With the Containment Protocol continuing to escalate within Warzone and tensions rising in the Black Ops Cold War Dark Aether story, we need all Operators activated to fend off the zombie invasions.

Although Verdansk needs Operators to clear out the abandoned Atlas Superstore of its contaminated hostile forces, there are a few other objectives that must be completed for Requiem within Black Ops Cold War Zombies.

With that in mind, there is no time to waste — let’s level up!

This Week’s Featured Operators

Today, NATO is receiving a new reinforcement for their operation to find Adler and take down Perseus: Karla Rivas. She’s the guerilla warfare expert who helped Woods and company track down Naga, and by picking up her debut bundle, you can play as this badass Operator in Multiplayer, Zombies, League Play, and of course, the various modes of Warzone.

Available in the Black Ops Cold War and Warzone Stores, the “Rivas Operator” bundle contains two Legendary Weapon Blueprints, a new Melee Weapon Blueprint, a killer Finishing Move, and a few cosmetic items, in addition to Rivas and her “Smuggler” skin.

Alongside Rivas in our spotlight image is the Call of Duty League Operator in their alternate skin, as we are about halfway through the $500,000 Call of Duty League Major II Tournament. It’s something we’ve been tuning into while checking out the latest happenings in Verdansk and trying to claw toward Master Rank in League Play. In fact, we’re so excited for this tournament that our featured Weapon Blueprint this week covers the pro player’s preferred pistol for their in-game loadout.

But before we get to that — and our Top Tip — a reminder about where you can watch this epic tournament:

You can catch all the action on the Call of Duty League’s YouTube channel from today to Sunday starting at 12 PM PT, and check out the latest standings and match schedule via the CDL Channel in Black Ops Cold War’s League Play.

Also, be sure to check how you’re doing in your Stage II Call of Duty League Pick’em game*, as the top predictors are going to receive some awesome prizes! Click here for more details.

Top Tip — The Final 10 Zombies Season Challenges

By now you should be close to hitting Prestige Master during Season Two, and if you’ve followed our Prestige Primer so far, you should also have the first 10 Zombies Season Challenges knocked out.

Let’s cut to the chase on completing your journey to Season Two Zombies Mastery, because quite frankly, we don’t know how much longer we can fend off the undead threat…

Here’s our advice for the final 10 Zombies Season Challenges for Season Two:

Army Reserves (Level 100) — Kill a Mangler using a zombie infected with your Brain Rot. — 2,500 XP

A bit of planning goes a long way for this challenge, even though it may just come down to hoping your temporary ally does not crumble before they defeat a mighty Mangler.

First, play either “Firebase Z” or Outbreak, and ensure you make it to the Pack-a-Punch machine. Then put the Brain Rot Ammo Mod (2,000 Essence) on one of your two weapons, and start looking for a Mangler (and some backup).

Your goal now is to ensure the zombie you turn gets the final hit on the Mangler. It’s wise to use another weapon to whittle down the horde, then try to pop Brain Rot on a zombie at the last second to finish the job.

Feel the Heat (Level 110) — Kill 500 enemies using the Molotov Equipment — 8,500 XP (Three Tiers)

On one hand, you can use attachments that increase Equipment Drop Rate. On the other, it’s not as hard to scrap together 250 Salvage to make some delicious… we mean deadly… cocktails.

Now That’s a Knife (Level 120) — Get 500 kills using a Primary Melee Weapon — 8,500 XP (Three Tiers)

Got any melee weapons you want to use to get Golden Viper, Plague Diamond, or Dark Aether, like the Machete? Well, let this challenge be your inspiration to do it!

Just be sure to continue to upgrade and Pack-a-Punch your starting melee loadout weapon during your round-based or Outbreak Zombies session, or you may be easily out-swiped by the undead masses.

Shadow Assassin (Level 130) — Kill 100 enemies while in Tombstone shadow form — 8,500 XP (Three Tiers)

If you have yet to complete the “Who’s Who?” challenge unlocked at Level 80, then you’re in luck. Crack open a cold Tombstone Soda and get ready to knock both of these challenges out at the same time!

While in shadow form, do your best to eliminate as many zombies as possible before going for the revive. Don’t get too wrapped up in completing this challenge; you can always chug another Tombstone Soda, but you can’t get back on your awesome Zombies run if time runs out on your revive…or if the horde knocks you out before you get the chance to bring yourself back up!

