Call of Duty Cold War: Zombies mode - skills, weapons Call of Duty Cold War guide, walkthrough
Last update: 08 March 2021
On this page of the guide to Call of Duty Cold War you will find information about weapons and skills in the Zombies mode. This chapter describes all possible upgrades.
Before starting a match in the Zombies mode you can upgrade your weapons and skills. Pretty much all improvements require you to reach the right level, and in most cases - they also require Aetherium Crystals.
Skills
Weapon Class Skills
From the menu, you can choose upgrades to the weapons you use most often. To unlock them, you will not only need to be on the right level (you'll need to play several matches first) but also you will have to have crystals. First, upgrade the weapons you like best.
Below, you will find all the weapon upgrades with a description and their cost:
Weapon type | Level | Cost | Description |
Submachine guns | 1 | 1 | Increases close-distance damage by 10% |
2 | Increases critical damage by 10% | ||
3 | Unlocks 3 upgrade slots | ||
Shotgun | 8 | 1 | Increases close-distance damage by 10% |
2 | Increases critical damage by 10% | ||
3 | Increases armor penetration by 10% | ||
Pistols | 20 | 1 | Increases close-distance damage by 10% |
2 | Increases critical damage by 10% | ||
3 | Increases armor penetration by 10% | ||
Tactical rifles | 26 | 1 | Increases far-distance damage by 10% |
2 | Increases critical damage by 10% | ||
3 | Unlocks 3 upgrade slots | ||
Sniper rifles | 32 | 1 | Increases armor penetration by 10% |
2 | Increases critical damage by 10% | ||
3 | Unlocks 3 upgrade slots | ||
Light machine guns | 38 | 1 | Increases armor penetration by 10% |
2 | Increases critical damage by 10% | ||
3 | Unlocks 3 upgrade slots | ||
Assault rifles | 44 | 1 | Increases far-distance damage by 10% |
2 | Increases critical damage by 10% | ||
3 | Unlocks 3 upgrade slots | ||
Hand-to-hand combat | 50 | 1 | Turns a melee gun strike into a knife strike. |
2 | Increases hand-to-hand damage by 10% | ||
3 | Turns a melee gun strike into a Bowie knife strike. |
Choose the upgrades based on your playing style. If you are a beginner, you might want to be interested in shotgun upgrades for starters - they require a low level and are quite strong against zombies.
Field upgrades
Field upgrades are skills you can use during a match in the Zombies mode. There are 5 of them and each has different effects and upgrades. At the beginning, you will only have access to Frost Blast - the more experience you gain in matches, the better field upgrades you unlock.
- The Frost Blast, which you have from the beginning of the game, freezes opponents and increases their vulnerability to your shots. Upgrading it will make your enemies slower, you will have more charges and you will increase its range.
- Energy Mine - the mine is available from Level 35. It deals quite a lot of damage and activates as soon as a zombie passes by. Upgrades increase the number of charges, range and number of explosions per mine.
- Aether shroud - makes you invisible to zombies for 5 seconds. Available from level 39. Upgrades cause your weapon to automatically reload when you use the skill, increase your invisibility time to 8 seconds, and allow you to teleport across a short distance when you activate the skill. It's a great skill if you care about surviving.
- Healing aura - available from Level 45. It heals you and your allies. Further upgrades make health points also regenerate for 10 seconds, while the second upgrade knocks out normal zombies and stuns stronger ones. The last upgrade will allow you to revive your teammates. A great skill to use when playing with a team.
- Ring of fire - available from Level 53. It creates a ring of fire that makes you and your allies deal more damage. The zombies that enter the ring will start to burn. The effect lasts 15 seconds. Upgrades will make the zombies burn twice as hard, the ring will block all bullets. The final upgrades cause you to use the general ammo when you're standing inside the ring, not the ammo from the clip. Great if you plan on staying in the game for a long time (each subsequent wave of zombies is stronger and more numerous, so increasing the damage will be useful).
Perks
Perks - passive skills which you can acquire on the Zombies mode maps. Special machines, dedicated specifically for that purpose, are scattered around the map. Most importantly, you can have all 6 perks at once. Below, you will find a list of all perks along with their available upgrades.
- Juggernog - available right away. It increased the player's base health, which is quite useful. Upgrades will reduce the duration of status effects by a half, it will make armor replenish by 25% more, and increase health by 100. A very good perk to start with - increasing your chances of survival is always a plus.
- Speed Cola - available from Level 5. It will enable you to reload faster (by 15%). Upgrades increase weapon switching speed, field upgrades cool down 20% faster, and the final upgrade level increases reloading speed by 30%. Quite good, if you plan to use field upgrades more often. Faster reloading will also increase the damage dealt per second.
- Quick revive - increases regeneration speed during combat. Reduces the time necessary to revive your allies. Available from Level 18. Upgrades will increase your crawling speed by 100% when you are knocked down. Further upgrades increase the regeneration speed during the fight by 50%, and reviving an ally will heal you as well. This perk is very good for everyone on your team.
- Stamin-Up - increases running and sprinting speed. Available from Level 33. Further levels will increase the backpedal speed, neutralize fall damage, and also allow you to move faster while aiming. In general, running speed is the most useful out of all these upgrades.
- Elemental pop - gives a small chance to trigger a random Ammo Mod status effect when shooting. Available from Level 41. Upgrades will make you trigger a status effect when you are using e.g. grenades. Subsequent upgrades increase the rate of ammo mods cooldown by 20%.
- Deadshot Daiquiri - available from Level 51. Provides aim assist at zombies' heads. Subsequent upgrades increase critical damage by 100% if the enemy's health is full. It also increases damage against armored targets by 50% and reduces hip-fire spread. A pretty good perk if you're using accurate weapons. Increased damage against armored targets will also frequently come in handy.
Ammo mods
Ammo mods - change the behavior of your bullets, can cause different effects. You can upgrade them in the menu, and acquire them on the map only after you assemble the Pack-a-Punch Machine
For more information about the Pack-a-Punch Machine, see the Achievements section.
- Napalm burst - sets zombies on fire. Available immediately. Deals fire damage and 10% damage based on maximum zombie health for 5 seconds. Further upgrades increase the duration and damage dealt.
- Dead wire - stuns and deals electrical damage. Available from Level 11. Further levels make the shocked enemies spawn an electric field, which causes damage to others. Damage dealt and stun duration also increase. One of the better upgrades - it stops zombies in their tracks.
- Cryofreeze - slows the zombies down (by 30%) and deals frost damage. Available from Level 23. Further upgrades increase the damage dealt, the slowdown duration and power.
- Brain rot - turns zombies into allies. Available from level 48. Subsequent upgrades blow zombies up when they have few health points, increase the transformation time, and also increase the damage to your zombies. This is probably the best ammo mod. Not only does it distract the zombies, but it also inflicts substantial damage.
Weapons
In the game you a number of weapons at your disposal, but also quite a few weapon upgrades You can unlock 25 weapons by gaining experience in zombie matches. Each weapon can be modified visually, for example through the use of camouflage, as well as by attaching various parts, for example scopes, clips, etc.
Weapon parts change its parameters, as shown in the picture below. When you customize a gun, you can change the optics, barrel outlet, the barrel itself, body, clip, handle, rifle stock. Choose the upgrades to suit your play style. While optics are not so crucial, the clip is the most important.
