~/hub / map-wiki

The Dig Site seen from its upper level, with its scaffolding, wooden stairs, stone arches and a beam of light rising behind the cliffs, The Tomb, Call of Duty Black Ops 6 Zombies

The Tomb

The Tomb, the fourth Zombies map of Black Ops 6: the Dig Site First Room and its two doors, the ZFRR rules, the Dark Aether Nexus, the Staff of Ice and the quest for the Sentinel Artifact.

  • 10 min read
  • 11 chapters
  • updated

The First Room

The Dig Site seen from its upper level, with its scaffolding, wooden stairs, stone arches and a beam of light rising behind the cliffs, The Tomb, Call of Duty Black Ops 6 Zombies

On ZFRR, the First Room of The Tomb is the Dig Site, where every game begins: an open excavation of Roman ruins in the Principality of Avalon, cut into a white cliff and crossed by scaffolding, wooden walkways and stairs over several levels. Two flights of stairs climb to the Roman Mausoleum, the temple front at the top of the site, which belongs to the First Room with no door to buy. Like on every map of Black Ops 6, each player starts with the weapon of their own loadout.

The Dig Site has two doors to buy, one on each side of the Mausoleum stairs. The north-east one opens onto the Tombs for 2250 Essence, the price the written guides give; the south-east one leads to the Neolithic Catacombs, and no source checked gives its price. Beyond them, the two paths of the excavation run down to the Subterranean Temple. In a First Room game neither door is ever bought.

The Roman Mausoleum, a ruined temple front with columns above blood-stained steps, a draped statue on a plinth in front of it, official image, The Tomb, Call of Duty Black Ops 6 Zombies

Roman Mausoleum

The highest point of the Dig Site. It holds the only wall weapon of the room, the Exfil radio, and a Pack-a-Punch spot that stays empty: the machine first appears in the Dark Aether Nexus, and only moves up here once the Nexus is open.

The Doorway to Nowhere

From the first second, the objective on screen reads “Open the Doorway to Nowhere”. That door is the gate to the Dark Aether Nexus, deep in the Subterranean Temple; doors closed, it never opens, and neither do the blue portal of the Mausoleum nor the Pack-a-Punch.

A Mystery Box spot

The Dig Site is one of the places the Box can stand, but a game starts with it in the Neolithic Catacombs or the Tombs. Doors closed, the Box cannot be reached, so it never moves up here.

Marine SP

1000 Essence, a pump-action shotgun at Uncommon rarity, on a wall of the Roman Mausoleum.

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, in Deep Excavation.

The Arsenal

Upgrades the rarity of a weapon and gives it an Ammo Mod, for Salvage. Two Aether Crystals of the Dig Site drop Salvage or equipment when broken.

Level II Armor Vest

4000 Essence, on a wall of the Dig Site, which also has an Ammo Cache and a GobbleGum Machine. The Level III vest, for 10000 more, is in Deep Excavation.

Rampage Inducer

A lantern on a crate, right behind the players when they spawn. Switched on, it makes the zombies spawn faster and run faster, after a short delay, until it is switched off again. The solo With Support, No GobbleGums record of Ghxstleader switches it on in the opening seconds.

What stays out of reach

No Crafting Table, the nearest being in the Neolithic Catacombs; three dig spots, but no shovel, which waits in the Tombs and further on; and the two headless statues of the Gold Armor, whose heads are in the Nexus.

Enemies

Zombies, then the special enemies of the map, Vermin, Parasites, Doppelghasts, Shock Mimics, Amalgams, and Armored and Heavy Zombies. The first Shock Mimic comes at round 8.

The The Tomb leaderboard keeps five categories, each with boards for solo and for two, three and four players. Purist is the reference and opens by default. Two groups follow, No Support and With Support, each split into No GobbleGums and All GobbleGums; they count in the player ratings with a lower difficulty. How a round of Black Ops 6 compares with a round of the older games is explained in Black Ops 6: Rounds. The rules:

Doors closed

Reach the highest round you can without opening doors, and play every round in full. Glitches and exploits are not allowed in any category.

Purist

The starting loadout and nothing else. No perk, no Mystery Box, no GobbleGum, no Field Upgrade, no Arsenal, no Crafting Table and no Support, and no Self-Revive beyond the one each player starts with.

No Support

No scorestreak, and nothing from the Support section of the Crafting Table; picking up a scorestreak should be avoided. Armor plates are picked up or bought on the wall, never at the workbench. In solo, only the starting Self-Revive; in co-op, up to three per player, dropped by zombies.

With Support

Every support item may be used.

GobbleGums

On the No GobbleGums boards, the only gum allowed is Anywhere But Here, to get unstuck, with a timestamp; keeping the three Whimsical gums in the pack is advised, as one used by mistake does not void the run. On the All GobbleGums boards every gum is allowed, but not the timed-out gum.

