All about MWZ mode

A guide with as much information as possible about the zombie mode of Modern Warfare III, what it contains and what secrets it contains

What is MWZ?

MWZ (Modern Warfare Zombies) is the first iteration of the zombie mode in the Modern Warfare universe (both versions).

Mechanically, it is extremely similar to DMZ: contracts, loot, selling more or less valuable loot, buy stations, zones of various dangers, a variety of enemies, bosses, and exfil mechanics.

For those who are not familiar with DMZ, it is recommended to check out the following guide to get an idea of how things might look like:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2892218858

Currently, the MWZ exists only within one map for the Warzone — Urzikstan.

The main partner is WarzoneTacmap[warzonetacmap.online]

On one of the points of interest, you can find the name "Sukhumi Station" (Сухумский вокзал) without some letters.

Sukhumi is the capital of the so-called Abkhazia, formally an autonomous region within Georgia, but under very close military control of the russian federation

Choosing an operator

As in DMZ, the player has 3 slots for three different operators. After selecting one and wanting to change it to someone else, the only way to replace it is to dismiss the replacement.

There are also bundles in the game store with a special MWZ mark, which in most cases offer an additional slot

Each operator has its own:

• Backpack (Rucksack)
  
• Killstreak
  
• Body armor
  
• Gas mask
  
• Self-revive

Other items that are in the backpack of one operator will automatically be transferred to the backpack of the other active.

The player can at any time outside the match replace the skin of the selected operator with another available one, but only of the same operator.

Stash and Upgrades

Unlike DMZ, which allows you to take only a very limited pool of items to the lobby, MWZ is more lenient in this regard and retains the following:

• Aether tool (gives a certain level weapon rarity)
  
• Aether crystal (gives a certain level of Pack-a-Punch)
  
• Perk cans
  
• Ammunition modifiers
  
• Diagrams of the above items, wonder weapons and classified items
  
  
• Any other weapon during evacuation (except wonder weapons)

Keeping these items is quite important, because unlike DMZ, in MWZ, various weapon upgrades are very important and they are NOT saved during a successful evacuation. Having cans of perks, crystals or keys will speed up the initial stage.

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Stash

This is a place where you can put the above items (except for schematics and wonder weapons) so that you can use them in the future, instead of carrying them with you in your backpack all the time.

The following restrictions currently apply:

• No more than 20 contraband weapons
  
• No more than 20 acquisition items

Fortunately, items awarded for completing story missions are stored separately and do not occupy Stash cells.

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Formulas

The formula is a special reward for completing certain story missions, as well as a very rare reward for completing contracts. By evacuating the formula of a tool, crystal, perk, or wonder weapon, player gets the opportunity to craft a corresponding item with a certain cooldown.

The formula item has a golden background.

The cooldown depends on the strength of the item, for example:

• Aether tool (green) — 2 hours
  
• Aether tool (blue) — 5 hours
  
• Aether tool (purple) — 10 hours
  
• Aether tool (orange) — 24 hours
  
  
• Raw aetherium crystal (PaP-1) — 8 hours
  
• Refined aetherium crystal (PaP-2) — 16 hours
  
• Flawless aetherium crystal (PaP-3) — 72 hours
  
  
• Perk (any) — 3 hours
  
• Ammo mods (any) — 3 hours
  
  
• Wonder weapon — 48 hours
  
• Classified item — 48 hours

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Cooldown

Starting with the Season 3 Reloaded of Modern Warfare III, the cooldown that applied to weapon recovery now applies to all crafted items that are currently in cooldown.

Approximately 100,000 essences will reduce the cooldown by 8 hours.

Field Upgrades

In addition to weapons, tactical and lethal equipment, each player must also choose a field upgrade, which have been successfully carried over from Black Ops Cold War:

Please note

• Field modifications do NOT progress when killing a mercenary, destroying a turret or helicopter
• Field modifications do NOT progress when the "Insta-kill" power-up is in effect

	Aether Shroud Can be obtained for 40 kills Makes the wearer invisible to zombies Duration — 6 seconds
	Energy Mine Can be obtained for 25 kills Creates a sphere that detonates three times when any enemy approaches, killing normal enemies and dealing heavy damage to uncommon enemies
	Frenzied Guard Can be obtained for 60 kills Instantly restores all armor of the wearer All zombies are instantly distracted by the wearer Killing a zombie restores some armor Duration — 10 seconds
	Frost Blast Can be obtained for 25 kills Instantly kills all normal enemies within a certain radius and freezes all those who approach for a few seconds
	Healing Aura Can be obtained for 50 kills Instantly restores health to the wearer and his company nearby Instantly revived all downed operators nearby (even from another squad)
	Tesla Storm Can be obtained with 50 kills Creates an electric shield around the character that shocks zombies when they approach When near any other player, you can create an electric circuit Duration — 10 seconds

Enemies

Mercenaries

• Soldier
  
• Sergeant
  
• Shock troop
  
• Recon
  
• Elite
  
• Unique

Please note that mercenaries in MWZ are particularly dangerous — they are similar to bots on the highest difficulty level (in terms of damage and accuracy), and weapons power-ups (rarity or PaP), Nuke, Insta-kill do not work on them.

Also, killing mercenaries does not grant progress toward field upgrades.

In short, think of them as a PvP simulation, but not very good at choosing a good position, but still killing almost instantly

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Zombies

Zombies can be of several types:

• Regular
  
• Lightly armored
  
• Heavy armored

They do not differ from each other in any way, except for the presence and strength of this armor.

