Black Ops 7 Zombies Ashes of the Damned Main Quest Guide

Welcome to the complete Black Ops 7 Ashes of the Damned main quest guide.This map is a twisted sprawl of broken timelines fused together in the Dark Aether. Ashes of the Damned throws you into a world that wants you dead from the second you spawn, with fog-choked roads, collapsing buildings, and entire regions torn out of reality. This place feels wrong in every direction, and that tension never lets up.

In this  BO7 Ashes of the Damned guide, you’ll find a complete step-by-step walkthrough with screenshots and directions for every objective and puzzle on the map. So, let’s get started!

If you want a smoother ride as you explore this hellscape, keep Skycoach in mind for quick unlocks and help during your early attempts. Buy Black Ops 7 Ashes of the Damned Boost and have our professional CoD players take care of the completion so you can reap the rewards! This map is huge, unpredictable, and packed with mechanics you’ll want mastered fast, especially as the community races to solve the Main Quest.

Read our other Black Ops 7 guides:

• How to Level Up Fast in BO7
• Best Controller Settings
• Best Weapons Tier List
• Best Perks Guide
• Mastery Camos Guide
• Best BO7 Loadouts
• Beta Overview

 

 

Ashes of the Damned Main Quest Walkthrough

This Zombies main quest BO7 drops you into Janus Towers Plaza and pushes you outward across six major regions that all feed back into the central town of Ashwood. Before any real quest steps can begin, you need full map access, safe mobility, and a functional Pack-a-Punch. Every future objective will rely on this, so the entire open-phase of Ashes of the Damned revolves around securing power in multiple districts and upgrading Ol’ Tessie into your mobile PaP machine.

Step 1: Unlocking Pack-a-Punch

Your run begins inside Janus Towers Plaza. Clear round one completely to build enough Essence to open the locked door leading into the server room. Inside, move to the back corner and melee the small floor grate. T.E.D.D.’s head will pop out, and you can grab it immediately. This is your key to getting vehicles moving.

Head outside and interact with Ol’ Tessie on either the left or right front door. Installing T.E.D.D.’s head brings the truck to life, opening the map and giving you the ability to push toward your first regional power source. From here, the route splits and both work, so pick whichever direction you prefer.

Left Route: Monolith Forest to Blackwater Lake

Drive straight into the fog and keep your speed up while Ravagers and explosive growths try to damage the truck. Break through the wooden barriers and follow the road until you reach Blackwater Lake. The power pump infestation begins the moment you fire at a spore. There are roughly eight of them attached to the pump, and the thirty-second timer starts instantly once you hit the first one. Clear every spore before time expires. If you fail, the pump resets next round, and you can try again.

After you complete the infestation, open the cabin door at the top of the staircase. Head upstairs, walk past the snooker table, and flip the power switch. Blackwater Lake is now active.

Right Route: Collapsed Tower to Vandorn Farm

Taking the right path sends you down a narrow corridor full of debris and fog pockets. Push through until you reach Vandorn Farm and the familiar infestation pump. Destroy every spore within the thirty-second window, then buy into the barn. Climb to the upper floor and throw the switch to restore power to the farm. You can also pick up the Fumigator here before leaving.

Once either outer region is powered, you can move on. Only one is required for Pack-a-Punch setup, so pick whichever route fits your run.

Ashwood and the Bridge Power

Return to Ol’ Tessie and follow the route toward Ashwood, the central hub that connects every major district. Park near the two ziplines and take the one on the left to reach Market Square. From here, you can open the door beside the landing pad or push ahead toward the Taylor shop. Move through to Judgment Square and buy the debris that leads out toward Ashwood Bridge.

Another infestation event triggers as soon as you shoot the first spore. Clear the bridge pump within thirty seconds and climb the stairs to reach the power switch. Throwing this switch energizes the nearby garage and opens the door.

Drive Ol’ Tessie inside and park on the circular platform. A Pack-a-Punch Core appears on the workbench. Interact with it to install the Pack-a-Punch directly onto the back of the truck.

From this point forward, Pack-a-Punch is completely portable. Wherever Ol’ Tessie travels, PaP travels with it. This setup is the backbone of the entire map and the tool you’ll rely on for every major objective that follows.

In the future sections, you’ll find a full BO7 Ashes of the Damned Wonder Weapon guide, which will help you assemble the Necrofluid Gauntlet, which will help you get to and defeat the final boss.

Step 2: Collecting Important Items

With Pack-a-Punch installed on Ol’ Tessie, the true Easter Egg can begin. Several early quest items can be collected as soon as you’ve opened the map, and most of them overlap with normal progression. These early pickups set the stage for all midgame systems, so getting them now saves a huge amount of backtracking later.

