Modern Warfare Zombies continues the open-world approach to Call of Duty Zombies introduced in Black Ops: Cold War. Following the story set-up in Cold War's Outbreak mode and massively expanding on the game, players will have to deal with a new enemy while surviving the hordes, an enemy mercenary force known as Terminus Outcomes. Players will encounter several new objectives in the Zombies mission area, including Encampments, Strongholds, and a Fortress that will reward players with bonus experience and valuable loot if they are able to clear out the occupying zombies or mercenaries.

Especially when tackling these outposts in higher-tier threat areas, players will want to be prepared for a harsh fight as the Terminus Outcome forces can be incredibly fatal if players allow themselves to get overwhelmed or get caught out of position. Here's what to expect when tackling Encampments, Strongholds, and Fortresses.

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Encampments

Encampments are small establishments located around Urzikstan populated by Terminus Mercenaries. Players will want to use extreme caution when approaching these locations, as the forces stationed at the encampment will begin firing on players immediately. In higher threat zones, players will encounter snipers and stormtroopers at these outposts that can quickly destroy armor and knock down players.

As players approach an encampment, they will begin to hear the buzzing of a drone overhead - encampments have a local counter UAV deployed that will impact players' equipment, so be sure to drop the drone before fully engaging the encampment. Encampments can be quickly dispatched with good squad communication and coordination as the defending force is typically not too large. Players deploying solo should consider taking a suppressed weapon to maintain an advantage when outnumbered against the Mercenaries.

Players will occasionally receive the activity completed banner although one or two Mercenaries are still alive nearby - stay vigilant and keep an ear out for enemies as they will regularly make exclamations that will give away their position. Once all Mercenaries are dealt with, players can collect all the loot dropped by the soldiers and open the available reward caches - there will always be one small mercenary cache, but players can often find large mercenary crates, with a higher chance of finding these crates in higher tier threat areas.

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Strongholds

Players will encounter two types of strongholds throughout the Modern Warfare Zombies mission area - Infected Strongholds and Mercenaries Strongholds. Larger and deadlier versions of Aether Nests or Encampments, respectively, strongholds provide a bigger challenge and significantly more loot for players.

Infected strongholds will require players to fight through the horde and the gas-infested building while clearing cysts in the same fashion as clearing Aether Nests. Players will want to have a gas mask equipped (and an extra one in stow, if possible) as strongholds are significantly larger than nests, often occupying multiple stories, and are locked up tight with most upstairs windows and doors barred and blocked. With the gas affecting vision, Infected Strongholds can feel like deadly mazes, and getting trapped inside without a mask is a sure way to succumb to the horde.

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Similar to nests, players will get an audio indication after a few cysts are destroyed, warning of fresh spawning zombies. If players are completely geared up, it is possible to rush through Infected Strongholds, but it is not recommended as one wrong turn can trap players in a room with only one exit and a swarm of zombies and hounds preventing passage - players can use Aether Shroud or Healing Aura field upgrades when in a pinch attempting to take out these strongholds. While more time-consuming, players can safely eradicate Infected Strongholds by destroying a few cysts, exiting the stronghold when the audio indicator plays, and dealing with the pursuing horde before returning to the stronghold and repeating this process until all cysts are destroyed.

Once all the cysts are destroyed, players will receive the activity completed banner, the gas inside the stronghold will disperse and the Aether Mercenary Crates inside will unlock. Players will find more crates with acquisitions and loose essence scattered throughout a stronghold compared to a nest, making Infected Strongholds an excellent way to acquire bonus loot and acquisitions.

Mercenary Strongholds are almost identical to strongholds found scattered throughout the various mission areas available in Warzone 2.0 DMZ. Players will need to find and acquire a Stronghold Keycard in the zombies mission area to unlock the stronghold and begin to clear out the defending soldiers. Unlike DMZ, players will not be able to extract a keycard in MWZ, so players will need to find a card on deployment before attempting to take on the stronghold.

Players can find a stronghold keycard by tackling missions that require killing Mercenaries (like the Tier 2 mission in Operation Deadbolt, Interceptor) or by clearing out encampments. There is a slight chance of finding keycards in loot boxes scattered around Urzikstan, but if players are struggling to find a keycard, one can be bought from any buy station for 2000 essence.

With the keycard in stow, head to a stronghold and unlock the door. Be prepared for heavy resistance inside, from shielded mercs to heavily armored shocktroopers. Players will not have to deal with toxic gas or destroying cysts - work through the stronghold eliminating all Mercenaries to gain access to the safe inside. Players will want to plant the drill on the safe and prepare to hold out against the waves of reinforcements inbound.

Mercenaries can be incredibly lethal, be sure to have a full storage of armor and a solid close-quarters weapon. Having stun or flash grenades can be useful when dealing with shielded mercs, while claymores can be used to safely cover areas near players from advancing recon Mercenaries. Stay close to the safe, and stay behind cover. Having shotguns or LMGs to push back any advancing mercenaries can be helpful. Players will find many regular and large mercenary crates inside strongholds, making them an excellent source of equipment and gear, especially when deploying with a new operator.

Once the safe is opened and players access the loot, the stronghold activity will be completed. Players will always find a Fortress Keycard in the stronghold safe, along with other valuable gear.

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Fortresses

Players will find one fortress in the medium-threat zone in the northwest quadrant of Urzikstan, Legacy's Fortress. Heavily guarded by Terminus Outcomes forces, players will need to acquire a Fortress Keycard in order to gain access to the inner levels of the Fortress. Players will find these keycards in the safe opened while clearing a Mercenary Stronghold, and will be tasked with clearing the fortress in order to complete the Act 3 mission, Storm the Castle.

Players will want to be fully prepared for an army-sized fight, as the fortress is guarded by all varieties of mercenaries and helicopters will continuously deploy new mercenaries to defend the area. Players will want to upgrade their Pack-a-Punch level and weapon rarity, and add an ammo modification before considering tackling the fortress. Be fully plated and have spare armor available before approaching the fortress, the snipers will begin attempting to pierce and break players' armor the moment players approach their line of sight.

The fortress is also surrounded by defending outposts, camouflaged against the hillside and trees. Players will need to keep their eye out for these outposts as failing to eliminate the troops guarding the fortress perimeter will allow players to quickly be overwhelmed if they reveal their position. Additionally, the fortress will deploy an attack helicopter to push players back and if players have not eliminated the perimeter troops, there will be no safe route to escape or retreat temporarily. If players can quietly eliminate all the surrounding troops, and if an LMG or launcher is brought to deal with the helicopter, players will set themselves up to safely retreat without losing progress in attempting to infiltrate the fortress.

One of the hardest challenges players can face, players will find the Warlord of Urzikstan inside the fortress, one of the bosses of the map. If players can fight through the defending forces and eliminate the Warlord, Legacy, they will receive a huge experience bonus and be able to pick up Legacy's weapon, a unique contraband weapon that can be exfiled and used on future deployments.

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023)

Franchise

Call of Duty , Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

Released

November 10, 2023

Developer(s)

Sledgehammer Games

Genre(s)

First-Person Shooter