Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombie Mode Weapons, Perks, and Power-Ups

In our Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombie Mode Weapons, Perks, and Power-Ups Guide, we have detailed everything you need to know about these things.

You need to kill zombies in Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombie Mode to earn points, which enable you to buy weapons, open doors, and blockades, and use Mystery Box. You probably would want to be wise if you are to survive long, wasting money in the early rounds is not a good idea. Save some cash for the later stages 1-10 are relatively easy. Therefore, plan for the long run from the start.

Save some cash, only one or two-person buy a good gun, and that’s enough. Although try mystery weapon box to get your hand on lazer may be. You can get weapons, and repair broken barricades at the end of the round by leaving one zombie alive.

Old strategy we also discussed in Shi No Numa, Verrukt, and Der Riese.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies Perks

You can buy perks off vending machines, and enhance your player capabilities to wreak havoc on poor zombies.

Quick Revive
Cost: $500 Solo | $1,500 Co-Op
Rewards you the ability to quickly revive yourself, or your partner in the game. In Solo, you get revived automatically thrice, while you have to revive your downed partner.

Pack-A-Punch
Cost: $5,000
Upgrade your Weapon.

Jugger-Nog
Cost: $2,500
Remember the Juggernaut perk? It makes to damage resistance or in other words, it requires more bullets or hits to kill you. Same thing!

Double Tap Root Beer
Cost: $2,000
Increases fire rate, similar to double tap perk in Call of Duty 4.

Speed Cola
Cost: $3,000
Increase the speed of the reload – reloading time decrease more like sleight of hand.

Zombie Mode Weapons

You can read below the effectiveness of Mystery Box Weapons, and their effectiveness, after you have upgraded them from the Pack-a-Punch machine.

Read our Call of Duty: Black Ops Weapons Guide for more information on effectively using different weapons.

Don’t forget to read below in Weapons Upgrades part, the details on the effectiveness of the particular weapon in Zombie Mode.

Mystery Box Weapons

  • FN FAL
  • CZ75
  • Thunder Gun
  • Cymbal Monkey
  • Spectre
  • Python
  • G11
  • SPAS
  • Crossbow with Explosive Arrow
  • FAMAS
  • Dragunov
  • HK21
  • China Lake
  • Galil
  • Ballistic Knife
  • Commando
  • RPK
  • HS10
  • Ray Gun
  • Freeze Ray (Five)
  • M72 LAW
  • AUG

Pack-a-Punch Weapon Upgrades

M1911
Upgrade: Mustang and Sally | Effect: Small Mag, Dual Wield, Grenade Launcher
Good upgrade, but the impact damage of the launcher if fired too close, can take you out. Be careful, Jugger-Nog Perk = Better.

You start the game with this pistol. It has a small clip size and very little damage and needs around a full magazine to kill only one zombie. This weapon is to only get you started and obviously, everyone will ditch this weapon for something better.

But if you upgrade it to Mustang and Sally, now you have a dual-wielded grenade launcher. This is pretty powerful as it throws a grenade in a straight line.

M14
Upgrade: Mnesia | Effect: Large Mag, Increased Damage
Large Magazine takes more time to reload so speed cola necessary if you are to use this weapon. Though, the damage is good but reload time too low to be used at later stages in the game.

Because of its small 8-round clip size, M14 is a horrible weapon because it has very low damage and a very high vertical recoil with a long reload time and a low fire cap with low overall ammo reserve.

After upgrading it into Mnesia it gives you double the ammo, a grip and a boost in power. It is now one of the most powerful assault rifles in the game. It has high body damage and it will get the job done.

Olympia
Upgrade: Hades | Effect: Power and Range increases, Incendiary Rounds
Large Mag, slow reload. Speed cola recommended if you are to use this weapon.

It comes in handy when you are to spray for longer periods, behind a cover with your friends protecting you just like in using LMG in Zombie mode. Otherwise, its reload time can get you in trouble.

Olympia is close to the M 1911 in performance because it also has low damage and a very slow reload time. It also has a very small clip. Its range is longer than other shotguns but it’s of no use because of its low damage.

When it is upgraded into the Hades only thing that is added is that it sets Zombie corpses on fire which is just visually pleasing. Damage is similar to other shotguns and it has a slower reload time. It is not a good weapon overall.

AK-74u
Upgrade: AK74fu2 | Effect: Precision Sight, Large Magazine and Increased Damage
Bigger Magazine increases ammo, and precision sight increases accuracy. Still, the last thing you want to do in Zombie mode is run and gun.

The AK-74u is a fictional submachine gun. It is loosely based on the Carbine of version AK-74 rifle.

