klaus’s head, then his eyes light up. The player who woke him controls him, directing him with the tactical button.

Take Klaus to the Cosmodrome and down to the Support Systems level. Direct him to the broken wall panel so he bashes it, then interact with the machine and stand inside the red scan circle until the bar fills while purple zombies swarm.

Two things stall this: only the scanning player may stand in the circle, and you must look at the scanner beam or progress will not tick at all. In co-op, have someone cover you.

Confirmation cue: the wall cupboard opens — take the aether canister. If Klaus times out, resummon him from any activation station after a couple of minutes.

5
Ashwood → Blackwater → Farm

The three-generator charge run

+

Pre-position Tessie before you pick the canister up. Carrying it means no sprinting and no jump pads, so solo players want the truck waiting; in co-op have someone drive.

Slot the canister into the middle of each spore-infestation generator in the order Ashwood, Blackwater, Farm. Each extraction takes ten to fifteen seconds with zombies attacking.

The timer is the whole difficulty: between generators a Refined Energy Decay countdown of about 1:30 runs. Fail it and you redo the retina scan and all three generators — not just the leg you missed.

After the Farm charge, carry the canister into the cellar below the barn and interact with the cube. It takes the canister and changes appearance.

6
Jump pad → farm cellar

The barn symbols and the gauntlet

+

Take the jump pad between Janus Towers and Vandorn Farm and, while airborne, read the three red symbols on the barn roof — right, middle, then left across the two jumps. Write them down.

At the cube, the front face has an eyeball — do not touch it. Hold interact on the other three faces to cycle symbols and set your three, then hold interact on the eyeball face to submit. Each face carries a different symbol set, so duplicates are impossible.

Confirmation cue: the eye disappears and the Necrofluid Gauntlet is inside.

The tutorial lockdown: you are rooted to a floor sigil. Shoot a barb at each of the six green blobs around the basement and press reload to recall the barb back through them. All six destroyed releases you. Controls: fire launches a barb, reload recalls it, aim-down-sights detonates it in place.

Necrofluid Gauntlet Symbols

Aether Barrel cube — red eye

On the jump-pad flight over Vandorn Farm, three red symbols appear on the rooftops — one for each cube face. At the Aether Barrel cube, click the symbol you saw on the Left, Right and Back faces; it lays out the cube and reminds you to confirm at the red eye in order Left → Right → Back. Which symbols appear is randomised per match — these are our own redrawn versions of the in-game glyphs, so match by eye.

What this is based onCross-checked against multiple published guides and the community wiki · 3 sources cross-checked · guide last reviewed 8 Sep 2026.Not matching your game? This puzzle is randomised per match — read the values your own game is showing you, then see the walkthrough step.
7
Zarya Cosmodrome

Yuri's Lab — the pigpen cipher

+

Open the debris at the Cosmodrome to reveal Yuri’s Lab. Interact with the powder on the chemistry table and a pigpen cipher appears on the chalkboard — three lines, one word each.

Decode all three. The possible words are FUNGI, LIMBS, OCULI, CONCH and TALIS, and each maps to an item on the table. Hold interact on the three corresponding items in top-to-bottom line order.

Confirmation cue: red smoke around the central canister and an “add blood” prompt. A wrong order gives a fail line and black smoke — retry next round.

Prepare before you add blood. The blood-giver’s health drops to around 75 with no regeneration for the duration, and the lockdown runs about 90 seconds during which you cannot leave the room. Kill zombies inside so their souls flow into the canister. Going down fails it — retry at the beaker next round. An Instakill gum makes solo far easier.

Confirmation cue: purple gas washes over the screen, and wisps now orbit the four main POIs.

Pigpen Cipher Decoder

Ashes rocket launch / Yuri's Lab / Buried mine signs

These all use the classic pigpen (tic-tac-toe) alphabet. Click the symbols you see in-game, left to right — the word builds below, and for the Ashes rocket-launch console the six-number code (each letter's alphabet position, A=00) builds alongside it. For Buried's mine signs you just need the word.

What this is based onCross-checked against multiple published guides and the community wiki · 3 sources cross-checked · guide last reviewed 8 Sep 2026.Not matching your game? It answers from the inputs you give it — re-check those against your screen, then see the walkthrough step.
8
Fog zones → Ashwood pyramid

The three glowing keys

+

Each key sits in a fog zone with three possible spawns. Shoot it with a gauntlet barb then detonate or recall to suck it free, and pick it up off the ground. All three go to the pyramid device in Ashwood, and each delivery breaks one set of chains.

Every key applies a debuff while carried — so bring Tessie or a teammate as escort rather than walking it. If a key is not at any listed spot, flip the round and re-check.

Confirmation cue: after the third key, a mid-game cinematic plays.

  • Red / Nightbird — Order Graveyard, between Ashwood and Exit 115. Debuff: no health regeneration. Look in the high T-Rex skull's mouth, the ground-level T-Rex skull at the back of the mouth (fiddliest — check the others first), or wedged right of the Project Janus tank vehicles
  • Yellow / Bruin — the fog between Ashwood and Zarya. Debuff: melee only. On top of the fallen radio tower, on the building edge as you exit the Cosmodrome near the radar, or high on the cliff up-left entering from Ashwood
  • Green / Terrapin — the grounded ship zone between Ashwood and the Farm. Debuff: no sprint, so park Tessie as the escape. Inside the blue shipping container, on the shelf through the window on top of the ship, or under the ship left of the two big silver barrels
9
Ashwood garage → Ashwood Bridge

The turret and the ethereal clock

+

Right after the cutscene, pick up the DG-2 turret part and install it on Tessie at the Ashwood garage bench.

Once per round, switch to the turret seat and shoot the floating ethereal clock tower above Ashwood Bridge — drive slightly out of town toward the grounded-ship entrance for the angle, since the turret cannot aim straight up. That stops the clock.

This is the engine for everything that follows. With the clock stopped, shoot a clock face with a barb at close range and detonate to turn purple for a limited window. Three of the four faces work, each once per round — so up to three purple windows per round, and a new round means re-shooting the tower to reset them.

Every one of the four POI quests below must be done while purple.

10
Farmhouse

Vandorn Farm — the ritual

+

While purple, enter the farmhouse and read the wall clock time. Stand on the matching Roman numeral scratched into the floorboards — III, IX and XII are marked, and the 6:00 spot is opposite the father, unmarked — and look at the father figure at the head of the table. Stand still.

