Black Ops 3: Every Elemental Staff & Upgrades Guide

One of the best maps in Call of Duty Zombies is Origins, a difficult battle in another dimension where Primis must find a way to ascend to Agartha and reach Samantha Maxis. To do that, players are going to need the Elemental Staff in Call of Duty Zombies, and there are 4 elemental staffs in total, each with their own specific steps to obtain them and then upgrade them.

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By Jake Fillery

The Elemental Staffs in COD Zombies are extremely powerful, and a must-have for those seeking high-rounds or easter egg completion in the map Origins. Listed below is a comprehensive guide on how to get every staff in Origins, and just how to upgrade them.

Where to Find the Musical Parts

The Gramophone and Black Record are necessary for obtaining every staff in Origins, as the Gramophone is used to unlock the Crazy Place and the black disc is what is first used to unlock the staff room. The Gramophone is found underneath the stairs past Pack-a-Punch at Excavation near a table, where there are three spots for the black disc:

Besides the generator on a box leading to the Excavation stairs
In a barrel of 115 to the left of Pack-a-Punch
On a wall next to some crates on the left, towards the path to the Church

How to Get the Wind Staff

Staff of Wind in Origins

The Wind Staff’s requirements involve finding 3 staff parts that can each be found within the Giant Robots that randomly walk across the map. Each Giant Robot harbors a different part on a set path, so it’s best to open up the entire map. When a Giant Robot is making its way across the map, players will want to look up to see underneath its mechanical foot. If the mechanical foot has a glowing circle, players can shoot at it with any gun to open it. With the mechanical foot now open, players can stand underneath it to ascend into the Giant Robot’s head. Failing to open the foot or standing under the wrong foot will result in entering a downed state. Here are all three Giant Robots in Origins locations:

Freya – Walks to the left of the map between Generator 6 and the Church
Odin – Walks in the middle of the map from Generator 5 (Stamin-Up) to Generator 4 (Juggernog)
Thor – Walks to the right of the map between Generator 3 (Speed Cola) and Generator 2 (Tank Station)

The Giant Robots will randomly start walking through the map, so patience is a virtue when it comes to the Wind Staff. All three parts can be found within the Giant Robots at the control panels. Once players have obtained each of the three parts, they will want to obtain the Wind Staff gem.

Players need to locate the Yellow Record, and all spawn spots for it are around Generator Station 5:

Inside the Lightning Tunnel, to a desk on the left.
Resting on three crates beside a burning cart, just opposite the entrance to the Lightning Tunnel
On the broken wall to the right of the Stamin-Up machine.

Now with the gramophone and the yellow record, players must head to Generator 4 (by Juggernog) to enter the Wind Tunnel. Going down this tunnel, players can place their gramophone down on the left where The Crazy Place sign is. Players now must enter into the portal to enter the Crazy Place and pick up the yellow gem that sits inside the yellow pillar.

Players now want to use the gramophone and the black record down the stairs of Pack-a-Punch in the center of the mound to open up a new area, where they can take all of their Wind Staff parts and craft it at the left statue with the yellow glow.

How to Get the Lightning Staff

Staff of Lightning in Origins

The trickiest part of acquiring the Lightning Staff is the fact that players must use the tank located at the Church in order to claim the three staff parts. It costs 500 points to activate the tank, and zombies will sprint after it, if they jump on top, players will be forced to kill them. Here are where the three parts can be found:

On the tank from the Church, keep your eyes to the right to find a wooden walkway that can be jumped onto. Follow the wooden path to locate a Lightning Staff part.
On the tank from the Tank Station by Generator 2, look to the left and wait for the MP-40 wall-buy. Just after this, there is a wooden walkway that can be jumped up to claim another Lightning Staff part.
Straight after claiming the Lightning Staff part above, players can run back to the tank (preferably with Stamin-Up) and watch the right side of the map as the tank returns to the Church. Jump up to the raised mud path that leads back into the Church for the final Lightning Staff part.

Players need to locate the purple record, and all possible spawns are found by Generator Station 4:

Found on a wooden cart to the left of Generator 4’s entrance
On a table by Wunderfizz and Juggernog
Inside the Wind Tunnel to the right of the Crazy Place sign

With the gramophone and purple record, head to the Lightning Tunnel which is by Generator 5 and Stamin-Up. Inside, place the gramophone on the table to enter the Crazy Place and now pick up the purple gem.

Head down to the room below Pack-a-Punch and craft the Lightning Staff in the middle.

Players now want to use the gramophone and the black record down the stairs of Pack-a-Punch in the center of the mound to open up a new area, where they can take all of their Lightning Staff parts and craft it at the third statue in the middle to the right.

