Call of Duty Outbreak Guide: Tips for the new zombies mode

In this guide to Call of Duty Outbreak you will learn:

  • How Outbreak differs from the normal Zombies mode
  • What you need to do to win
  • What strategies lead to victory
  • What the best weapons and field equipment are

How is Outbreak different from the normal Zombies mode?

Open-world survival with RPG and Roguelite elements

With the launch of Season 2 in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, the shooter received the brand new zombies mode Outbreak. However, this is not another chapter for the well-known Zombies mode, where you slaughter waves of zombies on turn-based maps while solving smaller puzzles for Easter Eggs. Outbreak is rather open-world zombie survival, peppered with elements of various other genres, such as loot shooters, action RPGs or roguelites.

The gameplay of Call of Duty Outbreak is easily explained: you and up to three other teammates are dropped into an outbreak zone within the Ural Mountains and must complete a primary objective marked on your map with a star icon. How and when you approach this objective is up to you. There are no rounds in Outbreak like in the classic Zombies mode; zombies spawn continuously in Outbreak. So you'll have your hands full most of the time fighting off the undead, but at the same time you can also explore the entire map in a relatively relaxed manner. And you should do that, because there are many interesting things waiting for you aside from the main mission.

These include loot boxes, side missions, vehicles or jump pads that catapult you into the air. Once you've explored everything or are satisfied with your current loot, simply complete the primary objective. After that, you'll have the choice to be evacuated or continue directly to the next escape zone.

These are the different types of primary objectives

The primary objectives on the different outbreak maps in Call of Duty Outbreak are each random. The missions can be divided into the following categories:

  • Defend: Your task is to obtain a sample of a gene code from infected people, have it analyzed by a device, and protect the device from zombie hordes during the data transfer.
  • Escort: You must escort a highly advanced but extremely vulnerable rover to a dimensional portal. Make sure the rover reaches its destination with its precious cargo and defend it against attackers.
  • Salvage: In this mission, you must salvage etherium crystals in canisters from harvesting units and carry them to rockets that will transport the crystals to a safe location. However, transporting the etherium canisters is dangerous. While carrying the canisters, you are very slow and cannot use equipment or weapons.
  • Eliminateyour task is to eliminate so-called HRZs (high-ranking targets). HRZs are particularly strong enemies that are equipped with tracking devices and must first be tracked by you.
  • Deny: This mission is a bit reminiscent of the classic Zombies mode from Black Ops Cold War: you have to destroy a giant aether crystal that continuously attracts zombies.

For now, these are all the primary objectives available in Call of Duty Outbreak. More missions are to be added later.

The signal station: evacuate or go to the next round via dimension gate?

After completing the primary mission, you'll need to head to a signal station. Whether you do this directly or explore the map a bit more is once again up to you. When you arrive at the signal station and activate it, there are some useful extras and machines available. These include a crafting table where you can craft equipment and support items, armor and weapons, the Wunderfizz machine for perk potions and the Pack-a-punch machine for weapon upgrades. Use all the resources in the signal station before making the next important decision: do you want to evacuate or go to the next escape zone via dimension gate?

The evacuation works exactly like in the normal zombies mode in Black Ops Cold War: You run to the evacuation zone, take out all enemies in the vicinity, jump into the helicopter and let it take you to safety. If you manage to do this, you'll receive additional rewards on top of the loot you collected in the escape zone.

If, on the other hand, you decide to take the trip through the portal, you'll land in the next escape zone and the fun in Call of Duty Escape will start all over again. But beware: each additional trip through the portal increases the difficulty level and makes your enemies stronger. However, the higher risk is rewarded with potentially better loot.

Call of Duty Outbreak: Tips and strategies for the new zombies mode

General tips and tricks for Outbreak

  • Explore the entire map. Especially in the first round, the zombies are not too dangerous and you can collect loot and points in peace. You can spend the points later for perks and armor or weapon upgrades.
  • Use vehicles and jump pads to move around quickly. Cars can also be used to run over zombies. However, make sure that your vehicle doesn't take too much damage or it will explode.
  • Use jump platforms to get a bird's eye view of the area. Using them costs a bit of essence, but if you collect essence containers as you descend, you'll quickly recoup the cost.
  • Complete side missions as early as possible. There you will get good loot right at the beginning and sometimes even golden loot boxes.
  • Destroy the purple crystals on the map. They provide you with valuable resources and restore your armor.
  • Listen for a retro-like beeping sound. If you hear this sound, there is a loot crate nearby. The background color of the display with the smiley face will tell you the rarity of the loot in the crate.
  • Stay together. The chances of survival in a group are much higher.
  • Get armor at the appropriate machines as soon as possible. Armor should always be preferred over weapon upgrades.
  • Examine the environment for weapons. Occasionally you'll find grenades, Semtex or C4, which are great to use against zombie hordes.

