Zombies Mode Guide and Walkthrough (Season 5 Updated)

This is a guide to Modern Warfare Zombies Mode (MWZ) in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (MW3). Read on for a beginners guide and walkthrough of Zombies, Zombies map and secrets, a list of perks, ammo mods, and enemies, and to learn the best Zombies tips and tricks!

Zombies Mode Guide and Contents
Season 5 Reloaded Guide	Beginners Guide and Walkthrough	Tips and Tricks
Past Seasons Content	Map	Story Missions
Schematics	Perks	Ammo Mods
Weapons Guides	Aetherium	Field Upgrades
Contracts	Challenges and Enemies	Powerups
Secrets	Other Zombies Guides	Is Zombies Free-to-Play?
What is Zombies?	Related Guides	-

Zombies Season 5 Guide

MWZ Season 5 Reloaded Guide and Walkthrough

MWZ Season 5 Reloaded Walkthrough
1	Complete the Ascension Story Mission in Tile F5 to unlock the 4th Dark Aether. All players can access the Ascension story mission in Act 4, regardless of Zombies mission progression. ▶︎ Ascension Story Mission Walkthrough
2	You'll obtain the Mr. Peeks as a reward at the end of the story mission. It's one of the 4 new keys to enter the 4th Dark Aether Rift.
3	The other keys are the Echo of Drum, Echo of Giraffe Toy, and Echo of Locked Diary. They're all found in Urzikstan with various conditions to unlock each. ▶︎ Dark Aether Easter Egg Guide: How to Get All Keys
4	After obtaining all 4 keys and turning them to Gold Rarity, head to the 4th Dark Aether Rift in Tile F5 of Urzisktan (in the Palace Fountain). Place the keys on the pedestals to activate the 4th Dark Aether Rift. ▶︎ Dark Aether Rift Locations
5	Once the 4th Dark Aether Rift has been activated, a Mega Abomination will spawn in. Defeat it to get a Sigil that you can use to activate the new Dark Aether Rift.
6	In the new Dark Aether Map, complete the 3 Dark Aether Contracts, which all have the possibility to drop Elder Sigils. In a new match, use the Elder Sigils to enter the 4th Dark Aether Rift again. In the Elder version of the 4th Dark Aether Rift, you can get the new Season 5 Reloaded schematics for the Grenade Bandolier, Disciple Bottle, and Stash Increase. ▶︎ Dark Aether Interactive Map

Zombies Beginners Guide and Walkthrough

Getting Started in Zombies

What to Do First in Zombies Mode
1	Farm Essence (main currency): If you just want to farm essence, do it in low-threat zones. The Essence rewards remain the same.
2	▼ Focus on completing Contracts early on to get Essence and raise Containment Level
3	If you don't have Legendary Aether Tools, purchase a Legendary rarity weapon in the Red Zone. It's better to stack Pack-a-Punch upgrades on a Legendary rarity weapon to deal 32x damage. ▶︎ Rarity vs Pack-a-Punch Damage Chart
4	Pack-a-Punch your main weapon (the weapon you're most comfortable with) as soon as possible
5	You can spend Essence on Perk Machines too if you have extra. (Perks are only limited to 1 match, though.)
6	Complete Aether Nests to obtain lots of Ammo Mods, which you can exfil to future missions.
7	Always craft items using Schematics you obtain. There's no cost in crafting though they do have a cooldown.
▼ Recommended and Valuable Items

2. Focus on Completing Contracts Early On

Completing Contracts are the best way to gain Essence during the early phases of the game. The quickest Contracts to complete are Eliminate the Bounty and Delivery Cargo. Avoid contracts where you have to fight Mercenaries, such as Aether Extractors and Defend Ground Station. Mercenaries are tougher to deal with than zombies, as they shoot back at you.

Doing Contracts and succesfully exfiling also raises your Containment Level, dependent on the amount of Contracts you do. Reaching higher Containment Level gives you permanent buffs such as starting each match with 5,000 Essence and 20% off Pack-a-Punch cost.