Wait for the cue. His head slowly turns toward you and his eyes glow red. Only then shoot the head with the gauntlet — the skull knocks back and the step activates.

Collect four ritual items, place them at the ground circles, then quickly re-interact with all four to start a 60-second defence. The artifacts have health, so keep zombies off them — one player per circle in co-op, and Kazimirs, monkeys or Frenzied Guard help a lot solo.

Confirmation cue: the screen flashes white.

Quick win: Free Wisp Tea from the Twins: interact with the farmhouse TV (right of Stamin-Up upstairs) until it shows two girls then one, find the ghost girl scratching tic-tac-toe in the Barn cellar, return to the TV (empty room), then approach the two girls dancing outside by the power pump for a Wisp Tea can — it repeats every couple of rounds. The Meat the Vandorns audio log spawns on the barn-cellar shelf once the ritual is done.

  • Teddy bear head — on the bunk bed in the upstairs bedroom
  • Face mask — in the mystery-box room, or the second floor of the barn (creators differ)
  • Chalice — in the cellar next to the bathtub
  • Pea's pig sticker — prone under the table to reach it
11
Diner and service station

Exit 115 — the frozen lightning

+

This needs lightning striking over the diner, which appears about fifteen seconds into a round; if it is absent, play another round or two. Park Tessie in front of the diner and pre-summon Klaus from the radio spawner before you start the timer — you will not have time afterwards.

While purple, shoot the clock on the service-station rooftop with the gauntlet. The lightning freezes and a 60-second timer starts. Inside it, do any or all of three revives — they are repeatable across rounds because the souls persist.

Do not kill a glowing zombie inside its lightning — the soul has to fly up on its own. Any you kill by accident will respawn during the step.

Confirmation cue: the zombies freeze in the lightning and, when the timer ends, become wisps and vanish.

Quick win: From the diner roof, the Bonus Points statue sits under the car on the right of the broken bridge; the service-station vending machine takes one melee per round; She Got Hers is in the diner kitchen and He Got His plus the Evidence document are inside McDougal's.

  • Waitress — melee the diner cash register to pop it, reviving the waitress beside it; lead her onto the diner rooftop into her matching-colour lightning
  • Engineer — direct Klaus to the side of the car by the service station so he stamps it; lead the revived engineer to the yellow lightning on the service-station rooftop
  • Trucker — hit the red shipping container with Tessie's beam then ram it open; lead the trucker to the red lightning on the Exit 115 rooftop
12
Satellite dishes → control room

Zarya Cosmodrome — launch the rocket

+

While purple, put a gauntlet barb into each of the two spinning satellite dishes to stop them — one per purple window, so this may span two rounds. Purple mist engulfing the dish is the cue it worked.

In the control room behind the Wisp Tea machine, the right-hand monitors flash pigpen symbols two letters at a time, spelling a six-letter word — one of ROCKET, ENGINE, LAUNCH or WEAPON. The word re-randomises after any failure.

The input rule that catches people: each of the six number monitors blinks through four numbers, and the correct one is the letter’s alphabet position counting A as 0 — so position minus one. When the right number shows, shoot the little red button beneath that monitor to lock it, working left to right.

Confirmation cue: souls stream into the rocket and it launches. Take too long and you redo the satellites and re-read the word next round.

Quick win: Three intel pieces unlock the moment the Serum puzzle is done — Ground Control (Control Room, south-east wall), Maintenance (shoot the papers on the north-east shelf) and What Came After (a box in the Flame Trench, facing north). The Full Power statue is through the fence gap in the Flame Trench.

13
Cabin, boathouse and shed

Blackwater Lake — the projector and reels

+

With the other three POIs done, interact with the wisp on the docks — it flies to the pyramid, confirming you are ready.

While purple, shoot the projector inside the cabin and immediately watch the screen: it shows four locations in a random order — front of the lodge, upstairs, boathouse, and the shed behind the cabin. Then shoot a regular barb into each film reel in that exact order.

Confirmation cue: each correct reel turns purple and locks in. A wrong order gives a jump scare and you retry next round.

Afterwards, blue misty intel spawns at the reel spots — optional story pickups. Then upstairs in the Speed Cola room, hold interact on the big misty soul to open a box at the foot of the bed. Summon Klaus, direct him to the box, and he takes the glove and walks slowly to the edge of the dock walkway.

Quick win: The blue intel that appears after the reels is four audio logs — Scene 27 (back railing by the ammo box), Study Room Monologue (fishing-hut south window), Confrontation in the Parlor (cabin upstairs shelf by the projector reel) and Director's Notes (toolshed shelf below the reel). Stand on the odd-coloured floorboard in the toolshed and shoot the dartboard bullseye for the Cut document. If you have shot the other seven statues, the Fire Sale statue is now floating above the cabin's second floor — look up through the open roof.

  • Back of the cabin, by the staircase
  • Top of the cabin staircase upstairs, near the power switch
  • Boathouse — sticking out of the ceiling rafters
  • Tool shed — on the shelf inside the little hut
14
A full lap of the map — timed

The wisp drive

+

Point of no return. Interacting with Klaus at the dock starts the final vote. Before voting: tier-3 Pack-a-Punch, best rarity, Kazimirs, armour plates, a salvage reserve for Tessie repairs, and gums ready.

After the vote, souls scatter from the pyramid across the map. Wait about twenty seconds for them to distribute, then drive a full lap from Blackwater.

Three souls per fog zone, and you must collect all three before leaving. Leaving a zone early gives a gong sound and fails the step, forcing a revote next round. Put a gunner on the turret to shoot the explosive mines off the road.

The loop: Blackwater into the Monolith Forest fog toward Janus Towers, through the plaza and the collapsed tower to Vandorn Farm — driving over the green healing pods — then Farm to the grounded ship, up the ramp with a slow right turn and one soul at the end of the ship, into Ashwood, U-turn, and back through the lost cabins zone to Blackwater.

Confirmation cue: picking up the final soul teleports you straight into the boss arena.

15
Arena — fought from Tessie

Boss fight

+

This one is fought from the vehicle. The core loop: drive until boost is charged, then boost up the centre ramp and ram the boss for huge damage while firing the abomination beam. A second player mans the DG-2 turret and shoots the weak-point mouths that ramming exposes. On foot, spray the unarmoured head — grey hit markers mean unarmoured, blue means armoured.

Rockets: red circles appear on the ground and detonate after a few seconds. On foot, run tight circles and cut back through spots that have just exploded — that is your safe window.