How to Get the Fire Staff

Staff of Fire in Origins

Players must find three Fire Staff parts, which aren’t necessarily so hard to obtain, but might take a bit of time:

The first part becomes available after opening up the debris to the Church. Look to the sky to find a glowing plane. Now shoot this glowing plane to make it crash, and a Fire Staff part will drop at the Excavation area.
Another part is claimed from the reward chest at Generator 6 for completing the 115 conversation generator at Generator 6
One part is picked up from killing the Panzersoldat, which spawns in on Round 8

Players need to pick up the red record, and all possible spawns are found in the Church area towards Generator 6:

Between the tank and the staircase in the downstairs area of the Church
On a bench to the left of the upstairs of the Church
On a box at the entrance of Generator 6

With the gramophone and red record, players need to head back to the Fire Tunnel beside Spawn and place the gramophone to enter the Crazy Place and pick up the red crystal at the red pillar.

With all Fire Staff parts, indicated by checking the HUD when using the select button, players can now head into the basement of the Excavation area once they have opened it with the gramophone and black record. Head down the stairs and craft the Fire Staff at the right statue that glows red.

How to Get the Ice Staff

Staff of Ice in Origins

The first integral step to obtaining the Ice Staff is to find the Shovel in Origins. Shovels are used to interact with dig sites that spawn at random throughout round progressions. Here are some useful shovel spawns in Origins:

Leaning on a wall by the RK5 wall-buy at Spawn
Leaning on a wall in Spawn by the sign that reads Generator Station 3
Inside the Church near the rear of the tank
In the Wind Tunnel by Generator 4
In the Lightning Tunnel by Generator 5

With a shovel acquired, players now have to progress through the rounds until it begins to snow. It snows at random, so avoid dig sites until the rain stops, the weather fogs up and snow begins to fall. With the map now snowing, interact with all the dig sites with the shovel to try and obtain the three Ice Staff parts:

Top part of the staff – Dig sites around Generator 6 and the Church
Middle part of the staff – dig sites in the middle of the map from Generator 5 to Generator 4
Bottom part of the staff – No Man’s Land and around Generator 2 and Generator 3

It’s time to find the blue record, which is found in a few specific spots around Generator 2 and the Tank Station:

On the table with 115 rocks inside the Tank Station
On a shelf by the Mystery Box in the Tank Station
Opposite the bunk beds on a shelf next to 2 crates in the Tank Station

With the gramophone and blue record, head through to the Church by Generator 6 to enter the Ice Tunnel and enter inside to place the gramophone on the table and enter the Crazy Place. Inside, pick up the blue gem on the blue pillar and then return to the map and use the gramophone to unlock the area below Pack-a-Punch.

With all Ice Staff parts, players can now enter the staff area and craft the Ice Staff on the second statue, indicated by its blue glue.

How to Upgrade the Wind Staff

Boreas’ Fury in Origins

Now with the Wind Staff in hand, players want to re-use the gramophone at the Wind Tunnel to access the Crazy Place. Once inside, head over to the portal that will take players back to the Wind Tunnel area, but instead of entering it, look up to see the symbols on the ceiling. When shooting any of these symbols with the Wind Staff, the ring that the symbol is on will rotate. All players need to do is match up the rings in a specific order, with a visual reference found below:

Once completed, an audio cue will let players know of their success. Now, it’s time to leave the Crazy Place, return to the map, and find three smokestacks that must be redirected toward Pack-a-Punch by shooting them with the Wind Staff. Here are the three smoke stacks players must shoot toward Pack-a-Punch:

To the right of Generator 4 when facing the direction of Pack-a-Punch
Follow the tank’s return journey on the mud path leading out from the Church and keep to the right wall where the smoke stack is located by a skull and bones sign
At Generator 5 when facing Stamin-Up, the smoke stack is over the destroyed wall

If all three smoke stacks have been shot with the Wind Staff towards Pack-a-Punch, an audio cue will indicate they have completed the task, and a blue beam of light will be coming down from Pack-a-Punch.

Inside the mound and down the stairs, players can find 4 levers that can be used to rotate the rings found above the staff holders. Players must use all 4 levers until all the rings are yellow, and this is done simply by interacting with the lever and then moving on to the next one. Once all 4 rings are yellow, a yellow orb will spawn underneath the rings. Players must shoot this with the Wind Staff to let it fly off.

Head back to the Crazy Place and place the Wind Staff into the yellow pillar where they first claimed the Wind Staff’s gem. Now, players must kill around 20 zombies, where their souls will transfer into the Wind Staff. Players will know that they have completed this step as the Wind Staff in the UI will now have a white outline, or the souls will stop transferring into it. From here, simply pick up the upgraded staff: Boreas’ Fury.