It has a larger ammo reserve and greater damage than any other submachine guns and after upgrading it converts into AK-74fu2 which is an absolute beast because it has over 300 rounds of reserve ammo, very high damage, and low recoil and it reloads very quickly plus it has a red dot side. Only if it had one 110% run speed but we cannot have it all.

MP40
Upgrade: The Afterburner | Effect: Large Mag, Increased Damage
Large Magazine and more damage, with the upgrade.

The MP40 is a World War II submachine gun and it is only available on Kino Der Toten and Call of the Dead. It has a very low fire rate and recoil is very bad but it has the largest ammo count of the wall without any upgrade.

It has average body damage and it also doesn’t give 110% speed bonus but it has a good feel.

After upgrading it converts into the “Afterburner” which is not a great upgrade because magazine size doubles but ammo reserve does not increase. Fire rate also stays the same.

The damage per shot is higher than AK-74f u2 but it does not compare in killing capacity because of its rate high recoil and very low ammo count.

Stakeout
Upgrade: Raid | Effect: Large Magazine, 2 Shells Reload, More Power, Increased Damage, Increased Range.

Upgrade decreases reload time and increase damage. You can use double tap with this and speed cola to increase its effectiveness.

It’s 12-gauge pump action with a high damage and ammo count which make it a good weapon when dealing with zombies.

After upgrade, it becomes Raid, which has the same damage as other upgraded shotguns and now it has a 10-round clip size. Overall it’s a good weapon.

MPL
Upgrade: MPL-LF | Effect: Large Magazine, Precision Sight
MPL has a small mag to start with, even though the upgrade makes it bigger still they are better weapons out there.

MPL is a PM-63 with a larger clip size, it has standard damage and a high rate of Fire but a slow reload time.

When it is upgraded it converts into MPL– LF which is also not a very useful upgrade because the clip size is still small and the damage has not increased as much.

It also has bad recoil and you should not upgrade this weapon unless you want to for no reason.

MP5k
Upgrade: MP115 Kollider | Effect: Large Magazine, Increased Damage

The MP5k is a Mini version of submachine gun MP5. It has a 30 round clip size and 750 rounds per minute fire rate.

It has decent body damage but it has a lengthy reload time and after upgrading it turns into MP 115 ColliderKollider which is also not a useful upgrade so you might as well skip this one too.

PM63
Upgrade: Tokyo & Rose | Effect: Dual Wield
You can fire one weapon while reloading the other, but the accuracy is poor, you would most probably get into trouble.

PM-63 is worse to every SMG it is put up against because even though the fire rate is high but the damage and the clip size is very low if you compare it with other SMGs.

It is only a backup weapon and can only be of some good use it is in melee range. Even after the upgrade, it is not a practical weapon.

M16
Upgrade: Skullcrusher | Effect: Automatic, Increased Damage, Grenade Launcher
Good weapon upgrade to use especially with grenade launcher. Limited grenades though, so use them wisely.

M16 is an American assault rifle with a 3-round burst. It has low Ammo, low damage, and low fire rate but reloads and recoil are pretty good and among the best in assault rifles.

After upgrading it becomes Skullcrusher. Now it is a fully automatic weapon with low recoil and a very fast reload time but it still has a small clip size and no great damage.

It also gets an under barrel M203 grenade launcher which has 2x the blast radius of most of the other launcher.

HK21
Upgrade: H115 Oscillator | Effect: Large Magazine, Increased Damage
Must have a weapon, if you can get your hands on. Light Machine Guns are deadly in Zombie mode. All you need to do in late rounds is sit behind the cover with a friend or two protecting you, and spray. Speed cola comes in handy to reload large mag.

Only if you have double-tap then the HK21 becomes a useful weapon but without the double-tap, it is not that great, it has decent damage and a good ammo reserve but it is very slow handling and fire rate.

After upgrading it converts into H115 oscillator now it has 150/750 ammo cache and better per bullet damage but still the same fire rate.

RPK
Upgrade: R115 Resonator | Effect: Large Magazine, Increased Damage
AK-74’s LMG version is the RPK. It has an average fire rate, controllable recoil, a good iron sight and 100-round clip.

But its handling is slow and it reduces run speed, it has a low damage per shot almost the same as M14. After upgrading it converts into R115 Resonator.

Now it has a 125/500 ammo reserve and slightly better damage per bullet but it’s still slow to handle.

M72 LAW
Upgrade: M72 Anarchy | Effect: Large Magazine, Semi-Auto
The M72 law is the same when compared to China Lake but its damage is greater, the reloading is very slow which makes it hard to use, nevertheless after upgrading it converts into M72 Anarchy with which you have the ability to run at hundred percent speed, reload becomes fast and it has high damage but the blast radius is small for its 10-round rocket magazine.

