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The centrifuge of the starting room in black and white before the power, in Ascension, Call of Duty Black Ops Zombies

Ascension:
Strategy

The Ascension First Room in detail: B2's rules for the centrifuge room, what solo and co-op get without power, Quick Revive in solo, the centrifuge's random spins, the power-ups that can and cannot drop, the start of a game and the records on ZFRR.

  • 3 min read
  • 6 chapters
  • updated

One category

The Ascension First Room is the centrifuge room, both floors, played with its two doors closed. B2, whose competitive rules ZFRR follows, has a single category for it, and the Ascension leaderboard a single board, split by player count.

RuleAscension First Room
Play areaThe centrifuge room, lower floor and balcony, both 750 doors closed
r_useFilmTweaksChanging it is not allowed
Reduced graphic contentAllowed (vote of April 2023)
FogRemoving it is not allowed (vote of April 2023)
Fixed backspeedAllowed in solo, not in co-op
Pausing and reconnecting in co-opAllowed on Plutonium (vote of May 2025)
PlatformsSteam, Plutonium, BGamer, Xbox and PlayStation; not the Wii

Film tweaks

The only rule written for Ascension alone. The setting changes how the game is drawn, and on a map that stays in black and white without power, it would give a clearer view than the game allows.

Doors and glitches

No door may be opened, and out-of-bounds glitches, fast ray, rapid fire and the abuse of the fast grenade glitch are not allowed. Fast knifing is allowed.

Footage

The full game must be public; in co-op, the host’s view is required. On Steam, the host shows the game files before launching; on Plutonium, the anticheat text must stay visible.

Tools

The Competitive-T5 plugin, external timers and error trackers are allowed; anything that writes to the game’s memory or reads the player’s health is not.

What the room gives

The power switch is in the power building, out of reach, so the room never gets power. The cosmodrome stays grey, the lunar lander stays on its pad, and no perk machine works, with one exception:

The Quick Revive machine on the lower floor of the centrifuge room, right of the door towards the power, in Ascension, Call of Duty Black Ops Zombies

Solo game

Quick Revive works from the start, on the far wall of the lower floor, for 500 points. Each purchase is an extra life, and the machine is gone after the third. It is the only perk of a First Room game.

Co-op game

Quick Revive waits for the power like every other machine. The team plays with no perk at all, and a downed player has to be revived by hand.

Without power, the Space Monkeys never come: the game only starts counting towards their rounds once the power is on and someone has bought a perk. Buying Quick Revive in solo does not start them either.

The centrifuge

The centrifuge in the middle of the lower floor needs no power and cannot be stopped. It turns twice as the game starts, without hurting anyone, then spins on its own schedule:

When

After each spin, it either waits 24 to 90 seconds, or first sits out the rest of the round, sometimes two. An alarm sounds, red lights flash, and the arm starts turning a few seconds later, for three to six full turns.

Zombies

Any zombie the arm touches dies at once.

Players

A standing player hit by the arm is knocked into a crouch and hurt. In solo the hit takes half of the health; in co-op it is strong enough to down a player without Juggernog, and there is no Juggernog in the room.

Dodging

Crouching or going prone lets the arm pass overhead without a scratch.

Power-ups without power

Max Ammo, Insta-Kill, Double Points, Nuke

Drop as usual.

Carpenter

Only drops when at least five windows are broken.

Fire Sale

Only drops after the Box has moved, and the Box never moves when nobody can reach it.

Death Machine

Without power, it only drops in solo, and only after Quick Revive has been bought.

Random Perk Bottle

Only given by the last monkey of a monkey round, so never in a First Room game.

Round by round

  1. The game starts on the lunar lander pad of the lower floor, with an M1911, two frag grenades and the knife. The M14 is on the wall facing the lander, 500 points.
  2. In solo, buy Quick Revive on the far wall as soon as the points allow.
  3. The Olympia hangs on the balcony upstairs, also 500 points. Ammo for both is bought off the same walls.
  4. Zombies come through the windows of the lower floor and drop from the balcony. When the centrifuge alarm sounds, crouch, or lead the horde into the arm’s path.

Records

On October 8, 2026, the best rounds on the ZFRR board were:

PlayersRoundTeam
Solo62Zaiydo
2 players55Tonestone36, Zi0
3 players40Zi0, Tonestone36, Klicher
4 players45Zombie_Legende_7, MasterSmexy, RainingZombies, xImCrossbow