Black Ops 6

Every game is played on the latest patch. Saving and quitting or crashing the game to void a down, a Dying Wish or a game over is not allowed, and a patch that changes the balance of the game can reset a board.

Video

The whole game must be recorded, with every player’s point of view in co-op on every board but With Support, All GobbleGums, whose rules do not ask for it. A Twitch video must be saved as a highlight, since past broadcasts are not accepted; a YouTube video must be public or unlisted.

Overview

The Tomb is the fourth Zombies map of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, after Citadelle des Morts and before Shattered Veil. It came out for free on January 28, 2025, with the Season Two update. The mission briefing: “Cursed catacombs guard a gate to a world of darkness. Follow in the footsteps of a doomed explorer. Pass the Trials of the Damned. Claim the fabled Sentinel Artifact.”

Map packFree map, Season Two update
ReleaseJanuary 28, 2025 (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC)
LocationAn excavation site, Principality of Avalon, Mediterranean coastFebruary 25, 1991
CharactersWeaver, Grey, Carver and Maya
Players1 to 4

The story picks up a few hours after Citadelle des Morts. In 1908, the archaeologist Sir Archibald Fotherington-Smythe dug up these Roman ruins for Alistair Rhodes, looking for a Sentinel Artifact, and opened a door into a Dark Aether Nexus where the relic floats on an island. His men died in its trials one by one, and he died last. Weaver, Grey, Carver and Maya now follow his trail with the amulet taken at the Citadel.

The Dig Site under a stormy sky, a Roman column in the foreground and the tents and scaffolding of the excavation below the cliffs, official image, The Tomb, Call of Duty Black Ops 6 Zombies

The excavation

The Dig Site opens on two paths into the caves, the Tombs to the north and the Neolithic Catacombs to the south, which meet again in the Subterranean Temple.

A cave of the Neolithic Catacombs, a Crafting Table against the rock wall and a lit tunnel beyond, official image, The Tomb, Call of Duty Black Ops 6 Zombies

Neolithic Catacombs

A maze of caves behind the south-east door, with the Kompakt 92, Deadshot Daiquiri and a Crafting Table.

The Shrine of the Hierophants, a Roman hall with a coffered ceiling, statues in niches and fires burning, official image, The Tomb, Call of Duty Black Ops 6 Zombies

Shrine of the Hierophants

A long hall past the Tombs, around a court with the Parasite statue, guarded by an Arrow Trap on its stairs.

Characters

The players are the four survivors of the Dark Aether crew, Grigori Weaver, Elizabeth Grey, Mackenzie Carver and Maya Aguinaldo, or any Operator outside the story. Ravenov, Strauss and Raptor One help them on the radio until the signal fades in the tunnels.

Sir Archibald Fotherington-Smythe in his pith helmet and monocle, glowing blue in a round bronze frame, The Tomb, Call of Duty Black Ops 6 Zombies

Sir Archibald Fotherington-Smythe

The British archaeologist of the 1908 dig, killed by a Mimic in the Nexus. The Obscurus Altilium replays his memories to guide the crew.

Grey, Weaver, Maya and Carver running from a horde of zombies down a wooden staircase, promotional image, The Tomb, Call of Duty Black Ops 6 Zombies

The crew

Weaver, Grey, Carver and Maya, the playable characters of the story.

S

S.A.M.

The rogue intelligence of Project Janus, announcer of the map in the voice of the Forsaken. In the ending, it asks the crew to bring the Artifact straight to it.

A

Alistair Rhodes and Bernard Potts

Rhodes paid for the 1908 dig; Potts, Archibald’s valet, deserted with a few men and came back as a zombie. His skull lies on the mound of the Nexus.

Enemies

Maya shocked by a Shock Mimic crackling with blue electricity, among zombies on stone steps, official image, The Tomb, Call of Duty Black Ops 6 Zombies

Shock Mimics

New with this map, an electric Mimic that disguises itself as an item. Its burst stuns the player and destroys any equipment thrown at it, like a Trophy System. The first one, at round 8, drops Sir Archibald’s monocle.

Around them come the ordinary zombies, Armored and Heavy Zombies, Vermin, Parasites, Doppelghasts and Amalgams. Each of the four special enemies has its statue in the Nexus and its own trial in the main quest.

Perks

PhD Flopper

In the Dig Site, the only machine of the First Room.

Death Perception

In the Tombs.

Deadshot Daiquiri

In the Neolithic Catacombs.

Speed Cola

In the Ossuary.

Stamin-Up

In the Shrine of the Hierophants.

Quick Revive

In Deep Excavation, the deepest point of the map.

Juggernog

In the Dark Aether Nexus.

Der Wunderfizz

In the Nexus too, from round 25. It sells Elemental Pop, Melee Macchiato and Vulture Aid, and Double Tap Root Beer since Season Three.

An Operator holding a red Perk-a-Cola can in first person, in a Roman room on fire, official image, The Tomb, Call of Duty Black Ops 6 Zombies

Perk-a-Cola

A can opened among the ruins, while the crew fights in the room behind.