Nest Crawler Always located in infected buildings Invulnerable while in the cocoon, but comes out as soon as the player damages a nearby cyst Crawls towards the player to explode and deal damage that is dealt over several seconds
Hellhound Very weak creature that leaves fire after death Vulnerable to frost damage In zone 3, it is almost impossible to escape on its own feet
Mimic Able to disguise itself as an object with which you can interact and surprise players Vulnerable to toxic damage
Mangler Resilient, and also has additional armor that increases its survivability Vulnerable to fire damage and explosions Its helmet and cannon arm can be destroyed
Disciple Strengthens normal zombies in the vicinity Able to attack the player with its beam, which heals the Disciple at the same time Vulnerable to electrical damage Its mask can be broken, causing it to be stunned for several seconds

The strength, survivability, and agility of all the above zombies depends on whether they are in Zone 1, 2, or 3. The further away, the more dangerous they become.

As well as unique bosses:

Mega abomination Located in the zone 3 (High Threat Zone) Capable of attacking players with both a pounce and an electric laser from its mouth Vulnerable to electric damage
Mega Worms They are bosses of certain episodes

Economics

In MWZ, instead of money ($), there is essence, which can be obtained in the following way:

• 10 points - kill a zombie / mercenary
  
• 15 points - kill a zombie with a critical hit or with a melee
  
• 35 points - kill a miniboss
  
• 100 points - a stash under the perk machine (one-time)
  
• 2000 points - successful completion of the contract at level 1
  
• 3000 points - successful completion of the contract at level 2-3
  
• 5000 points - successful completion of the contract at level 3

This essence can be spent on the following upgrades:

Upgrades

• 2000 points - any perk
  
  
• 5000 points - 1st level PaP (x2 damage)
  
• 10,000 points - 2nd level of PaP (x4 damage)
  
• 15,000 points - 3rd level PaP (x8 damage)

Wall buy weapon

• 750 points - sidearm (green)
  
• 1500 points - sidearm (blue)
  
  
• 1000 points - main weapon (green)
  
• 2000 points - main weapon (blue)
  
• 4000 points - main weapon (purple)
  
• 5000 points - main weapon (orange)

Please note:

The Pack-a-Punch enhancement is applied to the unit in the corresponding danger level. That is:

• 1st level of danger — PaP-1
  
• 2nd level of danger — PaP-1, PaP-2
  
• 3rd level of danger — PaP-1, PaP-2, PaP-3

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You can also purchase various items at the purchase stations, but please note that the assortment varies depending on the hazard level of the area in which it is located:

Price	1st Level	2nd Level	3rd Level
150	Armor plate	Armor plate	Armor plate
1000	Gas mask	Gas mask	Gas mask
2000	Medium vest Medium rucksack Cluster mine Stronghold keycard	Medium vest Medium rucksack Cluster mine Sentry Gun Stronghold keycard	Medium vest Medium rucksack Cluster mine Sentry Gun Stronghold keycard
4000			Durable gas mask
5000	Precision airstrike	Self-revive Mortar strike Precision airstrike Cymbal monkey	Self-revive Mortar strike Precision airstrike Cymbal monkey LT53 "Kazimir" grenade
10 000		Large vest	Large vest Large rucksack Juggernaut

Power-Ups

Power-ups are additional bonuses that sometimes drop from zombies and hang in the air for 30 seconds before disappearing. These boosts are applied to all players in the squad of the one who picked it up.

	Bonus points Provides 500 essence
	Full armor Instantly restores all armor
	Full power Instantly restores field modification charge
	Insta-kill Any damage kills normal zombies (except stun grenade), and increases the damage of minibosses by several times Lasts 30 seconds
	Max ammo Restores all ammo and automatically refills the weapon magazine
	Nuke Kills all normal zombies within a certain radius, as well as deals significant damage to minibosses Additionally provides 400 essence
	Double points Doubles all essence players will receive Lasts 30 seconds
	Random perk Players automatically receive a random perk from those they do not currently have It appears only after completing the story mission

Contracts

Contracts are an additional type of task in MWZ, for the completion of which the player will be rewarded with both essence and additional items.

• Contracts in the first zone provide 2000 essence
  
• Contracts in the second zone provide 3000 essence
  
• Contracts in the third zone provide 5000 essence

Unfortunately, there is no correlation between the contract and the type of rewards that can be obtained from the mysterious orb (as opposed to the DMZ)

Additional reminder:

Just like in DMZ, the selected contract can be canceled by going to the map and holding down "B" (default). And unlike DMZ, which requires 100% of the group to confirm the cancellation, here you only need a majority (i.e. >50%)

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There are several types of contracts:

1. Aether extractors
   
2. Defend ground station
   
3. Deliver cargo
   
4. Escort
   
5. HVT
   
6. Outlast
   
7. Raid Weapon Stash
   
8. Spore control

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	Aether extractors Destroy 3 missiles (or 5 in 2nd zone) with crystals in a certain amount of time Time limit - 3 minutes Main enemies - mercenaries
	Defend ground station (DGS) After collecting data from 3 analyzers, you need to protect the server that transmits the information Time limit - positive 3 minutes Main enemies - mercenaries
	Deliver cargo You need to get into an LTV in a certain garage and deliver the cargo to a certain point There are no time limit Main enemies - mercenaries and their attack helicopter
	Escort You must constantly accompany the rover to obtain information about the dark aether There is no time limit (technically) Main enemies - zombies
	HVT You need to kill a special miniboss marked on the map, which is additionally guarded by ordinary zombies There is no time limit Main enemies - zombies
	Outlast You need to activate the PND and stay near it for a certain time until it destroys the aether crystals Time limit - about 2 positive minutes Main enemies - zombies
	Raid Weapon Stash You need to break into an abandoned large safe and stay near it for a certain time Time limit - about 2 positive minutes Main enemies - zombies
	Spore control You need to collect disinfectants from a certain chest, throw them to the spores nearby and destroy weakened spores There is no time limit Main enemies - zombies

Containment Level

Containment Level is a new feature that appeared with the reloading of Modern Warfare III Season 2.

