Black Ops 7 Zombies' The launch map, Ashes of the Damned, is full of content. This expanded map is larger than ever, showing that the threat of the undead hordes in the Dark Aether is even more dangerous. If you want the best chance to survive Black Ops 7 ZombiesThen you should check out our step-by-step guide to Ashes of the Damned so you can have the best chance of survival. This guide will walk you through what you need to do in the beginning, from Round 1, to your first encounter with the Zursa bear, so you know when to spend Essence and Salvage, and where you should go next.
Get free TEDD and Ol' Tessie Moving from the server room
By Round 3, it's time to leave Janus Towers Plaza
When you spawn in Ashes of the Damned, the first thing you'll want to do is focus on critical kills by killing zombies with headshots. This gives you 115 essence (points) per elimination, which is more than the standard 90 essence you get if you kill a zombie through any other method. After racking up 1,250 Essence, head south of the spawn in Janus Towers Plaza to unlock the server room. Inside the server room, facing the southwest area, you can look down to find a grate on the floor. If you fight the grate, you'll open a lid and reveal TEDD's head, which you can pick up and take to Ol' Tessie. Ol' Tessie is a truck found outside the server room, and by interacting with it after TEDD, you'll activate it as a drivable vehicle in Ashes of the Damned. Ol' Tessie is an essential part of this map, so be sure to stay by her side.
Travel to Vandorn Farm and activate the power
Vandoorne Farm remains the perfect training ground for farm essences and rescues
Now that you've got Ol' Tessie, get into the driving seat and use RT/R2 to increase speed, and steer the left stick. Drive ol' Tessie east of Janus Towers Plaza, where you'll find wooden barriers along the way. By driving through these obstacles, you will be able to access the next area. While you can go west instead, we decided it's better to go east as it takes us to Vandoorne Farm, which is the easiest and friendliest place to farm zombie kills. Be warned that driving through the fog at these connecting points between landmarks will see a lot of zombies spawn, so focus on the road ahead and drive over the glowing green Dark Aether plants to heal Ol' Tessie and get a free essence and rescue, but avoid the red plants!
Once you reach Vandoorne Farm, go to the power pump located on the north side, and use your weapon to shoot the glowing bulbs. You will have 30 seconds to shoot and destroy all the glowing bulbs, and there is the last bulb that appears on top of the power pump. After doing so, head south and open the barn, which costs 1,750 Essence. Upstairs in the barn, you'll find a power switch to allow you to use Vandoorne Farm's Perks and The Arsenal. However, the perks are useful for now, and we mainly want to stay in this area for a few rounds to build up our essence before moving on. We recommend staying at Vandoorne Farm until you get the Tier 2 Armor in the garage for 4,000 Essence, as it will protect you from more zombie attacks. So, once you have at least 5,000 essence, it's time to leave for Ashwood.
Head to Ashwood for all your upgrades, including Pack-A-Punch
Ashwood features Pack-A-Punch, The Arsenal, and Crutches needed for survival
By round 7, you should be on your way to Ashwood. You can reach this location by taking Ol' Tessie and going through the newly opened gate to the south, which will take you to the ground ship and eventually Ashwood. Just follow the linear path through the ship and hit the green plants for health, and you'll be fine. Once you arrive in Ashwood, leave Ol' Tessie parked in the locked garage. Look east, and you'll find a zipline that takes you vertically up into the upper reaches of Ashwood. Once inside, go right and open the locked door in Market Square for 1,000 Essence, and then open another locked door in Judgment Square for 1,750 Essence. This will allow you to access Ashwood Bridge, where you have another power pump to activate by shooting the bulbs within 30 seconds.
After activating the power pump and flipping the power switch, the garage you left ol' Tessie in will open, and you can drive her inside. On the west wall inside the workshop, you'll find a Pack-a-Punch machine on a workstation, which you can interact with to place on Ol' Tessie. This is a significant upgrade for Ol' Tessie, as it not only gives you a boost feature for the car, but it also allows you to pack-a-punch your weapons from the back of the truck.