How to Upgrade the Lightning Staff

Kimat’s Bite in Origins

With the Lightning Staff in hand, head back to the Lightning Tunnel outside Generator 5 and re-enter the Crazy Place. Head to the Lightning Staff-specific room where there will be 12 purple arrows located on a wall. Players will now need to shoot these arrows like they are piano keys in a specific order with the Lightning Staff on the bottom row of symbols only:

First Pattern – 1, 3, 6
Second Pattern – 3, 5, 7
Third Pattern – 2, 4, 6

Once the patterns have been completed, an audio cue will indicate success. Players can now leave the Crazy Place and return to the map where 7 electrical panels will be sparking. Players need to find all 7 of these electrical panels and interact with them a specific number of times to turn the dials to stop the electricity sparks from appearing:

Down the stairs of spawn to the right, the dial must face left
By the Giant Robot footprint of Generator 4, the dial must be facing up
Inside the Tank Station at Generator 2, the dial must face down
Downstairs area of the Church, the dial must face the right
Upstairs in the church by the water basin, the dial must face up
On a wall in Generator 5, left of Stamin-Up, the dial must be facing down
By the wall at Excavation, the dial must face up

Once all dials are facing the correct way, a beam of light will emerge from the sky and enter the Pack-a-Punch Excavation site. Now it’s time to head into this area and change all 4 dials with the 4 levers inside the mound to ensure that all the lights are rotated to purple. Once down, head down to the bottom and shoot the purple ball that has appeared with the Lightning Staff.

Lastly, players need to head back to the Crazy Place and place the Lightning Staff on the purple pillar. Now, just kill 20 zombies to transfer their souls to the staff. Once completed, players can pick up the upgraded Lightning Staff called Kimat’s Bite.

How to Upgrade the Fire Staff

Kagutsuchi’s Blood in Origins

With the Fire Staff equipped, head back to the Crazy Place and head to the red area of this location indicated by the portal back to the Fire Tunnel. Use the Fire Staff to kill zombies on the hexagonal grates on the floor. Killing zombies on the grates with the Fire Staff will make the cauldrons on the wall glow. Once all four are lit up from zombie deaths, an audio cue will indicate success, thus activating the next step.

Head upstairs in the Church and on the walls there should be 4 symbols with an orange glow. Each symbol consists of a pattern of circles, and each symbol corresponds with a torch found in the basement of the Church. Each symbol has a number associated with it, and players must shoot the specific torches with their Fire Staff based on what symbols they have. The symbols can be translated to the correct number so players know which specific torch to shoot:

11 – 1 orange dot, 1 circle, 2 orange dots
5 – 1 orange dot, 2 orange dots
9 – 1 orange dot, 1 circle, 1 circle
7 – 2 orange dots, 1 orange dot
6 – 2 orange dots, 1 circle
3 – 1 orange dot, 1 circle
4 (Blood Stain) – 1 orange dot, 1 orange dot

With any of the four symbols lit up, head down to the Church’s basement and shoot the corresponding torches indicated by the number written underneath each one, in quick succession. Correct completion has an audio cue and a beam of light in the sky heading down Excavation.

Use the 4 levers inside the staff room underneath Pack-a-Punch to rotate the rings until all colors are red. After, head down to the staff room, look up, shoot the glowing red ball with the Fire Staff, and then head back to the Crazy Place.

Place the Fire Staff in the red pillar and charge the staff by killing 20 zombies near the staff. After completing, pick the staff back up where it should now be upgraded with its name changed to Kagutsuchi’s Blood.

How to Upgrade the Ice Staff

Ull’s Arrow in Origins

Equip the Ice Staff and return to the Crazy Place. Players then want to head to the Ice Staff-specific area of the Crazy Place indicated by the blue color scheme. Once here, there are going to be tiles on the ceiling as well as a tile on the wall. Players must look at the tile on the pillar to see which symbol appears, and then shoot the corresponding symbol on the floating tiles on the ceiling. In essence: Look at the symbol, see what that symbol translates to on the ceiling, shoot the correct ceiling tile, and repeat until an audio cue indicates completion.

Now return from the Crazy Place and locate a series of 3 tombstones that are just outside the map. Players will want to shoot these tombstones with the Ice Staff to clear the water, and then shoot it again with their gun to make the tombstone disappear.

By the Giant Robot footprint near Generator 4 and the KN-44 wall-buy
At the Giant Robot footprint outside the Excavation
Behind the Tank Station beside the destroyed Giant Robot on the mud path to No Man’s Land

Destroying all three tombstones provides an audio cue and a glowing beam of light from the sky back into the Excavation site. Return to where the staff was crafted and turn all 4 levers found around this room until the dials are all showing blue colors. Now head down to the staff area and shoot the blue ball that appears with the Ice Staff.

Head back to the Crazy Place and place the Ice Staff in the blue pillar. Kill 20 zombies in the Crazy Place to charge up the Ice Staff, and once complete, players can pick the Ice Staff back up to its upgraded form, the Ull’s Arrow.