For performing certain activities, an operator will receive the corresponding level points, the progress of which will provide various bonuses.

Containment level bonuses are received by a specific operator and are tied to a specific cell

The easiest way to get them is through contracts of different levels:

• Level 1 contract = 1 Containment
  
• Level 2 contract = 2 Containments
  
• Level 3 contract = 3 Containments

In case a player is considered dead on the battlefield, they will lose 1 tier of progress (unlike DMZ, where final death leads to the loss of all progress and perks).

Please note

Going into the Dark Aether will result in a 1 tier progress loss, as the player technically dies to respawn on a new map.

The bonuses are as follows:

Containment Level	Containment Streak	Bonus
1 tier	2 points	💰 Start of the match with 500 essences
2 tier	5 points	Start of match with 5 armor plates
3 tier	8 points	💰 Start of the match with 1000 essences
4 tier	12 points	30% off perk machine cost
5 tier	20 points	💰 Start of the match with 1500 essences
6 tier	30 points	+30% contract essence reward
7 tier	40 points	💰 Start of the match with 2500 essences
8 tier	50 points	50% off Mystery box cost
9 tier	75 points	💰 Start of the match with 5000 essences
10 tier	100+ points	20% off Pack-a-Punch cost

Activities on the map

Turret

There are many turrets on the map that are inactive.

To activate them, you need to find a special circuit - it can be either regular or with an ammunition modifier.

By adding this circuit to the turret, you will make it active and it will kill all zombies nearby for several minutes.

There are only 4 cells in the turret where you can insert these circuits.
Each circuit = 2 minutes of the turret's duration.
That is, 4 schemes = 8 minutes of the turret's duration.

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Mercenary Camp

This camp is defended by several mercenaries who are covered by Counter UAV. There is no reward for destroying the camp, but you can find the following items in the chest inside:

• Medium body armor
• Mercenary Stronghold keycard

Mercenary Stronghold

In order to open it, you need the aforementioned keycard, which is disposable. In addition to various chests and the like, there will be a safe inside that can be drilled. After a certain time, the safe will open and the player can take from there:

• Large body armor
• Mercenary Fortress keycard
• Other item (killstreak or self-revive)

Mercenary Fortress

A special place on the map, which is always one of three random ones.

Each of them has its own specific combat features, depending on their boss:

	Legacy Fortress coordinates - D2 Armed with a shotgun with incendiary ammunition Hiding in the main building of the base, which is covered by a combat helicopter The path to him is dotted with traps and inflatable decoys that blind when exploded	Reward: 🟣 Haymaker “Tactical Negotiator” Random case with a wonder weapon
	Dokkaebi Fortress coordinates - D7 Armed with a Marxman rifle Constantly surrounded by kamikaze drones Constantly moving on the roof with a larger drone At the bottom of the skyscraper, Wheelson is riding	Reward: 🟣 KVD Enforcer “Mediator” Random case with a wonder weapon
	Keres Fortress coordinates - H2 Armed with an assault rifle The fortress is filled with toxic red gas that impairs visibility Constantly moves within the hangar	Reward: 🟣 MCW “Callous” Random case with a wonder weapon
	Rainmaker Fortress coordinates - H8 Armed with a DG-58 assault rifle Located in an estate on an island from which henchmen are firing grenade launchers and mortars Constantly moving Building and grounds are mined	Reward: 🟣 DG-58 “Clean House” with underbarrel grenade launcher Random case with a wonder weapon

For killing the boss, the player will receive a special achievement, and there will be a rift with the weapon of this boss at the epic level. And a case with a random wonder weapon.

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Aether Nest

A small building that is particularly affected by aether. In order to clean it, you need to shoot all the cysts inside.

This zone is very toxic and quickly breaks the gas mask, and the "Maximum Ammo" power-up appears for successful clearing.

Infected stronghold

The same as the Aether Nest, but the size of the building is much larger and, accordingly, it takes longer to find more of these cysts, but the rewards are somewhat more substantial.

This area is very toxic and quickly breaks the gas mask, and a "Maximum Ammo" power-up is available for successful clearing.

It is highly recommended to find/acquire the perk "Death Perception", which can show these cysts even through walls

Hidden activities

We're talking about activities that can't be seen on the general map, but if you get closer to them, you'll see a special icon.

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Harvester orb

An ordinary etheric orb that you can shoot at - after such impudence, the orb will start moving sharply and dropping some essence after the next hit.

Toward the end of the strength of this formation, it will activate a defense charge and if the player is too close to the orb, he will receive an effect similar to a shock stick.

The player will have little time to destroy the orb in time, otherwise it will simply disappear. If successfully destroyed, it will drop essence and additional rewards.

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Dog House

Sometimes you can find a hellhound's kennel on the map. When interacting with it, the player can insert various objects into it, but it is necessary to drop a piece of flesh. If you drop this particular item, an allied hellhound will jump out of the booth.

The amount of rotten flesh needed to call the dog increases depending on the difficulty of the zone:

• 1st zone — 1 meat
  
• 2nd zone — 2 meats
  
• 3rd zone — 3 meats

If you pass another object instead of rotten meat, the dog will get angry and attack the player.