Always remember: When the zombie hordes show up, press the gas pedal down and hit them hard!

Strategies for the various primary objectives in Outbreak

  • Defend: Depending on the location of the analyzer, there are several effective strategies to protect the analyzer during analysis. In the open air, you can use vehicles to block paths. In confined spaces, medium-range weapons are suitable for defense. But no matter where the device is placed, it will attract zombie hordes. That's why melee weapons, placeable equipment or supporting objects are solid choices for defense.
  • Escort: Circle the rover and slowly advance. Take out approaching threats in time.
  • Salvage: When carrying canisters, you can't use weapons or equipment, and you're also moving even slower than usual. Therefore, let your comrades escort you. However, the bearer of the canister has a powerful special ability: he can deliver a blast of ether energy that knocks down nearby zombies. This is especially helpful in dicey situations.
  • Eliminate: After you find the HRZ, you're faced with a decision: do you kill the weaker enemies protecting the HRZ first, then move on to your main target? Or do you try to take out the HRZ directly? The latter method is risky, as you run the risk of being killed by the smaller enemies. However, by killing the main target, the rest of the enemies will disappear automatically.
  • Refuse: Here we recommend the same strategy as in the normal zombies mode of Black Ops Cold War: barricade yourself, use available powerups and try to hold out until the end of the timer.

The best weapons and field equipment for jailbreak

The choice of weapons and equipment in Call of Duty Outbreak is, of course, completely up to you. However, in our opinion, the weapons and field equipment listed here are particularly well suited for the new Zombies mode.

Best all-round rifle for Call of Duty Outbreak: M16

The M16 is the perfect rifle for Outbreak thanks to its 3-shot bursts. The short bursts of fire cause high damage, are enormously accurate, and you also don't run the risk of wasting too much of your scarce ammo pointlessly.

The M16 is the Schweitzer pocket knife of the zombie apocalypse.

Best melee rifle for Call of Duty outbreak: Gallo S12

If you prefer to get up close and personal with the undead but still want to keep a bit of a safe distance, then the Gallo 12 shotgun is the perfect weapon for you. The shotgun is so powerful that it one-hitted enemies in early rounds. Thanks to its large scattering radius, you'll still hit your target even in hectic situations.

Best Wonder Weapon for Call of Duty Breakout: Ray Cannon

Due to its rarity, any of the wonder weapons is actually a real boon for you. However, should you get your hands on the Ray Cannon, the round of Outbreak is as good as won. The weapon is handy, precise, and deals enormous damage to zombies. With this weapon, you should easily make it to the end of every mission.

Best melee weapon for Call of Duty Outbreak: Machete

Especially in the first rounds of Outbreak, it can be useful to save ammo and finish off zombies in close combat. The perfect weapon for this is the machete. You can unlock the new weapon from Season 2 by earning a Traitor Medal in 15 different games. To do so, you'll have to perform 15 melee kills from behind. Alternatively, the ordinary knife is also suitable for finishing off zombies in close combat.

The best field equipment for Call of Duty Outbreak: Ring of Fire & Healing Aura

When it comes to field equipment, we have two recommendations for you - an offensive and a defensive variant. If you want to take out larger zombie hordes especially quickly, the field equipment Ring of Fire is worthwhile. The ability creates a ring of fire for 15 seconds, which inflicts fire damage to zombies when they enter it. At higher levels of the ability, there is a possibility that the ring of fire will kill zombies on first contact.

If you're playing more defensively, the field equipment Healing Aura is a good choice for the new Zombies mode Outbreak. The upgraded version of the Healing Aura offers the following in addition to the In addition tohealth regeneration, the aura also stuns enemies and, from level III, revives fallen comrades.

More interesting articles about Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Zombies

Visit us on Facebook and Instagram to discuss your favorite games.