Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies - New Enemies and Equipment Arriving With Terminus

Zombies are all about the gory details. And Activision certainly didn’t shy away from sharing them in its recent information drop for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies. There’s a frankly staggering amount to read through in the official blog post. A fantastic resource, but far more than those of us just looking to put bullets in undead domes have time to parse.

To help you get hyped up for Black Ops 6 Zombies without scrolling for hours, here are our highlights, including new Black Ops 6 Zombies enemies, items, and upgrades.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Release Date: October 25, 2024

Black Ops 6 Zombies new enemies

For us, the most tantalizing (and gruesome) part of the Black Ops 6 Zombies gameplay reveal was the addition of aberration-type enemies that would look right at home charging down Isaac Clarke on Dead Space’s Ishimura space ship. Here are all the new baddies we’ll be facing on the Terminus map:

Vermin

“Large, spider-like ravenous scuttlers with a central thorax that seems to take the form of a screaming human head.”

If that wasn’t bad enough, they’ll also detach, Resident Evil 4 style, from some zombies after you kill the host. Expect them to go down quickly on their own but prove dangerous in numbers. Oh, and they can also evolve into our next not-so-friendly face, the Parasite.

Parasites

The Parasite enemy in Black Ops 6 Zombies - a flying bug-like demonic creature with sharp teeth and a long tongue — ©Activision

“Horrific flying creates consisting of a toothy head attached to spindly membrane-like wings, and a bulging sack of flesh as an abdomen.”

Parasites will hang back, attempting to coat you with acid they hock from their all-too-toothy mouths.

Manglers

A Mangler enemy in Black Ops 6 Zombies. An armored rotting zombie firing a large cannon from its right arm. — ©Activision

“A new Mangler suit variant has been greenlit by Project Janus, now armed with an Aetherium-augmented cannon and prone to extended bouts of primal rage.”

Now who thought giving Manglers an upgrade was a good idea?. These armored super-zombies can fire multiple shots or charge in for powerful melee strikes. Watch out for them plodding around Terminus island.

Amalgams

A hideous Amalgam monster in Black Ops 6 Zombies. its a creature of too many human limbs stitched together from fleshy tendrils. — ©Activision

“A form of fleshy deviancy that until now has defied explanation.”

Now we’re talking. Amalgams have enough stitched limbs to satisfy even Elden Ring’s Godrick the Grafted. They’re also enormous, standing at around eight feet tall. These nasties will attempt to absorb you or nearby zombies with their writhing tendrils, so steer well clear. The good news? They’ll supposedly explode when killed.

Black Ops 6 Zombies new equipment

Despite only just breaking free from prison, the Black Ops 6 Zombies Terminus characters are remarkably well equipped. In addition to gear from Zombies modes past, here are some of the exciting new tools that’ll help you crunch through hordes all the quicker.

New Field Upgrade: Dark Flare

The Dark Flare Field Upgrade in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies - a ray gun firing a beam of shadow energy through zombies — ©Activision

Taking lessons from Dragon Ball's Goku, the Terminus crew can now equip the Dark Flare to fire an energy beam which penetrates everything in its path and deals shadow damage. Glowing hair not guaranteed. Field Upgrades like the Dark Flare can also be upgraded using Augments, and even swapped out mid-match from the in-game menu.

New Support Equipment: Mutant Injection

The player injects themself with a high-tech syringe of bubbling liquid in Black Ops 6 Zombies — ©Activision

The most exciting addition to the equipment you can craft is the Mutant Injection. This temporarily transforms you into a Mangler. In this form you’ll be coated in heavy armor and free to smash, blast, and barge through the feeble zombies around you. Just try not to scare your wimpy human allies.

New Ammo Mod: Shadow Rift

In a move that’s sure to cause any physicist to emit a weary sigh, you can now fire bullets that generate black holes! The Shadow Rift Ammo Mod applies shadow damage to your bullets, with each shot having a chance to spawn a black hole when it hits Normal or Special enemies. These warp enemies away, occasionally dropping them down comically from the air.

Black Ops 6 Zombies Augments

Zombies in hazmat suits stumble forwards with glowing eyes in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies — ©Activision

Augments are a brand new loadout feature for Black Ops 6 Zombies. They allow you to apply modifiers to Perks, Ammo Mods, and Field Upgrades. Augments come in two forms: Minor and Major. These are defined by Activision as follows:

A Minor Augment offers a limited advantage to the item, usually during use.
A Major Augment offers a substantial advantage to the behavior of the item, usually during use.

Each Perk, Ammo Mod, and Field Upgrade can have one Minor Augment and one Major Augment applied to it. Between matches, you’ll need to progress down research paths for Perks, Ammo Mods, and Field Upgrades, unlocking a total of six Augments – three Minor and three Major – in each case.

Activision has offered a few examples of Augments, which we've listed below.

Dark Flare Field Upgrade Augments

Minor Augment

Heavy Shadow: Zombies impacted by the beam are slowed.

Major Augment

Shadow Ball: The beam is replaced with a sphere that damages enemies as it travels and detonates at the end of the duration.

Melee Macchiato Perk-a-Cola Augments

Minor Augment

Hidden Impact: Melee kills reload a portion of your held weapon.

Major Augment

Vampirism: Successful melee attacks heal for 25 health.

Shadow Rift Ammo Mod Augments

Minor Augment

Targeted: Dropped zombies fall on other zombies.

Major Augment

Explosive Rain: Zombies that are dropped from portals will explode on contact with the ground.

Black Ops 6 Zombies Wonder Weapons

A woman fires the Beamsmasher Wonder Weapon in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies — ©Activision

We’ve been introduced to just one new Wonder Weapon so far: the Beamsmasher. About the size of an LMG, it fires “a super-charged and incredibly damaging Aetheric beam.” Primary fire shoots a beam that vaporizes enemies, while secondary fire emits sound waves that slow targets and make them more susceptible to damage. The fun doesn’t stop there, either; reloading causes a minor explosion to knock back nearby enemies.

The gameplay trailer also teased another chance to enjoy the Jet Gun Wonder Weapon on the Liberty Falls map.

Black Ops 6 Zombies Terminus Traps

Guns aren’t the only entertaining way to deal with those unwelcome shamblers. Terminus Island looks to be littered with traps both man-made and supernatural.

Tentacle Traps

A large tentacle bursts from the water near a boat with a player in Black Ops 6 Zombies. They shoot at it as the boat moves away from a horde of zombies on a platform. — ©Activision

As in most horror movies, standing under a vent is a bad idea. Flip nearby switches and you can drop a mass of writhing tentacles from them, ready to gobble up any zombies that stumble too close. Oh, and did we mention the gigantic tentacle roaming the waters around the island? Get too close and it’ll spew toxic smog and attempt to flip your raft.

Void Cannon

A large cannon fires an aethereal blast, sucking nearby zombies into the beam and obliterating them in Black Ops 6 Zombies — ©Activision

So long as you have the power to supply it, this upgraded World War 2 cannon can unleash a gigantic Aether Beam. The gun firing creates a singularity, slowing enemies and pulling any zombies nearby up into the beam. Spoilers: it doesn’t end well for them.

Those were our highlights from the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies intel drop, but you can study up on the full details, including how the round-based action on Terminus will work, by visiting the Call of Duty website.