It can:

• Kill a normal zombie with 1-3 bites
  
• Chase zombies nearby
  
• Self-regenerate
  
• Revive a nearby feeder with its howl
  
• Sit down so that the feeder can pet it (if there are no zombies nearby)
  
• Teleport to the feeder

Despite the fact that this animal is quite resilient, it is still not immortal and can quickly die from mercenaries.

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Blood Burner Motorcycle

A talking aethereal motorcycle that can be seen only on the mini-map (it does not appear on the general map).

It does not have a permanent spawn point, but can be spawned near you using a special item.



This motorcycle can run over ordinary zombies and, unlike any other vehicle in MWZ, it does not take damage as a result.




Also, when you run over a certain number of zombies, a special field upgrade will be charged that creates an explosion next to the vehicle (LMB by default).




This motorcycle is also capable of driving on water, but as soon as the driver is gone, it will automatically teleport to the last point where it was on the ground.

Secrets

Secret activities can be added to those that are not marked on the general map or on the minimap, forcing people to search for such information on the Internet, etc.

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Free perks

Performing simple tasks in certain places gives everyone in the squad the opportunity to get a specific perk, namely:

Deadshot Daiquiri Sector I3 You need to throw the explosives clearly into the highest window of the church
Death Perception Sector E2 Fly through 3 statue rings
Elemental Pop There is no new information
Juggernog Sector C3 Throw the termite/molotov into the fire
PhD Flopper Sector H7 You must jump from the roof of the mansion into the pool (preferably next to the rabbit)
Quick Revive Sector H5 You must stop at one of the two road signs above the track as soon as you hear laughter - drive as fast as possible to the other one a few hundred meters away
Speed Cola Sector D2 On the transport ride on the sculpture as if it were a springboard
Stamin-Up Sector D7 You need to run up the stairs to the very roof of the skyscraper
Tombstone Soda Sector G7 You need to use sniper optics to aim the rabbit on the crane And get a jumpscare

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Teleport

Sometimes in certain rooms of certain buildings you can suddenly notice both strange symbols and stones with them appearing on the walls.

In fact, this is a regular portal that allows you to choose one of several prepared teleportation points if you enter the correct "code". If the player chooses a non-existent combination, there will be a corresponding downward sound signal, and vice versa - upward if he enters the correct one.

For more information about where these portal outputs lead and their codes, you can find out from WarzoneTacmap:

https://warzonetacmap.online/maps/urzikstan/

After dialing the combination, a portal will open and the player will be offered to move to a pre-selected (by code) location for only 1000 essence.

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Vault

The vault is located under the mansion in sector H7 and is locked. In order to unlock it, you need to interact with 4 special receivers to deactivate the protection.

The receivers are located in the following locations:

Pawn In the shed, on TV (sector I1)
Rook In the farthest room of the hotel, the path to which is littered with mines and a turret (sector C5)
Bishop At the bottom of the tunnel, guarded by other mercenaries (sector D1)
Knight Drives an armored car around the map

All but the Pawn require you to kill the special boss and interact with the receiver that drops from them.

If you're not sure if any of them are still alive, look at the chessboard near the door. A dropped piece means that the target has been destroyed and the receiver is activated.

After all 4 receivers are activated, you will be given the opportunity to open the Vault.

Inside will be chests with very valuable loot, as well as an additional boss - a mimic named "The King", disguised as one of the chests.

Aether storm and Exfil

Like the DMZ with radiation, the MWZ has its counterpart, the Aether Storm. Most often, it is located in the first zone (very rarely in the third) and has a purple color.

Inside this storm, there is a special Disciple named «Stormcaller».

All zombies within the aether storm are increased by 1 level.

For example,

• a level 1 zombie in the storm becomes a level 2 zombie,
  
• a level 2 zombie in the storm becomes a level 3 zombie,
  
• but a level 3 zombie does not receive a boost to level 4, as it does not yet exist (kinda)

Being inside the aether storm, the player's gas mask will wear out quickly, and he will take a small but constant damage. Also, the range of vision will be severely limited by the purple fog, which does not allow you to see further than about 30 meters.



After 45 minutes from the start of the match, the aether storm will begin to grow, after which a second countdown for 15 minutes begins. During this time, the player needs to exfil in order not to lose their operator and their progress.

Note that as soon as the storm covers the exfil call point (including the story transition), it will become inactive.

However, even after the third one is disabled, there will be one last exfil helicopter at the end of the map opposite from the storm's epicenter. It will take off as soon as the second countdown is complete.

In the last moments of the last evacuation helicopter, many enemies will start to appear, including Disciples, Manglers, and Hellhounds.

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Wonder Weapons

Wonder Weapon is a special weapon that has a special golden rarity.

It is an extremely rare reward that can be obtained by completing contracts, from a regular or mysterious chest, or by completing a specific story quest.

There are currently 4 wonder weapons in MWZ:

1. Ray Gun
   
2. Wunderwaffe DG-2
   
3. The Scorcher
   
4. V-R11

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Ray Gun

A classic zombie mode weapon.

A pistol-type weapon that shoots a rather slow laser that deals AOE damage. It is also capable of causing damage to the weapon's owner, but the "PhD Flopper" perk levels this negative aspect.

The scheme of this wonder weapon can only be obtained from a contract in the Third Threat Level (T3)

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Wunderwaffe DG-2

No less classic zombie mode weapon from Treyarch.

A hit from this weapon creates a chain reaction that picks up up to 10 enemies nearby. It instantly kills regular zombies and mercenaries, and deals huge damage to minibosses and bosses.

The projectile of this weapon has a small AOE, so it is not necessary to hit the enemy exactly.

The scheme of this wonder weapon can only be obtained from the story mission "Holdout" (Act 3)

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The Scorcher

A device somewhat similar in principle to the D.I.E. from the Black Ops Cold War zombie mode.