Best Contracts to Complete

Recommended and Valuable Items for Zombies

Item	Usage	How to Get
Self-Revives	Allows you to revive yourself when knocked	Contract Rewards or Loot Caches
3-Plate Armor Vest	Allows you to wear up to three armor plates	Purchased from Buy Stations in Medium Threat zones
Large Rucksacks	Increases backpack inventory space	Found in Hidden Caches and Contract Rewards
Schematics	Craft consumables and weapons in the lobby for no cost	Contract Rewards
Gas Masks	Let's you breath poisonous air/gas	Loot from Mercenaries
Chunks of Flesh	Get a Pet Dog or Dog Collar Key	Kill zombies with explosive damage or let ACV in escort missions crush them

List of All Zombies Gear

Zombies Tips and Tricks

Zombies Mode Useful Tips
Better to Level 3 Pack-a-Punch an Epic Rarity Gun Than Level 2 Pack-a-Punch a Legendary Gun Warlords are Guaranteed Wonder Weapon Drops Don't Bring All Your Good Weapons and Items Into Single Match You Can Team Up With Players Outside Your Squad Utilize Tac Stance for Spatial Awareness Still Think Strategically Regarding Positioning Crouching and Proning Helps Avoid AI Enemy Attacks

Better to Level 3 Pack-a-Punch an Epic Rarity Gun Than Level 2 Pack-a-Punch a Legendary Gun

Rarity + PaP	Damage Multiplier	Overall Cost
Legendary + Level 3 PaP	32x	34,500
Epic + Level 3 PaP	24x	33,750
Legendary + Level 2 PaP	16x	19,500

Legendary (Gold) guns at Level 3 Pack-a-Punch deal the most damage out of all gun rarities, at 32x damage multiplier. At second best, Epic (Purple) Rarity guns at Level 3 Pack-a-Punch deal 24x damage. Third best is Legendary (Gold) guns at Level 2 Pack-a-Punch only, at 16x damage dealt.

Rarity vs Pack-a-Punch Damage Chart

Warlords are Guaranteed Wonder Weapon Drops

Defeating Warlord is guaranteed to give you a Wonder Weapon, so it's definitely worth trying out each match, especially if you're going to head into the Dark Aether. Wonder Weapons have the same damage multiplier as Legendary Guns.

How to Defeat Warlords

Don't Bring All Your Good Weapons and Items Into Single Match

Don’t bring all your good items into a single match. You'll lose them all if your squad gets eliminated. Just bring enough good items to get started. If you only have 2-3 guns total, stick to just bringing 1 gun, so that you’ll still have a gun next time, even if you get eliminated and lose the initial gun.

What You Lose When You Die

You only start with a pistol if you lose all your weapons

When you get eliminated and lose all your weapons, you start the next match with just a Handgun. At this point, it'd be best to just stay in the Low Threat Zone and get a vehicle fast to easily secure early kills.

You Can Team Up With Players Outside Your Squad

You can actually see other players as blue circles on the map. Try to get to their location so that you can try to party up with them. Having 6 members will significantly raise your chances of survival in higher threat zones.

Join other squads when you can, especially if you have less than 3 people. The more people in the squad, the more chances you have to be rescued if you die

Zombies Squad Size and Squads Explained

Utilize Tac Stance for Spatial Awareness

Tac Stance doesn't zoom you all the way in when you aim, giving you a much needed spatial awareness, making it very suited to surviving in the Zombies game mode.

How to Enter Tac Stance

Still Think Strategically Regarding Positioning

Enemies hit hard in this game mode. You can't always force your way out so learn to reposition yourself out of harm's way and use the terrain to your advantage.

Crouching and Proning Helps Avoid AI Enemy Attacks

Crouch and lay down to avoid enemy attacks. This is simple yet extremely effective! You can also revive teammates while in this position.

Zombies Past Seasons Content

MWZ Season 4 Content

Season 4 Guides
Unstable Rift Guide	-

MWZ Season 3 Content

Season 3 Guides
Union Walkthrough	Rainmaker Fortress
Free Flawless Crystal and Legendary Tool	-
Dark Aether Keys
Laptop with Stickers	Science Journal
Imaginary Friend Drawing	Giraffe Toy
Season 3 Schematics
Sergeant's Beret	Dead Wire Detonators
Golden Mask Filter	-

MWZ Season 2 Content

Season 2 Guides
Countermeasures Mission	Keres Fortress
Containment Levels	-
Dark Aether Keys
The Drum	Tattered MMA Gloves
Perforated Target	Pristine Mirror
Season 2 Schematics
Mags of Holding	Blood Burner Key
V-R11 Schematic	-