China Lake
Upgrade: China Beach | Effect: Large Magazine, Increased Damage
It is a weak weapon and it bottlenecks your running speed, using it with any perk is not recommended because Mustang and Sally can do the same without any perk and it is more readily available.

After upgrading it converts into China Beach, now your run speed is at 100%, the mag-size has also increased, reload pump is faster, the damage has increased but Mustang and Sally are still better in comparison.

CZ75
Upgrade: Calamity | Effect: Increased Damage and Automatic
This is a semi-automatic pistol with an average magazine size. It also has decent damage and a very fast reload time with the perk of being a pistol so have fast raised and drop time including that you can also sprint faster with this weapon.

When you upgrade it now turns into “Calamity” which is a fully automatic pistol with a 20-round magazine. It has better damage with faster reload time.

CZ75 Dual Wield
Upgrade: Calamity & Jane | Effect: Large Magazine, Increased Damage, Automatic
Solves the small magazine problem after upgrade, and that’s that.

It’s the same as CZ75. If you upgrade CZ75 dual-wield it turns into “Calamity and Jane” the same as calamity except for the smaller clips part. Works best with double tap and Deadshot Daiquiri.

Python
Upgrade: Cobra | Effect: Large Magazine, Increased Damage, Speed Reload
Python is a typical “.357” magnum revolver. It has very high body damage and very low recoil but it has a very long reload time.

It is good for enemies such as dogs, the thief, George, the astronaut or napalm zombie. When you upgrade python it turns transforms into the “Cobra”. It now has a 12-round clip and the reloading time is now lesser.

It is a great sidearm and a very good weapon but it’s highly underrated.

AUG
Upgrade: AUG-50M3 | Effect: Increased Damage, Precision Sight, and Under-mounted Shotgun
AUG is a great Austrian Bullpup Assault Rifle with high fire rate and better than average damage. In summary, it is a very deadly weapon.

After upgrading it converts into AUG-50M3 which makes it damage almost the same as Afterburner but 2x the fire rate. The ammo reserve is now 30/390 with an Underbarrel master key shotgun.

FN FAL
Upgrade: EPC WN | Effect: Precision Sight, Large Magazine, 3 Round Burst, Increased Damage
It is a semi-automatic Belgian AR with the highest damage in the non-upgraded category. After upgrading it converts into EPC WN which is a 3-round burst weapon. Recoil increase with a slow feeling fire rate.

The damage is on-par with Mnesia and the ammo reserve is large.

FAMAS
Upgrade: G16-GL35 | Effect: Precision Sight, Large Magazine, Increased Damage
A French Bullpup assault rifle with a good fire rate which is similar to fast SMGs but it has low damage and the ammo reserve is small.

After upgrading it converts into g16-GL35 with a red dot, 45-round clip size and better damage on par with Skullcrusher. Not an efficient weapon though. Best to use for killing George.

Commando
Upgrade: Predator | Effect: Large and Dual Magazines, Increased Damage
It is a fully automatic M16 with high damage and ammo count, fast reload and low recoil. These features make it one of the best no-upgrade Assault Rifles.

After upgrading it turns into a predator with duals mags, better damage, and a 40-round clip. The low recoil is still there with fast reload. A very nice upgraded weapon.

G11
Upgrade: G115 Generator | Effect: Large Magazine, Increased Damage, Automatic
A prototype AR developed by H&K with a 3-round burst and a Low Power Scope. The fire rate is great and becomes even better with Double Tap (the highest in the game).

Damage is on par with M16 i.e. not that great. The upgrade makes it G115 Generator. Now it is fully automatic with an insane fire rate, the sway is gone but the mag size is still 48. Overall it’s fun to use.

Galil
Upgrade: Lamentation | Effect: Precision Sight, Increased Damage
It is an Israeli Assault Rifle and it can be considered as the best AR in the game. It is similar to commando without upgrade but its ammo count is higher and handling is slower. After upgrading it converts in Lamentation.

The clip size is still 35 but now it has a red dot sight and the ammo reserve is almost 500 and the damage is one of the highest among ARs.

SPAS
Upgrade: SPAZ-24 | Effect: 2x Magazine Size, Increased Range, Automatic, Fast Reload
A 12-guage shotgun with a very low fire rate capped at 300, with slow reload and low ammo count. Not really useful but after upgrading it becomes SPAZ-24.

It now has 24-round mag and is fully automatic but the fire rate is still low. Overall a decent shotgun.

HS-10
Upgrade: Typhoid & Mary | Effect: Dual Wield, Large Magazine
It is a SPAS with a higher fire cap and even smaller mag. After upgrade, it turns into Typhoid and Mary, dual-wielded shotguns with massive spread and great to use with Deadshot Daiquiri. Not much else to say about this one.

