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How-to-Upgrade-the-Wonder-Weapon-in-Black-Ops-Cold-War-Zombies

How to Upgrade the Wonder Weapon Variants in Cold War Zombies

Obtaining the D.I.E. Machine and upgrading the Wonder Weapon is just one of the many things you can do in Black Ops Cold War Zombies. You can unlock four different variants in different elements by completing hidden side quests within Die Maschine. Each player can only access one, so you will want to get a full squad together for some zombie slaying action if you want to unlock all four at once. Here’s how to get Wonder Weapon Variants in Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War Zombies.

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These quests are hidden, and there’s no walkthrough for completing them like the Pack-A-Punch tutorial. Die Maschine is the remake of the original Zombies map, where players are pit against endless waves of zombies. There’s an underground bunker to explore, where you’ll learn what went down there and how things went so wrong. Waves of zombies progressively get more challenging, so unlocking these Wonder Weapon upgrades will help you progress further than you could have imagined.

The main quest in Zombies is now active as of Friday, November 13. Follow our guide below if you want to know how to upgrade to all four Wonder Weapon variants in Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War Zombies.

How to Upgrade the Wonder Weapon in Black Ops Cold War Zombies

To get access to wonder weapons, you must first complete these prerequisites:

  • Turn on the Power
  • Rebuild the Pack-A-Punch Machine
  • Complete the Megaton Key quest
  • Obtain the D.I.E. Shockwave

We have full walkthroughs on how to turn on the power in Black Ops Zombies and how to build the Pack-A-Punch Machine. At this point in the game, you might already know how to do these steps if you’ve played a few matches. You will also need to pick up the keycard to obtain your D.I.E. Shockwave or get one randomly from the Mystery Crate. Here are the four Wonder Weapon variants you can get in Black Ops Cold War Zombies:

D.I.E. Cryo-Emitter – Ice Variant

First, you’ll need the base D.I.E. Shockwave, and you’ll have to go to the penthouse, which is the top level of the Nacht Der Untoten. Up there, you can see a small wooden box on the ledge facing the Pond area. Shoot it with your Wonder Weapon, and it will drop to the ground and drop an Empty Flask.

How to Upgrade the Wonder Weapons in Cold War Zombies - Cryo-Emitter - Ice Variant - Flask
Image: GamerJournalist via Call of Duty/Activision

Pick up the flask, and wait for three rounds until the Megaton Zombie comes out. Take the Megaton Zombie to the tree in Crash Site that has Fungus growing on the side of it.

Get the Megaton Zombie to fire it’s radioactive acid at you while you are next to the tree. The goal is to get it to hit the Fungus. You can now interact with the Mutated Fungus on the tree and collect a sample into the Empty Flask from the previous step. After about 30 seconds to 1 minute, you can head back to the tree and find a Filled Flask.

How to Upgrade the Wonder Weapons in Cold War Zombies - Cryo-Emitter - Ice Variant - Fungus
Image: GamerJournalist via Call of Duty/Activision

After grabbing the Filled Flask, head to the Medical Bay and bring it to the Weapon Crate in Medical Bay. Pour out the cryogenic liquid by interacting with the weapon crate. You can then grab your D.I.E. Cryo-Emitter.

How to Upgrade the Wonder Weapons in Cold War Zombies - Cryo-Emitter - Ice Variant - Medical Bay Crate
Image: GamerJournalist via Call of Duty/Activision

D.I.E. Thermophasic – Fire Variant

Obtain the D.I.E. Machine, and head to the Pond area. Enter into the Dark Aether from the Pond Anomaly. Head to the Crash Site (with the downed Airplane), and you should now notice part of the plane is floating in the air.

How to Upgrade the Wonder Weapons in Cold War Zombies - Thermophasic - Fire - Flying Plane
Image: GamerJournalist via Call of Duty/Activision

There’s a small box underneath where the plane once sat on the ground. While still in the Dark Aether, melee the box, and you should obtain a fuse. Take the fuse Weapons Lab machine and interact with the device. A laser will begin etching something onto a cartridge.

How to Upgrade the Wonder Weapons in Cold War Zombies - Thermophasic - Fire - Flying Plane Box
Image: GamerJournalist via Call of Duty/Activision

Next, head to the Pond and take the cartridge to the green box on top of a pickup truck. You can then obtain your D.I.E. Thermophasic weapon, also known as the fire upgrade.

How to Upgrade the Wonder Weapons in Cold War Zombies - Thermophasic - Fire - Weapon Crate
Image: GamerJournalist via Call of Duty/Activision

D.I.E. Electrobolt – Lightning Variant

After obtaining the D.I.E. machine, enter the Dark Aether Portal from the area underneath the Pack-A-Punch Machine. While in the Dark Aether, you need to find three energy crystals from around the map. You’ll need to collect these while in the Dark Aether, so buy a Stamina Upgrade beforehand to help. The three energy crystals are here:

  • Crash Site: on the right near the tunnel next to the Juggernog Machine.
  • Nacht Der Untoten: on the roof above the Stamina-Up Machine.
  • Pond: by the mystery box, on the right when approaching the tunnel.

After absorbing a crystal, you need to take it down to the box on the first floor of the Particle Accelerator room and fire your Wonder Weapon at it. You can only absorb one energy crystal at a time, before unloading it into the box. Rinse and repeat for all three energy crystals, and then you can switch to your D.I.E. Electrobolt upgrade.

How to Upgrade the Wonder Weapons in Cold War Zombies - Electrobolt - Lightning
Image: GamerJournalist via Call of Duty/Activision

D.I.E. Nova 5 – Toxic Variant

After getting the free D.I.E. machine, head to the second floor of the Nacht Der Untoten called the Mezzanine. You will notice a golden canister towards the northern side of the wall. Using the D.I.E. Machine’s suction, you can pull the canister to you and pick it up.

Wonder Weapon D.I.E. Nova 5
Image: GamerJournalist via Call of Duty/Activision

Next, head to the Weapons Lab downstairs, near the Deadshot, and insert the canister into the white Cleaning Unit along the west wall. You will then need to kill a Plaguehound that spawns in front of the machine. If you cannot loot the flask, make sure to kill another Plaguehound in front of the Cleaning Unit.

Wonder Weapons D.I.E. Nova 5
Image: GamerJournalist via Call of Duty/Activision

Grab the infected canister from the Cleaning Unit and take it to the small box at the Crash Site near the crashed plane. Interact with the box, and then use your melee attack to hit it. Grab your D.I.E. Nova 5 from the box.

Wonder Weapons D.I.E. Nova 5 Weapon Crate
Image: GamerJournalist via Call of Duty/Activision
Author
Image of Cole Andrews
Cole Andrews
Cole is a lifelong PC gamer who loves FPS, RPG, and MMO games. The first PC game that got him hooked was the Counter-Strike beta in 1999. He has thousands of hours in all of the old-school Blizzard games like Starcraft, Warcraft, and Diablo.