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CoD Cold War Outbreak | Everything we know about Season 2's zombies

Rebecca Jones avatar
Guide by Rebecca Jones Guides Writer
Published on

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty: Warzone are now into their second season, and there are certainly a lot of new features to unpack.

However, the continuation of the zombies saga as part of the new season's Outbreak mode is sure to prove popular.

Continuing the Dark Aether storyline, Outbreak will also introduce some new features as part of the season two line-up.

Here's everything we know about this mode so far:

Who can play Outbreak?

Outbreak mode will be free to play during launch week. That's February 25th until March 4th.

After that period, only battle pass owners will have access to the mode.

How many levels are there in Outbreak?

Outbreak's levelling system is shared with the rest of Season 2. There are a total of 100 tiers.

Completing investigations in the Outbreak game mode will level up the player's Cold War Season 2 Battle Pass as a whole.

Completing investigations in Outbreak

Outbreak missions will see your Operator sent to explore Outbreak Zones and assist the Agents of Requiem in their investigations into the Dark Aether.

Investigations are much more open-ended than what we've seen in previous Outbreak modes. There will be five main types of investigation:

  • Defend: Defend a research machine while it analyses a sample of Dark Aether-infected genetic material.
  • Escort: Escort a rover and its captured zombie specimen through the Outbreak zone.
  • Retrieve: Retrieve and extract Aetherium Canisters that are harvesting Aetherium Crystals.
  • Eliminate: Locate and eliminate a high-value elite enemy.
  • Holdout: Enter the Dark Aether itself and hold out against the threats you find there, until an explosive can destroy the unstable Aether Crystal within.

These missions present a high risk but also offer high rewards, as you have the opportunity to earn two new types of Aetherium Crystals by completing them.

However, be aware that you not only have to complete your objective but exfiltrate from the Outbreak zone in order to keep these powerful new items.

Later investigations have a steep difficulty curve. It's worth using the time between objectives to collect more loot, and consider exfiltrating in order to 'bank' what you've collected before playing another mission.

Refined and Flawless Aetherium Crystals

Completing Outbreak investigations or otherwise engaging with the zombie horde gives you a chance to earn these two new Crystal types. Agents of Requiem will be able to use Refined and Flawless Aetherium Crystals to upgrade all skills to Tiers IV and V.

This includes permanent improvements to weapon classes, field upgrades, perks, and ammo mods.

New enemy types in Outbreak

As well as seeing the return of several familiar rotting faces, Outbreak introduces a brand new zombie.

Known as the Tempest, they stand out thanks to their ranged electricity attacks.

Tempest zombies can also teleport, making it difficult to whittle away at their already high health bars. However, they are particularly vulnerable to the Ring of Fire field upgrade — as well as regular gunfire.

The Demented Echo zombies from Die Maschine also reappear this season. This time around they're more than just a jump-scare: they're a fully-fledged enemy type you'll have to deal with in Outbreak mode.

Like Tempests, Demented Echoes have an elemental attack — in this case, they're on fire. They will also explode if you fail to one-shot them. This not only means you don't gain any of the benefits of putting them down, but alerts other nearby enemies to your location.

Other new features in Outbreak

Outbreak also introduces a couple of new items — a field upgrade and an ammo mod — specifically designed to turn the tide in your favour when battling against a zombie horde.

Frenzied Guard field upgrade

This new Field Upgrade allows players to draw all enemies to target them. During the period where the upgrade is active, only their armour will take damage.

The Frenzied Guard upgrade means that zombies will ignore other Operators for a few seconds — giving them a chance to retreat, heal, or renew their attacks against the undead horde.

Frenzied Guard can be upgraded using Aetherium Crystals to increase its duration, repair armour, and slow enemies' walking speed.

Shatter Blast ammo mod

The new Shatter Blast ammo mod makes all bullets deal explosive damage. Each bullet also has a chance to actually explode, dealing additional damage and destroying armour.

This mod has been designed specifically to help in the fight against Heavy Zombies.

Upgrades include the ability to deal splash damage to nearby enemies, knock normal zombies to the ground, or double the size of the explosion on impact.

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