Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 zombies: tips and tricks for beginners

After the backlash surrounding the Zombies mode in Modern Warfare 3, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has returned to the round-based roots we all know and love. Well, the structure might be familiar, but this mode has more than its fair share of new tricks that will see you getting swarmed in seconds if you can’t learn to adapt. If you’re familiar with how Call of Duty handles its Zombies mode, you will know that there’s a lot more you need to know besides just shooting zombies if you want to make it to the later rounds. If you want to survive as long as possible, we have the key tips and tricks to withstand the zombie horde in Black Ops 6.

The basics still apply

There are a few tips from past Zombies games that will serve you well here in Black Ops 6 that are worth a quick reminder. Starting off with the need to conserve ammo in the early game. Zombies are weakest in the first handful of rounds, but ammo is incredibly scarce. You can’t count on getting more when you need it, so save as much as possible and try to melee as many zombies as possible. Only shoot if you get swarmed, need to save a teammate, or when a boss or elite shows up.

Never be without a self-revive. Hopefully, you’re playing with a team of friends — though you can play solo this time if you want — but even then you might go down in a situation where it is too dangerous for someone to save you. That’s when a self-revive becomes a literal lifesaver.

And lastly, opening up as many routes as possible should be your first priority with your Essence. The biggest threat in Zombies is getting cornered or trapped, and the less space you have to kite zombies around or routes to escape through, the more likely that is to happen. Plus, opening up the entire map will let you access all the Perk machines and the all important Pack-A-Punch machine you need if you want any hope of surviving.

Bring the right equipment that packs a punch

Fighting zombies is a much different game than fighting other players in multiplayer. That powerful sniper with the slow rate of fire and long reload time might be clutch in PvP, but it won’t do you any good against a swarm of undead rushing your position. We suggest packing LMGs with high magazine sizes or ARs and shotguns that can shoot and reload on the fly. But don’t necessarily stick to a single weapon. Wall guns are here and worth investing in, especially when you buy a duplicate and upgrade its rarity. You can also upgrade any weapon at the Arsenal machine using Salvage, which is the best use of that resource.

Armor is also only obtainable via wall buys, so always make sure you’re plated up.

You can’t start Zombies mode with perks, as usual, and need to find the various Perk Machines on each map. These have set spawn points so you should memorize where the best ones are and prioritize reaching them first. Jugger-Nog is always a great Perk to get early, as are Quick Revive and Speed Cola. As always, getting downed will remove one Perk, so don’t get careless.

GobbleGums act similarly to Perks, but are one-time-use items that are randomly spat out by the machine. Since they’re free, and only have a cooldown timer before you can get another, they’re never a bad thing to get when available. However, the usefulness of all the effects ranges from amazing to useless so not necessarily worth it in a risky situation.

Similarly, the Mystery Boxes are the only way to get the most powerful Zombies weapons, specifically the Wonder Weapons, but are luck of the draw. You will need to get a good roll eventually if you intend on surviving the later rounds. Your ultimate goal should be to get one of the overpowered Wonder Weapons and upgrade those.

When you have a gun you’re willing to stick with for a while, always Pack-A-Punch it. There’s one Pack-A-Punch machine on each map that can boost your weapon’s damage up to three times. Once you hit the later rounds and Zombies start living through multiple headshots, it will become borderline impossible to survive without these upgrades. Each upgrade costs Essence, with the first costing 5,000, the second 15,000, and the final upgrade 30,000. Once you make your way to the Pack-A-Punch machine, this is where you need to devote your Essence primarily.

Do your research

A new feature to Zombies in Black Ops 6 are called Augments. As the name suggests, these allow you to adjust the effects of various Perks, field upgrades, and ammo mods within Zombies. You need to first reach level 11 before you can access them, and even then you can’t start using them immediately. First, you need to research them.

Before you start any Zombies match, make sure you have an Augment set to be researched in the menu. The research progress goes up as you earn XP in Zombies until complete, so playing without one in the queue you’re just wasting that research time.

Augments come in minor and major forms for each one that impacts the associated Perk, field upgrade, or ammo mod differently, and there are three minor and three major upgrades for each category. That’s a ton of possible Augments, and you can only equip one on your loadout at a time, so spend a little extra time deciding which ones you want to research first.

Some examples of Augments include a major Augment for Jugger-Nog buffing your damage when at low HP, and a minor one for the Dead Wire ammo mod giving a chance to stun elite enemies.

Do all the S.A.M. trials

Black Ops 6 Zombies will sprinkle S.A.M. trials on the map that act as mini-objectives you can choose to participate in or ignore. You can spot these by the large purple stormcloud and beam of light that appears in the sky pointing their location out and begin showing up on round 6. Starting one will begin a random challenge you need to complete within a given time period, such as killing zombies while inside a set zone or killing zombies using traps.

While a bit dangerous, these trails can give you a huge boost of resources for completing them. Rewards typically include Essence, weapons, equipment, or tools. There’s also a chance to spawn a Legendary loot crate after a S.A.M. trial that can hold a powerful Wonder Weapon.

Get out while the getting’s good

Zombies mode doesn’t have to end when you get wiped. In fact, pushing your luck until it runs out is very inefficient if you’re trying to earn as much XP as possible. Instead, pay attention to how you and your team is keeping up with the enemy scaling and whether you think you can survive another set of rounds.

You get the chance to exfil in Black Ops 6 after 10 rounds, so round 11 will be your first chance, and then every five rounds afterward. The location you need to reach is marked by a radio icon on your map. Once you get there, interact with the radio to call in a helicopter to a different location you need to reach and eliminate all nearby zombies in to escape. If you fail to clear the zombies in time, the helicopter won’t land and you will need to wait for the next opportunity to try again.

Unlike dying to end the game, successfully exfiltrating will give you bonus XP and items based on how far into the mode you made it.