Weapons

Six weapons hang on the walls, all Uncommon, from the Marine SP of the Roman Mausoleum to the GPMG-7 of the Subterranean Temple for 2250. The Mystery Box holds the rest of the Black Ops 6 arsenal, the Ray Gun, the Ray Gun Mark II and the wonder weapon of the map.

Weaver holding the Staff of Ice, its head glowing purple, in the Dark Aether Nexus, official image, The Tomb, Call of Duty Black Ops 6 Zombies

Staff of Ice

The elemental staff of Origins, back in the Dark Aether. It freezes and shatters the zombies, comes from the Box or a free build quest, and becomes Ull’s Arrow once upgraded, with Sekhmet’s Vigor to revive teammates from afar.

Building the Staff of Ice, step by step

Every wall weapon, its price and its place

The Dark Aether Nexus

The Tomb has no power switch. Its heart is the Dark Aether Nexus, a piece of the Dark Aether under an alien sky, opened by placing the Obscurus Altilium on the altar of the Subterranean Temple. A red Doorway to Nowhere opens there, and three more portals, blue, green and yellow, appear in the Roman Mausoleum, the Ossuary and the Shrine of the Hierophants: they become shortcuts across the map.

The Dark Aether Nexus, purple crystal spires and glowing mushrooms under a starry sky, official image, The Tomb, Call of Duty Black Ops 6 Zombies

The Nexus

A diamond-shaped area, a trench around a central mound, with the altar of the Staff of Ice on top and the arena of the Sentinel Artifact to the north-east. Its glowing fungi drop Salvage.

The Subterranean Temple, standing stones around a carved stone circle in a dark cavern, official image, The Tomb, Call of Duty Black Ops 6 Zombies

Subterranean Temple

Where the two paths of the excavation meet, with the altar of the amulet. Deep Excavation lies below its cliffs.

A moving Pack-a-Punch

The machine starts in the Nexus, then moves every five or six rounds between the Nexus and the Roman Mausoleum. A stone map behind each spot shows where it went.

Easter egg: the Sentinel Artifact

The main quest claims the Sentinel Artifact from the Nexus. It needs the Pack-a-Punch and the upgraded staff. Its steps:

  1. Open the Nexus, then build the Staff of Ice and upgrade it to Ull’s Arrow.
  2. Wake the Vermin statue with Sekhmet’s Vigor and survive its lockdown in the Dig Site.
  3. Do the same for the Parasite in the Shrine of the Hierophants, the Doppelghast in the Ossuary and the Amalgam in Deep Excavation, carrying the energy of each back to the Nexus.
  4. Cross the bridge to the arena and defeat the Sentinel Artifact over nine phases.

The main quest, step by step

Secrets

Dig

Three pairs of Mister Peeks headphones play a song sung by Matt Heafy.

Gold Armor

Two stone heads from the Nexus and two Blood Sacrifices in the Dig Site reveal a vest that repairs itself.

Free Ray Gun

Three Ancient Gems dug up with Death Perception, brought to a statue of the Tombs.

Free Essence

Two generators of the Dig Site, shot with Dead Wire, give a Full Power and 1,000 Essence.

The song, the Gold Armor and the other secrets

Challenges

The Tomb came out after launch and has no achievement or trophy of its own. Its rewards are calling cards: the three versions of The Tomb Quest Complete, for the main quest, and a Dark Ops challenge added on May 29, 2025.

Calling cardTask
Friendship Ended calling card, The Tomb, Call of Duty Black Ops 6 ZombiesFriendship Ended“May the warm shoulder grow cold”: shoot the statue that turns around, then pass the jumpscare to another player with a melee hit.
The Tomb Quest CompleteFinish the main quest, in Standard Mode, in Directed Mode, or before February 20, 2025 for the Early card.

Trivia

  • The game files call the map zm_t10_opal, and the Staff of Ice zm_opalww.
  • The map nods to Origins, whose console name was zm_tomb: the Staff of Ice is one of its four elemental staffs, and the shrine of the Nexus copies the Burial Mound, where the Pack-a-Punch stood in Origins.
  • The Pack-a-Punch spot of the Dig Site borrows its architecture from Ancient Evil, the Greek map of Black Ops 4.
  • William Peck was announced in the cast of the map but never appears.
  • Radio calls go distorted in the tunnels, as if the signal were failing, and clear up back in the Dig Site.
  • The map holds 22 pieces of intel. Among the teasers released before the map were sepia postcards addressed to Marjorie, the name of Archibald’s wife.
  • The Dig Site can be found again, as part of a larger excavation, on Avalon, the battle royale map of the Black Ops 7 era; its tunnels no longer lead down to the caves.
A sepia teaser postcard addressed to Marjorie, showing a Roman room with a pyramid-shaped doorway, The Tomb, Call of Duty Black Ops 6 Zombies

A teaser postcard

“Marjorie, you would simply not believe this place!”