Immunity phases at roughly 80% and 35% health, plus once at the very end: the boss spins and takes no damage. Keep the turret firing and wait for a blue beam of light to spawn — race the boss to it and drive through to infuse Tessie, then boost-ram to break immunity for about ten seconds and shoot the crit spot under its mouth. If beams stop spawning, ram the boss with un-infused Tessie to unstick the pattern. A Max Ammo in an arena corner signals the phase ending.

The purple laser in the final quarter: its mouth glows for ten to fifteen seconds while charging, then fires a beam that near-instantly kills anyone in the open. Get behind a pillar, or time a ram during the charge-up to interrupt it.

Logistics: a destroyed Tessie costs 150 salvage and about ten seconds to repair, during which you are vulnerable — pop Kazimir or Aether Shroud first. There is a teleport-to-vehicle button in one of the side huts. Max armour and Max Ammo sit in the arena corners and do not expire, unlike zombie drops, so save them. Heal Tessie by driving over green spore pods, and expect bears — Napalm Burst melts them.

Side Easter Eggs & extras

Everything beyond the main quest. Tap any entry to open the full how-and-where breakdown.

Song

“Turn to Ashes”

+

Kevin Sherwood ft. Elena Siegman. 3 Mister Peeks headphones: on a server by Quick Revive (Server Room), on a beam above the VS Recon wall-buy in Ashwood's Judgment Square, and in the jeep by the Exit 115 pump station.

  1. Server Room, Janus Towers Plaza — on the server directly across from Quick Revive
  2. Ashwood, Judgment Square — upper level, on the beam above the VS Recon wall-buy (through the destroyed roof)
  3. Exit 115 — the jeep/4×4 by the pump station outside Reba's Diner, rear passenger side
  4. Interact with all three (a Mister Peeks laugh confirms each); once per match
Free perk

Soda fountain Easter Eggs — “Mixologist”

+

Each perk has its own soda-fountain side quest that rewards a free perk; completing them all earns the Mixologist achievement.

  1. Each drink gives one free perk; only one drink per match (all four = four matches, and the Mixologist trophy). All are brewed at the glowing cup in Reba's Diner (Exit 115) — only touch the three correct ingredients or it fails
  2. Quick Revive: blue toilet cleaner (Server Room), the dead fish (Blackwater cabin dock), the stimshot (Cosmodrome Control Room)
  3. Jugger-Nog: a leaf (climbable broken road, Janus Plaza), the milk jug (Vandorn barn cellar), eggs (Reba's Diner kitchen shelf)
  4. Speed Cola: a leaf (behind the broken car at Blackwater exit, prone), a crate (left of the armour door in Hargrove's Mercantile), a green box (right of the drink machine)
  5. Stamin-Up: a crate (Vandorn cellar), a sack (Hargrove's shelf), a gas can (behind the Exit 115 station)
  6. Brew at the Reba's Diner cup to get the free perk
Free weapon

Jump Pad EE — free Ray Gun Mark II

+

Complete the jump pad Easter Egg between POIs to earn a free Ray Gun Mark II.

  1. Turn on power and open every area
  2. Ride all eight jump pads in one connected loop back to your start (~4,000 essence)
  3. Wait about four rounds, then watch the row of lights on the north side of the Janus Plaza lobby — the far-left light blinks a code (1-7, in order)
  4. Ride the jump pads in that numbered order
  5. A rift opens with loot including the free Ray Gun Mark II (more reliable after ~round 15-20)
Side quest

Bear Tracks — permanent 2× melee points

+

Buy Death Perception, find the orange bear prints in the fog roads, interact with 5, then beat the secret bear boss using only your knife. Rewards permanent double points on melee kills for the rest of the game.

  1. Buy Death Perception (required to see the prints)
  2. Head into the fog roads: between Cosmodrome & Ashwood, or Exit 115 & Ashwood
  3. Interact with 5 sets of orange glowing bear prints on the ground
  4. You're teleported to the bear boss arena — KNIFE ONLY, so bring a melee build
  5. Kill it for permanent double points on melee kills for the rest of the game
Character quest

“Good Soldiers” — Tank Dempsey

+

A story side quest following Dempsey; completing it unlocks the Good Soldiers achievement.

  1. Play as Tank Dempsey
  2. Drive Ol' Tessie from Ashwood toward the Cosmodrome and stop at the crashed rocket near the entrance
  3. Interact with Dempsey's dog tags by the three body bags to enter a Dark Aether realm
  4. Survive the horde as Veytharion accuses Dempsey; find the ruined temple where two zombies feed on a third and kill them
  5. Veytharion turns you into a Disciple — kill every zombie that spawns to finish and earn the Good Soldiers achievement
Side quest

Vending machines

+

Crouch and melee the vending machines (Janus Tower Plaza, Exit 115) each round for random loot. Punching one with Melee Macchiato dumps a jackpot of rewards but breaks the machine for the rest of the game.

  1. Two machines: the Janus Plaza spawn room (NW corner) and Exit 115 (west of McDougal's station)
  2. Each round, crouch and melee a machine once for a random item (junk up to weapons or a Ray Gun) — once per machine per round
  3. For the jackpot, buy Melee Macchiato (Blackwater cabin, ~2,500)
  4. With its punch active, melee a machine to smash it open for a big loot dump — but it breaks that machine for the rest of the match
Mechanic

More extras

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Lie down in front of any perk machine for 100 points (once each); ARC-XD racing course; Fumigator + Toxic Growth on plant spores for upgraded loot; upgrade Ol' Tessie with the Abomination beam; an angry T.E.D.D. if you attack him.

Interactive solvers

Every solver for Ashes of the Damned, in the order you meet them. Each also appears inside its step in the walkthrough above — use whichever is handier. Browse every Zombies solver →

Serum Symbol Matcher

Yuri's Lab — Zarya Cosmodrome

Interact with the Powder of the Forgotten (5th bowl) and three pigpen words appear on the chalkboard — top, middle and bottom, a different set each game. Each tile below shows an item's pigpen symbols; match the chalkboard words to the tiles and tap them in that order (you only need the first symbol to tell them apart). The bowl to use and where to collect each item show below.

What this is based onCross-checked against multiple published guides and the community wiki · 3 sources cross-checked · guide last reviewed 8 Sep 2026.Not matching your game? It answers from the inputs you give it — re-check those against your screen, then see the walkthrough step.