Here’s a little preview of the things you’ll do:

1. Sever hanging foot in Vandorn Farm
2. Burn it with Molotov → collect Human Bones
3. Kill Ravager with sword trap → get Ravager Eyes
4. Kill The Cook → get refrigerator key
5. Open fridge → get Abomination Carcass
6. Upgrade Ol’ Tessie with carcass
7. Destroy purple fog rock → get Horde Husk Chunks
8. Kill Uber Klaus on round 8 → get Stabilizer Chip

Your first stop is Vandorn Farm. Make sure you have a tomahawk equipped. Enter the barn and look up at the hanging body on the rafters. Its foot drips with blood. Aim your tomahawk at the foot to sever it and drop it to the floor. Once it lands, throw a Molotov into the remains. The fire burns away the tissue and leaves behind a quest item called Human Bones.

Next, travel to Exit 115 after powering Blackwater Lake and Ashwood. You’ll need to be on a Ravager round for the next part. Activate the sword trap in this area and let a Ravager run into it. If the trap kills it, the creature drops a part called Ravager Eyes. Keep this safe, as it feeds into several upgrades later.

Still in Exit 115, look for a special zombie called The Cook. This enemy spawns naturally as you explore. Defeat him to collect a refrigerator key. The locked fridge sits in the same area. Opening it reveals the Abomination Carcass, another required part for your midgame upgrades.

Return to Ashwood and bring Ol’ Tessie into the garage. Interact with the workbench to install the Abomination Carcass upgrade onto the front of the truck. This gives Ol’ Tessie a beam attack that becomes essential for breaking objects and completing key steps later in the quest.

With the upgrade installed, drive out into the fog between major regions and look for glowing purple rocks. Only three exist per match, and they spawn randomly. Destroy one using the beam attack to earn the Horde Husk Chunks part. You only need a single rock to drop the item, so once you get it, you can safely move on.

Your next major encounter appears at the start of round eight. Make sure you are inside Janus Towers Plaza before the round begins. An Uber Klaus bursts out of a shipping container and immediately attacks. This fight is rough if you’re undergeared, so use Pack-a-Punched weapons and two or three perks. Focus your shots on the glowing armor plates on its shoulders. When Klaus cracks apart, a core drops to the ground. Breaking that core completes the encounter and rewards you with the Stabilizer Chip. BLOG20

 

Step 3: Getting the Necrofluid Gauntlet

Here’s a little to-do list at this stage:

1. Install Stabilizer Chip into Claus
2. Wake Claus using stun grenades
3. Lead Claus to Cosmodrome Support Systems
4. Stamp keypad → unlock Ether Barrel
5. Fill barrel at Ashwood generator
6. Fill barrel at Blackwater Lake generator
7. Fill barrel at Vandorn Farm generator
8. Bring barrel to Farm cellar cube
9. Find rooftop symbols at Janus
10. Enter correct code
11. Claim Necrofluid Gauntlet

Now that you have the Stabilizer Chip, you can activate Claus. Head to Ashwood again and take the left zipline to reach Market Square. Enter the Ashwood Sheriff’s Office and you’ll see Claus locked in a cell. Interact with the panel to install the Stabilizer Chip. Claus will remain dormant until you wake him, so leave the cell for the moment.

Buy three stun grenades from any workbench. Return to Claus’s cell and stand to the left side of the bars. Bounce the stun grenades against the wall so they hit Claus rapidly in sequence. When the stun animation triggers properly, sparks appear above his head and his eyes glow. Claus steps out of the cell and becomes a companion you can direct with your tactical grenade command.

Bring Claus to the Cosmodrome. Guide him to the lower level known as Support Systems. Position Claus in front of the keypad mounted on the wall. Direct him so he stomps the ground, activating the console. This unlocks the Ether Barrel inside a containment unit. Pick up the barrel. While carrying it, you cannot sprint or use jump pads, so make sure Ol’ Tessie is nearby.

Take the Ether Barrel to Ashwood. Insert it into the center of the Ashwood generator where you cleared the infestation earlier. A countdown begins as it extracts refined energy. Once it completes, pull the barrel out and bring it to Blackwater Lake. Repeat the process at the Blackwater pump, then travel immediately to Vandorn Farm and insert it into the farm pump for the final extraction.

While transporting the barrel, a decay timer counts down from one minute and thirty seconds. You must complete each step before the timer expires. If it runs out, the process resets and you must perform the Support Systems scan again to regain the Ether Barrel.

