Zombies is also known for carrying on the tradition of odd Easter Eggs within Call of Duty games. Later games feature "major" Easter Eggs known as Main Quests, which further progress the story; upon completion of said quests, players are usually granted an achievement/trophy, in addition to an in-game reward, usually in the form of weapons, Perks, or Calling Cards.
Zombies become stronger, faster and in higher numbers upon the completion of each round, forcing players to make tactical decisions about point spending and progressing through the map. On occasion, zombies will drop various power-ups such as Max Ammo, Nuke, Insta-Kill, or Double Points upon their death, making the round easier.
In World at War, players battle strictly against Nazi Zombies in Nacht der Untoten, Verrckt, and Der Riese, while Shi No Numa features Imperial Japanese Army zombies. Starting from Black Ops, Zombies features a variety of settings and locales, which in turn allows zombies of different nationalities to be featured.
With the Dark Aether Saga games, Treyarch allows players to play as any of the Operators, who are also featured in Multiplayer and Warzone modes. The Operators themselves have limited interaction with the maps and story, but they are guided by other NPCs who communicate with them and each other, filling in the place of previous playable characters who often have conversations with one another. Canonically, the Operators' identities are not specified within the story, beyond what they are referred to collectively:
Starting at round 10, their health increases by +10% each round. This eventually grows into massive numbers; at round 15 they have 1683 health, at round 30 they have 7030 health, at round 50 they have 47295 health, at round 100 they have 5.5 million health, and so on. For reference, automatic bullet weapons typically do somewhere between 50-200 damage per shot. Wonder Weapons and other extraordinary tools that do infinite damage (or otherwise extremely high damage) eventually become the only way to realistically kill even a single zombie at higher rounds.
A zombie health cap was introduced in Black Ops 4, in which the health amount reaches a maximum at a specific round and does not go higher, and also does not reset at any point, allowing regular weapons to be usable in high-round gameplay.
In Der Riese as well as all of Black Ops, Black Ops II, and Black Ops III there can only be 24 zombies on the map at one time, with new ones respawning as the ones currently present are killed. Unlike zombies' health, the growth in their numbers is not linear, instead following these formulas after round 10, R being the current round and rounding up if the result is not an integer:
There is a point system in the game mode that awards players for progress. Points can be used to purchase different items and features, such as weapons or open doors and barriers. Some special zombies give reduced or no points, and sometimes repeating an action causes diminishing returns.
In Black Ops 4, the points system was overhauled, where kills would grant a fixed amount of points: 150 points for lethal melee, 120 points for lethal headshot, and 90 points for other lethal hits. In Black Ops Cold War, the points system was overhauled once more, where both lethal melee and headshot give 115 points.
Nacht der Untoten (German: "Night of the Undead") is the first map of the Zombies Campaign. It is also the smallest and simplest, as there are only three rooms in this map. The Zombies in this map are less deadly than the ones in other maps, as they do not reach through windows and they're the least smart in terms of AI. The Zombies also look more human in this map and they just groan and moan. This was the only map to not include Perk-a-Colas until the September 27, 2011 update that provided every map with Mule Kick, however, this only applies to Call of Duty: Black Ops. Because it is a last minute developer addition, this map simply acts as an introduction to the Zombies Game Mode and does not advance the Zombie Story Arc; it's more along the lines of an isolated incident for four unnamed soldiers. It takes various design elements from a bunker in the multiplayer map Airfield. The version in Call of Duty: Black Ops features the original power-ups, including the Carpenter power-up (which was first introduced in Der Riese) including the power-up icons, instead of the text and the remaining time at the bottom. Cold War weapons are available in the Mystery Box, zombies can now reach through the windows to hit the players, and a new musical easter egg called "Undone" can be found. A remaster is also found in Call of Duty: Black Ops III, allowing use of features such as Black Ops III-era weapons, GobbleGum and Der Wunderfizz machine.
Verrckt (German: "Crazy/Insane") is the second map in the Zombies campaign. It is based on the multiplayer map Asylum, as they share many traits. The zombies in it are much more dangerous because they can attack through windows and can sprint. This is also the first map to include traps, Perk-a-Colas, and Bouncing Betties, as well as the first map to require the power to be turned on. There are ten rooms in this map, which require points to open. This is the first map where the Mystery Box can be teleported by the teddy bear and reappear somewhere else. This map takes place in Wittenau Sanatorium in Berlin, Germany, and this is the first map to feature different factions. There is a German and American side, each with the faction's respective weapons. When playing with three or four players, they will be split up and have to reunite at the generator room unless two people activate the power, after which the door connecting the two starting areas opens. This map also introduces the PPSh-41, available from the Mystery Box. In the Call of Duty: Black Ops version of this map a new Wonder Weapon, the Winter's Howl, is introduced. A remaster is also found in Call of Duty: Black Ops III, allowing use of features such as Black Ops III-era weapons, GobbleGum and Der Wunderfizz machine.