Necrofluid Gauntlet Symbols

Aether Barrel cube — red eye

On the jump-pad flight over Vandorn Farm, three red symbols appear on the rooftops — one for each cube face. At the Aether Barrel cube, click the symbol you saw on the Left, Right and Back faces; it lays out the cube and reminds you to confirm at the red eye in order Left → Right → Back. Which symbols appear is randomised per match — these are our own redrawn versions of the in-game glyphs, so match by eye.

What this is based onCross-checked against multiple published guides and the community wiki · 3 sources cross-checked · guide last reviewed 8 Sep 2026.Not matching your game? This puzzle is randomised per match — read the values your own game is showing you, then see the walkthrough step.

Pigpen Cipher Decoder

Ashes rocket launch / Yuri's Lab / Buried mine signs

These all use the classic pigpen (tic-tac-toe) alphabet. Click the symbols you see in-game, left to right — the word builds below, and for the Ashes rocket-launch console the six-number code (each letter's alphabet position, A=00) builds alongside it. For Buried's mine signs you just need the word.

What this is based onCross-checked against multiple published guides and the community wiki · 3 sources cross-checked · guide last reviewed 8 Sep 2026.Not matching your game? It answers from the inputs you give it — re-check those against your screen, then see the walkthrough step.

Per-map augments

The Major + Minor augment to run on each core perk for this quest. BO7 gives 4 Major and 4 Minor options per perk — a different set from BO6, so don't cross them. Picks are tuned to this map's boss and steps; augments unlock at Level 11 and metas shift with patches, so treat as a strong baseline. Per-map augment recs are ground no competitor covers.

Jugger-Nog
MajorReactive ArmorMinorDurable Plates
Plate-break stuns across the huge map; tougher armour for Veytharion.
Stamin-Up
MajorGuns UpMinorHot Foot
Guns Up lets you fire while sprinting — invaluable across the biggest round-based map in the series.
Speed Cola
MajorPhantom ReloadMinorQuick Swap
Keeps the Necrofluid Gauntlet and a bullet gun topped up on the long drive.
Deadshot Daiquiri
MajorDead AgainMinorDead Break
Crit-ammo refund and armour damage for the boss and the Ravager rounds.
PhD Flopper
MajorPhD SliderMinorTribologist
Slide-detonate crowds; no self-damage during the wisp defences.
Quick Revive
MajorDying WishMinorSlow Death
An invulnerability window on a lethal hit during the final drive.

Calling cards on this map

Cosmetic calling cards you can earn on this map. ⏳ marks time-limited main-Easter-Egg cards — miss the window and they're gone for good. Global Dark Ops challenge cards are in the reference section below.

Showboat calling card

Showboat

Map challenge

Complete the Ashes of the Damned main quest at Round 100+.

Lucidity calling card

Lucidity

Map challenge

Complete the Tank Dempsey side quest on Ashes.

Reliquary calling card

Reliquary

Map challenge

Collect all Relics on Ashes of the Damned.

Hard Mode calling card

Hard Mode

Cursed Mode

Complete the Ashes Cursed-Mode Easter egg with 3 Wicked/Cursed relics active.

Cursed-mode card; exact naming varies — verify.

Main-quest completion card calling card

Main-quest completion card

Main EE

Complete the Ashes of the Damned main quest.

Exact card name not yet confirmed.

Time-limited — only awarded if you finish before Directed Mode is added for this map; permanently missable afterwards.

GobbleGum reference — Black Ops 7

Black Ops 7's 52 GobbleGums: the 11 BO7-only gums (tagged New in BO7) plus all 41 that carry over from Black Ops 6. Spare gums crush for Essence. Filter by rarity.

Aftertaste

Rare

Keep your perks after being revived.

New in BO7

Turncoat

Rare

Nearby zombies are charmed. (Season 2 Reloaded)

New in BO7

Kill Joy

Rare

Drops an Insta-Kill.

Cache Back

Rare

Drops a Max Ammo.

Temporal Gift

Rare

Your next timed power-up lasts longer.

Stock Option

Rare

Ammo drawn from your stockpile for 60s.

Anywhere But Here

Rare

Random teleport plus a concussive blast.

Arsenal Accelerator

Rare

Faster Field-Upgrade charge for 5 min.

Shields Up

Rare

Refill armour at 2× strength for 3 min.

Power Keg

Rare

Drops a Full Power power-up. (Season 1)

Tactical Diffusion

Rare

Next Nuke is disabled and pays +2,000 Essence. (Season 3)

Requipment

Epic

Equipment slots refill over time for 5 min.

New in BO7

Power Vacuum

Epic

Power-ups spawn more often for 5 min.

New in BO7

Elemental Exposure

Epic

Weapons always hit the elemental weakness for 3 min. (Season 1)

New in BO7

Respin Cycle

Epic

Respin the Mystery Box to an equal or higher rarity.

Who's Keeping Score?

Epic

Drops Double Points.

Free Fire

Epic

No ammo consumed for 60s.

Exit Strategy

Epic

Instant exfil vote with fewer spawns.

Profit Sharing

Epic

Share Essence with nearby players for 2 min.

Soda Fountain

Epic

Your next perk buy grants +1 random perk.

Nowhere But There

Epic

Teleport to a downed player and revive nearby.

Dead Drop

Epic

Increased salvage and equipment drops for 5 min. (Season 2)

Explosive Flourish

Epic

Each reload triggers an explosion for 2 min. (Season 4)

Round Off

Legendary

The round can't advance for 2 rounds.

New in BO7

Armor Gettin'

Legendary

A 3-plate armour vest plus full plates.

New in BO7

Hellping Hound

Legendary

Summons a friendly Hellhound that follows and fights alongside you for 5 min; in Dead Ops Arcade it spawns three Hellhounds to fight for you for one round. (Season 4 Reloaded)

New in BO7

Idle Eyes

Legendary

Zombies idle for 30s.

Wall Power

Legendary

Your next wall-buy comes Pack-a-Punched.

Immolation Liquidation

Legendary

Drops a Fire Sale.

Phoenix Up

Legendary

Revive all downed players, perks kept.

On the House

Legendary

Drops a Random Perk power-up.

Wall To Wall Clearance

Legendary

Wall-buys cost 10 Essence for 30s.

Crate Power

Legendary

Your next box gun comes Pack-a-Punched.

Modified Chaos

Legendary

Reduced Ammo-Mod cooldowns for 2 min. (Season 2)

Support Group

Legendary

Grants an ARC-XD, Mangler Cannon, Sentry and Mutant Injection. (Season 3)

Flavor Hex

Legendary

Grants a random Ultra gum. (Season 4)

Gift Card

Ultra

+30,000 Essence.

