Treyarch recently published a gameplay guide on its website, giving fans a taste of what to expect from Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's highly anticipated Zombies game mode. The first chapter of the Dark Aether story is titled "Die Maschine," and will launch alongside the game on November 13.
However, what's most exciting about this new Zombies mode is that Activision is completely dropping paid DLC. In place of this will be a Battle Pass, which will provide players with tiered rewards for playing the game.
- Xbox Series X vs. PS5: Which console is right for you?
- Buying a PS5 on launch day could be tricky: What you need to know
- Best Black Friday deals 2020: Early sales going on now
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Zombies details
From what we've seen of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War so far, it could re-envision Zombies in ways that make it far more addicting than ever before. As always, the game mode features a set of perks: Jugger-Nog, Speed Cola, Stamin-Up, Deadshot Daiquiri, Elemental Pop and Quick Revive, which will all be available at launch.
However, there is now an even deeper layer to this: players can permanently upgrade these perks. Treyarch provides an example of this with the Elemental Pop perk, which is broken up into three upgrade tiers.
At Tier I, damage done by equipment yields a chance to drop a random ammo mod effect. Tier II reduces the cooldown of ammo mods by 20%. And Tier III allows for random ammo mod effects to utilize the players Skill Tier rather than its base. Treyarch also promises it will be implementing additional perks throughout its post-launch life.
Cold War Zombies is also introducing changes to the weapon system, as each now comes with a rarity of Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic or Legendary. For example, players can receive an Uncommon AK-74u or an Epic Magnum. This is meant to add an additional layer of excitement to opening Mystery Boxes and purchasing guns around the level.
Zombies will also feature field upgrades, which are meant to compliment the overall feel and lore of the storyline. Frost Blast slows enemies and deals icy damage while Ring of Fire creates a wide radius of flame that boosts damage for allies and hurts enemies who step within its range.
Aether Shroud is a bit more of a utility ability, as it allows the player to avoid enemies by phasing into the "Dark Aether" for five seconds. Healing Aura is a support skill that allows the user to summon beams of healing energy upon the party to heal them fully. And finally, Energy Mine does what you think it would: it's a mine made of pure energy that detonates on proximity.
Cold War's Zombies will also feature an Armor system, which provides protection from zombies for as long as it remains intact. Armor can be repaired by picking up Armor Shards from fallen enemies, and they can also be upgraded to increase durability and resistance from attacks.
Additionally, Treyarch is introducing Scorestreaks to Zombies, which allow for players to utilize special bonuses if they're doing well in-game. When a player has a high enough score, they can select the "Support" option and choose between a Combat Bow, Sentry Turret, War Machine, Chopper Gunner and Self-Revive to help them in battle.
And finally, Treyarch's latest version of Zombies will feature an optional exfiltration feature. This allows players to ditch the mission after round 10 while battling a colossal horde of zombies in an attempt to earn early rewards.