Zombies Season 2 Guide and All Content

MWZ Season 1 Content

Season 1 Reloaded Guides
Dokkaebi Fortress Location	-
Dark Aether Rift Guides
Act 4 Story Mission: Bad Signal	How to Enter the Dark Aether Rift
How to Beat Gorm'gant	How to Get All Keys
Locked Diary	Pill Bottle
Surveillance Camera	Dog Collar
How to Get Sigils	How to Get Elder Sigils
New Schematics and Weapons
Golden Armor Plate	Dog Bone
Aether Blade	Legendary Aether Tool
The Scorcher	Flawless Aetherium Crystal
V-R11 Wonder Weapon	-
Greylorm Boss Guides
How to Beat Greylorm	Calibration Data USB Locations
Refractor Locations	-
Dark Aether Guides
Dark Aether Interactive Map	Dark Aether Contract Locations
Dark Aether Exfil Locations	Dark Aether Key Locations
Al Bagra Officers Quarters	ABF Antiquities Office
Al Bagra Munitions Storeroom	Al Bagra Barrack
Zombies Prestige Challenges
10 Throwing Knife Kills in 30 Seconds	-

Zombies Season 1 Guide and All Content

Zombies Map

Urzikstan - Operation Deadbolt

There are 3 major Threat Zones in the Zombies map. The grey zone is the largest and has the easiest Zombies and enemies to kill. You'll find all the common loot and activities in the grey zone. The middle orange zone has tougher enemies but better weapons and loot, while the center red zone has the most difficult enemies and the best rewards.

The Zombies Game Mode uses the Urzikstan Warzone map as the playing area. It is the first open-world Zombies mode from Call of Duty.

Zombies Interactive Map

Zombies Story Missions

All Zombies Acts 1 to 4 Missions

Missions
Direct Line	Treasure Hunter
Road Rage	Wall Power
Firepower	Take Up Arms
Interceptor	Freezer Burn
Minelayer	Pit Stop
Saboteur	Automated Backup
Infiltrator	Hands Off
Blasted	Bring 'Em On
Hostile Takeover	Chaperone
Nest Wrecker	Where's Dr. Jansen?
Extraction	Same Day Delivery
Safe Cracker	Ascension
Merc Cleanup	Reaper
Guardian Angel	Shocked
More Firepower	Bounty Hunter
Essence of Aether	Heist
Mind Control	Frost Bite
Exterminator	Shepherd
Two Factor Authentication	Firestarter
Ghosted	Alternate Current
Most Firepower	Paint the Target
Crash and Burn	Storm the Castle
Closing Time	Spring Cleaning
Holdout	Defeat Zakhaev
Bad Signal	Countermeasures
Union	Ascension (Story Mission)

Zombies Acts and Mission Rewards

Zombies Schematics

All Crafting Schematics

Schematic	Loot Location
Refined Aetherium Diagram	High Threat Zone (Red) only
Epic Aether Tool Plans	High Threat Zone (Red) only
Ray Gun Plans	High Threat Zone (Red) only
Elemental Pop Recipe	High Threat Zone (Red) only
Tombstone Soda Recipe	High Threat Zone (Red) only
Raw Aetherium Diagram	Medium Threat Zone (Yellow) only
Jugger-Nog Recipe	Medium Threat Zone (Yellow) only
Shatter Blast Formula	Medium Threat Zone (Yellow) only
Dead Wire Formula	Medium Threat Zone (Yellow) only
PHD Flopper Recipe	Medium Threat Zone (Yellow) only
Stamin-Up Recipe	Low Threat Zone (Grey) only
Speed Cola Recipe	Low Threat Zone (Grey) only
Brain Rot Formula	Low Threat Zone (Grey) only
Napalm Burst Formula	Low Threat Zone (Yellow) only
Deadshot Daiquiri Recipe	Low Threat Zone (Grey) only

How to Get All Crafting Schematics

Zombies Perks

All Perk-a-Cola's

Perk-a-Cola	Effect
Deadshot Daiquiri	Aiming down sight moves to enemy critical location. Increase enemy critical damage.
Death Perception	Obscured enemies, chests, resources, and item drops are more easily spotted.
Elemental Pop	Every bullet you fire has a small chance to apply a random Ammo Mod effect.
Jugger-Nog	Increases maximum health.
PHD Flopper	Diving to prone triggers an explosion. The explosion increases the higher you fall. Immunity from fall damage while diving. Immunity from area-of-effect damage from weapons you are using.
Quick Revive	Reduce the health regeneration delay time by 50%. Reduce the time it takes to revive an ally by 50%.
Speed Cola	Drink to reload and replate armor faster.
Stamin-Up	Increases run and sprint speed.
Tombstone Soda	On death, you create a tombstone stash at that location, containing your backpack inventory in the next game.