Shi No Numa (Japanese: "Swamp of Death") is the third map in the Zombies Campaign, and is the first not to feature Nazi Zombies. The maximum Zombie running speed has been reduced from a full sprint back to the original running speed, possibly for difficulty reasons. There are five main buildings in this map and four unlockable swamp areas connecting these buildings. Four of the buildings contain only one room, while the main building has three. This is the second map where the electricity does not have to be turned on. This map, along with Shangri-La, Moon, Nuketown Zombies, The Giant, and Zetsubou No Shima has Perk-a-Cola Machines that spawn randomly, although this map was the first to introduce it. This is also the second map where the Mystery Box can move, with a new feature: a yellow beam above the place which it has spawned. Players can now walk outside of buildings without glitching or cheating and zombies can spawn next to them without bypassing a barrier. The Zipline utility is introduced here, and returns in Call of the Dead. There are now special rounds in which the players ward off Hellhounds, a newly introduced enemy, and are awarded with a Max Ammo afterwards. It is also the first map where the individual identities of the players are known. Shi No Numa also introduces a new Wonder Weapon, the Wunderwaffe DG-2, an electricity-casting weapon that can kill up to ten zombies at once, in a chain reaction. This map is also the only one with the Flogger, a manually activated trap. In this map, the Zombies backstory unfolds for the four main characters, Tank Dempsey, Nikolai Belinski, Takeo Masaki, and Edward Richtofen. This map takes some of its design features from the multiplayer map Knee Deep. A remaster is also found in Call of Duty: Black Ops III, allowing use of features such as Black Ops III-era weapons, GobbleGum and Der Wunderfizz machine.
Der Riese (German: "The Giant") is the fourth map in the Zombies Campaign. It takes some features from the multiplayer map Nightfire. It is the first map where zombies can climb over areas and jump down from an area towards the characters. It also introduces the Pack-a-Punch Machine, which for 5000 points upgrades weapons to have increased ammo capacity, more power, higher fire rate etc. It is the second map where the power is required to be switched on. Der Riese is the third map where Perk-a-Cola machines are included, and the second where Perk-a-Cola machines do not spawn randomly. Der Riese is the second map to contain hellhounds, which spawn about every five rounds. It is the first map to have teleporters, the Monkey Bomb, the Bowie Knife, and the Fly Trap. It is the second map where the identity of the characters are known, and sub-sequentially advances the plot. It is the second to have a small objective, which is turning on the power and connecting the three teleporters to the mainframe to access the Pack-a-Punch machine. Der Riese also features the new "Carpenter" power-up, which boards up all opened windows in the level and award the players 200 points. It is the first of two maps in which Hellhounds spawn alongside Zombies. This occurs after the third Hellhound round sometime after round 16. This map is set in Germany, near Breslau. One can also learn the story behind the zombies by turning on radios' hidden throughout the map by pressing the action button near the radio.
Kino der Toten (German: "Cinema of the Dead") is the fifth map in the Zombies Campaign, introduced in Call of Duty: Black Ops. The four original characters, namely Takeo Masaki, Edward Richtofen, "Tank" Dempsey and Nikolai Belinski, are playable. The map is set in an abandoned theater in Berlin, some time before 1963. It contains almost all of the features introduced in Der Riese, including the Bowie Knife, Teleporters, Pack-a-Punch Machine, Hellhounds and Monkey Bomb, although the Wunderwaffe DG-2 does not return. A new Wonder Weapon, the Thundergun, makes its debut, replacing the Wunderwaffe DG-2. It is the first map to have purchasable Cold War weapons, as well as the first map to have the new Gas Zombies. It is the third map in the series to require the electricity to be turned on to access certain features, and is the first Zombies map to not have the Mystery Box spawn in a fixed location. It is also available on the iOS version of Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies. A remaster is also found in Call of Duty: Black Ops III, allowing use of features such as Black Ops III-era weapons, GobbleGum and Der Wunderfizz machine.
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