Finish the Aether story and (maybe) the final Call of Duty Zombies map ever. Here's how to complete the 'Salvation Lies Above' Easter egg quest.
The final Black Ops 4 Zombies map has landed, and the always-hardcore fans of this extremely niche mode have (again) dug up the secrets of the Easter egg quest. This isn’t just the end of the 10+ year long ‘Aether’ storyline, this map might be the final Call of Duty Zombies map as we know it.
Zombies is not set to be included in the forthcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare reboot. These weird maps have a lore all their own, and a story that’s intertwined across multiple generations of Call of Duty games. The latest map, Tag Der Toten, promises to end things for the Aether crew, resolving the Ultimis / Primis storyline, and finally offering a conclusion that fans have been waiting for.
You can find all the complicated Easter egg quest steps below, or just skip to the bottom and check out the ending cutscene. Y’know, if you’re curious.
More Black Ops 4 Zombies: Tag Der Toten guides:
- Black Ops 4 Zombies: Tag Der Toten – How To Unlock The Golden Pack-A-Punch | Gun Upgrade Guide
- Black Ops 4 Zombies: Tag Der Toten – How To Get The Riot Shield | Locations Guide
- Black Ops 4 Zombies: Tag Der Toten – How To Get The Wunderwaffe DG | Wonder Weapon Guide
- Black Ops 4 Zombies: Tag Der Toten – How To Get Samantha’s Music Box | Unlocking The Vault Guide
How To Complete The Main Easter Egg | ‘Salvation Lies Above’ Guide
[Work-in-Progress: Check back soon for more details and info!]
Before you can start this Easter egg, you’ll need to unlock the Golden Pack-a-Punch machine. This process is fairly simple, and we’ve covered it extensively on our Golden Pack-a-Punch guide here. Go to that guide for all the details, but I’ll break down the simplified steps below.
- Basic Golden Pack-a-Punch Steps:
- Turn on the Power in the Docks and the Bridge.
- Collect the Blue Rock (melee / shoot) in the Lighthouse Approach cave and take it to the top of the Lighthouse.
- Get the two Zipline Cranks (one is located in the Stern, one is located in the Forecastle) and turn the cranks to fully tighten the ziplines.
- Return to the top floor Lighthouse and collect the Zipline Handle.
- Go to the Mountain Base up the zipline and turn on Power in the Human Infusion room.
And that’s it! Now you can go to the launcher on the Sun Deck and launch yourself onto the Iceberg island. That completes the pre-requisite work you’ll have to do — at this point, you can start the Easter egg quest proper.
Step #1: Complete Challenge Totems
Around the map, you’ll encounter scarecrow-like challenge totems. When you interact with these, the Hermit will give you a series of specific challenges to complete. These challenges can be anything, and challenges are unique to each location.
You need to complete two of these challenge totems. There are three challenges you must finish to complete a totem. They’re all different, so give them all a try and see which you think are easier to finish.
Complete both challenges, then return to the hermit in Lighthouse Level 4 and collect the Dials item from the dumbwaiter..
Step #2: Set The Dials In Artifact Storage
In the ship, go down to the Artifact Storage room and look for four slots in the walls. They’re all in the upper control room area — place the dials, then interact to turn the dials until the dial lights up and responds with a ‘ding’ sound effect. That’s how you know you’ve set all four dials correctly.
Step #3: Find The 3 Apothicon Offerings
Set all four dials, and an Apothicon voice will command you to bring three offerings. NOTE: It helps a lot to activate subtitles on this map, as you’ll be able to see what the Apothicon is hinting at much, much easier.
The Apothicon wants an offering of meat or bone found in many, many different locations around the map. Depending on the hint, it can guide you to a very different part of the map. It will ask for three spots, so listen careful and write down the hint.
- Apothicon Hint Locations:
- ‘Where Lungs Close’ – Docks: The underwater passage.
- ‘Where Preservation Freezes’ – Forecastle: On a life preserver.
- ‘Where North Is Found’ – Bridge: Across from the boat power switch.
- ‘Where Lightning Aims’ – Mountain Base Facility Lobby: Near the Wunderwaffe DG schematic.
- ‘Where Falls Freeze’ – Cargo Hold: Near the stairs.
- ‘Where Feet Slip’ – On the Ice Slide in the cave behind the Boathouse.
- ‘Where One Mysteries’ – Lighthouse Level 1: Next to the Mystery Box spawn.
- ‘Where Thirst Dawns’ – Forecastle: Next to the Perk Soda machine.
- ‘Where Earth Crumbles’ – Geological Processing: In the minecart room.
