The best way to farm Essence is to complete contracts in the Yellow Zone of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (MW3) Zombies mode. Read on to learn more about how to farm Essence and how to spend them!

How to Farm Essence

1. Start by Farming Contracts in Low Threat Zone
2. Go to the Red Zone and Buy a Legendary Weapon
3. Upgrade Your Weapon to Pack-a-Punch Level 3
4. Keep on Farming Contracts in Yellow or Red Zone
5. Obtain Tombstone Perk and Die to a Zombie

Start by Doing Contracts in Low Threat Zone

Upon starting a Zombies game, you can begin by farming for Essence by completing Contracts in the Low Threat Zone (starting area) until you have 5,000 Essence, which you'll use later on to spend on getting a more powerful weapon.

Best Contracts to Complete

Prioritize Deliver Cargo and Eliminate Bounty

Focus on contracts that are quick to do such as Deliver Cargo since all you need to do is drive a heavily-armored vehicle to a drop-off point, while being chased by a chopper that you can easily outrun.

Eliminate Bounty is another fast contract as you'll only need to kill one Special zombie. This can be done fairly quick if you already have a good weapon to begin with such as the Tonfa.

Buy a Legendary Weapon in the Red Zone

After earning 5,000 Essence, head to the Red Zone and purchase a wallbuy weapon with Legendary Rarity, preferably those that are Assault Rifles or Light Machine Guns (LMG) for faster firing speed.

Avoid any semi-automatic weapons or Sniper Rifles as these are slow and you'll often find yourself cornered easily. If you can't find any Legendary ARs or LMGs, an Epic (Purple) version of those weapon types will be enough.

Once purchased, immediately leave the Red Zone to avoid gathering a large mob of zombies on you. You can use Decoy Grenades to distract zombies while buying or escaping!

Weapon Rarity Effects Explained

Rarity and Pack-a-Punch Bonus Damage Will Stack

Additional damage obtained from high Rarity weapons and Pack-a-Punch upgrades will stack with each other.

This is definitely useful as a Legendary weapon with Pack-a-Punch level 3 will be more than enough for you to handle the Red Zone.

Rarity vs Pack-a-Punch Damage Chart

Upgrade Weapon to Pack-a-Punch Level 3

You'll now need do contracts in the Yellow Zone to save up Essence and Pack-a-Punch it to Level 3. This Tier 2 zone is a great area to farm contracts as you'll receive more Essence and the contents in the Reward Rifts are usually better.

With the Legendary (or Epic) weapon at hand, you'll be able to handle Zombies in the Yellow Zone and breeze through contracts here.

Pack-a-Punch Cost and Locations

Keep Doing Contracts in the Yellow Zone

Now that you're set with a Legendary Gun combined with a Level 3 Pack-a-Punch on it, you can proceed to spam contracts in the Yellow Zone for Essence until the end of the game session, since you'll be overpowered enough to speed through these contracts.

You'll also now be able to go toe-to-toe with zombies in the Red Zone, so you can do contracts here as well if you wish to do so, preferably with enough perks on you to survive.

Obtain Tombstone Perk and Die to a Zombie

The Tombstone Perk is a great way to save up all your hard-earned Essence, since dying with this perk equipped will keep all your Essence in your inventory, ready to be picked up in the next game.

Before the Aether Storm fully expands, make sure to drink one and die to a zombie rather than exfiling.

With this, you'll be able to begin your next Zombies game session with an advantage as you can directly buy Legendary Rarity weapons and Pack-a-Punch them immediately.

How to Reclaim Gear from a Tombstone

Best Essence Gear and Weapons

Legendary Gun in Red Zone (~5,000)

It's worth spending your Essence on a Legendary Rarity Gun found on wallbuys around the Red Zone as these types of weapons provide additional bonus damage, so you can easily decimate large groups of zombies with ease.

Pack-a-Punch Level III (Total 30,000)

Another great way to spend your Essence is to upgrade your currently held weapon to Pack-a-Punch Level 3, as not only does it buff damage, but it also increases ammo count, allowing you to shred through zombies without worrying too much about having to reload all the time.

Perks: Juggernog, Stamin-Up, Tombstone (~6,000)

Juggernog, Stamin-Up, and Tombstone each cost 2,000 Essence and are the three best perks you can spend Essence on.

Juggernog increases your base health, Stamin-Up boosts your run speed, and Tombstone lets you retrieve your items if you died the previous game.

What is Essence?

Primary Resource in Zombies Mode

Essence is the primary resource that can be obtained and spent in Zombies mode. This resource can be obtained by completing tasks within Urikstan such as completing contracts and killing zombies or mercenaries.

The main purpose of Essence is to upgrade and purchase weapons, which will allow your character to survive in more difficult zones.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (MW3) Related Guides

Zombies Mode Walkthrough and Guide

All Zombies Guides

Other Zombies Guides