In Ascension, the risen dead have overtaken a Soviet Cosmodrome, all hell has broken loose, and the countdown to the zombie apocalypse has begun. Ascension is one of the easier maps in Black Ops Zombies, but if you don’t know the correct ways to power through its tight spaces, you won’t be able to make it to the higher rounds.
This guide’ll review the best solo and team strategies for Ascension in Black Ops Zombies. We’ll cover what weapons to use, what perks to buy, and the best ways to quickly dispense large numbers of zombies.
Ascension Solo Strategy
Rounds 1-29
The Ascension map in Black Ops starts slow, and for the first few rounds, you’ll mainly be staying in the room with the power switch, as it lets you pick off zombies rather quickly. All you have to do is turn on the power but keep the gate next to the power switch and the gate leading up to the Juggernog machine shut.
This will allow you to easily pick off zombies and rack up points without covering every direction. For the first few rounds, any gun will work just fine to ensure the zombies don’t overwhelm you early on.
Go to the Mystery Box. Here, you’ll want to roll for a Thundergun and Ray Gun. If you’re successfully able to get both these weapons, you’ll be set for the first 20 rounds. Switch between both weapons, but primarily use your Ray Gun, as most zombies during the first 20 rounds are fairly weak.
Round 30-100
At around 30, zombies start becoming more aggressive, and you’ll have to make increased use of your Thundergun. The best thing to do here is to move around the area to get the zombies into a cluster then blast them with the Thundergun to quickly eliminate them all.
This will allow you to conserve your ammo and prevent you from relying too much on your Ray Gun, which, at this point, will not be very effective.
At this point, you can also start using your points to acquire perks. We recommend getting Juggernog, Speed Cola, Stamin-up, and PhD Flopper. Additionally, Pack-a-Punch your weapons as soon as you acquire the required number of points.
We also recommend avoiding the Death Machine, as it slows you down considerably. This can cause you to quickly become overwhelmed since you aren’t able to put it away, which can cost you the run.
Monkey Rounds solo strategy
Monkey Rounds will occur every 4-5 rounds after you purchase a perk in Ascension. These special rounds spawn unique enemies known as Space Monkeys, who attack the perk machines found throughout the map. If they successfully destroy a Perk machine, you’ll lose the perk you acquired from it.
The monkeys will mainly target Mule Kick and Speed Cola, so that is where you should focus your attention. If you’re playing solo, the best thing to do here is to purchase all traps as soon as possible, as they will eliminate most of them.
For the rest, you can simply take them out using any guns you may currently have equipped. In a solo setup, you’ll be required to run around quite a bit as you’ll need to cover every machine yourself.
Rounds 100 and onwards
For rounds 100 and onwards, make your way to where the Pack-a-Punch machine is. Do note that getting there will require you to open a couple of doors so make sure you have plenty of points handy.
Reach the PAP machine and stand in front of it, facing the Rocket Room. Wait for the zombies to spawn, run into the Rocket Room, do a couple of laps around the metallic pillars to cluster them, and simply blast them with the Thundergun.
It is important to run back to the PAP machine room as soon as you blast the zombies because if you stay in the Rocket Room for too long, they’ll start spawning in faraway areas making killing them a long and tedious process.
Just keep repeating this and go as for as high a round as you can. Keep an eye out for monkey rounds to avoid losing your perks.
Ascension Team Strategy (2-4 players)
Rounds 1-29
As with the solo strategy, do not open the aforementioned gates. Turn on the power and try your luck at the mystery box for a Ray Gun and Thundergun. When playing with a team, the early rounds will be a breeze as you won’t have to worry about insufficient firepower. Have one or two team members round up the zombies while the rest shoot them.
Another way to tackle the first few rounds is to have all your teammates positioned in different areas. In the area with the power switch, zombies spawn at the wall to the right, come up from the stairs to the right, and also spawn from the room in the middle.
Have each team member guard each spawn point to quickly and effectively remove the zombies.
Rounds 30-100
Once you enter round 30 and above, have your teammates take turns to go and their perks and weapons Pack-a-Punched. Keep a close eye on them and revive them if they get downed. As you progress, the zombies will get harder and harder so it is better to get most of your perks as quickly as possible.
For rounds 30-100, you’ll follow the same general strategy highlighted above. With an increased squad size, these rounds should be easy to complete.
Monkey Rounds team strategy
As the size of your squad goes up, the number of monkey rounds increases because between several players perk purchasing will be much higher. At the same time, however, defending perk machines becomes much easier as you and your team can divide areas and have each team member look after certain machines.
When monkey rounds commence, purchase traps and then have each of your team members guard a specific portion of the map. Have more experienced players stationed around Mule Kick and Speed Cola, as this is where most of the Monkeys will spawn.
Rounds 100 and onwards
Rounds 100 and onwards can be tackled in several ways when playing in a team. The best way to do so is by sticking together and following the strategy we’ve described above in the room with the Pack-a-Punch machine. We recommend that at least one player purchases PhD Flopper and have them dive at the zombies to deal some extra damage.
Players with this perk also take no damage from their explosives which makes them perfect for lobbing explosives at enemies should they become cornered.
Alternatively, like before, you can have different team members stationed at different spawn points to take out zombies before they become too many to easily handle.