When the Farm extraction finishes, carry the full Ether Barrel down into the barn’s cellar. Insert it into the cube mounted on the table. Three rotating circles appear, each containing several strange symbols.

To solve this sequence, take the jump pad back to Janus Towers Plaza and look at the rooftops. Three glowing symbols appear across the tops of the buildings. These represent the code, read from right to left. Memorize or write them down. Return to the cellar and rotate each circle until you match the exact rooftop sequence. Confirm your entry by interacting with the cube. If the code is correct, the device unlocks and reveals the Necrofluid Gauntlet, the Wonder Weapon of Ashes of the Damned.

Step 4: Serum Items and the Blood Lockdown

The Necrofluid Gauntlet automatically launches a short tutorial where you fire at six green orbs in a confined chamber. Once completed, you are free to continue.

After that, you’ll be doing these things:

1. Shoot mirror in Taylor Shop → get Powder of the Forgotten
2. Pick up Jar of Spores in Blackwater Cabin
3. Grow spores at Vandorn Farm → get Widow’s Lantern
4. Kill Zersa Bear with Ol’ Tessie beam → get Mysterious Limb
5. Bring all items to Yuri’s Lab
6. Read chalkboard cipher
7. Input items in correct order
8. Add blood → survive lockdown

Your next goal is to gather the serum components. Go to the Taylor Shop in Ashwood. You must have the Wisp Tea perk, either purchased at the Cosmodrome or obtained through Gobble Gum. Stand in front of the mirror in the shop and shoot a zombie to trigger the Wisp Tea activation. The mirror shows a glowing hidden symbol. Fire the Necrofluid Gauntlet at the mirror to drop an item named Powder of the Forgotten.

Travel to the Blackwater Lake cabin and look in the kitchen for a jar. Picking it up grants the Jar of Spores. Bring it to Vandorn Farm and place it beside the dead animal covered in mushroom growth near the farm entrance. The spores need two full rounds to mature, after which the Widow’s Lantern appears for pickup.

The final serum item requires reaching round sixteen. During this round, a Zersa Bear spawns. Damage it normally until its health is low, then finish it using Ol’ Tessie’s beam attack. When it dies, it drops the Mysterious Limb.

Bring all serum items to Yuri’s Lab in the Cosmodrome. Place the Powder of the Forgotten on the chemistry table to reveal a chalkboard cipher. The cipher shows three words. Take the first letter of each word and match it to the item order using the pig cipher method. Interact with the corresponding machines in the correct order. Once ready, add blood at the central beaker. This begins a dangerous lockdown that lasts around ninety seconds. Survive the waves and the screen floods with purple haze, signaling completion.

After this, wisps begin orbiting each major point of interest. Your next task is to retrieve the three keys that unlock the pyramid.

Step 5: The Three Keys Puzzle

Three keys are hidden in the fog paths between major regions. The game chooses one of three possible spawn points for each key, and each key applies a different debuff when carried. Here’s the preview:

1. Find Bruin Key in fog (Ashwood → Cosmo)
2. Bring it to Pyramid
3. Find Nightbird Key in fog (Ashwood → Exit 115)
4. Bring it to Pyramid
5. Find Terrapin Key in fog (Ashwood → Farm)
6. Bring it to Pyramid
7. Trigger midgame Pyramid cutscene
8. Pick up DG-2 turret part

Start with the Bruin Key, found between Ashwood and the Cosmodrome. Look for a small yellow glow near the fallen radio tower, the crashed rocket entrance, or the cliff face overlooking the area. Fire the Gauntlet at its position, then retrieve it. Carry it to the Pyramid in Rabbit Alley. The key removes your ability to use weapons, forcing you to run with only your melee.

Next is the Nightbird Key, located in the fog between Ashwood and Exit 115 in Order Graveyard. It can appear in either T-Rex skeleton or near the pair of destroyed Janus vehicles. Retrieving it stops all health regeneration. Bring it to the Pyramid as well, using Ol’ Tessie if necessary.

The final Terrapin Key is found between Ashwood and Vandorn Farm near the grounded cargo ship. It may sit below the ship, inside an open container, or on a shelf visible through the ship window. Picking it up prevents sprinting entirely. Use Ol’ Tessie to return safely to Rabbit Alley.

Placing all three keys on the Pyramid breaks the full chain set and triggers a midgame cinematic. When the cutscene ends, the DG-2 Turret part appears in Ashwood. You now enter the final stretch before the boss.