Aside from completing Missions, make sure to also go for Perk Machines in order to activate Perks during your deployments in Zombies. You can stack multiple Perks on top of each other.

List of All Zombies Perks

Zombies Ammo Mods

All Ammo Mods

Ammo Mods	Effect
Brain Rot	Consume to apply Brain Rot to your weapon
Cryo Freeze	Consume to apply Freeze Damage to your weapon
Dead Wire	Consume to apply Electric Damage to your weapon
Napalm Burst	Consume to apply Fire Damage to your weapon
Shatter Blast	Consume to apply explosive damage to your weapon

Ammo Mods upgrade your ammunition and allow your weapon to deal unique effects on Zombies. These effects vary from applying damage effect to even making Zombies behave irregularly.

List of All Zombies Ammo Mods

Zombies Weapons Guides

All Zombies Guns and Weapons

All Zombies Guns and Weapon Guides
Best Guns	Refund Weapon Upgrades
Weapon Rarity	Pack-a-Punch
Reduce Weapon Cooldown	Insured Slots and Contraband
Wonder Weapons	Ray Gun
Wunderwaffe DG-2	The Scorcher
V-R11	Rarity vs Pack-a-Punch
Wonder Weapon Rarity Glitch	-

All Zombie Weapon Locations

Zombies Aetherium

All Aetherium

All Aetherium Crystals and Aether Tools
Legendary Aether Tool	Flawless Aetherium Crystal
Epic Aether Tool	Refined Aetherium Crystal
Rare Aether Tool	Raw Aetherium Crystal
Uncommon Aether Tool	-

List of Aetherium and Aether Tools

Zombies Field Upgrades

Field Upgrade	Effect	Unlock Level
Energy Mine	Recharge: Medium Effect: Spawn an explosive, dealing massive damage to enemies who set it off.	Level 1
Frenzied Guard	Recharge: Slow Effect: Repair armor to full and force all enemies in the area to target you for 10 seconds. Enemy kills repair armor during this time.	Level 9
Healing Aura	Recharge: Slow Effect: Heal all players immediately.	Level 19
Frost Blast	Recharge: Medium Effect: Damage enemies with the initial blast and slow those that enter.	Level 29
Aether Shroud	Recharge: Medium Effect: Become invisible to zombies.	Level 39
Tesla Storm	Recharge: Slow Effect: For 10 seconds lightning connects to other players, stunning and damaging normal enemies.	Level 50

Best Zombies Field Upgrades Tier List

Zombies Contracts

All Contract Types

Contract	Overview
Aether Extractors	Objectives: • Locate Aether Extractor LZ • Disable the Aether Extractors Enemies: • Mercenaries
Defend Ground Station	Objectives: • Collect data from seismic refractors • Activate Server to Start Upload • Protect the Server from Mercs. Enemies: • Mercenaries
Deliver Cargo	Objectives: • Deliver the cargo to the HLZ. Enemies: • Mercenaries
Eliminate the Bounty	Objectives: • Locate the Elite Zombie and eliminate it. Enemies: • Elite Zombies
Escort	Objectives: • Escort the ACV. Enemies: • Normal Zombies • Special Zombies • Hellhounds
Outlast	Objectives: • Activate the PND • Remain in the environment. Enemies: • Normal Zombies • Hellhounds
Raid Weapon Stash	Objectives: • Locate the stash • Secure the stash. Enemies: • Normal Zombies • Special Zombies • Hellhounds
Spore Control	Objectives: • Locate the Inhibitor devices • Use Inhibitors to help destroy Spores Enemies: • Normal Zombies