- ‘Where Filth Cleanses’ – Decontamination Room: Inside the mountain facility.
- ‘Where Fire Sinks’ – Sunken Valley: By the burning fire.
- ‘Where Lines Berth’ – Docks: Near the zipline to the Lighthouse.
- ‘Where Madness Sleeps’ – In the Prison Cell area of the Mountain Base.
- ‘Where Power Ends’ – Human Transfusion: Near the Power switch.
- ‘Where The Hidden Burns’ – Cargo Hold: On a passage down from the burning fire. You might not realize the path is there.
- ‘Where Bounded Sleep’ – Stern: Near the Soup perk machine.
- ‘Where Crows Roost’ – Forecastle: On the barrels opposite the pot.
- ‘Where Mountains Throw’ – Outer Walkway: Near the launcher on the exterior walkway of the mountain base.
- ‘Where Helixes Peak’ – Lighthouse Level 4: At the top of the lighthouse.
Find all three offerings, and you’ll get another step from the Apothicon Blood.
Step #4: Seek The Seal of Duality
The Apothicon Blood sends you after another mysterious item. This time, it’s the ‘Seal of Duality‘ — you’ll need to find a poster / painting (based on a hint given by the Apothicon) and melee attack it to reveal a hidden safe. You then need to use Dynamite to blow open the safe and reveal the Seal of Duality.
NOTE: To craft Dynamite Bombs, kill three fire zombies when they are frozen and collect the three parts they drop.
The location is random, and once again based on a hint given by the Apothicon. There aren’t nearly as many this time, and you only need to find one location.
- ‘Where Ether Was Gathered’ – Geological Processing: Behind the cork board with the child’s drawings.
- ‘Where Cages Hang’ – Boathouse: Again, behind a cork board in the dead end room.
- More to come.
Collect the Seal of Duality after placing the Dynamite to destroy the safe.
Step #5: Collect Three Blood Orbs
Go to the Artifact Storage room and place the Seal of Duality under the Apothicon Blood. Once placed, three red blood orbs will fly to three different locations around the map.
Find each red orb and throw a Snowball at it to turn the orb blue. When blue, shoot at the orb until it returns to the Apothicon Blood in the Artifact Storage room. Send all three errant orbs back home.
Once they’re back, return to the Artifact Storage and repeat the process. Throw snowballs at the blood orbs and turn them blue so that they fly inside the Apothicon Blood after shooting them up.
Step #6: Purify The Blood [And Get The Samantha Music Box]
After all the orbs re-enter the Apothicon Blood in Artifact Storage, pick up the Seal of Duality and take it to the Sunken Path. There’s a campfire here — place the Seal of Duality in the campfire.
To ‘purify’ the blood, you need to throw a Samantha Music Box into the campfire, turning the campfire blue. How do you get a Samantha Music Box? Here’s a quick explanation.
How To Get The Samantha Music Box: To get the Samantha Box, you must collect two keycards in the Mountain Base. You’ll need to acquire the Zipline Handle to do this.
- Keycard #1 Locations:
- Decontamination: In the sink.
- Decontamination: In a dryer.
- Decontamination: In the Eye Wash station.
- Keycard #2 Locations:
- Specimen Storage: At the toilet.
- Specimen Storage: Near the mail.
- Specimen Storage: At the rack of canister.
Go to the Security Lobby and insert both keycards on the security panel. The Human Infusion Power Switch must be on or you won’t be able to interact.
Wait for the keycards to go into the slot, then come back out. Collect them again. Now go to Human Infusion and insert one keycard into each slot on both sides of the massive vault. Once both keycards are in place, a Lockdown event will begin.
Survive the lockdown, and the vault will open, allowing you to obtain the Samantha Music Box.
Step #7: Add Elemental Power To The Soapstones
Return to the Hermit in the Lighthouse Level 4 room and collect Soapstones from the dumbwaiter. For this step, you need to place the Soapstones on traps, activate the traps, and then place the elementally-infused soapstone into the slots in Human Infusion.
- How To Give A Soapstone Fire:
- Place a soapstone on the fire trap in the Lighthouse Annex and activate the trap.
- How To Give A Soapstone Ice:
- Place a soapstone on the ice trap between the Decontamination room and the Upper Catwalk, then activate the trap.
Place both Soapstone on the slots beneath the human-shaped tubes in Human Infusion. There’s a strange device here with two large square slots. Place both elemental soapstones and then collect the fuse in the center.
Step #8: Power The Fuse And Unlock The Door
Next, travel to the Lighthouse Station and find the mysterious locked door. There’s an empty slot you can place the fuse in to the right of the door. Place it, and Nikolai will appear with a voice clip explaining that there isn’t enough power.
