Buried represents the third and possibly the final episode in the Maxis vs Richtofen battle that’s been going on since Call of Duty: World at War.
For more help on Black Ops 2 Zombies, read our Tranzit Easter Egg, Mob of the Dead Pop Goes The Weasel Easter Egg and Die Rise High Maintenance Easter Egg guide.
Black Ops 2 Buried Mined Games Easter Egg
As always there are divergent requirements for the Easter egg depending on whether you choose to support Maxis or Richtofen.
Maxis talks to your whole team right in the beginning of the map, when you’re on the surface, while Richtofen only directly communicates telepathically with Samuel Stuhlinger.
Black Ops 2 Buried Mined Games Easter Egg – Maxis Path
Follow the step by step text directions and if these don’t cut it, watch the video at the end to complete the Maxis path of the Black Ops 2 Buried Mined Games Easter Egg.
Step #1: Constructing the Gallows
The first thing Maxis will require of you is to construct the Gallows.
The Gallows are located close to the church and require four parts to be completed. Remember that two of these parts are also required for the construction of the Guillotine, and if you use them for the Gallows you cannot proceed down the Richtofen path. For more detailed information on constructing the Gallows check out our How To Build Gallows guide.
Step #2: Destroying the Orbs
Throughout the map you can find a total of four glass orbs on pedestals. These are the targets for the next step. You need to build up the Subsurface Resonator and plop it down in front of an orb to blow it up.
The orbs are located in the following locations:
- On the left side of the church, near the rock slide.
- On the other side of the haunted house, near the maze.
- Outside the candy store and saloon, next to the candy store’s right wall.
- In the tunnels. Take the first right if you enter the tunnels from the saloon to find it.
Step #3: Catching the Floating Purple Lantern
After you destroy the last orb, you will occasionally spot a floating purple lantern flying about the town over your heads. You’re not going crazy, this wasn’t there before.
Knock it down by cooking a grenade and having it explode near the flying object. Collect the lantern, and we can move on to the next step.
Step #4: Power the Lantern
Now you need to store the souls of zombies inside the object. Do this by giving some candy to the giant hillbilly while there are zombies around. This causes the giant to go berserk and start killing the undead.
You’ll notice that when he kills a zombie in your vicinity you hear a ‘ding’ sound. This means that the lantern is powering correctly and approximately a dozen kills later Maxis will talk to you, signaling it’s at full charge.
Step #5: Solve the Code and Power the Gallows
Once the lantern is fully charged, a new symbol appears on the roof of the gunsmith shop. You can insert the lantern here to make a strange code appear on the wall in front of you.
This code is called a Pigpen cipher or a Tic-Tac-Toe cipher, and it changes each time you play so I can’t give you a direct translation. What I can do is tell you how to solve the cipher, and provide an alternate method so you bypass the cipher entirely. If you don’t want to bother with the cipher, skip to the section titled ‘Placing the Time Bomb’.
Step #5A – Solving the Cipher
Now, take a look at this image.
This is the key to the cipher. The white shapes on the cipher determine which group of letters, and the red line denotes which of those three letters is the answer. Pretend that each of those shapes are supposed to be a white box, and there are lines missing.
Therefore the ‘C’ shape has the right line missing, the ‘L’ shape has both the right and the top lines missing. These missing lines tell you which part of the key you should look at.
If the shape is missing the top line, you should be looking at the top-middle section of the key. If it’s missing the left and bottom lines, you should direct your attention to the bottom-left part of the key.
If the shape is a white box (looks like an ‘O’) that means the code is referring to the central section of the key.
The red lines denote which letter in the respective part of the key you need to take. If the line is on the left, take the left letter, if it’s on the right, take the right letter, if in the center, take the middle letter.
In this way, a complete white box with the red line on the left side denotes an ‘M’. An ‘L’ shape box with a line in the center refers to an ‘H’. Hopefully that was clear enough.
Step #5B – Placing the Time Bomb (VERY IMPORTANT)
At this point, before you proceed any further, you MUST place the Time Bomb. You can get the time bomb from the mystery box and it is absolutely vital to the Easter egg. If you do not place it you will get stuck.
Step #5C – Answer to the Riddle
If you’ve managed to solve the cipher you’ll find out that they come out to three short phrases such as Dry Gulcher Shaft or Consumption Cross. These phrases coincide with a total of five signs that can be found in the tunnels.
You have three phrases, so go melee the signs with those words on them in no particular order using the Galvaknuckles. If you never managed to get the cipher, just melee the signs with the Galvaknuckles randomly.
They glow when you hit them for a few seconds and there are only about ten total combinations to try out.
