Surviving “Forsaken” — A Guide to the Final Chapter of Call of Duty®: Black Ops Cold War Zombies (2024)

• BOCW

In the final round-based map for Black Ops Cold War, the Requiem strike team travels to the heart of Omega Group’s operations. Read on for a layout of the new map plus tips and strategies when first starting out in “Forsaken.”

October 07, 2021

by Daniel Noel

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“The Forsaken is the key to Soviet Supremacy. He will be a great ally. He will bring the West to its knees.” — Colonel Lev Kravchenko

At the end of “Mauer der Toten,” the Requiem strike team barely escaped Berlin with their lives. As Kravchenko unloaded on them in a relentless attack, Samantha Maxis used her powers to open a portal, saving them at the last second. Now, enacting Operation First Domino, the Requiem team is teleporting to the heart of Omega Group’s operations deep in the U.S.S.R.

Their mission: Locate and secure Sergeant Kazimir Zykov before Kravchenko does. Zykov’s unparalleled knowledge about the Dark Aether, including how to defeat the Forsaken, is their best chance of ending this scourge at its source.

Available now in Season Six, “Forsaken” marks the epic conclusion of Black Ops Cold War Zombies, as Requiem attempts to end Omega Group and the threat of The Forsaken once and for all. It won’t be an easy task.

Requiem Intel Briefing

The Zakarpatska Oblast, Ukraine, U.S.S.R.

June 4, 1985

CIA-NATO Requiem Strike Team

“Teleportation was successful. Team has reached the Omega complex.” — Dr. Strauss

Staging Area

When first deploying to “Forsaken,” you’ll begin in the Staging Area outside the facility. A raging storm and an undead horde greet our Requiem agents, but there is hope. For starters, the power to the facility is already on. That means Perk Machines and Arsenals are active right away.

The bad news: there’s a security lockdown in effect, preventing certain doors and devices from operating. Get ready to go to work if you want to get any further.

The Staging Area is a small, fenced in enclosure housing vehicles, supplies, and a teleporter. We’ll get to that soon. You also have access to the Death Perception Perk Machine, two Pistol Wall Buys, an Arsenal, and a Crafting Table. If you’re looking for an extra challenge, activate the Rampage Inducer to instantly speed up zombie spawn rates and movement speeds. Finally, Ammo Caches are spread liberally throughout all the environments.

To enter the facility, you need to access the teleporter, but first you must activate the initiation sequence. Survive the inevitable attack as the system comes online, and then teleport away.

Checkpoint

Before you head into the facility proper, you’ll have to get through the Checkpoint. Though the zone is fairly contained, you’ve got a bit more room to maneuver here, with staircases on either side leading up to a central rappel point. This is a great means for getting above the horde, and there are several drops if you need to get back down fast.

Consider spending some time here to boost your Essence and power up before moving on. Take a swig of Jugger-Nog and, for a powerful Secondary Weapon, pick up the nearby pump-action Shotgun Wall Buy. If you get trapped, you can always jump back through the portal to the Staging Area or head up the stairs and rappel down to Main Street.

Main Street

From the Checkpoint, you’ll gain a new objective: Get to the Observation Tower. That journey begins in earnest when you enter Main Street. Fight the undead in and around mock buildings for businesses like Beach Pizza, Radio House, and Surf Shack. Along Main Street, you’ll find the Tombstone Soda Perk Machine, an SMG Wall Buy, an Arsenal, and a Crafting Table.

There are two routes here leading up to the next teleporter. Open the right-hand door from the rappel point to access Storage Zone 5, as well as the Quick Revive Perk Machine and a Tactical Rifle Wall Buy.

Head to the left entrance by Beach Pizza to access Storage Zone 10, featuring the Stamin-Up Perk Machine and a powerful semi-auto Shotgun Wall Buy. Whichever direction you take leads up to the rooftops and the next teleporter. Open the necessary access points and move on to the center of the map: Anytown.

