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All about MWZ mode

By FIRUIN

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

Award

Created by

FIRUIN
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Category: Achievements, Co-op, Game Modes, Gameplay Basics, Loot, Maps or Levels, Secrets, Story or Lore, Weapons

Languages: English

Posted

Updated

Nov 14, 2023 @ 10:15am

Jul 10 @ 7:27am

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Guide Index

Overview

What is MWZ?

Choosing an operator

Stash and Upgrades

Field Upgrades

Enemies

Economics

Power-Ups

Contracts

Containment Level

Activities on the map

Hidden activities

Secrets

Aether storm and Exfil

—————————

Wonder Weapons

Classified items

———————————————

How to get into the Dark Aether

Dark Aether 1 (South)

Dark Aether 2 (North)

Dark Aether 3 (West)

Greylorm's challenge

———————————————

📝 Other MWIII / MWZ guides

Comments

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.

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.

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

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

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

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%)

There are several types of contracts:

Aether extractors
Defend ground station
Deliver cargo
Escort
HVT
Outlast
Raid Weapon Stash
Spore control

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.

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 - the building has a lot of inflatable decoys that blind when they explode, the path to the boss is dotted with mines and tripwires
Dokkaebi - an automatic Wheelson turret rides on the ground floor, and the boss upstairs will constantly receive troops and new kamikaze drones
Keres - the building is full of gas

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.

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.

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.

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 — 4 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.

Blood Burner Motorcycle

A talking aethereal motorcycle that can only be found in Zones 2 and 3, and is the only one on the entire map.

It does not have a permanent spawn point and cannot be found on the general map, but it has a special icon on the minimap.

It can be used to shoot down zombies and, unlike any other vehicle in MWZ, it does not take damage from a battering ram (but is still heavily damaged in an aether storm).

Also, when you shoot down a certain number of zombies, a special field modification will be charged, which creates an explosion near the vehicle.

This motorcycle is also capable of driving on water.

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.

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

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.

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.

—————————

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 3 wonder weapons in MWZ:

Ray Gun
Wunderwaffe DG-2
The Scorcher
V-R11

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)

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)

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 2

Zarqwa Hydroelectric

Golden Mask Filter
Dead Wire Detonators
Sergeant's Beret

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

———————————————

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:

HVT
Outlast
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

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

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

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

24 Comments

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datmaximusgaming May 13 @ 1:09pm

You forgot to add the fact that MWZ friggin Sucks

LizardMods Jan 16 @ 12:45am

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

FIRUIN [author] Dec 10, 2023 @ 12:32am

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 Dec 6, 2023 @ 2:35am

true

FIRUIN [author] Dec 6, 2023 @ 1:26am

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 Dec 5, 2023 @ 11:01pm

and mention the orca as a spoiler

FIRUIN [author] Dec 5, 2023 @ 8:08am

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

Bull Dozer Dec 5, 2023 @ 7:53am

and in enemies you forgot the nest crawler

Bull Dozer Dec 5, 2023 @ 7:51am

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

FIRUIN [author] Dec 5, 2023 @ 5:44am

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.

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