Black Ops 7 Zombies is here, continuing the next chapter in the Dark Aether saga. For many, this will be a return to the fight in round-based Zombies, but for others, it might be their first time playing. Below, we've outlined a mixture of tips for beginners and experts so that you won't be confused or overwhelmed by what awaits you in the launch map, Ashes of the Damned. The tips below range from secrets we found in Ashes of the Damned to help you navigate the map, get loot, and survive, as well as general mechanics and tips that will keep players of all skill levels thriving.
Use Fumigators to Spray Dark Aether Plants for Loot
Green Seeds Can Be Upgraded for Special Loot
Across Ashes of the Damned, you'll come across orange canisters with a white outline to highlight them. These canisters can be found across the map, in places like Janus Towers Plaza, the Farm, and more. All you need to do is search for the landmarks for one, and then interact with it by holding your reload button. Once acquired, you can then approach the strange green seeds that can be found within the landmarks, which we found commonly in Janus Towers Plaza's spawn area and the upper areas of Ashwood.
Once you locate these green Aether Plants, you can interact with them once you see the Spray icon appear. After, you'll hear a chirping sound, and zombies will ignore you and try to attack the plant. Defend the plant from the zombies, and it will grow into a purple plant, and then explode for loot. This is an easy and early-game way to get Essence, Salvage, weapons, and perhaps other goodies!
Tier 2 Armor is a Wise Investment in the Early Rounds
Tier 2 Armor Ensures You Can Tank More Hits Before Falling
Obtaining Essence is your points system, the way that you can purchase new weapons, perks, doors, and armor. Essence is the lifeblood of Zombies, but you shouldn't waste it. Across the landmarks, you'll find Armor on walls with a blue outline that you can purchase. These should cost around 4,000 Essence, and they're far superior to any Perk or weapon that you can buy in the early rounds.
Tier 2 Armor allows you to mitigate more damage when you get hit, and since zombies deal more damage as each round progresses, it's essential to turn into a sprinting, shooting tank. You should always purchase armor before Perks, as this means you can get hit far more than you need to, as it will even be stronger than Jugger-Nog.
Ol' Tessie is Essential, So Here's How to Use It
The Wonder Vehicle Can Be Upgraded Into Pack-a-Punch For Superior Guns
Ol' Tessie is a core feature of Ashes of the Damned that allows you to drive around the map, which is otherwise near-impossible to survive without it. You will first find Ol' Tessie in the spawn area of Janus Towers Plaza, and you can activate it as a drivable vehicle by finding T.E.D.D.'s Head in the Server Room by hitting the floor with a melee strike, and then interacting with Ol' Tessie to upgrade it with T.E.D.D. Once Ol' Tessie becomes drivable, there are a few things to note. Firstly, both the east and west areas of Janus Towers Plaza are locked unless you smash through them in Ol' Tessie, and the inter-connecting areas between the landmarks are no man's land, meaning zombies will infinitely spawn and be extremely strong, so you need to drive past these areas.
Zombies will attack the Wonder Vehicle while you're inside, so be sure to get to the landmarks fast. Ol' Tessie can be damaged and blown up, but it will automatically repair itself when left alone. However, if you have lost Ol' Tessie, you can head to Ashwood, where you can either respawn Ol' Tessie or teleport inside it for around 1,000 Essence. The last important thing to know about Ol' Tessie is that this will be your Pack-a-Punch. Taking Ol' Tessie to Ashwood, you can install the Pack-a-Punch machine on the back, which allows you to boost in Ol' Tessie, and use Pack-a-Punch freely. Pack-a-Punch can be activated for 3 Tiers, each Tier costing more than the last, but enhancing the power of your weapon like no other.
Focus on Purchasing the Crutch Perks First
There Are Some Essential Perks to Purchase to Stay Ahead
Once you've acquired enough Essence and you've purchased Tier 2 Armor, it's time to look at buying some Perks. There are 12 Perk-a-Cola Machines in Ashes of the Damned, and the price increases with each one you buy, so it's essential to spend your Essence on the right one. There are core crutch Perks that you will need to grab in order to fight, as Perks will provide you with unique advantages and buffs. Here's what we recommend spending your Essence on, and where you can get:
- Jugger-Nog: Located at Ashwood in The Ruby Rabbit, this Perk increases your total Health.
- Quick Revive: Located in the Server Room of Janus Tower Plaza, useful for health regeneration.
- Stamin-Up: Located at Vandorn Farm in the Farmhouse, this Perk allows you to sprint faster and longer.
- Speed Cola: Found upstairs in the Cabin of Blackwater Lake, Speed Cola allows you to reload faster and replate faster.
Acquiring these crutch Perks will offer a range of benefits, like more health to take more hits, faster reloads and armor plating times, and better sprint, so you can run away from the undead, so make sure you focus on these ones before doing anything else!
Gather Salvage to Upgrade Weapon Rarity at The Arsenal
The Arsenal is a Powerful Machine to Upgrade Weapon Damage with Salvage
Across the multitude of landmarks available, you'll come across The Arsenal, a machine that screams at you in a robust drill sergeant's voice. Approach The Arsenal, and you will be able to spend Salvage on rarity upgrades for your weapons, which is essential for having the best guns. Not only is Pack-a-Punch a great way to increase the damage of your weapon, but equally, so is The Arsenal's rarity system.
You will need to acquire Salvage through killing zombies and using Suppressors on your Loadouts, where you can exchange Salvage for these rarity upgrades, to which you will easily see an improvement in your weapon's damage output. You can also use The Arsenal to buy Ammo Mods, which create unique and powerful effects on bullet damage, including Napalm Burst, which is super effective against the Zursa zombie bears.
Augments Become Essential Additions to Your Loadout
Augments Can Be Researched to Increase the Power of Perks, Ammo Mods, and Field Upgrades
Before you load into a match of Zombies, you should take a look at the Augment Research page in the Weapons section of the main menu. Augments allow you to research, achieved through earning XP, which will provide you with Major and Minor Augments to your Ammo Mods, Perks, and Field Upgrades, depending on which one you have selected to be researched.
These can then be equipped in the Augments menu, and they will truly change the way you play. You can essentially permenantly upgrade Perks, like with Jugger-Nog, you can have Turtle Shell, which means if you are hit in the back, your shields take all the damage, and your health bar is unaffected. Take a look at the range of Augments to increase your potential.
Effective Training of Zombies is the Difference Between Noobs and Pros
Manipulate Zombie Pathing to Keep Them Grouped and At Your Mercy
Later in the high rounds, zombies will sprint and even super sprint towards you. Their overwhelming hordes and unpredictable spawns will allow them to swarm you and trap you into a corner, where they will easily kill you and ruin your game. However, there's a way to completely negate that danger by effectively learning how to train zombies. In order to stay alive in Zombies, you'll need to manipulate the pathing of the zombies and conserve your bullets until it's time to fight.
This basically means you should wait for all the zombies to spawn, and then weave between them in a line pattern like the classic Snake game until they group up and follow in a tight spread behind you. Don't kill zombies one by one, as you will want to weave through the horde until they're all collected, like you're the shepherd and they're your sheep. Once grouped up, it's killing time, and you can repeat the process without fearing the overwhelming horde.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 66 /100 Critics Rec: 34%
- Released
- November 14, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Treyarch, Raven Software
- Publisher(s)
- Activision
