Dead Ops Arcade 4
Dead Ops Arcade 4 is the latest entry in Treyarch's top-down twin-stick Zombies arcade series — a standalone mode with its own arenas and no main-quest Easter egg. Survive waves, chain kills for the score multiplier, and hunt the hidden exits and bonus rooms between arenas.
Quick answers
How do you complete the Dead Ops Arcade 4 Easter egg?
- A top-down twin-stick shooter mode — pilot a survivor through waves of zombies across a chain of arenas.
- Chain kills to build the SCORE MULTIPLIER; a gap in kills resets it.
- Between arenas, watch for hidden exits and bonus rooms — the series' signature secrets and power-up caches.
- Grab weapon and power-up pickups as they drop; screen-clearing specials (Chopper Gunner, Death Machine) clear whole arenas.
- No main quest — the reward is your leaderboard score and DOA-exclusive unlocks.
How many side Easter eggs are on Dead Ops Arcade 4?
When was Dead Ops Arcade 4 released?
What to do
- A top-down twin-stick shooter mode — pilot a survivor through waves of zombies across a chain of arenas.
- Chain kills to build the SCORE MULTIPLIER; a gap in kills resets it.
- Between arenas, watch for hidden exits and bonus rooms — the series' signature secrets and power-up caches.
- Grab weapon and power-up pickups as they drop; screen-clearing specials (Chopper Gunner, Death Machine) clear whole arenas.
- No main quest — the reward is your leaderboard score and DOA-exclusive unlocks.
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.
- Solo or co-op up to 4 players. 80 levels along the Papaback Trail, in 20 four-round arenas, before the Papaback boss fight.
- Four modes: Casual (pick 1 of 2 arenas per stage, softer, Round-Based Zombies elements), Standard (one forced arena, same RB elements), Hardcore (post-launch: classic DOA, no GobbleGums or SlayerMart), Standard Advanced Start (post-launch: your next solo game starts at your best-ever round; no stats, challenges or leaderboards).
- No main-quest Easter egg. The clear is surviving the trail and beating Papaback at round 80.
- The score multiplier is the whole run — chain kills to build it, and a gap resets it. Sweep every arena's edges for a hidden exit or bonus room before you take the last kill; they hold power-up caches, extra lives and shortcuts.
- Slayer Arenas (replacing the old Wilds) only appear a capped number of times: twice on Casual, three times on Normal, never on Hardcore — at the same three points on the trail regardless of run.
Full walkthrough
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.
Island, rounds 1–4
Open water-bound space, standard zombies only. This is the baseline arena to learn movement and the multiplier loop before enemy variety ramps up.
Quick win: Sweep the edges here too — hidden exits and bonus rooms exist from round 1, not just later arenas.
Babylon to Graveyard, rounds 5–16
Babylon (5–8) introduces the Light Armored Zombie and Shock Towers; wall boxes here can be destroyed for Gems and power-ups. Barrage (9–12) introduces the Barrel Zombie, with oil drums falling from the sky and exploding on landing. Graveyard (13–16) introduces Ravagers and green ghosts that pace back and forth, killing on contact — dodge, don't tank.
Quick win: Destroy the wall boxes in Babylon for free Gems and power-ups on your way through.
Slayer Arenas and the SlayerMart
A Slayer Arena gives you three lives that exist only for that arena, separate from your normal pool, across 16 waves with a countdown to that arena's underboss: the Burning Guardian (Graveyard), the Unliving Apex Predator (Evil Garden) or the Mega Bomb (Shiver River). Kill the underboss and you get a treasure chest plus SlayerMart access. The SlayerMart is a separate shop from GobbleGums, paid for in Silverback Cash earned during runs; each visit shows 16 randomised items (a Divine Chalice for health regen and revives, Divine Shield, a +25% damage Dead Operator upgrade, sawblade and armour items among them), and reroll tokens refresh the stock. It is unavailable on Hardcore. The shop mechanics rest on one published walkthrough (gamefaqs.gamespot.com).
Quick win: The Slayer Arena chest and the SlayerMart's Divine Chalice and Divine Shield picks are the best sustain items on the whole trail — prioritise them over cosmetic buys.
Version: Slayer Arenas are new to DOA4 and explicitly replace the Wilds bonus zone from earlier Dead Ops Arcade entries.
The Henge to Koi Crossing, rounds 17–40
The Henge (17–20) introduces Dirtnappers; on rounds 19–20 its centre crystal erupts into lava, and at round 20's end you jump into the crystal's former spot to reach the Volcano Lair (21–24), which introduces Hellhounds amid napalm-damage lava. Fort Courtyard (25–28) adds Vermin, Church (29–32) adds the Disciple (elevated kill spot), Evil Garden (33–36, the second Slayer Arena) adds the Parasite, and Koi Crossing (37–40) adds the Doppelghast plus purple pinball bumpers that launch you airborne.
Tip: Use Koi Crossing's bumpers to reposition across the arena rather than fighting through a packed lane.
Piazza to Homestead, rounds 41–64
Piazza (41–44) adds the Heavy Armored Zombie, Estate Courtyard (45–48) adds the Amalgam, Motel (49–52) adds the Mangler, Museum (53–56) is a large open arena with laser security along the walls, Nuketown (57–60) confines you to the central region and adds Mannequin Zombies, and Homestead (61–64) covers the ground in slidable ice.