To fully charge up, you need to shoot generators with the Wunderwaffe DG (acquired through the Mystery Box) and kill Electricity Zombies near generators. You can do these in any order.
- Kill Electricity Zombies Near Generators:
- Boathouse: Next to the Lighthouse Trap.
- Lighthouse Approach: Near the MX9 Wallbuy.
- Shoot Generators With Wunderwaffe DG:
- These are incredibly hard to spot. Use these helpful screenshots shared by r/CODZombies for help.
- Location #1
- Location #2
Once you’ve shot / zapped the power, the door in the Lighthouse Station will open.
Step #9: Purify The Apothicon Blood (Again)
Enter the Lighthouse Station secret room and collect the Elemental Shard from inside. Now, return to Artifact Storage and place the item below the blood orb. The Apothicon Blood will start to zip around — blast it to get it back into position until the screen flashes white.
Again, three small blood orbs will fly to random spots on the map — you’ll need to repeat Step #5 and Step #6. at this point. Bring the device to the campfire in the Sunken Path, place it, and throw a Samantha Music Box inside to turn the campfire blue.
Step #10: Charge & Purify The Device
Take the strange device up to Lighthouse Level 4 and deliver it to the Hermit. This will initiate a lockdown event — be prepared to fight in close-quarters while you wait. Eventually, the lockdown will lift and the Hermit will return the device to you.
Next, you need to take the device and place it in each of the four Pack-a-Punch machines. The Golden Pack-a-Punch on the Iceberg is not required for this step.
Starting at the Beach, place the device inside the Pack-a-Punch and charge it by killing zombies to fill it with souls. Do this for all four standard Pack-a-Punch locations.
When you’re finished, return the device to the Apothicon Blood in Artifact Storage, place it, shoot the wild Apothicon Blood, and it will fly into the device itself. Take the device back to the Sunken Path campfire and throw yet another Samantha Music Box into the fire to purify it.
Step #11: Finish Charging The Device
We’re almost done! Take the purified device to the Golden Pack-a-Punch on the Iceberg and insert it. Charge it with zombie souls until the device begins to fly around on it’s own — stay inside the shield or you’ll take damage. The water in the map transforms into lava, and you’ll take damage when you step outside the energy shield.
Follow the device, shooting zombies and staying inside the shield, until you eventually return to Human Infusion. Eventually, the device will lower and you’ll be able to recollect it.
Step #12: The Final Step
Return to the Hermit’s dumbwaiter in the Lighthouse Level 4 and place the device. Now, travel to the Sun Deck on the ship. WHen all players are on the deck, the Hermit will begin to ascend.
Once he’s ascended completely, the device will appear at the Forecastle by the cooking pot. Collect it to complete the map and end the Aether storyline. The cutscene is below. It’s been a long 10+ years. Is this really the end?
The Ending of the Aether Saga
Table of Contents – Black Ops 4: Zombies Guides
- Black Ops 4 Zombies: Blood Of The Dead – How To Turn On Power
- Black Ops 4 Zombies: Blood Of The Dead – How To Pack-A-Punch | Upgrade Guide
- Black Ops 4 Zombies: Blood of the Dead – Main Easter Egg Guide | ‘Most Escape Alive’
- Black Ops 4 Zombies: Blood Of The Dead – How To Get Hell’s Retriever | Wonder Weapon Guide
- Black Ops 4 Zombies: Blood Of The Dead – How To Get Hell’s Redeemer | Upgrade Retriever Guide
- Black Ops 4 Zombies: Voyage Of Despair – How To Pack-A-Punch | Upgrade Guide
- Black Ops 4 Zombies: Voyage Of Despair – Elemental Kraken Wonder Weapon Guide
- Black Ops 4 Zombies: Voyage Of Despair – Main Easter Egg Completion Guide | ‘Abandon Ship’
- Black Ops 4 Zombies: IX – How To Pack-A-Punch | Upgrade Guide
- Black Ops 4 Zombies: IX – How To Get The Death of Orion | Wonder Weapon Guide
- Black Ops 4 Zombies: IX – How To Complete The Main Easter Egg | ‘Venerated Warrior’ Guide
- Black Ops 4 Zombies: Classified – How To Complete The Main Easter Egg Quest | Ending Cutscene
- Black Ops 4 Zombies: Classified – How To Pack-A-Punch | Upgrade Guide
- Black Ops 4 Zombies: Classified – How To Unlock The “Shockwave” Easter Egg Song
- Black Ops 4 Zombies: Classified – How To Get The Winter’s Howl | Wonder Weapon Guide
