The Firebase Z zombies map has finally arrived. After having some fun on the Die Maschine map, all I could think about is how the next map would turn out. There were so many things I was wondering about whilst waiting for the new map to come. Such as what improvements they could make, and how long it could take to finish the main Easter Egg. As well as other quests there were to complete, what kind of steps needed to be taken, how long it would take to finish them, and also how difficult they would be. I was also thinking about what the wonder weapon would look like and how it would perform. I was especially hoping Firebase Z would have included more perks as the Die Maschine map had a fairly weak number of them. Plus, a couple of these had virtually no use for my play style.
The Firebase Z map was released on the 4th February 2021 and is a part of the Black Ops: Cold War Season One content. Therefore, this map was free. The map is set in the year 1984 and is located in a research facility in the jungles of Vietnam. The map starts with the return of the tombstone soda perk. The map is divided into two sections. One being the Outpost 25, which is a huge firebase and the other being a village that has a group of buildings for scientists. The map also features the return of Hellhounds and Russian mangler soldiers. Some new enemies are included in this game which are called ‘mimics’, and what their ability entails putting on a disguise as collectible items. The great old’ mystery box has made its way into Firebase. After playing many hours with this map, I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed this map much more than I did with Die Maschine. The Firebase Z map reminds me a lot of the Gorod Krovi map from Black Ops 3 due to its similar colours, some similarly styled buildings, and items, but also the Russian mangler soldiers.
This is far from being an exaggeration but the main Easter Egg is one of the best Easter Eggs I have ever completed in a Call of Duty game. I had decided to complete this with three of my friends to get the best experience out of the quest. Every single step needed to complete the Easter was very simple. However, there are a few steps that can be tricky at times, such as having to capture the mimics. Especially when you are accidentally trapped by a surrounding of zombies. Even the boss fight was simplistic, even though it did take a fairly long time for myself and the crew to defeat it. It’s fair to say that you could even complete the Easter Egg on your own without much problems. I was happy to see that Treyarch has added an ending cutscene for the main Easter Egg. In Die Maschine, I was disappointed there isn’t an ending cutscene of the main quest, but with Firebase Z, there is one featured. Plus, it’s a very nice cutscene that also provides crucial hints and clues of future DLC zombies maps.
Firebase Z is a pretty huge map as it has some great areas you can train zombies very comfortably. If you are a zombies player who likes to train zombies in high round attempts, then you shouldn’t have any problems with this map. However, mimics and Russian manglers can be extremely difficult to train at times. Therefore, it is ideal to wait until you either have a huge train of zombies or simply finish off those kinds of enemies first.
The wonder weapon is a massive upgrade to the one in Die Maschine. Treyarch has even given the weapon a nice and catchy name called the ‘Rai-k 84’. The steps that were needed to be followed to build the weapon were pretty simple. Although you could say the most challenging step is when interacting with the computer that displays patterns that you must memorise. If your memory isn’t that great, the best way in doing this step is to simply use your smartphone camera. The weapon has an alternate fire, which allows you to either shoot some sort of an orb with a disc surrounding it, and if you shoot the orb, you’d be able to wipe out a large group of zombies or the weapon can shoot bullets that behave like vaporizers. This weapon won’t be as effective as the rounds go, so you can upgrade or pack a punch the weapon or both. The surprise with the wonder weapon is that you can acquire it in four different ways. One of course to build it by following the steps, the mystery box, trials, or by doing the loot box Easter Egg. However, the only guaranteed way of getting the weapon is to build it yourself, which isn’t too hard to achieve.
Only one perk has been added to the game, called ‘Tombstone Cola’. This perk has made its return as the last time it was featured was in Black Ops 2. This perk was significantly helpful as it allows you to go into the dark aether and revive yourself after being downed. This is also useful for when your friends are in situations that would prevent them from helping you themselves. The Wunderfizz is also on the new map so that you can possess all perks, which is incredibly useful in high rounds and Easter Egg boss fight. However, there are still other perks that would greatly benefit my playstyle that is still not in Cold War. One of them being mule kick, which would allow me to acquire three weapons.
When it comes to Firebase Z, the one criticism I have is the selection perks. The perks selection is better than the previous map, but there are certain perks that would be helpful for certain players that weren’t featured. Hopefully, the next DLC map improves on this. Nonetheless, this map has almost everything you would need for a great zombie experience. Large map, phenomenal Easter Egg quests, a powerful wonder weapon, and so on. This map would also benefit even the most casual zombie players as certain large areas in the map can aid them in training zombies much easier. A huge improvement to the Die Maschine map.