With the Outbreak mode, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War introduced a new zombie experience. You fight at your own pace against the nasty undead on large maps. MeinMMO shows you 5 tips with which you can survive longer and achieve high round numbers.
What is the Outbreak mode? Outbreak is part of the zombie mode of Black Ops Cold War and has been available since the start of Season 2. The story revolves around “Dark Ether” outbreaks, which connect the dimension of the zombies with our universe and against which you should take action.
You land on a large Fireteam map from Cold War, which you can explore and scout at your own pace. For this, you have the usual zombie mechanics available, along with a few unique gameplay ideas that only the Outbreak mode brings. After each round you complete, the mode transports you to a new map with higher difficulty and new tasks.
What is the goal of Outbreak? In this PvE co-op mode, you should complete as many rounds as possible or can be evacuated by a helicopter after finishing a round. Later, the mode is also supposed to get story Easter eggs, which are typical of the zombie mode in Call of Duty. Right now, it’s all about pure zombie slaughter.
The difficulty ramps up significantly with each round, and if you’re not careful, the Outbreak mode becomes unmanageable starting from round 3, maybe even 4. To make sure you get through well and understand why you can even open boxes incorrectly in the Outbreak mode, you can find 5 important tips here on MeinMMO.
1. Tip – Play Outbreak differently than the normal Zombie mode
How should I approach the Outbreak mode? In general, the latest zombie mode takes the mechanics of the co-op experience to a significantly larger map and leaves it up to you how quickly you want to progress. With the right tactics, you can also take short breaks from the constant onslaught of the undead in the “normal” zombie mode, but in Outbreak, it’s much more relaxed, and you should take advantage of that.
Don’t rush to the main mission and as quickly as possible to the next level. Take your time, explore the map, and loot as much as you can. Because there’s one important point on which all zombie modes agree: If you don’t constantly improve your equipment, you eventually have no chance. However, Outbreak gives you enough time to collect strong gear easily. It only gets tight when you go completely down and respawn. Then you lose all your stuff.
The difficulty of the mode scales in two stages. You can play solo or as a complete 4-player team – currently, there are no difficulty adjustments for 2-player or 3-player teams. So, you should always fill the team with “random” players. If you go into a team alone, you also cannot control when you start the next map. With 4 people, 3 players must always vote to proceed. If you’re just two, you can block progress and continue looting.
2. Tip – Use currencies wisely and become stronger
How do I get stronger? In the zombie mode of CoD, experience is an important factor. You need to understand how the enemies behave, how the mechanics function, and how to handle fighting against many foes effectively. The more you play, the better you can assess situations, and even with poor equipment, with enough time, you can achieve your objectives.
Equally important is strong equipment. You receive three currencies throughout a match:
- Essence through points and looting
- Better weapons and interactions on the map
- Scrap through looting
- Level 1 & 2 for armor & weapons
- Roll new weapon attachments
- Equipment at the workbench
- High-quality scrap through looting
- Level 3 armor
- Level 3 & 4 weapons
- Equipment at the workbench
If you look at the map, you can see the currency status at the bottom. At certain workstations you find on the map, you can get upgrades and equipment in exchange for your collected savings. Among them are genuine anti-zombie upgrades for your weapons that make your guns look quite wild.
However, when upgrading, keep the following thoughts in mind:
- Better armor increases the time you survive
- Better weapons reduce the time to kill zombies
Since the maps of the Outbreak mode are so vast and you usually have a lot of space for your battles, you should look to ensure that you get your armor to the maximum of 3 plates early on. Save on your weapons at the beginning. If you utilize the rounds fully, loot a lot, and complete challenges, you might come across good weapons without needing to buy them.
The rarity of your starter weapon should be upgraded expensively with scrap. You should avoid this and loot or buy weapons instead. While you may not always use your favorite weapons, you save a lot of resources.
Save your scrap for armor and equipment and only use the zombie currency “Essence” for your weapon upgrades. In the beginning, you have very little scrap and essence – especially if you are in a team. Plan your currencies well and carefully consider if you need a weapon upgrade.
3. Tip – Get better weapons, armor & perks
How do I get better weapons? The zombie mode in Cold War has 3 different weapon upgrades:
- Upgrade the rarity (color) of a weapon with scrap at the arsenal
- Increase the Pack-a-Punch level at the Pack-a-Punch machines
- Add a ammo modification at the Pack-a-Punch machine
The higher the rarity level and Pack-a-Punch level, the more damage you deal to the putrid enemies. You should always install an ammo modification, as they are relatively inexpensive.
If you want to achieve really high round counts, you cannot do without the special wonder weapons. These are specially designed zombie killers that do not exist in multiplayer mode. However, you can only loot the weapons in Outbreak randomly, you can find the four sources for wonder weapons here.
How do I strengthen my armor? The first armor level can still be looted. There are armor bags that give you the first of three segments in front of your health. These bags can still be found relatively often at the beginning, allowing you to save some scrap. You can obtain levels 2 and 3 at the arsenal. Select the “Armor” tab and get the upgrade for scrap (level 2) and high-quality scrap (level 3).
When you take damage, your armor decreases. At the lower levels, an armor segment can even be completely destroyed this way. You can refill your armor at the arsenal for scrap or loot armor plates. These go directly to your armor account and you don’t need to insert them.
