'Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War' Firebase Z Easter Egg Guide, Tutorial and Steps

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War got its Firebase Z map on Thursday, and, following a thrilling Easter egg hunt, its biggest secret has finally been solved. With help from the best and brightest members of the Zombies community, we're here to offer a step-by-step guide to solving each puzzle. If you want to see that final cutscene, this walkthrough reveals everything you need to do.

Before getting to the actual Easter egg steps, it's worth noting you must accomplish a few basic tasks first. As usual the power and Pack-a-Punch must be turned on, and the Wonder Weapon must be collected. You can get all those details in our RAI K-84 and Pack-a-Punch guide if you need them.

Second, for those who need video assistance alongside our text, check out this awesome guide from MrRoflWaffles on YouTube. If his work helps you, it doesn't hurt to subscribe. As these folks were among the first to discover the steps, we also found the Call of Duty Zombies subreddit thread helpful as well. If at any point our description fails you, these additional sources will likely make our words a bit clearer. With those disclaimers out of the way, let's start hunting.

Black Ops Cold War Firebase Z Easter Egg Steps

1. Once the power, Pack-a-Punch and RAI K-84 are ready, talk to Ravanov in the Atrium area. He'll send you to speak with Dr. Peck, who is located behind the big window in the Mission Control area. Peck sends you back to Ravanov, who ultimately hands you the Ravanov ID Badge item.
2. The card is used to open three lockers. To get the first one, enter the Courtyard and go into the Equipment Storage area. It's right across from Ravanov. You'll find Compound S16 inside the locker with the keypad on it.
3. To get to the next locker, go from Military Command Control Room into the Colonel's Office. You'll see another locker next to the desk. This one has Compound P65.
4. The third locker is inside a building in the Engineering section. Compound 36 is inside.
5. From the Barracks, go into the Field Hospital. Use the Agent Delivery System machine next to the small computer to mix the chemicals you've collected.
6. Once the machine starts spinning up, a bunch of enemies will spawn in. Kill them, go back to the machine, and you'll be able to pick it up and take it with you.
7. Bring it to the AC unit on the roof in the OPC area You'll know you're in the right place when you're given the option to "attach the Agent Delivery System."
8. Go back to Dr. Peck and interact with him.
9. Head to the Data Center and interact with the machine against the wall that has a screen with a brain displaying on it. Eventually Peck will talk, and you'll be given the option to unlock the Memory Transference Station. This offers access to four Essence Traps.
10. These Essence Traps function like Pokéballs in Pokémon. Your goal is to find three Mimic Zombies at specific locations, lower their health and trap them inside. Mimics spawn from objects. So to seek the zombie you're looking for, you need to find areas with lots of small objects on the ground—but only one of them spawns a zombie. When that happens you'll know that one zombie is the one you need to kill. So far players have had the most luck finding Mimics at Peck's Quarters in the Village, the Barracks Motor Pool and at the Colonel's Office in Military Command. There are more possible locations beyond these, however. Your goal is to catch a lone Mimic, return the trap to the machine, and hope you get a quote from Sokolov, Brahms or Zabim. Do this three times and you're done with the step. If the memory is corrupted, you can try as many times as you wish.
11. Once all three correct Mimics are found, a Floppy Disk will appear out of the memory machine. Grab it. Travel from the OPC into the Planning Offices and drop it into the Quantum Main Frame machine with the brain on it.
12. Go back to the OPC and you'll see that a new portal area has opened. Once you see it, talk to Peck. You'll be given a code that opens the locker next to him. When you open it, the Aethermeter will drop onto the floor.
13. The next step is to find three Aether Containers on the map that can be done in any order. To dig them up, grab the shovel found inside the hut in the Scorched Defense area.
14. Our first container is found in the Jungle Defense area, where you'll find lumps of dirt all around. Use the beeping sound cue to find the dig spot. The faster it gets, the closer you are to the location. After you dig it up, fight through the lockdown period that starts. Pick up the Aether Container when it's safe to do so.
15. The next container is in the corner of the Open Lot area next to the OPC. You can once again use sound cues to find it. A bunch of containers will spawn. You need to find the one that doesn't have any black smoke inside. Once you find it, that's the one you should interact with to collect it.
16. For the last Aether Container, go to the Barracks area by the staircase that connects to the Data Center. Once you dig, the Container will warp to different places if you get too close to it. To stop that from happening, shoot it with the RAI K-84's alternate grenade fire mode. It will only stay still while the grenade is active.
17. Go to the three Aether Reactors you used to turn on the power and place the containers there. They're found at the Data Center, Mission Control and Military Command.
18. Navigate to OPC, then to Peck and you'll find he's no longer accessible. Go to the Planning Offices and use the computer there. On the screen you'll see a galactic map that can be controlled via the d-pad. Cycle through all the bright spots (including the earth below) till you find one that displays a "?". Interact when you've found the right spot.
19. When everything's finished, go back to the OPC and interact with the terminals on the right. This triggers the boss fight, so make sure you're prepared.

Firebase Z Boss Fight

Orda is your main target, but kill the threats around them first. Wait for your team to call out the precise time to do damage, then unload with everything you've got until Orda's health drains. Luckily, perks and Pack-a-Punch in the surrounding area should offer you the extra firepower you need. That's all you need to know about the Firebase Z Easter egg in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is available now on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC.

What did you think of the Firebase Z Easter egg? Which step are you finding most troublesome? Tell us in the comments section!