You’ll know when you’ve hit the right signs when a glowing white ball of light comes out of the sign and starts floating along the tunnels. Immediately follow the light, since if you get too far from it it’ll disappear.
You also need to kill zombies near the light as it travels or it will lose power and vanish. It eventually goes all the way to the gallows and enters one of the fuel cells there.
Maxis speaks to you at this point, saying that there isn’t enough power and that we need more time.
Unfortunately, there is no other mysterious floating power source now, as the signs have become inert, and striking them does nothing. However, it’s a good thing we placed a time bomb isn’t it?
Activate the time bomb to go back a round and find out that one of the gallows fuel cells is still powered. Head on up to the tunnels and strike the signs to produce another white source of power.
Escort it to the gallows (killing zombies along the way for power) to fully power up the Gallows.
Step #6: Bells and Lights
Now you and your team need to split up. One of you heads to the second floor of the barn. There will be three bells here (the kind you find in hotel lobbies) sitting on top of bales of hay.
Another person goes to the second floor of the candy shop to find three similar bells on top of tables and chairs and a third person finds the last three bells in the courthouse (on the desk, benches and counters).
Finally the last person makes his way to the haunted house, through the passage behind the bookshelf. In the room you come out into, there will be a panel with a lever on it on top of a chair.
If you flip the lever, a light on the panel will come on. This corresponds with one of the bells above. When your ally hits the bell, another light will come on, signaling another bell needs to be rung.
Coordinate with your allies to figure out which light corresponds with which bell and attempt to illuminate the whole panel. Keep in mind that you will be constantly under assault by the ghost while you do this so having the Galvaknuckles handy could be useful.
Step #7: Make a Wish and Shoot the targets
Now you need to lead the Hillbilly to the broken fountain in front of the church near the Gallows. Feed him some booze and he’ll fix the fountain by smashing the barrels on top of it. This enables you to interact with the fountain.
Go up to it and press ‘X’ to ‘Make a Wish’.
The second you do, shooting range style targets will appear in four different parts of town that you need to gun. Split up your team and send people to the outside of the haunted house, the street with the Gallows, the saloon and the Jail cell.
Targets will start to appear here for a short time, and each one must be hit for the completing of this step. You can try as many times as you like, and eventually you will memorize where the targets are going to pop up.
When you’ve hit all the targets, congratulations, you’ve completed the Easter egg for Maxis. Enjoy your permanent full perks for the remainder of the run and the juicy ‘Mined Games’ achievement.
Black Ops 2 Buried Mined Games Easter Egg – Richtofen Path
Step #1 – Constructing the Gallows
The first thing Richtofen will require of you is to construct the Guillotine. The Gallows are located close to the Saloon and require four parts to be completed.
Remember that two of these parts are also required for the construction of the Gallows, and if you use them for the Guillotine you cannot proceed down the Maxis path.
For more detailed information on constructing the Guillotine check out our How To Build Guillotine guide.
Step #2 – Powering the Orbs
Throughout the map you can find a total of four glass orbs on pedestals. These are the targets for the next step. You need to get the Paralyzer weapon and shoot the orb with it.
The orbs are located in the following locations:
- On the left side of the church, near the rock slide.
- On the other side of the haunted house, near the maze.
- Outside the candy store and saloon, next to the candy store’s right wall.
- In the tunnels. Take the first right if you enter the tunnels from the saloon to find it.
When you find the orb, keep on using the Paralyzer on it until it turns white and you hear a sound.
Step #3 – Catching the Floating Purple Lantern
After you power the last orb, you will occasionally spot a floating purple lantern flying about the town over your heads. You’re not going crazy, this wasn’t there before. Knock it down by cooking a grenade and having it explode near the flying object. Collect the lantern, and we can move on to the next step.
Step #4 – Power the Lantern
Now, similar to when we did this for Maxis, you need to power the lantern. Do this by entering the haunted house and killing the ghost repeatedly. When it dies close to you there will be a ‘ding’ sound. This means that the lantern is charging up. Charge it up fully and Richtofen will speak to you.
Step #5 – Solve the Code and Power the Gallows
Once the lantern is fully charged, a new symbol appears on the roof of the gunsmith shop. You can insert the lantern here to make a strange code appear on the wall in front of you.
This code is called a Pigpen cipher or a Tic-Tac-Toe cipher, and it changes each time you play so I can’t give you a direct translation.
What I can do is tell you how to solve the cipher, and provide an alternate method so you bypass the cipher entirely. If you don’t want to bother with the cipher, skip to the section titled ‘Vulture Aid’.
Step #5A – Solving the Cipher
Now, take a look at this image.
This is the key to the cipher. The white shapes on the cipher determine which group of letters, and the red line denotes which of those three letters is the answer.