It has a somewhat limited, but self-restored ammunition.

By holding down the left mouse button, the character will begin the charging process, which will eventually shoot a laser ten meters long, which will quickly destroy zombies that touch it. The laser stays in the air for a few seconds and its duration depends on how long the player held down the key.



By holding down the right mouse button, the character will start the charging process again, but this time the weapon will be raised up. Releasing the button will cause the character to fly high up and also kill nearby zombies with a blast wave.

Each such action takes 5 units of charge out of the available 10 (not including the Pack-a-Punch effect).

The scheme of this wonder weapon can only be obtained by defeating the Greylorm boss

V-R11

A wonder weapon that has appeared on only one map in its entire history - Call of the Dead (Black Ops 1)

It has many interesting properties:

• Hitting a zombie will turn it into a mercenary that will explode in 15 seconds and kill nearby zombies (the explosion is weaker than a monkey-bomb)
  
• Hitting elite zombies will deal huge damage to them, but not much damage to mega-worms
  
  
  
  
  
• Hitting a mercenary will turn him into an allied zombie
  
  
  
  
  
• Hitting another player will give them the "zombie blood" effect (invisibility) for 5 seconds. The effects do not stack, and the target does not receive the «Insta-kill» effect, as it was in Call of the Dead
  
  
  
  
• Hitting a vehicle and ACV significantly restores its durability and fuel supply (only with Pack-a-Punch), but does not restore the durability of the computer in the DGS contract
  
  

  The scheme of this wonder weapon can only be obtained from the Dark Aether 2

Classified items

These items can be obtained exclusively from the Dark Aether (T4), and in order to obtain a recipe for further creation, you need to go to the accelerated version (T5).

Classified items are those from the corresponding list (Classified):

Dark Aether 1 Al Bagra Fortress	Aether Blade Case Dog Bone Golden Armor Plate
Dark Aether 2 Said City	Blood Burner Keys Mag of Holding
Dark Aether 3 Zarqwa Hydroelectric	Golden Mask Filter Dead Wire Detonators Sergeant's Beret
Dark Aether 4 Al-Mazrah City	Disciple Bottle Grenade Bandolier

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	Aether Blade Case After activating this case, the player receives a special throwing knife in the lethal equipment slot, which can be dropped to another player. It kills up to 3 regular zombies at once and then returns to the owner. After a few seconds of cooldown, you can repeat the process until the end of the match.
	Dog Bone Activating this bone will spawn a Hellhound of maximum level next to the player.
	Gold Armor plate After use, the player receives a special armor that can self-heal 1 plate every few seconds. PLEASE NOTE: if the character dies, this armor property is lost
	Blood burner keys Allows you to spawn the Blood Burner Motorcycle near you
	Mag of holding All firing weapons have a magazine the size of the entire ammunition supply. Thus, there is no need to reload the weapon
	Golden Mask Filter Gives a gas mask that automatically regenerates if the player is outside the gas or aether storm
	Dead Wire Detonators Gives all explosives the effect of Dead Wire
	Sergeant's Beret Makes you less visible to mercenaries Spawns your own bodyguard nearby Can be broken from an unknown amount of damage
	Disciple Bottle Spawn an allied Disciple
	Grenade Bandolier Automatically restores lethal and tactical equipment (in 45 or 210 seconds, depending on its rarity)

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How to get into the Dark Aether

Starting from the first season, a special region was added to the game - the Dark Aether, which is currently represented by 3 regions from the Al Mazrah map.

Each of these regions has 2 portals of its own - a small (story) and a large (true) portal.

The first portal is necessary to complete the corresponding mission of the 4th act, as well as to obtain a golden story item, which is the key to opening the big portal.

And in order to get just the opportunity to get there, you need to collect 4 items, depending on the type of entrance:

Dark Aether 1 (south)	Locked Diary Pills Bottle Surveillance Camera Dog Collar
Dark Aether 2 (north)	Tattered MMA Gloves Perforated Target Pristine mirror Drum
Dark Aether 3 (west)	Giraffe Toy Laptop with Stickers Imaginary Friend Drawing Science Journal

To activate the large portal, you need to insert these items of golden (🟡) rarity on the corresponding pedestals.

Players are guaranteed to receive the first such item for completing the story mission from the small portal. The rest must be searched for in certain places on the map or special actions must be performed in order to upgrade these items to the appropriate gold level.

After all the items have been displayed, a large portal and a corresponding boss will appear, which must be defeated to obtain Sigil and the portal will become available for activation.

After all these actions, the corresponding portal will be available to everyone in the team that performed this task and at any time.

To activate a large portal, you need 1 of 2 things - a triangular Sigil and a round Elder Sigil.

To do this, you need to interact with the side of the large portal to start the activation to teleport the entire team to the corresponding Dark Aether (both Sigils have different inserts).

The team has 30 seconds to confirm that they want to teleport there, otherwise the Sigil will not be used up.

After teleportation, players will retain all their inventory, as well as weapon upgrades and additional effects (summoned hellhound, etc.).

Although the Dark Aether has its own difficulty level (vortex), it is still level 3 in terms of difficulty, although the zombies, their number, and their sleep speed look much more threatening.

Players can inform in advance of their intentions to enter the Dark Aether, namely:

• T4 or Sigil - entering the Dark Aether to obtain valuable items with a 30-minute time limit, using a triangular Sigil
  
  
• T5 or Elder - entering the Dark Aether to obtain recipes for valuable items with a time limit of 15 minutes, using a round Sigil

Dark Aether 1 (South)

After defeating the boss, you will receive various rewards, but the most important is the Locked Diary story item. It is an important part that will allow you to get into the real Dark Aether.

