BO7 Zombies: Astra Malorum Easter Egg Guide

Overview

Astra Malorum is the Season 1 round-based Zombies map for Black Ops 7. Set within the Thurston Planetarium, an early 20th-century observatory ripped from reality and transported into the Dark Aether, now drifting on a skull-shaped asteroid within the Rings of Saturn.

The players continue their search for another Shadowsmith. Their path leads to this mysterious observatory, where Shadowsmith Caltheris, sister of Veytharion, resides. The goal: defeat Caltheris and free the second Shadowsmith.

Key Locations: Observatory Dome (central hub, telescope, Pack-a-Punch), Museum Infinitum, Archive of Orbis, Machina Astralis, The Luminarium, Stargazer's Courtyard.

The map features O.S.C.A.R., a roaming robotic boss that patrols the map, and a segment that teleports players to the surface of Mars.

Expect 60-90 minutes for experienced players, 2-3 hours for first-timers. Soloable but significantly harder alone.

Step 1: Activate Power & Pack-a-Punch

1. Go to the Observatory Dome and interact with the Harmonic Oculus (the telescope mechanism).
2. Collect two Harmonic Components -- one near a decaying corpse in Machina Astralis (second floor), and another near a corpse in The Luminarium. Locations can vary slightly.
3. Return to the Observatory Dome and install both components.
4. Activate the Harmonic Oculus and defend it for 45 seconds against a zombie wave.
5. Power is restored and Pack-a-Punch unlocks.

Step 2: Kill O.S.C.A.R. - Rocket Ship Trap

You must destroy O.S.C.A.R. using three different environmental traps to earn the wonder weapon.

1. Acquire the Cryo Freeze ammo mod (costs 500 Salvage).
2. Shoot purple crystals around the map with Cryo Freeze weapons (good spot: Stargazer's Courtyard). Collect 3 Absolute Zero Fragments.
3. Lure O.S.C.A.R. to Museum Infinitum behind the rocket ship model.
4. When O.S.C.A.R. is positioned behind the rocket, activate it to destroy him with the exhaust blast.

Step 3: Kill O.S.C.A.R. - Electro-Volt Projector Trap

1. Damaged Drone: Shoot O.S.C.A.R.'s protective UFO drone out of the air to collect it.
2. Car Battery: Pack-a-Punch any weapon, then shoot the gearshift on Ol' Tessie (a car on the map) to obtain it.
3. Aberrant Wiring: Find and shoot a blinking lamppost outside the buildings to collect the wiring.
4. Assemble the Electro-Volt Projector in the Luminarium.
5. Lure O.S.C.A.R. into the room, then activate the trap (requires the Car Battery).
6. Survive for one minute as the battery overcharges and destroys O.S.C.A.R.

Step 4: Kill O.S.C.A.R. - Telescope Laser Trap

1. Find and shoot 5 smoking valves in the Observatory Dome. They appear one at a time -- this is timed.
2. Interact with the Harmonic Oculus to manually align the telescope toward the Sun.
3. A powerful laser beam fires from the telescope. Lure O.S.C.A.R. into its path to destroy him (the laser shuts off after about a minute).
4. O.S.C.A.R. drops the LGM-1 Wonder Weapon. Pick it up -- you need it for the rest of the quest.

Step 5: Decode the Planet Clue & Get the Cryo Key

1. Advance rounds until O.S.C.A.R. respawns in Search Mode (yellow eye light).
2. Sneak up to O.S.C.A.R. and listen to his recording. He plays a message mentioning three planet names -- memorize them.
3. Convert planets to their position from the Sun:
   • Mercury = 1, Venus = 2, Earth = 3, Mars = 4, Jupiter = 5, Saturn = 6, Uranus = 7, Neptune = 8
4. Go to the nixie tube terminal in the Observatory Dome and enter the 3-digit code.
5. This calls down a broken lift beside the Pack-a-Punch machine.
6. Climb up and interact with the corpse inside to obtain the Cryo Chamber Key.

Step 6: Brain Retrieval

1. Go to Museum Infinitum and find the glass display case right of the Exfil Machine. Shoot the glass and collect the Sawblade.
2. Travel to Machina Astralis (south room) and use the Cryo Chamber Key to open a cryopod.
3. Interact again to open the head. Use the Sawblade to extract the Human Brain.
4. Carry the brain to The Luminarium and place it on the table (replacing the monkey brain). The liquid turns yellow.
5. Interact with the brain and defend it for 1 minute.
6. Pick up the brain and carry it to the Perfusion Machine in Machina Astralis (near the teleporter).

Step 7: Find Mars Coordinates

1. Go to the Observatory Dome and interact with the powered telescope.
2. Look through the telescope and locate Mars in the starfield. Align the crosshair exactly over it.
3. Note the 4-digit coordinate on the lower-left of the screen. (If you only see 3 numbers, the degrees symbol acts as 0.)
4. Go to the Machina Astralis machine and input the Mars coordinates.