Dragunov
Upgrade: D115 Disassembler | Effect: Quick Scope, Increased Damage
It is the sniper variant of Ak-47. It has a very low fire cap and damage, the recoil is bad in conclusion only use this semi-automatic weapon if you are looking to upgrade it.

After upgrade, it becomes the D115 Disassembler and everything about it gets better but its clip size remains the same. The damage is the same as L115 but the fire rate is faster and it is overall better. Great to use with Deadshot Daiquiri.

L96A1
Upgrade: L115 Isolator | Effect: Quick Scope, Large Magazine, Increased Damage
It is a bolt action rifle with a high per bullet damage. After upgrading it becomes L115 isolator. It is a great weapon with high per bullet damage on par with 4-7 Ray gunshots. But the D115 is still better.

Ray Gun
Upgrade: Porter’s X2 Ray Gun | Effect: Increased Damage, Large Magazine
The best thing that can happen to you is getting your hands on Ray Gun! and the second best thing is upgrading it to Porter’s X2 Ray Gun.

A very powerful weapon that shoots green colored balls which are blasts of explosive energy. It has great damage but the blast radius is small.

After upgrading it becomes Perter’s X2 Ray Gun with higher damage and ammo. As applied to all wonder weapons don’t upgrade it until its ammo runs out.

Ballistic Knife
Upgrade: The Krause Refibrillator | Effect: Faster Melee, Glow
It is a strange novelty weapon which fires a blade with a high velocity which in theory should deal high damage but doesn’t. The knives are retrievable so ammo is not a problem.

It also boosts your knife damage from 150 to 500. After upgrade, it gets interesting because now it is the Krauss Refibrillator which can revive your teammate instantly when you shoot at them.

The damage is now 100 with regular knives. The damage with shooting knives also increases.

Crossbow Explosive Tip
Upgrade: Awful Lawton | Effect: It attracts zombies, so they get blown away!

Thundergun
Upgrade: Zeus Cannon | Effect: 2x Magazine, Increased Impact Damage
The Thundergun is capable of killing everything in its radius on any level because it throws insanely powerful compressed air blasts. It is great for clearing a path. When upgraded to Zeus Cannon it just gets double the ammo but nothing else changes.

Winter’s Howl
Upgrade: Winter’s Fury | Effect: Large Magazine, Longer Freeze Time
It is very hard to use the weapon because of its low damage and short-range. Could be used as a path clearer in the early stages. It has a long reloaded time and it is not great to use.

After upgrading it to Winter’s Fury its ammo increases by 150% and the damage is increased by 1.5x but it’s still weak. Overall it’s not recommended.

Power Ups

Power-Ups drop off zombies when you kill them. They drop off randomly so there is no way to know how a power-up will drop, it can happen anytime. Though, few power-ups are specific to map.

They provide you a decent advantage for a limited period.

Nuke
Floating Bomb, glowing. If you pick it up, it blows all zombies in the map but, doesn’t end the round. Good for the breather though.

Use it at the end of the round, or when you are in trouble like stranded in the cluster of zombies, then run and grab the bomb to blow them.

Carpenter
It repairs all the broken barricades in one go. It’s a big golden hammer floating in the air. Use it when you are in trouble or have no one to repair the broken barricades. Or you to revive a downed teammate.

Repairing barricades manually is more fruitful then 200 points awarded for using Carpenter power-up.

Insta Kill
Golden Skull floating in the air, one-hit-kill power up. Use your knife or pistol, save ammo of your primary weapon with instakill activated as it makes every lame weapon lethal anyway.

Double Points
Floating X2 symbol, grab it to earn double points. If you were to earn 10 points for hitting a zombie, now you will earn 20. You can accumulate points faster. Good power up to have when you have while fighting the horde of zombies.

Max Ammo
Ammo refill. If you have your mystery box weapon, it’s the only have to have ammo refill and luckily, it’s the most commonly found power-up in the game.

Death Machine
A giant Mini gun you can use to wreak havoc for a limited time only.

Fire Sale
Its random box that appears in different locations across the map, and costs only 10$ but, lasts for a very short time.

Traps

Traps are new to Call of Duty Zombie mode. Now, you can buy traps and set them off to kill incoming zombies. Very important in later rounds to survive but, don’t waste money on them before you reach round 15 or round 20.

Share with your favorite weapons, and their use in Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombie Mode.

Share with us, your best weapon strategies, your power-ups strategies, and Tips; you can contribute to making this guide more effective.

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Zawad Iftikhar is the founder of SegmentNext.com, an FPS enthusiast and a Call of Duty veteran, having participated multiple eSports competition.