Dark Aether Rift Locations, Rewards, and How to Enter

There are three Dark Aether Rifts located in Urzikstan in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (MW3) Zombies. Learn all Dark Aether Rift locations, rewards, and how to enter the Dark Aether Rifts!

Dark Aether Rift Locations and Rewards

3 Dark Aether Rifts as of Season 3 Reloaded

Location	Possible Rewards
Tile E4	・Elder Sigils ・Golden Mask Filter ・Sergeant's Beret ・Dead Wire Detonators
Tile G4	・ Elder Sigils ・ Mags of Holding ・ Blood Burner Key ・ V-R11 Schematic (Elder Rift) ・ Golden Armor Plate ・ Dog Bone
Tile F6	・ Elder Sigils ・ Dog Bone ・ Golden Armor Plate ・ Aether Blade

There are Dark Aether Rifts located on Tile F6, Tile G4, and TIle E4 of the Urzikstan Zombies Map, all 3 in the Red Zone and each with different reward pools.

Listed above are the rewards that you can only get from that specific Dark Aether. It doesn't include generic rewards such as Aether Tools and Aetherium, Perks, Ammo Mods, and Killstreak Gear.

Dark Aether Easter Egg Guide: How to Get All Keys

How to Enter Dark Aether Rift

Jump to a Dark Aether Rift Walkthrough
3nd Dark Aether Rift (Tile E4)
2nd Dark Aether Rift (Tile G4)	1st Dark Aether Rift (Tile F6)

3rd Dark Aether Rift (Season 3 Reloaded)

1. Complete Union Story Mission
2. Collect All 4 New Relic Keys
3. Upgrade 3 Keys to Gold Before Placing on Pedestals
4. Obtain a Sigil and Open the Portal

Complete Union Story Mission

You must first complete the new story mission Union, wherein you must locate Dr. Jansen, defeat a boss, and obtain the golden Giraffe Toy Relic Key.

Union Mission Walkthrough

Collect All 4 New Relic Keys

The first key, the golden Giraffe Toy, will already be in your possession. You will then need to collect the other three keys: the Science Journal, Laptop With Stickers, and Imaginary Friend Drawing.

Pedestal Keys	How to Get
Giraffe Toy	In Reward Rift after completing the Union story mission.
Science Journal	Head to the Aether Storm and kill around 50 Zombies until Reward Rift appears.
Laptop With Stickers	Head to a Mercenary Camp and kill a Sergeant with a pet dog (Hellhound) until Reward Rift appears.
Imaginary Friend Drawing	Head to the main building of Zohoor Ranch with Death Perception active and interact with an object under the bed on the top floor.

Upgrade 3 Keys to Gold Before Placing on Pedestals

You will need to upgrade the Science Journal, Laptop With Stickers, and Imaginary Friend Drawing from Purple to Gold.

In order to do this, you must head to each upgrade location, stand on the small rune triangle, shoot 3 runes that appear, then find a nearby spot that will enable you to line up the runes so they form a giant triangle.

Pedestal Key	Upgrade Location
Science Journal	Head to the purple triangle at Tile E4, just south of the Dark Aether Rift
Laptop With Stickers	Head to the purple triangle at Tile F5 on the map.
Imaginary Friend Drawing	head to the purple triangle at Tile F5 on the map.

Full guides with images are found on the individual Key pages above.

Obtain a Sigil and Open the Portal

After upgrading all keys to gold, bring them to the Dark Aether Rift in Tile E4 (in the Red Zone) and place them on the pedestals with the corresponding symbols. This will summon the Dark Aether Rift and reward you with a Sigil as well.

▶︎ How to Get Sigils

▶︎ Dark Aether Map

▶︎ Elder Sigils

2nd Dark Aether Rift (Season 2 Reloaded)

1. Complete Countermeasures Story Mission
2. Collect All 4 New Keys from Obelisks in Countermeasures Mission Map
3. Upgrade 3 Keys to Gold Before Placing on Pedestals
4. Obtain a Sigil and Open the Portal

Complete Countermeasures Story Mission

In order to enter the new Dark Aether Rift, you'll need to complete the Act 4 Story Mission Countermeasures, which takes place in the Dark Aether. In the Reward Rift for beating the boss at the end of this mission, there will be the Drum item. This is one of the 4 keys needed to enter the 2nd Dark Aether Rift.

What to Do With the Drum

Collect All 4 New Keys from Obelisks in Countermeasures Mission Map

The 3 other keys needed to enter the 2nd Dark Aether Rift are all also found within the Countermeasures Mission map. You'll need to locate 3 different obelisks and start their challenge in order to obtain the key afterward.

Obelisk Location	Obelisk Challenge
Tattered MMA Gloves	Melee Kills
Perforated Target	Headshot Kills
Pristine Mirror	Kill zombies with Ammo Mod corresponding to color of the ring

Note that you'll have to repeat the Countermeasures Mission every time you enter its map—and every time you do, you get the Drum. The Countermeasures Mission is repeatable, so you don't need to get all 4 keys within the time limit, but it's possible to get them all in one go.