Anytown West

From Main Street, you’ll teleport onto the rooftops of the Video Store in Anytown West. Like Main Street, Anytown represents an idealized downtown district, complete with a Cinema, Video Store, Arcade, Burger Town, and other American enterprises.

Anytown is divided into two sections: Anytown West and Anytown East. At first, you’ve only got access to the western portion. When you come through the teleporter, check the wall diagram depicting the map layout – this shows how the various areas are connected by teleporters and will give you a better idea of how the layout fits together. Note the Assault Rifle Wall Buy up here as well.

Find an SMG Wall Buy just outside the Cinema, and weave in between the stranded vehicles as you take down zombies to accumulate more Essence. You’ll need it when you begin opening doors to the three new areas here: the Video Store and Arcade, the Cinema, and the TV Store.

Video Store and Arcade

By the time you hit up the Video Store and Arcade, you may be in need of some extra firepower. You’re in luck, because the Mule Kick Perk Machine will up your lethality exponentially with the addition of a third held weapon. There’s also another SMG Wall Buy here.

Head up the stairs here and open the rooftop pathway to gain access to Speed Cola and a Crafting Table. Nearby is a Sniper Rifle Wall Buy in a walkway leading to the rooftops of Anytown East.

Cinema

Decked out with advertisem*nts for The Red Army and another film with an eerily familiar name, the Cinema promises its mannequin attendees a glorious Soviet feature. For your purposes, there’s an Assault Rifle Wall Buy and a direct path to Anytown East through the snack bar. From here, you’ll have direct access across the street to the beloved Burger Town.

TV Store

The last of the three areas, the TV Store offers the most direct route to Anytown East, passing right alongside the debris blocking the street outside. There’s a Tactical Rifle Wall Buy as well if you’re looking to deal precision damage.

Anytown East

Depending on where you enter Anytown East, you’ll either be fighting on its streets or from its rooftops. This area offers additional means of gaining power and, more importantly, gaining access to the Bunker Entrance.

Burger Town

Open up the iconic Burger Town restaurant to access Elemental Pop, offering a great boost to your weapons’ damage and utility. There’s also an Assault Rifle Wall Buy next to the machine. The pathway through Burger Town provides the perfect means for looping zombies in the area when you’ve got a growing train at your back.

Bar

Access the Bar and take a swig of Deadshot Daquiri to start popping off zombie heads with ease. Upstairs, you’ll find another handy Arsenal and LMG Wall Buy. When things get crazy, head to the upper balcony to find one of four ways to activate the Suspended Hind trap. For 2,000 Essence, the overhead chopper will open fire on nearby enemies for an extended period of time. Now that’s entertainment!

Fuel Processing

When you’re ready to head after Kravchenko and Dr. Peck, visit the Fuel Processing area and approach the teleporter. If you still need some extra firepower, consider grabbing the Tactical Rifle Wall Buy on your way in. When the teleporter refuses to work, Major Carver contacts the team with orders to search the area for repair parts to get it up and running again. Find the parts scattered throughout Anytown and then return to make your trip to the Bunker Entrance.

Bunker Entrance

Requiem gets ever closer to the heart of Omega’s operation with each step. With the facility on lockdown, there’s one blocked path for now, making this a straight shot past an SMG Wall Buy to the door that opens to the Amplifier and Particle Accelerator. Head there next.

Amplifier and Particle Accelerator

Stepping into this room, you’ll get a firsthand view of the lengths Omega Group is willing to go in order to exploit the Dark Aether for their own purposes. There’s no question about it: Requiem cannot fail in their task to secure Zykov and defeat The Forsaken.

This massive underground area offers an Assault Rifle Wall Buy, a Crafting Table, and an Arsenal. Now might be a good time to top off your Armor and potentially craft the new Hand Cannon Support Weapon. Once you feel properly equipped, head to the next teleporter. If you survive, you’ll head to the next location: the Observation Tower.