Where do I get perks? They appear in the zombie mode in the form of drink cans and provide you with powerful gameplay bonuses. You can run faster, have more health, or have aim assistance for headshots. You buy the cans at a vending machine for essence or can loot them.
Where do I get equipment? You also find workbenches on the maps where you can buy equipment and support. Here, you can get standard grenades, but also killstreaks that allow you to eliminate zombies in waves. A revival kit is also available. If you have scrap left over, you can invest it well here.
4. Tip – Get the maximum out of each round
There are a few mechanics in Outbreak that aren’t immediately obvious but can provide many resources. Take everything you can in a round to enhance your gear as quickly as possible.
Loot boxes: You can find loot boxes all over the maps. However, you shouldn’t just open them, as they have a small “mini-game.” There is a display with a smiling face on the left of the box. Only open the boxes when the background on the display is yellow. That yields the most loot.
Side missions: There are 3 different types of side missions in Outbreak, and one of them is available each round:
- Free perk – Symbol with skulls
- Elimination – Symbol with box & lightning
- Feed dragons – Symbol with dragons
All missions revolve around destroying a wave of zombies to earn plenty of loot. You should always take the side quests of a round; they give you plenty of gear.
Challenges: For some essence, you can start a gameplay challenge at the Trials machines. You then have 5 minutes to complete certain tasks – for example, “Critical Zombie Kills.” The more you complete, the higher your threat level increases. And at the maximum “Legendary,” you get the really good stuff. A wonder weapon might be included.
You can tell if an action counts by the frame around the mission text. It glows red for a moment when you make progress.
The catch: You do not have to collect your reward after each challenge. If the task did not fit, and you did not get far, start a new challenge and continue working on your level. You should always aim for “Legendary” during the phase when you still need better weapons.
Jump pads: For a little essence, you can launch yourself into the air. Deploy the parachute, look around, and grab large essence containers that you can find in otherwise unreachable spots all over the map. The pads are also great for quickly getting to your evacuation point if you want to end the game.
5. Tip – All major zombies have weaknesses
There are 5 boss zombies in Outbreak that you will encounter repeatedly. You can recognize them by the skulls next to their health bar and their overt behavior. They have special attacks and properties, but also weaknesses.
Mangler: These nasty fellows shoot at you with an arm cannon. Their greatest strength is also their weakness – you can shoot off their cannons and deal substantial damage. Manglers are vulnerable to the ammo type Napalm Salvo.
Imitators: Very ugly zombies that like to disguise themselves as boxes and attack unexpectedly. Keeping your aim helps. Best with the ammo type Brain Rot.
Krasny Soldat: Zombie mech that has an energy cell as a small weak point directly next to its helmet. The armored behemoths do not like the ammo type Butterfly Blast.
Storm: These enemies use ranged attacks and like to teleport. Fire at their weak point on the chest to take them down faster. The ammo type Cryo Freeze accelerates the process further.
Megaton: This overgrown zombie has two forms and splits into two autonomous zombies after the first health bar is emptied. Both forms can be better destroyed with the ammo type Dead Wire.
Bosses are a good source of loot and essence. If you play in a team, you should coordinate your ammo types.
Bonus Tip: Take Items that Help the Team
Which weapon should I choose? When choosing a weapon, keep in mind that you will often be in close combat and headshots are desired.
In close combat, shotguns work very well, but submachine guns also do their job. Tactical rifles allow precise shots and many headshots, so they are also powerful. However, don’t be picky overall, and take the weapons you find with high rarity during the match.
The Pack-a-Punch upgrades also change the properties of the weapons and a gun you would never use in multiplayer suddenly becomes quite fun in zombie mode.
Which field upgrade should I choose? If you enter in team mode, you should bring Healing Aura. This allows you to heal yourself and your teammates, and even revive them when they are down. If you have more experience and a good team, the Ring of Fire can also be strong to turn an adverse situation around. However, the Healing Aura is truly powerful.
Solo, the Ether Shroud helps you survive. The zombies cannot detect you for a brief moment, and you can comfortably escape the death zone during that time.
What else should I consider? You can upgrade all equipment outside of matches in the game menu with Aetherium Crystals. You receive the crystals upon completing rounds. This way, you can secure really strong bonuses. The Healing Aura, for example, changes from pure healing to a revival tool that revives all your team members. However, you can upgrade much more:
- Weapon classes
- Field upgrades
- Perks
- Ammo modifications
You should start by maxing out each equipment category. Begin with the field upgrade and then level one of the 5 ammo types. If you have a fixed team, coordinate on the ammo types. This way, everyone can quickly max out a different type of ammunition.
If you want to watch a German video with strong tips for Outbreak, check out the YouTuber “AhrensburgAlex.” We embed the video for you here:
With the integration of Cold War into the Battle Royale Warzone, the zombies spread further. By now, the undead have been “logically” inserted into the CoD universes of Black Ops and Modern Warfare and have connected the stories. Outbreak is a significant step in a different direction of the co-op mode, and Call of Duty seems to have more planned with its zombies.
Leaks even suggest an upcoming standalone zombie spin-off of CoD. It will be exciting to see what the developers are still planning.