New in BO7

Fully Packed

Ultra

Instantly upgrades your current weapon to Pack-a-Punch Level III. In Dead Ops Arcade it grants a tactical armour vest with full plates instead. (Season 5 Reloaded)

New in BO7

Perkaholic

Ultra

Every perk on the map at once.

Wonderbar!

Ultra

Your next box spin is a Wonder Weapon.

Near Death Experience

Ultra

Proximity revive with perks for 3 min.

Reign Drops

Ultra

Drops all core power-ups at once.

Hidden Power

Ultra

Your held weapon becomes Legendary rarity.

Time Out

Ultra

Clear all enemies and end the round for 3 min. (Season 1)

Slaylist

Whimsical

Plays a random Zombies song. (Season 1)

New in BO7

Newtonian Negation · Indiegestion · Holiday Cheer · Quacknarok · Die Pitched · Rainburps · Jacked Lanterns

Whimsical

7 cosmetic seasonal gums — flair only, no gameplay effect.

Field Upgrade reference (Black Ops 7)

Black Ops 7's 9 Field Upgrades — charged by kills, each augmentable at Level 11 (one Major + one Minor, plus an extra Minor slot). Six shipped at launch; Tesla Storm, Frost Blast and Mister Peeks returned in Season 1. The carried-over field upgrades reuse and extend Black Ops 6's augment options (see the BO6 reference above); BO7's full, distinct per-augment names aren't yet reliably published, so they're not itemised here rather than shown incomplete (honesty over guesswork — §11).

Energy Mine

A proximity energy explosion.

Frost Blast

A frost AoE that slows enemies.

Healing Aura

Instant heal beams (also revives teammates in BO6/BO7).

Aether Shroud

Phase out of enemy detection.

Tesla Storm

Lightning links players, stunning and damaging enemies.

Frenzied Guard

Repair armour and taunt enemies; kills repair your armour.

Toxic Growth

Thorn vines that slow and damage.

Dark Flare

A penetrating shadow beam.

Mister Peeks

Summons a decoy that attracts and attacks enemies. (BO7 new)

Dark Ops & mastery cards (Black Ops 7)

Global ‘Dark Ops’ challenge cards plus mastery/prestige — earnable on any map. Filter by category.

Another Round calling card

Another Round

Dark Ops

Reach Round 100.

The One calling card

The One

Dark Ops

Reach Round 999.

Anathema calling card

Anathema

Dark Ops

Eliminate 1,000,000 zombies.

Social Distancing calling card

Social Distancing

Dark Ops

Reach Round 20 without taking damage.

Invincible calling card

Invincible

Dark Ops

Survive to Round 50 without going down.

Armed to the Teeth calling card

Armed to the Teeth

Dark Ops

Hold 3 Pack-a-Punch-III Legendary weapons with ammo mods and 8 perks.

Box Addict calling card

Box Addict

Dark Ops

Buy 30 Mystery Box weapons in a single match.

Harbinger of Doom calling card

Harbinger of Doom

Dark Ops

Kill 100 zombies with a single Scorestreak.

The Usual, Please calling card

The Usual, Please

Dark Ops

Drink Jugger-Nog 20 times in a single match.

New Main calling card

New Main

Dark Ops

Kill 1,000 zombies with each of the 8 dedicated Crew Operators.

Action Hero calling card

Action Hero

Dark Ops

Kill 100 zombies without reloading.

Martial Artist calling card

Martial Artist

Dark Ops

Reach Round 50 using only melee and Combat Axes.

Ready for Publishing calling card

Ready for Publishing

Dark Ops

Fully research all Augments.

Countdown calling card

Countdown

Dark Ops

Kill an Elite by launching it with a jump pad.

Ingenuity calling card

Ingenuity

Dark Ops

Reach Round 50 with the Dragon Wings + Lawyer's Pen relics active.

Zombies Dark Ops Master calling card

Zombies Dark Ops Master

Mastery

Complete 15 Zombies Dark Ops challenges.

Force Multiplier / Dead Set calling card

Force Multiplier / Dead Set

Prestige

Reach Prestige (harder at higher prestiges).

Hidden power-ups

Eight hidden power-ups are dotted across the map — shoot each with any gun to drop it at your feet (or C4 it to save the pickup). Grab the first seven and Fire Sale appears at the Blackwater Lake cabin.

Max Ammo

Janus Towers Plaza — Server Room, in a hole in the ceiling directly above the Quick Revive machine.

Insta-Kill

Vandorn Farm — from the right of the barn, look south to the silo; it sits in the opening at the top.

Max Armor

The Grounded Ship (between Vandorn Farm and Ashwood) — inside the shipping container on the far-right slope of the wreck.

Nuke

Ashwood — from the east side, look north to the church; it's up in the steeple.

Double Points

Lost Cabins (beyond Blackwater Lake) — from the western cabin, look through the broken roof toward bearing 71 on the compass.

Full Power

Zarya Cosmodrome — the Flame Trench in the NE corner; look NE through the chain-link fence, then shift right to a gap you can shoot through.

Bonus Points

Exit 115 — under a car on the broken bridge, reachable from the diner roof.

Fire Sale

Blackwater Lake — inside the cabin, look up through the open second-floor roof. Only appears once the other seven are collected.

Intel

26 pieces — 14 Audio Logs, 6 Documents, 6 Artifacts. Each piece is 1,000 XP; collecting all 26 awards 10,000 XP and the Ol' Tessie Beams calling card. Seven pieces only appear after quest steps — the Farm ritual (Meat the Vandorns), the Serum puzzle (Ground Control, What Came After, Maintenance) and the Blackwater reel puzzle (the four film audio logs) — so sweep those spots as part of the step.

Audio Logs

Audio Logs 14

+

#1 · Tilling the Earth

+

Vandorn Farm — in the farmhouse kitchen, sitting in a pan (face south-east).

#2 · Meat the Vandorns

+

Vandorn Farm — barn cellar, on the south-west wall shelf. Only appears after the farm ritual step of the main quest. (gameranx places it on the farmhouse cellar shelf at the foot of the stairs — check both cellars)

#3 · Ground Control

+

Zarya Cosmodrome — Control Room, south-east wall. Available after the Serum puzzle.

#4 · What Came After

+

Zarya Cosmodrome — down in the Flame Trench, on a box (face north). After the Serum puzzle.

