Black Ops 2 Zombies Guide

This Black Ops 2 Zombies guide gets you from the first round to a stable high-round routine. Zombies in Black Ops 2 is an economy game as much as a shooter: you earn points from kills and repairs, then spend them on weapons, perks and the power switch. Nail the opening rounds and everything after gets easier. The habits below apply to all six maps — from the open-world TranZit to the prison of Mob of the Dead and the trenches of Origins.

The first-round routine

Points are tightest at the start, so make every one count. Knife the first two rounds of zombies instead of shooting them — a melee kill is worth more points than a bullet kill, and your pistol ammo is precious. Repair boarded windows for 10 points each between kills. By round three or four, buy a wall weapon near your starting area so you are not stuck on the pistol when the horde speeds up. Then head for the power switch: almost nothing important — perks, Pack-a-Punch, most traps — works until the power is on.

Perk priority

The single most important purchase in Black Ops 2 Zombies is Juggernog. It raises your health so you take four hits before going down instead of two, which effectively doubles your survivability — buy it first the moment you can afford 2500 points. After that, Speed Cola (faster reloads) and Quick Revive (faster reviving, or self-revive in solo) are the usual next picks, followed by Double Tap 2.0 for extra damage. See the full Perk-a-Cola list for every machine and its cost.

Which map to start on

If you are new, start on a Survival map or Nuketown Zombies — they are small, self-contained, and teach the loop without the fog and bus of TranZit. Once you are comfortable, TranZit and Buried are the friendliest of the big maps because they let you build a reliable setup, while Mob of the Dead and Origins are the most involved. Browse all six on the Zombies maps page.

Going for high rounds

High rounds are about training: gather zombies into a single group and run them in a wide circle, firing into the pack rather than trading hits. Pack-a-Punch your primary as soon as you have the 5000 points to keep your damage scaling with the rounds. Keep a Perk-a-Cola loadout of at least Juggernog, Speed Cola and Double Tap, and save your wonder weapon for emergencies — when you get surrounded, it clears space to reset your train.

Easter eggs & wonder weapons

Each of the six maps hides a full main-quest easter egg with its own reward, and every map has a signature wonder weapon — from the Ray Gun and Jet Gun to the elemental Staffs of Origins. You do not need either to survive, but they are the endgame content of Black Ops 2 Zombies. Learn a map's survival loop first, then come back for its buildables, wonder weapon and quest once you can reliably reach the mid rounds.