~/hub / perks / phd-flopper

PhD Flopper

PhD Flopper is the Perk-a-Cola that cancels self-inflicted damage and makes a dive to prone explode, in Black Ops, Black Ops II, Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7.

4 min read
7 chapters
updated 2026-11-11

Read

PhD Flopper is the Perk-a-Cola that cancels the damage a player deals to themselves and turns a dive to prone from a height into an explosion. It was introduced with Stamin-Up on Ascension in Call of Duty: Black Ops, became rare in Black Ops II, gave way to PhD Slider for two games, and came back in Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7.

Overview

First appearanceAscension, Black Ops, February 1, 2011

GamesBlack Ops, Black Ops II, Black Ops 6, Black Ops 7

Cost2000 points (Black Ops, Black Ops II)2500 to 7500 (Black Ops 6), 2500 to 9000 (Black Ops 7)

EffectNo self-inflicted damage, and an explosion when diving to prone from a height

FamilyPerk-a-Cola

Colour and iconDark blue and purple, a radiation trefoil sending out shock waves

JingleFunk and disco

In the First Room

One First Room of the site has a PhD Flopper machine: the Dig Site of The Tomb.

Game	Map	What the map book says
Black Ops 6	The Tomb	One perk machine, PhD Flopper, in the Dig Site. It is the only perk doors closed; Quick Revive stands at the far end of the map.

The book of Citadelle des Morts names the free PhD Flopper of the bartender Easter egg, but its bottles “lie in the castle”, past the doors. On Die Rise, a PhD Flopper machine can be seen for a split second from the falling freight elevator, but it cannot be reached. On the Purist boards of Black Ops 6 the rule reads: “Field Upgrades, the Crafting Table, the Arsenal, GobbleGums, Support, perks and the Mystery Box are NOT ALLOWED.”

Several books describe a source of perks open doors closed without naming PhD Flopper, so those maps are not counted here: the Danu altar of Voyage of Despair, which serves the perk of the loadout; Der Wunderfizz on Nuked, which “sells every perk of the game”, and on Citadelle des Morts, where it only opens at round 25 in Standard mode; and the Random Perk Bottle of Call of the Dead and Shangri-La. On Lighthouse, Exit 115 and Zarya Cosmodrome, the books do not settle whether Der Wunderfizz can be reached doors closed.

Every board and its records are on the leaderboards.

Effect, game by game

Black Ops

2000 points. It negates self-inflicted damage; after a fall the player still groans and is slowed for a moment.

Black Ops, the flop

Diving to prone from a height that would normally hurt sets off an explosion 7.5 metres in radius, up to 5000 damage at its centre, enough to kill zombies in one hit until about round 20. Each kill pays 50 points. On Moon the blast does not trigger in low gravity.

Black Ops II

No round-based map sells it from a machine. It is a Der Wunderfizz result on Origins, a machine in Cell Block (Grief) for 2000 points, a Persistent Upgrade earned from fall damage on Buried, and an unreachable machine on Die Rise and Mob of the Dead.

Black Ops 6

2500 to 7500 Essence. The perk returns with six Augments, one Major and one Minor at a time; the minor EOD Technician lowers the height and distance needed for the explosion.

Black Ops 7

2500 to 9000 Essence. Eight Augments, and a second Minor slot once all are researched.

Black Ops III to Cold War

Absent. The slide replaced the dive to prone, and Widow’s Wine takes its place on the remastered Ascension, Shangri-La, Moon and Origins. Black Ops 4 and Cold War have PhD Slider instead; a PhD Flopper machine is only seen on Blood of the Dead.

Upgrades

Augment	Slot	Effect	Games
Gravity MD	Major	Just falling from heights creates explosions.	BO6, BO7
Dr Ram	Major	Tactical Sprint knocks down and damages base zombies; in Black Ops 7, sprinting into normal enemies does it for short bursts.	BO6, BO7
PhD Slider	Major	Sliding into enemies triggers explosions.	BO6, BO7
Double Whammy	Major	Release a second explosion shortly after a flop.	BO7
Environmentalist	Minor	Become immune to environmental damage while sliding.	BO6, BO7
EOD Technician	Minor	Reduce the height and distance requirements for explosions.	BO6, BO7
Tribologist	Minor	Sliding distance and speed are increased.	BO6, BO7
Stuntman	Minor	Wall Jumping creates an explosion.	BO7

Where to find it

Black Ops: Ascension, Call of the Dead, Shangri-La, Moon.
Black Ops II: Origins (Der Wunderfizz only) and Cell Block in Grief. Buried has it as a Persistent Upgrade; Die Rise and Mob of the Dead only show the machine.
Black Ops 6: machines on Terminus, Liberty Falls, The Tomb, Shattered Veil and Reckoning. On Citadelle des Morts it comes from Der Wunderfizz, the S.A.M. Trials or the bartender Easter egg.
Black Ops 7: machines on Ashes of the Damned and Kowakujo, a random machine spot on Paradox Junction, Der Wunderfizz on Astra Malorum. The wiki also lists Totenreich and Rex Infernus without a location.

Trivia

The name is a parody of the soft drink Dr Pepper. The machine itself reads “Flopper PhD”.
The drink is made from prunes, in chunks: some characters complain about having to eat it.
Its jingle is never heard in Black Ops II, since Cell Block plays distorted sounds on all its machines. The backing track is a stock track called “Studio 42”.
Going prone on the Flinger of Call of the Dead, or on a Trample Steam on Buried, also sets off the explosion on landing.
Pronaide, a perk cut from Ascension that made the player go prone faster, is thought to be an early version of it.
Outside the games of the site, it appears in Call of Duty Online, Black Ops Zombies on mobile and Modern Warfare III.