Upgrade 3 Keys to Gold Before Placing on Pedestals

After obtaining all 4 keys, you'll have to turn them into gold rarity before using them to enter the Dark Aether Rift. The Drum is already gold rarity, so you'll only need to upgrade the 3 other keys.

Pedestal Key	How to Upgrade
Tattered MMA Gloves	Proceed to the Gym found on tile F7 in the Zaravan Suburbs and offer the gloves in the middle of the boxing ring inside. After that, three punching bags will spawn on the right side of the gym. Punch them only once from left to right to set them all on fire.
Perforated Target	Proceed to the Shooting Range found on tile H8 in Shahin Manor. Offer the key to the target in the middle to spawn another set of glowing targets. Shoot those to spawn a unique zombie that you'll have to headshot.
Pristine Mirror	Go to the Graveyard found on tile I3. Offer the mirror in one of the graves, and it will spawn 3 zombies that you need to kill with different Ammo Mods. You'll find all three Ammo Mods in a lit up tower nearby.

Full guides with images are found on the individual Key pages above.

Obtain a Sigil and Open the Portal

After upgrading all keys to gold, bring them to the Dark Aether Rift in Tile G4 (in the Red Zone) and place them on the pedestals with the corresponding symbols. This will summon the Dark Aether Rift and reward you with a Sigil as well.

Use the Sigil on the south side of the rift in order to activate it. If you're in a squad, the squad members will have to vote to confirm teleporting to the Dark Aether.

▶︎ How to Get Sigils

▶︎ Dark Aether Map

▶︎ Elder Sigils

1st Dark Aether Rift (Season 1)

1. Complete Bad Signal Story Mission
2. Collect All 4 Key Items
3. Upgrade Keys to Gold Before Placing on Pedestals
4. Obtain a Sigil and Open the Portal

Complete Bad Signal Mission

Before you can enter the Dark Aether Rift, you'll first have to complete the Act 4 Mission, Bad Signal. This mission actually lets you visit the Dark Aether for a short while, however, you won't be able to re-enter the Dark Aether after finishing it until you've done all the necessary steps to open the portal again.

Bad Signal Act 4 Mission Walkthrough

Collect All 4 Key Items

After finishing the Bad Signal mission, you will then have to collect all 4 key items and place them on their corresponding pedestals in front of the Dark Aether Rift entrance. The 4 key items are as follows: Locked Diary, Pill Bottle, Surveillance Camera, and Dog Collar.

Below is a list of where to get all 4 Key items, which are required to open the Dark Aether Rift.

Key Item	How to Get
Locked Diary	Reward from completing Act 4 Mission, Bad Signal
Pill Bottle	Shoot a Cyst in Aether Nests with a Brain Rot Ammo Mod equipped.
Surveillance Camera	Destroy a Harvester Orb with a Dead Wire Ammo Mod equipped.
Dog Collar	Place a Chunk of Flesh and Molotov in a Dog House, then kill the Hellhound that comes out of it.

How to Get All Keys

Upgrade Keys to Gold Before Placing on Pedestals

After getting each key, you'll have to upgrade them to Gold rarity before you can place them on top of the pedestals. This can be done by going into an Aether Tear while holding a key and parachuting towards a Gold Rift in the sky.

A Purple Bounty Contract will then become available for you to accept somewhere on the map, and you'll have to complete it in order to upgrade a key to its Gold version.

All Aether Tear Locations

Obtain a Sigil and Open the Portal

You can get one Sigil after activating the Dark Aether Rift for the first time. However, succeeding Sigils must be obtained by completing contracts in the High Threat Zone (Red Zone).

To enter the Dark Aether Rift, use a Sigil on the pillar of the entrance to open the portal. Afterwards, all players in a squad must partake in a voting system and reach the required amount of “Yes” votes needed in order to be transported to the Dark Aether Rift.

▶︎ How to Get Sigils

▶︎ Dark Aether Map

▶︎ Elder Sigils

Modern Warfare 3 Related Guides

Zombies Mode Walkthrough and Guide

All Zombies Guides

Zombies Guides and Lists
Zombies Missions	Zombies Season 2
Zombies Season 1	Zombies Map
Zombies Weapons	Crafting Schematics
Aetherium	Challenges and Enemies
Zombies Perks	Zombies Ammo Mods
Zombies Field Upgrades	Zombies Gear
Contracts	Zombies Power-Ups

All Zombies Map Locations

Dark Aether Map Locations
Dark Aether Rift Locations	Dark Aether Easter Eggs: How to Get All Keys
Dark Aether Map	Dark Aether Contract Locations
Dark Aether Exfil Locations	-
Zombies Map Locations
Legacy Fortress	Portals and Codes
Mystery Boxes	Perk Machines
Locked Vault	Pawn Transmission
Strongholds	Buy Station
Merc Camps	Deadbolt Turrets
Aether Tear	Redeploy Drones
Der Wunderfizz	Red Zone
Exfil	Gas Station
Bunkers	Audio Logs
Bosses	Hidden Caches
Doghouses	-