BO7 Zombies: Ashes of the Damned Easter Egg Guide

Overview

Ashes of the Damned is the launch round-based Zombies map for Black Ops 7 and the largest round-based map ever created. Set entirely within the Dark Aether, it features reimagined versions of classic TranZit locations: Vandorn Farm (the Farm), Exit 115 (the Diner), and Ashwood (Town), alongside new areas like Janus Towers Plaza, the Zarya Cosmodrome rocket launch site, and a cabin at Blackwater Lake overlooked by a floating pyramid.

The Ex-Requiem crew -- Weaver, Grey, Carver, and Aguinaldo -- are teleported to a mirrored Dark Aether version of Janus Towers. There they encounter alternate incarnations of the classic crew: Richtofen, Dempsey, Nikolai, and Takeo. A mysterious figure called the Warden drains the life essence from both crews. The goal: fight across multiple locales, reclaim your stolen essence, and defeat the ancient guardian Veytharion.

This is a long quest - expect 2-3 hours on your first run, 60-90 minutes once experienced. Fully soloable but significantly harder alone.

Step 1: Activate Ol' Tessie

1. Go to the Server Room in Janus Towers Plaza.
2. Melee the round circular grate on the floor to reveal T.E.D.D.'s Head.
3. Take the head outside and install it on the old pickup truck (Ol' Tessie). This vehicle is your primary transport for the entire quest.

Step 2: Restore Power (Location 1)

1. Drive Ol' Tessie to either Vandorn Farm or Blackwater Lake.
2. Find the Power Pump and shoot the orange fungus/blob infestations on it within 30 seconds.
3. Unlock the barn/cabin and activate the power switch.

Step 3: Restore Power (Location 2)

1. Drive to Ashwood and unlock doors to reach its Power Pump.
2. Clear the fungus infestation within the time limit.
3. Activate the power switch. Both locations now have power.

Step 4: Install Pack-a-Punch on Ol' Tessie

1. Park Ol' Tessie inside the Ashwood Blacksmith Garage.
2. Use the workbench to attach the Pack-a-Punch machine onto the back of the truck.
3. Pack-a-Punch is now mobile and travels with you across the map.

Step 5: Widow's Lantern & Jar of Spores

1. Go to the Cabin kitchen at Blackwater Lake. Interact with the cupboards by the sink to collect the Jar of Spores.
2. Interact with the dead horse at Vandorn Farm, wait 3 rounds, then return to obtain the Widow's Lantern.

Step 6: Abomination Carcass (Vehicle Upgrade)

1. Kill the "Cook" zombie in Reba's Diner at Exit 115 to get the Freezer Key.
2. Open the freezer to retrieve the Abomination Carcass.
3. Drive back to the Ashwood garage and install it on Ol' Tessie. This gives the truck a beam attack.

Step 7: Hoard Husk Chunks

1. Use Ol' Tessie's upgraded beam attack to destroy purple glowing plants (Overgrown Hoard Husks) found in fog areas.
2. Quickly collect the resulting Hoard Husk Chunks before zombies overwhelm you.

Step 8: Ravager Eyes

1. Wait for a Ravager Round (typically Round 5-6).
2. Activate a Saw Trap (costs 2,000 Essence) during the Ravager Round - the trap lasts the entire round.
3. Collect the Ravager Eyes afterward.

Step 9: Human Bones

1. Obtain a Combat Axe (guaranteed spawn in Reba's Diner kitchen).
2. Go to Vandorn Farm barn and throw the axe at the hanging corpse's foot.
3. Burn the fallen foot with a Molotov to transform it into Human Bones.

Step 10: Defeat Uber Klaus

1. Return to Janus Tower Plaza at Round 8 to summon Uber Klaus near the semi-trailer.
2. Phase 1: Destroy the shoulder discs.
3. Phase 2: Aim for his head.
4. Collect the Stabilizer Chip he drops.

Step 11: Revive Klaus

1. Go to Ashwood's Sheriff's Office and unlock it.
2. Install the Stabilizer Chip on the control panel.
3. Throw two Stun Grenades back-to-back at Klaus to revive him. Klaus is now your ally.

Step 12: Retrieve the Aether Barrel

1. Lead Klaus to Zarya Cosmodrome's Support Systems area.
2. Ping the panel near the Aether Barrel and have Klaus interact with it.
3. Stay inside the resulting scanner zone for one full minute to unlock the barrel.

Step 13: Charge the Aether Barrel

Travel to three locations in sequence, inserting the barrel at each (you have a 1.5-minute window between charges):

1. Blackwater Lake's power pump
2. Ashwood's power pump on the bridge
3. Vandorn Farm's power pump

Step 14: Obtain the Necrofluid Gauntlet

1. Take the fully charged Aether Barrel to Vandorn Farm's cellar and interact with the cube.
2. Use a jump pad from Janus Tower Plaza heading toward the farm.
3. While airborne, memorize the three symbols visible on the barn roof.
4. Return to the cellar and input those symbols on the cube's sides (any order works).
5. Collect the Necrofluid Gauntlet (the Wonder Weapon).
6. Complete the mini-game tutorial by shooting green blobs and reloading.

Step 15: Powder of the Forgotten

1. Acquire the Wisp Tea perk (a free version is available at Vandorn Farm by interacting with the TV and following ghost girls).
2. Go to Ashwood's Tailor Shop.
3. Summon a Wisp by defeating zombies nearby, then lead it into the mirror.
4. Shoot the mirror with your Necrofluid Gauntlet to obtain the Powder of the Forgotten.