#5 · She Got Hers

+

Exit 115 — in the kitchen of Reba's Diner.

#6 · He Got His

+

Exit 115 — inside McDougal's Service Station, on a shelf (face north-east).

#7 · The Price You Pay

+

Ashwood — Tailor Shop (east side, by Vulture Aid), on the west wall.

#8 · Craftsmanship

+

Ashwood — the Ruby Rabbit (west side), upstairs on a shelf (face north).

#9 · Cold Blooded Thriller

+

Blackwater Lake — the fishing hut, on the north-west shelf.

#10 · The Fate of the Flock

+

Ashwood — Ol' Tessie garage, east wall shelf.

#11 · Scene 27: The Drowning

+

Blackwater Lake — behind the Cabin, on the railing by the ammo box (face north). After the film-reel puzzle.

#12 · Study Room Monologue Rehearsal

+

Blackwater Lake — look out the south window of the fishing hut. After the reel puzzle.

#13 · Confrontation in the Parlor (Camera B)

+

Blackwater Lake — Cabin upstairs, on a shelf by the projector reel (face east). After the reel puzzle.

#14 · Director's Notes: Improv Test

+

Blackwater Lake — Toolshed, on the shelf below the projector reel (face north-east). After the reel puzzle.

Documents

Documents 6

+

#1 · Cut

+

Blackwater Lake Toolshed — stand on the odd-coloured floorboard and shoot the dartboard bullseye to drop it.

#2 · Maintenance

+

Zarya Cosmodrome Control Room (behind Wisp Tea) — shoot the stack of papers on the north-east shelf.

#3 · Signal Fires

+

Ashwood — take the east zipline up, look back at the Ol' Tessie garage and drop right onto the platform.

#4 · Playmates

+

Vandorn Farm — reload-interact the haystacks and hay barrels until it pops (often the cart haystack just before the Barn).

#5 · Evidence

+

Exit 115 — inside McDougal's Service Station, under two spray cans (face north-west).

#6 · Good Game

+

Buy Melee Macchiato (Blackwater Cabin or Der Wunderfizz at Janus Plaza), then melee-punch the tank nearest the Jump Pad in Janus Towers Plaza.

Artifacts

Artifacts 6

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#1 · T.E.D.D. Head

+

Spawn — open the Server Room, melee the floor grate and pick up T.E.D.D. (main quest, unmissable).

#2 · Mirror of the Forgotten

+

With Wisp Tea active, crack the Tailor Shop mirror then shoot it with the Gauntlet; picking up the Powder of the Forgotten grants it.

#3 · DG-2 Turret

+

After the Serum puzzle, pull the 3 Fog keys (Crashed Rocket, Orda Graveyard, Grounded Ship) with the Gauntlet and deliver them to the Rabbit Alley chest; spawns after a cutscene.

#4 · Seal of Sorrow

+

Awarded automatically during the main quest once the Rabbit Alley chest is opened (after all 3 keys are delivered).

#5 · Necrofluid Gauntlet

+

Granted automatically on completing the Gauntlet quest — which starts by freeing Klaus in the Ashwood Sheriff's Office.

#6 · Hellion Horn

+

Final main-quest step: after the Exit 115, Zarya, Vandorn and Blackwater trials, bring Klaus to the wisp-covered lockbox in the Cabin's upstairs (Speed Cola) room and ping it.

Cursed Mode relics

Nine relics on Ashes of the Damned — three Grim, three Sinister, three Wicked. Samantha's Drawing was the last to fall, found two months after the other eight.

How Cursed Mode works

Cursed is Black Ops 7's hardest mode, and it needs no unlock — anyone can load it. It strips the run back: you start with a 1911 and no loadout weapon, there is no minimap, no objective markers and no quest progress bars, and every Pack-a-Punch tier costs double — 10,000, 25,000 and 50,000 Essence. Points work the Black Ops III way: melee kills pay more than shots, and any non-lethal hit pays 10.

Relics are not buffs. Every one is a pure downside. What you get back is the Cursed Tier they add up to. A Grim relic fills a third of a tier bar, a Sinister two thirds, a Wicked a whole one — so Tier I is three Grims, or one Sinister plus one Grim, or a single Wicked. Tier I puts Golden Armor on sale after Tier III armor, for 45,000 Essence. Tier II unlocks Ultra rarity — 8,000 Salvage on top of Legendary, or 17,500 from Common. Tier III unlocks Pack-a-Punch IV, for 100,000 Essence. You can equip as many relics as you like, but nothing improves past Tier III.

To earn a relic you finish a hidden side quest, which spawns a Relic Portal, then clear the Relic Trial behind it. Two things catch people out. Relic progress is not saved — the side quest and its trial have to be done in one sitting. And you can only equip a map's relics once you have finished that map's main quest. Inside a trial your own relics are switched off, so the trial's rule is the only thing working against you. Every first-time clear pays 1,000 XP and a GobbleGum.

On this map: Relic Trials here lock you inside the POI the portal spawned in.

Grim

Lawyer's Pen

+

What it costs you: Shock Mimics infiltrate every map you play, disguised as ordinary props.

Gate Round 20+ · any tierBring A weapon with the Napalm Burst ammo mod, or Molotovs.
  1. 1
    The Fog — cabin nearest Ashwood
    Light the candle in the fog cabin

    Three unlit red candles sit around the map, and each is lit by shooting it with a Napalm Burst weapon or throwing a Molotov at it. This one is by the couch, in the cabin closest to Ashwood in the fog between Ashwood and Blackwater.

  2. 2
    Ashwood — the Jugger-Nog room
    Light the Ashwood candle

    On the shelf above the couch.

  3. 3
    Vandorn Farm — top of the house
    Light the Farmhouse candle

    On the nightstand to the left of the bed.

    Confirmation cue: a Mister Peeks laugh once all three are lit.

PortalThe side of the barn at Vandorn Farm, once all three are lit.

Relic TrialFour waves of Shock Mimics at the Farm. Waves two and four bring HVT Shock Mimics. Brain Rot is their weakness.

First clear pays1,000 XP and a Respin Cycle GobbleGum.

Grim

Dragon Wings

+

What it costs you: Power-ups stop dropping from kills. GobbleGum and side-quest power-ups are unaffected.

Gate Round 20+ · any tier
  1. 1
    Vandorn Farm — the jump pad
    Take the Jump Pad to Janus Towers Plaza

    All three in one flight is doable, and a miss just means another jump — but know where you are looking before you launch.