You already have the first item, you need 3 more:

Pills Bottle	You need to use the weapon with the Brain Rot ammunition to shoot the tumor in the infected nest to turn it green. After that, you need to interact with it and pick up the bottle.
Surveillance Camera	You need to use a weapon with Dead Wire ammunition and shoot into the Harvester orb. If it turns golden, everything is going according to plan. Destroy it completely to get the camera.
Dog Collar	You need to find the Hellhound's kennel on the map and insert a molotov cocktail or thermite instead of meat. After the dog destroys the kennel, kill it and take the collar.

If you have problems finding the Harvester orb or Doghouse because they are not displayed on the general map, use the corresponding section from the WarzoneTacmap website[warzonetacmap.online]

However, these were only "regular" objects (purple), and it was necessary to obtain "true" objects (yellow).

After you get any of the above 3 items, find the portal that teleports players to the sky (Aether tear) - jump there, open your parachute and look for a similar colored portal in the air and fly straight into it.

The color of the portal will indicate the type of enemy you need to destroy:

• Green = Pills Bottle - Mimic / Tier 1
  
• Blue = Camera - Disciple / Tier 2
  
• Red = Collar - Mangler / Tier 3

Once you've moved into this colored portal, you'll be further teleported to the required location and a beam will drop to the ground, indicating a special contract that needs to be fulfilled.

After successfully destroying the corresponding enemy, your item will turn into a "true item" and will have a yellow background.

These story items will NOT be converted and can be safely evacuated, stored in the Vault, etc. This applies to both "normal" (purple) and "true" (yellow) items

Now these items need to be brought to the pedestal where the hurricane is circling and inserted into a certain pedestal with an icon of ammunition modifications:

• Locked diary - Frost
  
• Pills bottle - Toxic
  
• Surveillance camera - Electricity
  
• Dog collar - Fire

As soon as all the objects are inserted, the portal will open and another Mega Abomination and many zombies will run out. After the boss is destroyed, various rewards will drop from it, and you can get Sigil from the rift (each of the squad will get their own).

Like the previous items, this one can be saved for later.

---

The Dark Aether of al Bagra Fortress has 3 contracts:

• Aether extractors
• Escort
• Outlast

Escorts are the most challenging because they take a long time, and the difficult of the Dark Aether is merciless to both players and the equipment to be escorted.

In order to significantly increase your chances of successfully completing this contract, obtain the V-R11 woder weapon and upgrade it with Pack-a-Punch.

In this state, this weapon will be able to restore the durability of any equipment, including contract vehicles.

For the successful execution of the contract, players can receive:

• Elder Sigil
  
• Various perks
  
• Various ammo modifiers

🟠 Aether Knife Case

🟠 Dog bone

🟠 Gold Armor plate

But in order to get the recipes for the classified items, you need to go to this Dark Aether with the Elder Sigil.

There are 2 exfil points on this map:

• On the highest tower of the fortress
  
• In the depths of the fortress dungeon

Therefore, if someone decides to "troll" you and stands on the ladder, thus preventing you from reaching the upper portal, just go down to the depths to the second one.

Dark Aether 2 (North)

In order to get the 3 preparatory items, you need to complete certain tasks in the Dark Aether itself (the story mission).

The tasks and where to find them are as follows:

On the ship to the left of the players' spawn, you need to interact with the obelisk and kill zombies in close combat within the circle. Story item - Tattered MMA Gloves
At the crossroads in the north of the region, you need to interact with the obelisk and kill the zombies in the head within the circle. Story item - Perforated Target
At the bottom of a dried-up river in the southeastern part of the region, you need to interact with the obelisk and kill zombies with certain ammunition modifiers. A clue to which modifier is the circle effect. The obelisk will also provide all 4 modifiers. Story item - Pristine mirror

After you get these 3 items, you need to do the following to upgrade them to gold status:

Tattered MMA Gloves After you arrive at the ring (F8) and interact with the offer in the ring, hit the punching bags in the corner of the room several times until they catch fire. After that, a burning zombie will appear, which you must beat with your bare hands in the ring.
Perforated Target After you arrive at the shooting range (H8) and interact with the target prompt, several targets will appear nearby that you must shoot until they turn red. Some of the targets are somewhat hidden. The last one will bring up a zombie that can only be killed in the head.
Pristine mirror After you arrive at the cemetery (I3) and interact with the special grave on its edge, two zombies will appear nearby with a special effect. They must be killed with a weapon with an ammunition modification that matches the zombie's effect. If the player does not have one, all 4 can be taken nearby.

Then these items must be inserted into the corresponding pedestals in the north of the third zone and defeat the boss.

---

The Dark Aether of Said City has 3 contracts:

• Aether Extractions
  
• HVT
  
• Outlast

For the successful fulfillment of the contract, players can receive:

• Elder Sigil
  
• Various perks
  
• Various ammunition modifiers

🟠 Blood Burner Keys

🟠 Case with a V-R11

🟠 Mag of holding

But in order to get the recipes for the items, you need to go to this Dark Aether with Elder Sigil.

There is only one exfil in the northeast of the map.

Dark Aether 3 (West)

After defeating the boss during the story mission, you will receive a Giraffe Toy, and the rest of the items will need to be obtained in the same Urzikistan.

---

Imaginary Friend Drawing

To get this item, you need to go to the mansion at coordinates I7 and interact with the mysterious object under the bed.

Laptop with Stickers

To get this item, you need to summon the Hellhound in any way and make it kill the mercenary Sergeant (present in any mercenary camp) on its own.