Tip: Track the Museum's wall lasers as a hazard alongside the horde, not just decoration.
Shiver River to Spore Jungle, rounds 65–76
Shiver River (65–68, the third Slayer Arena) introduces the Elder Disciple, a stronger Disciple that turns zombies into elites, plus slidable ice and slowing ice tornadoes. The Swamp (69–72), an open arena around the Z-Rex skull, introduces Toxic Zombies. Spore Jungle (73–76) introduces the Abomination and is the last arena where you can still activate new GobbleGums and Field Upgrades from the SlayerMart.
Quick win: Treat Spore Jungle as your last shopping stop — lock in GobbleGum and Field Upgrade choices here before Papaback's Lair.
Papaback's Lair and the boss fight, rounds 77–80+
Papaback's Lair (77–80) introduces the Red Mangler, an elite HVT, in the trail's tightest arena. Killing the last zombie of round 80 instantly starts the boss fight: a cinematic drops Papaback into the cavern, he spawns a Mine Cart, and the fight begins. He alternates a charge attack and a jumping slam; slamming him onto the Mine Cart turns it into a treasure chest of gems and power-up wonder weapons. At 25% health a cinematic clears every zombie on the map, drops him to 50%, and hands him a Ray Gun for the second half.
Quick win: Bait the slam onto the Mine Cart deliberately — it is a free gems-and-wonder-weapon chest mid-fight, not just a damage window.
Confirmation cue: Killing Papaback opens SlayerMart access with coins raining from the sky, then a teleport back to the Island at round 81.
The restart loop
Beating Papaback lets you teleport back to the Island and run the trail again from round 81. Every additional completed lap adds one more Papaback to the boss fight, so a third clear means fighting two Papabacks at once, and so on.
Tip: Plan gear and perk resets around this loop — the trail resets to Island round 1 in layout even though your round count keeps climbing.
Side Easter Eggs & extras
Everything beyond the main quest. Tap any entry to open the full how-and-where breakdown.
Score multiplier
Continuous kills build a multiplier that drives your score and unlock pace; a gap resets it. Herd zombies into tight groups and keep something alive to bridge waves.
Hidden exits & bonus rooms
Each arena hides an exit or bonus room reached through a concealed edge or destructible rather than the normal path — they lead to power-up caches, extra lives and shortcuts. Sweep the arena's borders before the last kill.
Special drops
Weapon crates and screen-clearing power-ups drop through the run — save the big ones (Chopper Gunner, Death Machine) for the densest waves and boss arenas.
Where it sits
DOA4 is a self-contained arcade mode alongside the round-based maps, Survival and Rogue Run — no Easter egg, pure high-score survival.
SlayerMart
A separate shop from GobbleGums, paid for in Silverback Cash earned during runs — 16 randomised items per visit (Divine Chalice, Divine Shield, a +25% damage Dead Operator upgrade, sawblade and armour items) and reroll tokens to refresh the stock; unavailable on Hardcore. Reported by a single published walkthrough.
Multiplier history
The 2010 original capped the multiplier at 9 and reset it on death rather than on a gap in kills; whether either rule still applies in DOA4 is not documented.
Dark Ops & mastery cards (Black Ops 7)
Global ‘Dark Ops’ challenge cards plus mastery/prestige — earnable on any map. Filter by category.
Another Round
Dark OpsReach Round 100.
The One
Dark OpsReach Round 999.
Anathema
Dark OpsEliminate 1,000,000 zombies.
Social Distancing
Dark OpsReach Round 20 without taking damage.
Invincible
Dark OpsSurvive to Round 50 without going down.
Armed to the Teeth
Dark OpsHold 3 Pack-a-Punch-III Legendary weapons with ammo mods and 8 perks.
Box Addict
Dark OpsBuy 30 Mystery Box weapons in a single match.
Harbinger of Doom
Dark OpsKill 100 zombies with a single Scorestreak.
The Usual, Please
Dark OpsDrink Jugger-Nog 20 times in a single match.
New Main
Dark OpsKill 1,000 zombies with each of the 8 dedicated Crew Operators.
Action Hero
Dark OpsKill 100 zombies without reloading.
Martial Artist
Dark OpsReach Round 50 using only melee and Combat Axes.
Ready for Publishing
Dark OpsFully research all Augments.
Countdown
Dark OpsKill an Elite by launching it with a jump pad.
Ingenuity
Dark OpsReach Round 50 with the Dragon Wings + Lawyer's Pen relics active.
Zombies Dark Ops Master
MasteryComplete 15 Zombies Dark Ops challenges.
Force Multiplier / Dead Set
PrestigeReach Prestige (harder at higher prestiges).
When it isn't working
The stalls that actually cost people runs on this map, and what to do about each.
Doing everything right and nothing happens?
Copied an answer from another guide and it did not work?
Common Dead Ops Arcade 4 questions
Direct answers to the specific things players look up mid-game — part locations, puzzle steps and more.
What actually matters in Dead Ops Arcade 4?
Where are the hidden exits?
Which drops should I save?
Is there an Easter egg in DOA4?
Are there hidden power-ups?
Visual guides & sources
Screenshots and exact part locations live in these — open one on a second screen.
Map discussion
A shared community board for Dead Ops Arcade 4 — 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.