Big Stop (Level 140) — Eliminate 10 Ordas — 8,500 XP (Three Tiers)

Ordas appear only in “Firebase Z” under special conditions. Our advice is to go for high-round games and see what happens…

And once you find an Orda, be ready for a fight. Support weapons, Pack-a-Punched weapons, and the Ring of Fire Field Upgrade are all solid choices to bring to the fight.

Deep Pockets (Level 150) — Exfil with 30,000 Essence — 5,000 XP

This amount of Essence is no joke; it’s the price of a Tier 3 Pack-a-Punch and requires you to either make sacrifices to get it early (e.g., a weaker loadout for Exfil) or go for the long haul and earn it after many experiments and rounds.

One viable strategy is to load up on a big Support weapon (or two, if possible), hightail it to an Exfil site, then drop it to clear the area and get out safely.

Fool Me Once (Level 160) — Eliminate 20 Mimics — 8,500 XP (Three Tiers)

With Mimic encounters being quite common on “Firebase Z,” eliminating 20 of them shouldn’t be an issue.

Consider this a challenge that will stack with the one you unlock at Level 30 (Hide and Seek), and take pride in ensuring these hideous creatures won’t be fooling you anytime soon.

Bird in the Sky (Level 170) — Get 250 kills with the Chopper Gunner — 8,500 XP (Three Tiers)

Load up on that Rare Salvage and get crafting! Assault Rounds in “Firebase Z” and roaming mobs in Outbreak will be your friends here, as they will have the most enemies to use this Chopper Gunner on.

Alternatively, if you are the luckiest Operator in your squad, these can also come out of a Mystery Box. Whatever you do, don’t expect them to be lying around on the ground, and if you find one like that, shoot it, because there’s a very good chance it’s a Mimic.

Ice Burn (Level 180) — Kill 25 Hellhounds with Frost Blast — 8,500 XP (Three Tiers)

Hellhounds are more commonly found across the Ural Mountains in Outbreak.

Ensure your Frost Blast is charged before running into a wandering pack of Hellhounds, then trigger it to put these evil hellspawn on ice.

Field of Fire (Level 190) — Kill 10 enemies with a single Napalm Strike 5 times — 8,500 XP (Three Tiers)

“Firebase Z” can be a great place to complete this challenge, as the various Defense areas have long strips of open land where a strike can come down on enemies.

Otherwise, it’s a good idea to call in this Support — or any of the others — whenever you have a massive horde that needs to be thinned out.

Gunsmith Blueprint of the Week

Chasing challenges, Seasonal or Camo, within Zombies can be a totally engaging experience that could require every ounce of focus. But when you find a break while completing those challenges, or if you’re able to multitask this weekend, we recommend tuning in to the Call of Duty League Major II Tournament.

When you do, you’ll find the pros often use one Secondary Weapon: a three-round burst pistol that recently starred in the “Dragon’s Greed” Store Bundle as the “Monumental” Weapon Blueprint.

As-is, this weapon configuration is an awesome way to kit this pistol — and it’s a great way to show off, thanks to that Legendary metal trim. Having two of these, thanks to Dual Wield, combined with the damage boost of the Task Force Barrel and the better Hip Fire Accuracy of the Body attachment, is a recipe for success in close quarters.

However, this configuration won’t fly in League Play given its Call of Duty League class restrictions. Therefore, we recommend using the following setup, which is the exact one that many pro players use:  

There are only two additional drawbacks to how this weapon is kitted: slightly slower Reload and Aim Walking Speeds. The rest provide slight, but still great, benefits.

The Chrome Lined Barrel doubles the weapon’s Bullet Velocity, making all three of those rounds come out quick downrange. Speed Tape helps with Aim Down Sight (ADS) speeds, the Muzzle Brake 9 handles vertical recoil for more accurate bursts, and a 24-Round magazine adds three additional burst-fire triplets per magazine.

This weapon may not be as solid as the various Primary Weapons the pros use, but when they run dry, or if a pro is in a tight pinch otherwise, they know to swap to this Secondary and go for the one-burst elimination to get the job done.

Execute the mission.

* NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Ends at the end of Stage 2 Major currently scheduled to take place on 4/11/21. Must be a legal resident of the United States, the District of Columbia, Canada (excluding Quebec), the United Kingdom, France, Germany, or Spain and must be at least 18 years as of date of entry. Void where prohibited. Click here for Official Rules, which govern, and complete details.

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

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