Pretend that each of those shapes are supposed to be a white box, and there are lines missing. Therefore the ‘C’ shape has the right line missing, the ‘L’ shape has both the right and the top lines missing.
These missing lines tell you which part of the key you should look at. If the shape is missing the top line, you should be looking at the top-middle section of the key.
If it’s missing the left and bottom lines, you should direct your attention to the bottom-left part of the key. If the shape is a white box (looks like an ‘O’) that means the code is referring to the central section of the key.
The red lines denote which letter in the respective part of the key you need to take. If the line is on the left, take the left letter, if it’s on the right, take the right letter, if in the center, take the middle letter.
In this way, a complete white box with the red line on the left side denotes an ‘M’. An ‘L’ shape box with a line in the center refers to an ‘H’. Hopefully that was clear enough.
Step #5B – Vulture Aid
At this point, before you proceed any further, you need to make sure that at least three players in your team (including yourself) have the Vulture Aid. If you don’t then the next part will make no sense to you.
Step #5C – Answer to the Riddle
If you’ve managed to solve the cipher you’ll find out that they come out to three short phrases such as Dry Gulcher Shaft or Consumption Cross. These phrases coincide with a total of five signs that can be found in the tunnels.
You have three phrases, so go melee the signs with those words on them in no particular order using the Galvaknuckles. If you never managed to get the cipher, just melee the signs with the Galvaknuckles randomly.
They glow when you hit them for a few seconds and there are only about ten total combinations to try out.
If you manage to hit the right combination of signs, a glowing white ball of light will pop out of the last one you strike. This ball of light is only visible if you have the Vulture Aid perk, hence the mini-step above.
Step on the ball of light and it will teleport to another part of town. Touch it again and it moves again. Chase it around the map until it eventually winds up at the Guillotine.
Keep in mind that the ball of light disappears after a short time if you don’t touch it, so it’s basically impossible for one person alone to complete this step. Have one man stationed at the Barn and one near the general store and candy store.
Step #6 – Powering the Guillotine
Now you must lead zombies to the guillotine and kill them there. This results in little white orbs of power starting to circulate around the crystal part of the guillotine.
Kill a bunch of zombies here and Richtofen will tell you to detonate a Time Bomb. Now you must obtain a Time Bomb from the mystery box and place it on the guillotine.
Finish the round, and just as the next one starts, detonate the bomb while standing near it with your team. This will take you to Round Infinity, where the zombies cannot be killed, only run from.
Now you need to hurry, as you have a limited amount of time to do what you came here to do. Throughout the map in round infinity, you can find the dead bodies of your own characters.
There will be four of them around the map and they seem to change locations. Regardless, you must find them and search them, as one will possess a switch. Take this switch, and let the round time out and send you back to your regular round.
Put this switch onto the guillotine (it will be buildable) and Richtofen will tell you to go to the maze.
Step #7
Head on past the haunted house to the maze and you’ll find some new colored switches on the doors that can be found in the maze. The switches will be red, blue, green and yellow.
You must flip them in a certain order to complete this step. I’m not sure of the order, but keep in mind that if you flip a switch on its correct turn, it will spark.
If the order is red, blue, green, yellow, and you flip the switches in the order blue, green, red, yellow, only the yellow switch will spark, signifying that it is indeed the switch that is supposed to be flipped last. To reset the switches you must exit and re-enter the maze.
Step #7A – Make a Wish and Shoot the targets
Now you need to lead the Hillbilly to the broken fountain in front of the church near the Gallows. Feed him some booze and he’ll fix the fountain by smashing the barrels on top of it. This enables you to interact with the fountain.
Go up to it and press ‘X’ to ‘Make a Wish’.
The second you do, shooting range style targets will appear in four different parts of town that you need to gun. Split up your team and send people to the outside of the haunted house, the street with the Gallows, the saloon and the Jail cell.
Targets will start to appear here for a short time, and each one must be hit for the completing of this step. You can try as many times as you like, and eventually you will memorize where the targets are going to pop up.
When you’ve hit all the targets, congratulations, you’ve completed the Easter egg for Richtofen. Enjoy your permanent full perks for the remainder of the run and the juicy ‘Mined Games’ achievement.
The Grand Finale
This can only be done if all four players on your team have completed all of the Easter eggs for the three zombie maps of Black ops 2 and ended them in the favor of Richtofen.
Proceed towards the courthouse and enter the little room in the back, where there is this little panel with should be all lit up with blue lights. If there are any orange lights that means one or more of your players completed an Easter egg for Maxis.
If it’s all blue you can open it up to find a big red button. Press it and enjoy the ending sequence.