  2. 2
    Over Janus Towers Plaza
    Shoot three purple portals in mid-air

    One on the power pylon to your left. One on Tower 1, in the middle of your flight path just above spawn. One on the ruins of Tower 3 to your right.

PortalThe south-east wall of the Farmhouse at Vandorn Farm. (One guide puts this on the Barn — that is the Lawyer's Pen portal; the wiki and three other guides say Farmhouse.)

Relic TrialFour waves at the Farm — zombies and Doppelghasts on one and three, HVTs on two and four. Power-ups still spawn but do nothing, and picking one up damages you.

First clear pays1,000 XP and a Free Fire GobbleGum.

Grim

Teddy Bear

+

What it costs you: Round-start delay cut by 75%. Zombies arrive at Rampage Inducer pace, without the extra speed and aggression.

Gate Nine can be done any round · the tenth needs round 20+Bring The Necrofluid Gauntlet and the Aether Shroud Field Upgrade.

Before you start: Save-and-quit resets the dolls, and the tenth only appears from round 20 — do it in one sitting. The Extension and Extra Charge augments on Aether Shroud help.

  1. 1
    Anywhere
    Shroud up — they are invisible otherwise

    The ten Mister Peeks toys can only be seen while Aether Shroud is active, and you shoot them with the Necrofluid Gauntlet.

  2. 2
    Map-wide
    Shoot all ten Mister Peeks
    • Left side of the archway in Janus Towers Plaza leading to the Monolith Forest
    • The underside of the shipwreck
    • A ladder platform on the grain silo, Vandorn Farm
    • In a toilet behind a barrier, Blackwater Lake Cabin
    • The broken-down side of the Ashwood church
    • An inaccessible staircase just outside Rabbit Alley, Ashwood
    • The first utility tower at Zarya Cosmodrome, next to the Ashwood gate
    • Right side of Support Systems at the Cosmodrome, inside a barrier on top of a machine
    • Top right of the cabin storage, Lost Cabins
    • The freeway sign on the Exit 115 bridge — this one does not appear until round 20

PortalThe Garage at Vandorn Farm — the small shed with the Armour wall-buy, north wall. (Two guides say near Exfil or the Mystery Box cabin; the wiki and the two best guides agree on the Garage.)

Relic TrialFour waves of zombies at the Farm, and every shot you fire costs 100 Essence. Bank hard first, and lean on equipment and traps. You can still fire at zero — you just leave broke.

First clear pays1,000 XP and a Who's Keeping Score? GobbleGum.

Sinister

Vril Sphere

+

What it costs you: You can only carry four perks. A fifth replaces whichever you have held longest — Quick Revive is never replaced. Random Perk power-ups, Mystery Perk and some GobbleGums get around the cap.

Gate Round 40+ · Tier I or higher
  1. 1
    Any jump pad
    Kill a Doppelghast with a Jump Pad

    From round 40 a Doppelghast spawns every round. Lead one onto a jump pad and let the pad do the killing.

    Confirmation cue: Mister Peeks laughs.

    Weaken it with bullets first — stand on the pad, let it hit you, then fire the pad so it is launched and killed by it.

PortalZarya Cosmodrome, by the rocket — the south-east wall, at the ramp.

Relic TrialFive waves at the Cosmodrome, two of them HVT waves. You cannot buy anything at all for the duration. Buy ammo, perks and plates before you step in; the Necrofluid Gauntlet's infinite ammo makes it comfortable.

First clear pays1,000 XP and an On The House GobbleGum.

Sinister

Samantha's Drawing

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What it costs you: Every weapon you are holding swaps for a different one at each round change. Pack-a-Punch level and rarity carry across.

Gate Rarities any time · the Ray Gun on round 40+ · Tier I or higher
  1. 1
    Chompy — the roaming bin
    Feed Chompy one weapon of every rarity

    Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic and Legendary. Your starting Jäger 45 is the only Common you will get all match, so feed it early. Uncommon and Rare also stop being obtainable later on, so clear all five well before round 40. Ultra rarity is not needed.

    Chompy need not be the same bin each time — any active spot counts. Sources agree on the six-rarity order; one guide lists only five tiers, so treat six as correct.

  2. 2
    Chompy
    Feed him a Ray Gun on round 40 or later

    A Ray Gun or Ray Gun Mark II specifically — no other Wonder Weapon does it.

PortalZarya Cosmodrome, outside Yuri's Lab.

Relic TrialFive waves of zombies and HVTs. Ammo Caches and Max Ammos are disabled throughout. Elites still drop ammo. War Machine and the Gauntlet recommended.

First clear pays1,000 XP and a Respin Cycle GobbleGum.

Sinister

Focusing Stone

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What it costs you: No craftable Self-Revive kits. Solo you are down to Quick Revive's augments and GobbleGums; in co-op a teammate can still pick you up.

Gate Round 40+ · Tier I or higher
  1. 1
    Blackwater Lake — the cabin bar
    Interact with the bar to spawn three bottles

    Three wine bottles appear. Two more have to be brought to them.

  2. 2
    Anywhere · round 40+
    Melee-kill a Zursa for the fourth

    Shoot it down first if you want, but the killing blow has to be a melee. It drops a bottle — carry it back and place it with the others.

    Melee Macchiato plus a Pack-a-Punched Gauntlet and Aether Shroud makes the melee kill safe.

  3. 3
    T.E.D.D.
    Complete a T.E.D.D. task for the fifth

    The task has to pay a legendary reward; the fifth bottle drops alongside the reward box. Place it on the bar.

  4. 4
    The cabin bar
    Shoot the five back in order

    As the last bottle goes down the five smash one at a time in a random order — memorise it, then shoot them in that same order when they respawn.

PortalThe Flame Trench under the rocket at Zarya Cosmodrome — the west wall of the trench.

Relic TrialFive waves, HVTs on two and five, with your whole Essence balance forfeited for the duration. You can earn more inside the trial and the balance comes back when you finish — so go in fully stocked.

First clear pays1,000 XP — and, on the wiki's word alone, a Phoenix Up GobbleGum.

Wicked

Bus

+

What it costs you: Enemy health slowly regenerates if you leave them alive.

Gate Round 60+ · Tier II or higher

Before you start: If the Necrofluid Gauntlet has been used against a Shock Mimic at any point this game, the relic becomes impossible. The Mimic disables the needles, and they stay on the map counting as fired projectiles for the rest of the run. Solo, save and reload to clear them off.