Observation Tower

The Observation Tower marks the final location covered in our intel. First up is the new PhD Slider Perk Machine, offering an explosive good time with every slide. The Trial Computer and Pack-a-Punch are also here to test your skills and boost your weapon damage. Most pertinent to you now, however, is the lockdown button.

Press the button to disengage the lockdown, opening further access to the map, including a teleporter that goes right back to the Staging Area. You’ll also notice two zipline points, one leading down to the Burger Town rooftop and the other over Main Street. Purchase the Sniper Rifle Wall Buy and start taking shots from up above… so long as you get out of there before the radiation kicks in.

The Search for Zykov Continues

“Oh, Requiem, isn’t it time to roll over and accept defeat like the dog you are? Zykov, and the Forsaken, belong to Mother Russia.” — Dr. Peck

The clock is ticking as Kravchenko and Dr. Peck attempt to get to Zykov and, through him, the Forsaken. If you’ve come this far, you might just prevent that from happening. Now it’s time to turn theory into practice.

Top Ten Tips for “Forsaken”

10. A Fast Start. The zombies come fast and furious once you step through the portal into the Staging Area. There’s no downtime between rounds here until you move on to Checkpoint through the first teleporter, so stick around and rack up some points, but get moving when the attack starts to overwhelm you.

9. Lockdown Initiated. With the undead and Requiem swarming on the Omega Complex, the facility has gone on lockdown to thwart the team’s efforts at securing Zykov. While some rappels and doors remain inaccessible until the lockdown is lifted, rest assured that your travel options open up once it is.

8. No Surprises. Vehicles and buildings are strewn across the Omega complex’s environments in such a way that a quick chug of Death Perception will lend a great boost to your awareness and survival. You’ll see the outlines of your enemies through cargo trucks and the Burger Town walls, so you’ll know exactly which way not to go.

7. Demolition Support. When you need a bigger bang, hit up a Crafting Table to construct the new Hand Cannon and ARC-XD Support Weapons. The Hand Cannon is great for blasting Special and Elite enemies, and the remote-controlled ARC-XD can fit through tight spaces en route to delivering its payload.

6. Play Games, Win Prizes. Take a stroll around the Arcade in Anytown West after collecting your first Arcade Token. You might be surprised what you find and, even better, what you leave with.

5. An Axe to Grind. Word is there’s a zombie-splitting Wonder Weapon that’s just perfect for chopping undead heads. Our agents haven’t yet discovered how to obtain it, but a lucky few gamblers just might get their hands on it from the Mystery Box or by completing Trials until other means are found.

4. Check Those Wall Buys. Remember that Wall Buy weapons have a chance of leveling up a tier at the end of every fifth round. With so many available throughout “Forsaken,” it’s worth periodically checking back on your favorites in case they’ve gone up in rarity.

3. Perks of the Board Room. Once the lockdown has been lifted, a new path opens up in the Bunker Entrance, leading to the Board Room. Should you fall and get back up again, swing by here to hit up Der Wunderfizz and stock back up on Perks.

2. Drop and Boom. With enough Aetherium Crystals invested, PhD Slider grants the ability to cause explosive damage when you fall. With all the rooftops and walkways here, you can cause a lot of damage that way, especially when paired with Stamin-Up’s immunity to fall damage at Tier II.

1. Experience the Next Chapter in Call of Duty®: Vanguard. “Forsaken” marks the epic conclusion of Black Ops Cold War Zombies before a new chapter of the Dark Aether story begins in Call of Duty: Vanguard on November 5. Pre-order your copy now to see where Treyarch takes us next, and get instant access to the Arthur Kingsley Operator and Night Raid Mastercraft Weapon Blueprint in Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty®: Warzone™.

Execute the mission.

For more information on Call of Duty®: Black Ops Cold War, check out:www.callofduty.com andwww.youtube.com/callofdutyand follow @Treyarch, @RavenSoftware, and @CallofDuty on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

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