Focus on rescue and getting essence for extra upgrades
It's time to upgrade your gun and reap significant benefits
Now that you've activated Pack-A-Punch, you'll want to spend your essence on some upgrades. Since you had to get tier 2 armor first, your health should be fine for now, but why don't we deal damage? Get 5,000 Essence and upgrade your primary weapon on Ol' Tessie using a Pack-A-Punch. This will give your gun a noticeable kick. To further strengthen your weapon, take the former zipline to Judgment Square and spend 500 savings in the Arsenal for an uncommon tier upgrade for your weapon rarity to increase its damage. At this point, it should be around round 8 or 9, and you'll have a pack-a-punch weapon, tier 2 armor, and an increase in weapon rarity.
Stay in Ashwood for now, as there are two perks here before moving on. When you have 5,500 Essence to kill the zombies, zipline back to the Ashwood Bridge and enter the Ruby Rabbit, where, under the north wall, is the Jugger-Nog. This perk will increase your total HP. Second, and it can be skipped if you want, we recommend grabbing the vulture aid in Market Square, as this perk will ensure you get more drops from enemies. These drops can be more Essence, Salvage, and Equipment, which are all important things to get early on, as Salvage helps increase weapon rarity, and Essence provides points to purchase Perks and Pack-a-Punch.
Complete the map and get more benefits
Get more essence to open the map and get more benefits
After getting the Pack-a-Punch, Jugger-Nog, and Vulture Aid, you can safely leave Ashwood behind, as this place isn't very good for zombie-killing farming. Now, take Ol' Tessie southwest, where you'll reach the 115 exit through Orda Cemetery. This place is great for farming because of its long roads and wide obstacles. Once here, spend 500 Essence on the locked door in the southwest corner to open McDougal's Service Station, and you'll get the Deadshot Daiquiri Perk here. This is useful because it helps you automatically ADS to the head, and you get more damage for headshots. Now that you have 3 perks, we recommend you farm kills in this area until you get 10,000 essence, then spend that essence on Tier 3 armor, as this will allow you to take more hits from zombies without going down. Just remember to replate your armor, and you'll get more armor plate drops from zombies thanks to Gulture Aid.
With 3 perks and tier 3 armor, it's time to take ol' Tessie back to Ashwood, and then northwest through the Lost Cabins so you can reach Blackwater Lake. This is an area that also has a power pump to activate, and you can enter the cabin with 1,750 Essence to get the above Speed Cola. This is great for reloading quickly, and equipping armor plates quickly, which comes in handy when more zombies start attacking. Finally, return to the Janus Towers Plaza area of the Spawn, and purchase the Quick Recovery in the Server Room, as this last perk will allow you to regenerate your health faster.
Complete the TEDD tasks and prepare for the fight of your life
Earn free perks and more through TEDD tasks, and invest in Napalm Burst Ammo Mod.
At this point, you should be progressing through the rounds until you see a warning on your HUD that says “A TEDD ACTION HAS APPEARED” next to its location at the start of a round. You should always go out of your way to go to these TEDD tasks, as they cost around 500 Essence, and after completing a short challenge, they grant you Salvage, Essence, free weapon rarity upgrades, and even a perk! This perk also comes at no additional cost, meaning you can drink it and it won't increase the cost of your next perk.
Thanks to the TEDD action, and the rescues you get while driving through the plants and vulture aid, you should have at least 500 saves by now. Take it to any of the Arsenal machines, but we recommend, at this point, going back to the farm for a safe place to farm zombies. Buy Ammo Mod: Napalm Burst, this is super effective against elite enemies known as Zursa, which are zombie bears. Now that you have the appropriate loadout, the real battle begins in this round-based survival mode. In round 16, the Zursa will spawn, and with your gun equipped with Pack-A-Punch, Extra Rarity, and Napalm Burst, you should be able to kill it quickly by shooting its glowing weak spots and headshots.
Now all that's left to do is use Salvage to continue getting Essence to buy more perks around the map and reach Pack-A-Punch Tier 3, and upgrade your weapon rarity.
- issued
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November 14, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and gore, intense violence, strong language, suggestive themes, drug use