  1. 1
    Anywhere
    Clear a whole round without firing or meleeing

    Not one shot and not one melee, for an entire round. The reliable way is the Saw Blade trap on a Ravager round — it runs for the whole round and kills everything without you having to touch anything.

    Two guides add that you must take no damage during the round either — play it as both. Running Ravagers over in Ol' Tessie is the other reported method; the Saw Blade in the Ashwood Shops, opposite the Ruby Rabbit, satisfies every wording. A laugh at round end confirms it.

PortalAgainst the boathouse at Blackwater Lake.

Relic TrialSix waves in which only zombies can kill zombies — every point of damage you deal is negated, so Brain Rot is required (Caustic Fumes and Super Serum augments recommended). HVT waves bring Zursas and Doppelghasts.

First clear pays1,000 XP and a Wonderbar! GobbleGum.

Wicked

Dragon

+

What it costs you: Every Ammo Cache on the map is disabled.

Gate Boss fight entered and won on round 60+ · Tier II or higher (the rest of the quest can be done earlier)
  1. 1
    Map-wide
    Finish Dust to Dust in this same run

    The full Ashes of the Damned main quest, completed at round 60 or later in this Cursed game. The walkthrough for it is further up this page.

    Beat Veytharion, press Continue on the end screen, and Mister Peeks laughs.

PortalThe west wall of the Cabin at Blackwater Lake, near the landing pad.

Relic TrialZombies can only be killed by explosives — Ray Gun, Kazimirs and the Necrofluid Gauntlet's detonated barbs all count. HVT Doppelghasts and Zursas on waves three and six.

First clear pays1,000 XP.

Wicked

Blood Vials

+

What it costs you: All augments are switched off — perks, field upgrades and ammo mods alike.

Gate First phone on round 20 · Tier II or higher
  1. 1
    One of nine spots
    Answer the ringing red phone on round 20

    It rings loudly and for long enough to check everywhere, but you have to reach it before it goes. The nine possible spots — only one rings at a time: the Server Room at Janus Towers Plaza · the Control Room at Zarya Cosmodrome · the Toolshed at Blackwater Lake · a table on the first floor of the Farmhouse · Hargroves Mercantile in Ashwood · Market Square in Ashwood · the Service Station at Exit 115 · behind the counter in the Diner · one of the Lost Cabins between Ashwood and Blackwater.

  2. 2
    The same nine spots
    Do it again every ten rounds, five times in all

    It can come back to the same place or a new one. Miss one and you wait ten rounds for the next, which pushes the finish out to round 70, 80 or further.

    Confirmation cue: Mister Peeks laughs each time, and after the fifth the phone stops disappearing.

PortalInside the Cabin at Blackwater Lake, west wall. (The wiki says Zarya Cosmodrome; three guides say the Cabin.)

Relic TrialYour weapon damage is halved for the duration; HVT Shock Mimics and Doppelghasts on waves three and six.

First clear pays1,000 XP.

When it isn't working

The stalls that actually cost people runs on this map, and what to do about each.

TroubleshootingEach of these is quoted from the step it belongs to, derived from a gate the guide already states, or researched from the map's own quest documentation — nothing here is guesswork about what might be going wrong.

Doing everything right and nothing happens?

Check the round. Part of this quest is round-gated — it cannot start early however well you play: “The other guide: MrDalekJD attributes the fridge key to a special Cook zombie at Exit 115, and says the spore jar needs only two rounds.” Keep the setup going and come back to it.

Common Ashes of the Damned questions

Direct answers to the specific things players look up mid-game — part locations, puzzle steps and more.

How do you kill the Uber Klaus on Ashes of the Damned?

From around round 8, be at the Janus Towers Plaza as the round turns — an Uber Klaus climbs out of the Project Janus container. Come with Pack-a-Punch and a few perks; he is weak to Cryofreeze and Napalm Burst. Shoot his shoulder pads off, then destroy the core he collapses into. He drops the Stabilizer Chip.

How do you wake Klaus on Ashes of the Damned?

Take the Ashwood left zip to the Sheriff's Office and install the Stabilizer Chip at the jail-cell terminal. Then buy stun grenades, stand to the left of the cell and bounce them off the wall in quick succession until sparkles appear and Klaus's eyes light up. The player who woke him controls him.

How do you pass the retina scan on Ashes of the Damned?

Take Klaus to the Zarya Cosmodrome's Support Systems level, direct him to bash the broken wall panel, then stand in the red scan circle until the bar fills. Only the scanning player may stand in the circle, and you must look at the scanner beam or it will not tick. The cupboard then opens with the aether canister.

How does the ethereal clock work on Ashes of the Damned?

Install the DG-2 turret on Ol' Tessie, then once per round shoot the floating clock tower above Ashwood Bridge with the turret to stop it. With the clock stopped, shoot a clock face with a gauntlet barb and detonate to turn purple — three of the four faces work, each once per round. Every POI soul quest must be done while purple.

What are the four soul quests on Ashes of the Damned?

Four POI quests done while purple: the Vandorn Farm ritual (read the wall clock, stand on the matching Roman numeral, shoot the father's head), the Exit 115 frozen-lightning revives, the Zarya Cosmodrome rocket launch (satellite dishes plus a pigpen word), and the Blackwater Lake projector-and-reels sequence.

What is the Ashes of the Damned song?

The song is 'Turn to Ashes' by Kevin Sherwood featuring Elena Siegman. Interact with three Mister Peeks headphones — on a server by Quick Revive, on a beam above the VS Recon wall-buy in Ashwood's Judgment Square, and in the jeep by the Exit 115 pump station.

How do you get the free Ray Gun Mark II on Ashes of the Damned?

Complete the jump-pad Easter egg between the POIs to earn a free Ray Gun Mark II. There is also a Bear Tracks side quest — buy Death Perception, interact with five sets of orange bear prints in the fog roads, then beat the secret bear boss using only your knife for permanent double melee points.

Visual guides & sources

Screenshots and exact part locations live in these — open one on a second screen.

Map discussion

A shared community board for Ashes of the Damned — posts are public, saved on the server and visible to everyone across devices. Handy for strategies, spawn variations you've noticed, or steps to double-check. Please keep it civil and on-topic.

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Part of the Zombies Easter Egg Codex — step-by-step Call of Duty Zombies Easter egg guides for every map. Open Ashes of the Damned in the interactive codex for the solvers and map discussion.