Step 8: Book Puzzle & Neptune

1. Go to the center of Machina Astralis and read the book titles projected on the machine (randomized each game).
2. Enter the Archive of Orbis and search the bookshelves to find all matching books.
3. Three statues surround the bookshelves. Rotate each statue according to the number of matching books on their respective shelves.
4. Once correct, a ladder drops down.
5. Climb and collect the Neptune model.
6. Go to the highest floor of Machina Astralis and insert Neptune into the empty slot of the planetary display.

Step 9: Align the Planets

1. Find three Planet Direction documents scattered across the map:
   • Machina Astralis ground floor (eastern corner table)
   • Archive of Orbis (center table)
   • Luminarium (Electro-Volt Projector room)
2. Each document shows a planet name paired with a cardinal direction.
3. Check the chandelier -- directions are engraved on triangles. Use this as your compass.
4. Shoot each planet model to rotate it to its assigned direction.
5. Once aligned, interact with the Perfusion Machine to reboot the portal.

Step 10: Portal Defense

1. All players are teleported to Machina Astralis and O.S.C.A.R. spawns.
2. Defend the portal until the reboot is complete.
3. Watch for O.S.C.A.R.'s drones approaching the portal -- if they reach it, reboot progress decreases. Prioritize destroying them.
4. Once complete, all players are teleported to Mars.

Step 11: Mars - Tesla Towers & The Ascendant Eye

1. Place the brain in the upper-level machine on Mars.
2. Shoot 5 Tesla Towers in order from furthest to nearest: back right → back left → front right → front left → tower near the portal (turn around).
3. After shooting all towers, the Ascendant Eye appears flying through the air.
4. Catch the Ascendant Eye mid-air by interacting with it while airborne. Use wall jumps and Mars' low gravity to reach it.
5. Place the Ascendant Eye on the pyramid machine on the right side of the area.

Step 12: Pillar Activation (Piano Puzzle)

1. The Ascendant Eye activates 5 pillars on Mars.
2. Shoot the antenna above each pillar using the LGM-1 to activate all 5 (any order).
3. Leave Mars and return to the Observatory Dome.
4. Play the piano/organ in the Observatory Dome. It displays 4 symbols in sequence (one will be blank/missing).
5. Return to Mars. Interact with the pillars in the same order as the piano symbols. Use process of elimination for the blank one.
6. This is timed -- do it quickly. When successful, all symbols glow blue.

Step 13: Boss Fight - Caltheris

Interact with the brain jar on the machine to begin the final boss encounter on Mars.

Phase 1 - Floating Skull (Soul Pylon)

• Caltheris takes the form of a floating rock skull firing lasers.
• Kill zombies/mimics anywhere in the arena -- their souls travel to the active Soul Pylon (left and right sides).
• Once a pylon is filled, hold interact on the machine at the top of the stairs to fire a laser at Caltheris.
• Repeat 3 times. Each cycle adds new attacks:
  • Cycle 1: Homing lasers
  • Cycle 2: Meteors
  • Cycle 3: Toxic zombies + toxic air (take refuge at the top of the staircase)

Phase 2 - Rock Golem

• Caltheris transforms into a rock golem on the ground.
• She attacks by slapping and throwing rocks.
• Shoot her continuously. A glowing crit spot appears on her chest or shoulder -- focus fire on it.
• The LGM-1 auto-locks onto targets and is highly effective here.

Phase 3 - Armored Golem

• Begins with an immune phase where armored zombies swarm -- clear them first.
• When Caltheris attacks again, she's covered in armor that must be shot off to reveal crit spots.
• She gains a Ground Slam -- jump to avoid it.

Phase 4 - Final Form

• Caltheris becomes extremely aggressive and fast.
• Ground Slam is more powerful.
• Thrown rocks leave lingering electricity pools -- don't step in them.
• Use Stim Shots to counter burst damage. Save the brain jar power-up (Insta-Kill + Max Ammo + full Field Upgrade) for this phase.

Rewards

• 'Bottled Up' Nikolai Operator Skin (season-exclusive, only earned by completing the Main Quest)
• Permanent Calling Card (marks your Easter Egg completion)
• 10,000 XP bonus
• Large amounts of Weapon XP earned naturally during the run
• Battle Pass progression from kills and objectives

Tips

• LGM-1 is essential for the boss fight. Its auto-lock makes hitting crit spots much easier.
• Pack-a-Punch everything before starting Step 13.
• Stim Shots are crucial for surviving Caltheris Phase 4 burst damage.
• Mars low gravity makes catching the Ascendant Eye easier with wall jumps.
• O.S.C.A.R.'s drones are the real threat during portal defense. Prioritize them over zombies.
• Memorize the Tesla Tower order (far to near) before shooting -- doing it wrong wastes time.
• Piano puzzle is timed on Mars. Identify the missing symbol before teleporting back.
• Cryo Freeze ammo mod is only needed for Step 2. Switch to Brain Rot or Dead Wire after.

Good luck among the stars.