Best Contracts to Complete

Zombies Challenges and Enemies

Enemy Type / Challenge	Challenge Type
Special and Elite Zombie Kills	Camo Challenge (Serpentinite)
Hellhounds	Daily Challenge
Kill Mimics	Daily Challenge
Kill Disciples	Daily Challenge
Kill Manglers	Daily Challenge
Toxic Damage Kills	Daily Challenge
Electric Damage Kills	Daily Challenge
Fire Damage Kills	Daily Challenge
Frost Damage Kills	Daily Challenge
Armored Zombies	Daily Challenge
PHD Flopper Explosions	Weekly Challenge (Season 0 Week 1)

Zombies Challenges and Enemy Types

Zombies Powerups

All Power Ups

Power Up	Effect
Full Power	Instantly refreshes your Field Upgrade.
Insta Kill	Allows you to one-shot enemies. (This does not include Special and Elite Zombies)
Nuke	Kills all nearby enemies.
Full Armor	Refills your Armor Plates back to full
Max Ammo	Refills your Ammo Supply
Bonus Points	Gives you additional points for killing enemies.
Double Points	Gives you x2 bonus points for killing enemies.
Random Perk	Gives you a random Perk

You can also pick up power-ups that are randomly dropped by killing zombies to gain bonus effects for a short period of time. The effects of these power-ups apply to all members of your squad, regardless of who picks up the power-up or how far away they are.

List of All Zombies Powerups

Zombies Secrets

Locked Vault in Shahin Manor

The Locked Vault contains Aether and Loot Caches that contain higher rarity weapons and items. It's found in the bottom right region of the map, Shahin Manor, but you'll need to collect Transmission from 4 Chess Piece Bosses found across the map.

How to Open the Locked Vault

There Are Fast Travel Points on the Map

Zombies mode has fast travel points called Zero-Point Interdimensional Portals. These portals appear in set locations throughout the map and you can use them by spending Essence. The catch is that you need to input a pattern of 3 symbols to determine which exit point the portal will bring you to.

Portal Locations and Symbol Solutions

Other Zombies Guides

Other Zombies Guides

Zombies Season 5 Guides
Ascension Act 4 Story Mission Walkthrough
Mr. Peeks	Echo of Drum
Echo of Locked Diary	Echo of Giraffe Toy
Disciple Bottle	Grenade Bandolier
Stash Increase	-
Zombies Season 4 Guides
Unstable Rift	-
Zombies Season 3 Guides
Giraffe Toy	Imaginary Friend Drawing
Science Journal	Laptop With Stickers
Rainmaker Fortress Location	Free Flawless Crystal and Legendary Tool
Other Zombies Guides and Walkthroughs
How to Play Solo	Zombies Squad Size
How to Farm Essence	How to Get Pet Dog
Elder Sigils	How to Get Sigils
Zombies Motorcycle	Zombies Easter Eggs
Death Penalty	Leave Match Penalty
How to Revive	Zombies Battle Pass XP
Cyphered Tablets	Stronghold Keycards
How to Destroy Helicopters	Where to Find Loot Caches
Zombies Ending Explained	How to Leave Squad

Is Zombies Game Mode Free-to-Play?

Zombies Game Mode is Part of the Base Game

Zombies Game Mode is part of the base game of Modern Warfare 3, meaning there is no additional payment to unlock this game mode but it's not a free-to-play game mode that you can get separate from the base game purchase like Warzone was for Modern Warfare 2.

What is the Zombies Game Mode?

PvE Extraction Game Mode

The Modern Warfare Zombies Game Mode is a PvE Extraction similar to Warzone DMZ. The only twist here is that there will be Zombie Hordes and other human enemies on the map that will come after you and your team!

The main objectives are to complete missions to get rewards and other items and extract within the time limit to win!

Features Open World and More Cooperative Gameplay

Zombies Game Mode is an open world, meaning the map is extremely spacious and there will be a lot of areas to explore. You can also request other players outside your team to work with them to complete missions and increase the chances of surviving!

Modern Warfare 3 (MW3) Related Guides

Modern Warfare 3 Wiki Top

Modern Warfare 3 Guides

MW3 Wiki Contents
Campaign	Zombies Mode
Camos	Guns and Weapons
Tips and Tricks	News and Game Info
Operators	Attachments
Calling Cards	Blueprints
Seasons	Battle Pass
Store Bundles	Trophies and Achievements
Equipment	Perks
Maps	Multiplayer Modes
Emblems	Charms
Characters	Loading Screens
Stickers and Large Decals	Bugs and Errors