Step 16: Mysterious Limbs

1. Kill a Zursa bear using Ol' Tessie's Abomination Beam. Zursa appears naturally at Round 16, or you can manually spawn it by shooting three hidden skulls in Zarya Cosmodrome with the Necrofluid Gauntlet.
2. Collect the Mysterious Limbs.

Step 17: Serum Ritual

You should now have all 6 serum items: Widow's Lantern, Hoard Husk Chunks, Ravager Eyes, Human Bones, Powder of the Forgotten, and Mysterious Limbs.

1. Find a syringe in a building north of Zarya's Wisp Tea machine.
2. Bring everything to Yuri's Lab (building with red star).
3. Solve the code puzzle by matching symbols to objects on the chalkboard.
4. Turn the vial red, then defeat zombies in a soul box event.

Step 18: Collect Three Keys

Each key is found at one of three randomized fog area locations. Each key gives you a debuff while carrying it:

Bring all three keys to the prism in Rabbit Alley, Ashwood. This activates the prism and rewards you with the DG-2 Turret Barrel.

Step 19: Install the DG-2 Turret

Drive to the Ashwood garage and install the DG-2 Turret Barrel onto Ol' Tessie.

Step 20: Clock Tower Puzzle

1. Shoot the floating Clock Tower in Ashwood with the DG-2 Turret Barrel (it turns purple).
2. Shoot the clock face with your Necrofluid Gauntlet and recall to absorb its power.
3. Use this power to slow down the two spinning radio towers in Zarya Cosmodrome (one tower per round, shooting different clock faces each time).

Step 21: Rocket Launch Sequence

1. Enter the Control Room in Zarya Cosmodrome (behind the Wisp Tea machine).
2. The monitors display symbol-based codes. Decode them:
   • ROCKET = 17-14-02-10-04-19
   • ENGINE = 04-13-06-08-13-04
   • LAUNCH = 11-00-20-13-02-07
   • WEAPON = 22-04-00-15-14-13
3. Match the right-side symbols and input the correct numbers.
4. Shoot the red button on the monitors when the correct numbers appear.

Step 22: Lightning Souls at Exit 115

1. Lightning strikes on even-numbered rounds at three Exit 115 locations.
2. Power your gauntlet by shooting the Ashwood clock, then shoot the Service Station rooftop clock to pause the lightning.
3. Summon three special zombies and lure each into the correct colored lightning:

Each zombie has 1 minute to reach its lightning strike.

Step 23: Vandorn Farm Ritual

1. Power your gauntlet via the Ashwood clock.
2. Check the wall clock in the Vandorn Farm farmhouse. Stand on the matching Roman numeral (XII, III, or IX) on the floor.
3. Shoot the male corpse's skull when its eyes glow red.
4. Collect four artifacts:

5. Place all four on red markers outside, then defend them for 2 minutes during a soul box event.

Step 24: Film Reels at Blackwater Lake

1. Interact with the blue light behind the Blackwater Lake house to activate the projector.
2. Power your gauntlet from the Ashwood clock.
3. Shoot the film projector to see four images displayed in a specific order.
4. Shoot the corresponding film reels in that exact sequence at these locations:
   • Shack with Armor Plate wall buy
   • Above Melee Macchiato perk machine
   • Underneath steps by Ammo Cache
   • Crafting Table shack shelf
5. Go to the Speed Cola room and interact with blue energy on a box.
6. Pay 2,000 Essence to call Klaus, commanding him to retrieve the final item.

Step 25: Collect 12 Souls

1. Drive Ol' Tessie through four fog areas collecting souls (3 per area, 12 total).
2. Follow a clockwise path starting north from Blackwater Lake:
   • Monolith Forest → Collapsed Tower → Grounded Ship → Lost Cabins
3. Wait 20 seconds for souls to spawn at each location, then collect them quickly.
4. Successfully collecting all 12 souls teleports you to the boss arena.

Step 26: Boss Fight - Veytharion

Primary Damage: Use Ol' Tessie as a battering ram. Boost over staircases in the middle of the arena as ramps to ram into Veytharion - the vehicle deals the most damage.

Weak Points: Shoot the head. The white exposed area deals normal damage, while the red blown-off section deals bonus damage.

Immunity Phases: Veytharion periodically goes immune. To break immunity:

1. Ram him with Ol' Tessie
2. Collect the beam of light that appears
3. Ram him again while imbued with the beam

Attacks: He shoots red exploding projectiles at the ground. Move side to side when you see a red target - don't run in a straight line.

Tips:

• Stock up on Decoy Grenades and Cymbal Monkeys to lure zombies away
• Aether Shroud field upgrade is highly recommended - it makes you invisible so you can repair the truck without interruption
• Keep the Necrofluid Gauntlet and a Pack-a-Punched secondary for clearing waves

Rewards

• Dempsey Operator Skin
• Completion Calling Card (exclusive variant for completing before Directed Mode)
• 10,000 XP
• Cursed Mode access with Relic system for enhanced gameplay runs
• Subsequent completions reward: Legendary weapons, Aether Wrenches, Flawless Aetherium Crystals, and all Perks

Tips

• Ol' Tessie is essential - you need it for transport, upgrades, soul collection, and the boss fight. Don't leave it in dangerous spots.
• Combat Axes and Molotovs are both required early. Plan your loadout.
• The Necrofluid Gauntlet is needed for multiple late-game steps. Get it as early as possible.
• Wisp Tea is required for Powder of the Forgotten. Pick it up during Vandorn Farm runs.
• Even-numbered rounds trigger the lightning at Exit 115. Time your approach.
• Aether Shroud is the best field upgrade for the boss fight. Lets you repair Ol' Tessie safely.
• 1.5-minute barrel charging timer is tight. Know the route before starting Step 13.

Good luck, and don't forget to refuel.