Science Journal

To get this item, you need to go to Aether Storm and kill a certain number of zombies there.

---

After the player receives any of these items, they must be sent to the third zone to find a triangle in a certain place on the ground, which indicates the directions to look.

Imaginary Friend Drawing
Laptop with Stickers
Science Journal

There will be runes nearby that you need to shoot at (in any order), after which a larger glow will appear on the ground - these are the edges of a larger triangle that visually gathers from a certain position nearby.



After the player takes this position, they will be able to activate a challenge: a circle will appear within which they have to kill a certain number of zombies, and after this condition is met, a special boss will appear, for which the player will lose the corresponding story item and receive its legendary version.

After all 4 legendary items are placed on their pedestals, a special Disciple will appear, which has a new property - invulnerability until his special minions are defeated.

After his death, another rift with a triangular Sigil will appear and players will be able to see a large portal and activate it.

---

Unlike the previous two Dark Aethers, where you had to interact with a teddy bear to activate a contract, this one requires you to interact with obelisks to activate a contract.

Once they are activated, they will also have a special item in their place that will provide small additional benefit to the one who has it.

There are 3 contracts available on the map:

1. HVT
   
2. Outlast
   
3. Escort (with 4 rifts instead of the usual 3)

For the successful fulfillment of the contract, players can receive:

• Elder Sigil
  
• Various perks
  
• Various ammo modifiers

🟠 Golden Mask Filter

🟠 Dead Wire Detonators

🟠 Sergeant's Beret

But in order to get the recipes for the secret items, you need to go into this Dark Aether with the Ancient Sigil.

On this map, there is only one evacuation in the southeast of the island in the center.

---

Secret Blueprint

After all three contracts are fulfilled, the 3 Rift Spores located on the central island will become vulnerable and can be destroyed. After destroying all 3, the large egg in the center will become vulnerable.



After it is destroyed, a special Disciple named Gyanxi will appear - this boss is extremely resilient, healing himself (like all Disciples), and has several phases during which it summons its minions and becomes invulnerable as long as those minions are alive.

Finally, after defeating Gyanxi, players will receive a special blueprint for the RAM-7 "Smoke Signals", as well as a new rift with additional rewards.

Blueprint modules:

• Sight - Cronen Intlas MSP-12
  
• Muzzle - Zehmn35 Compensated
  
• Underbarrel - JAK Limb Ripper chainsaw
  
• Stock - Ultra-Light Stock Pad
  
• Grip - Retort 90 Grip Tape

Dark Aether 4 (Center)

After defeating the boss during the Ascension story mission, you will receive a Golden Mr. Peeks, and the rest of the items will need to be obtained in the same Urzikistan.

ATTENTION

To collect the following storyline items, you must have special classified items that can be obtained from the previous 3 Rifts

---

Echo Drum

First, you need to summon the bloody motorcycle “Blood Burner” - using a special key or by finding it on the minimap (remember that it is NOT visible on the general map, unlike other vehicles).

After that, you need to start the route from the next place on the motorcycle and follow the arrows along the route

As a reward, you will receive a purple Echo of Drum.

Toy Giraffe Echo

To do this, the player (who has completed the story mission “Ascension”) must activate the item “Sergeant's Beret”, then approach the mercenary camp and finish off any of them.

A rift with the corresponding item will appear in the same place.

Echo of Locked Diary

• To do this, you need to have an Aether Blade and activate the triangle in the indicated place under the water by hitting the corresponding runes
  
• After that, you need to kill a certain number of Mimics that have been spawning nearby with the Aether Blade
  
• A rift with the appropriate item will appear at the place of the last Mimic killed (the rest will NOT disappear automatically)

---

After the player gets purple “echo” items, it is necessary to upgrade them to gold.

Gold Drum

• Having the Echo of Drum item, you need to interact with the stone that is on the pedestal
  
• After activation, you can get one of 4 ammunition modifications from the columns nearby
  
• With the help of modified ammunition, you need to kill special zombies that are vulnerable only to a specific effect, as evidenced by the color of their glow

Golden Diary

• It is necessary to get the PHD Flopper perk in advance
  
• Having the item Echo of Locked Diary, you need to interact with the stone under the pedestal
  
• The player is teleported to the top of the cooling tower of the local nuclear power plant, where the player will need to dive from a height to a certain point nearby
  
• If the player misses, there will be an orange portal nearby that will send the player back to the top of the cooling tower[[/list]

Gold toy giraffe

• It is necessary to be as well equipped as possible
  
• Having the item Echo of Toy Giraffe, you need to interact with the rock that is in the disassembled car
  
• Many zombies will appear near the player, but only special bosses deserve attention that must be defeated

---

Now, having received all the golden items, you need to put them on the appropriate pedestals located near the fountain.After activation, a powerful Mega Abomination will appear, which must be destroyed, and after that, the new Dark Aether will become available.

---

Dark Aether 4

ATTENTION

It is recommended to take the Scorcher wonder weapon to travel to this location, as the verticality of this map is significantly higher than all the previous ones.

There are 3 contracts available on the map:

• Escort

• Outlast

• Spore Control

• Elder Sigil
  
• Different perks
  
• Different ammo modifiers

🟠 Disciple Bottle

🟠 Grenade Bandolier

But in order to get the item recipes (as well as the recipe to increase the Stash by 10), you need to go to this Dark Aether with Elder Sigil.