Step 6: DG-2 Turret, the Clock Tower, and the Four POI Wisps

Let’s start with a quick overview:

1. Install DG-2 turret on Ol’ Tessie
2. Shoot clock tower with turret
3. Charge Gauntlet with clock face
4. Complete Farm wisp ritual
5. Complete Exit 115 lightning challenge
6. Complete Cosmodrome satellite + pig-cipher step
7. Complete Blackwater film reel sequence
8. Retrieve final POI item with Claus

Install the DG-2 Turret on Ol’ Tessie in the Ashwood garage. Drive the vehicle out and look toward the floating clock tower above the bridge. Fire the turret beam at the tower to freeze its rotation. Then shoot one clock face with the Gauntlet and press the reload input to charge the weapon with its purple ethereal power. This allows the activation of one of the main POI wisp quests. Repeat this process each time you need to trigger a new POI.

The four POIs are Farm, Exit 115, the Cosmodrome, and Blackwater Lake. You may complete them in any order.

At Vandorn Farm, enter the farmhouse and examine the clock on the wall. Stand on the Roman numeral matching the time displayed. Look toward Bodisa’s head at the dining table. His head rotates to reveal glowing red eyes. Shoot it with the Wonder Weapon to activate the ritual. Collect four hidden items throughout the farm, place them on their circles, then defend them for one minute.

At Exit 115, wait for an even-numbered round. Shoot the service station rooftop clock to start a sixty-second freeze. Wake the trucker zombie using Ol’ Tessie’s beam, wake the waitress zombie from the diner cash register, and activate Claus in the service station. Lead these zombies to their matching lightning markers. Any objectives you miss can be retried on the next even round.

At the Cosmodrome, fire the charged Gauntlet at the spinning satellites to stop them. Enter the control room behind Wisp Tea and read the six-symbol pig cipher. Decode it to reveal a word such as rocket, engine, or launch. Enter the numeric values for each letter across the six terminals. When correct, the rocket launches.

At Blackwater Lake, fire the Gauntlet at the projector in the cabin. It displays four areas in a specific random order. Visit each area and shoot the film reel in that exact sequence. The correct hit turns purple and disappears. If wrong, a jump scare triggers. When all reels are correct, call Claus to the cabin’s upper floor and have him retrieve the final item on the docks.

With all POI steps complete, the path to the final encounter is open.

Step 7: Boss Preparation

Before starting the final step, stockpile essentials. Bring Gobble Gums like Aftertaste, Raindrops, or Power Keg. Equip Casmirs, armor plates, and plenty of salvage. Make sure Ol’ Tessie is fully repaired. Once ready, drive to Blackwater Lake and interact with Claus to begin the vote. So, the preparation to-do list is this:

1. Gather perks
2. Get Gobble Gums
3. Stock Casmirs, armor plates, salvage
4. Repair Tessie
5. Drive to Blackwater Lake
6. Start boss vote with Claus

Don’t start the encounter unless everyone is ready.

Step 8: The Final Boss Fight

After the vote, enter Ol’ Tessie and wait for the screen to dim. The wisps guide you through Monolith Forest, Janus Towers Plaza, Collapsed Tower, Vandorn Farm, the grounded ship, and Ashwood. Each area contains three wisps. Drive through all of them before the timer expires. If successful, the arena loads and the final boss appears.

The arena fight is fully vehicle-based. One player drives Ol’ Tessie while another controls the DG-2 Turret. Build boost, then ram the boss in the center of the arena, combining the boost with the beam attack to break its armor and reveal weak spots. The turret focuses on glowing mouths while the driver avoids missiles and environmental attacks.

Each phase introduces a Beyblade spin attack where the boss becomes immune. Race to the blue beam as fast as possible and drive through it before the boss does. This charges Tessie for another boosted strike.

In the final quarter, a purple laser attack locks onto the truck. Time each boost to interrupt the charge-up or the laser will shred Tessie instantly. Avoid letting the boss swallow the truck. If it does, use the vehicle teleport pad to return instantly. A max armor and max ammo powerup spawn at intervals and can be pulled in using the Wonder Weapon’s retrieve function.

When the boss falls, the screen erupts with energy, and the Easter Egg ends.

Conclusion

Ashes of the Damned pushes Zombies in a completely new direction. The scale of the map, the heavy fog routes, and the reliance on Ol’ Tessie for movement and upgrades create an early game that demands real control and planning. Once Pack-a-Punch is installed and the outer regions are powered, the map finally opens up and the full Easter Egg path becomes clear. With these steps in place, you’re set for everything that follows, from major story quests to late-game encounters. This guide will stay updated as more confirmed discoveries roll in.

F.A.Q.