There are 2 exfil points on this map:

1. At the top of the tallest skyscraper
   
2. If you pick up a special key - at the former al-Mazrah post office (Post Office Warehouse Key)

Dark Aether 4 / Secrets

There are two secrets associated with this area that provide very valuable rewards:

1. The best Pack-a-Punch crystals and Scorcher
   
2. The “Infinite Cosmos” blueprint

---

Crystals and Scorcher

This secret can even be done in the story mission - you need to get the R4D Detector, which is located on one of the skilled flying islands.
If you enter the real Dark Aether (through any Sigil), you can access it by destroying the spore in the center of the open hall.
Then go to coordinate C4 to find a hidden map on one of the walls (using R4D) - it shows you which buildings contain the secret marker (X) and in which order you need to complete it.
Once you have interacted with all 3 X's, you will receive a special key.

Go back to the wall with the invisible map on it and notice a locked door that can only be opened with this key.

Inside you will find the following rewards:

• 2 Refined crystals
  
• 1 Flawless crystal
  
• Scorcher case

---

Infinite Cosmos blueprint

This secret can be performed in both versions of Dark Aether, but to get this particular blueprint, you need to go to the advanced version (T5 / Elder Sigil).

First, you need to destroy the spore located in the center of the open hall under the two skyscrapers. If you do not have the appropriate spore destroyer, you can borrow one by activating the appropriate contract.
After destroying the spore, an R4D Detector will drop, which requires the player to go northwest of this room and follow all the arrows that are only visible through R4D.
At the end of this “maze” you will find a Damp Gold Skull. This skull must be brought to the statue of the golden whale located in the skyscraper nearby.
After the exchange, the player will receive an IT Thumb Drive and go to the square building at coordinates C3.
Inside you will find a computer with a glowing blue screen - you need to insert this flash drive into it, after which a special boss will spawn.
After the death of this boss, a special “Tower Maintenance Key” will drop from it - this key can be used to open the door on top of the tallest skyscraper, near the evacuation point.

In order to proceed to the next stage, you need to have the entire team (no matter how many people there are) on this roof - only then can you enter a special portal to move it even higher to the new bossfight location.

Don't worry about the time - no matter how much time is left there, the game will reset the timer to 15 minutes for the boss battle.

The boss itself will be the same familiar Entity's Echo, though from Phase 2.

If you successfully overcome it, a new rift will open with rewards - among them will be the items that can be obtained for fulfilling the contract at this difficulty level (including recipes in the difficult Dark Aether).

Players will receive a special notification about the blueprint after defeating the boss, and the weapon with the blueprint can be picked up from the same rift.

The drawing for the STG44 has the following modules:

• Barrel - Factory Short Barrel
  
• Stock - No stock
  
• Magazine - 40 round Mag
  
• Under-barrel - DR-6 Handstop
  
• Muzzle - Zenmn35 Compensated Flash Hider
  
  
• Features - “Rift Runner” tracers

Greylorm's challenge

Greylorm is a "new" boss, representing the same familiar mega-worm, but specifically on the map of Urzikstan (without the need to exfil to a certain point).

To be able to summon him, you must first find a table with photos of Urzikstan. It can be in two places:

Please note

Photos, as well as the location of UAV towers, can change, so you should study the photos in advance and then search

Map taken from WarzoneTacmap[warzonetacmap.online]

A map of Urzikstan will be hung next to the table, as well as 4 smaller photos that will indicate the approximate location of the UAV towers to be activated.

Special flash drives (Calibration data: [name]) are dropped from them, which will be useful.

After all 4 unique (!) flash drives have been collected, you need to find icons with ammunition depots near the Aether Storm. This is a clue to where the refractors will be located.

However, in order to activate them, you need an aether storm, which means that you need to wait until it starts to expand. After that, you can interact with the refractor to activate the bossfight.

Many different zombies will start spawning, including special ones, and later the boss Greylorm himself.

He's even more resilient than the previous ones (except for those moments when he dies in a few seconds for some reason), and therefore the battle with him will take much longer.

Tip

Interacting with the ammo cache instantly restores the durability of the gas mask, which is very important in the battle in the aether storm

After defeating Greylorm, several small rewards will drop from him, as well as a rift with rewards, which may include blueprints for new items. And last but not least, a triangular portal through which you can finally evacuate.

———————————————

📝 Other MWIII / MWZ guides

• Everything about Modern Warfare III (2023) achievements
  
• Hints for Modern Warfare III achievements

• All about Aftermarket Part (Modern Warfare III)
  
• All sights from Modern Warfare II (2022) and Modern Warfare III (2023)
  
  
• Real name of all Modern Warfare III weapons
  
  
• Why Video Game Guns Have Weird Names And Designs

• All about MWZ mode
  
• How to get recipes for crafting all MWZ items
  
• Best bonuses for Mag of Holding
  
• MWZ Weapon Stats (and their PaP versions)

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3223189027

[datmaximusgaming]

You forgot to add the fact that MWZ friggin Sucks

[LizardMods]

I just made a guide for a different game, but this is on another level. thank you.

[FIRUIN]

If someone is worried about new content, I'm just studying it. It's just that it's quite difficult to do it on your own, since this new content is designed for team play.

And only my friends from the team are still waiting for the game to be sold at a discount on Steam

[Bull Dozer]

true

[FIRUIN]

Nah, it's not such a secret boss that we have to hide it under a spoiler. Especially since he appears in both trailers and right in the center of the frame.

[Bull Dozer]

and mention the orca as a spoiler

[FIRUIN]

Ah, yes, those assholes. Yeah, I think it's worth mentioning them too.

[Bull Dozer]

and in enemies you forgot the nest crawler

[Bull Dozer]

to be honest your guide says ewerything about mwz so...

[FIRUIN]

Yes, I haven't forgotten him, I just don't know if it makes sense to write about him if he appears only after the missions are completed. What about those who have completed them all or don't care about it at all? This is an interesting question.