______ _ _____ ___ _ | _ \ | | | _ | / _ \ | | | | | |___ __ _ __| | | | | |_ __ ___ / /_\ \_ __ ___ __ _ __| | ___ | | | / _ \/ _` |/ _` | | | | | '_ \/ __| | _ | '__/ __/ _` |/ _` |/ _ \ | |/ / __/ (_| | (_| | \ \_/ / |_) \__ \ | | | | | | (_| (_| | (_| | __/ |___/ \___|\__,_|\__,_| \___/| .__/|___/ \_| |_/_| \___\__,_|\__,_|\___| | | |_| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------TABLE OF CONTENTS [TOC]-------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. About This Guide........................[ABTG] II. Version History.........................[VHIS] III. Controls / How to Play..................[HTP] IV. Weapon Arsenal..........................[WEPN] V. Item Pickups............................[IPCK] VI. General Advice..........................[GADV] VII. Critical Intel..........................[CINT] VIII. Basic Level Descriptions (1-40).........[BASC] (1-4) Island.......................[ISL1] (5-8) Courtyard....................[CRT1] (9-12) Prison.......................[PRS1] (13-16) Cave.........................[CAV1] (17-20) Market.......................[MRK1] (21-24) Kowloon......................[KOW1] (25-28) Street.......................[SRT1] (29-32) Grid.........................[GRD1] (33-36) Forest.......................[FST1] (37-40) Jungle.......................[JNG1] Cosmic Silverback............[APE1] IX. Advanced Level Descriptions (41-80).....[ADVD] (41-44) Island Revisited.............[ISL2] (45-48) Courtyard Revisited..........[CRT2] (49-52) Prison Revisited.............[PRS2] (53-56) Cave Revisited...............[CAV2] (57-60) Market Revisited.............[MRK2] (61-64) Kowloon Revisited............[KOW2] (65-68) Street Revisited.............[SRT2] (69-72) Grid Revisited...............[GRD2] (73-76) Forest Revisited.............[FST2] (77-80) Jungle Revisited.............[JNG2] TWO Cosmic Silverbacks.......[APE2] X. Elite Level Descriptions (81-120).......[1337] World Record (rounds played)........[WREC] XI. The Room of Fate........................[ROF] XII. Avoiding Bad Players....................[ABP] XIII. Rumors and Myths........................[RUMR] XIV. FAQ's...................................[FRQ] XV. About the Author........................[BILL] XVI. Copyright...............................[COPY] **NOTE** Use the Quick Code on the far right to go directly where you want without scouring the entire guide. Hit Control+F, enter the code, then hit Find Next and it should work just fine. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. ABOUT THIS GUIDE [ABTG] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- I created this guide for a number of reasons. First, I have an affection for top-down shooters and this game certainly falls into that category. Secondly, although there are other guides out there for this game, none of them go into detail about the levels beyond the Silverback, discuss strategy, or offer any trinkets of wisdom that the great players know about. In addition, some of the info contained in the other guides is flat out wrong. For those reasons, I took it upon myself to give back to the community in the hopes of clearing up any rumors and providing a definitive answer to all things related to Dead Ops Arcade (DOA.) This guide is dedicated to every player out there looking to gain a better understanding of the game and to everyone looking to play with good, mature players. Some people ask me, "Why waste so much time on an 'Easter Egg' game?" My response to them is simple: The game requires skill, teamwork, is fun to play, and extremely addicting. I find it to be the best of all zombie modes and in my opinion, one of the best multiplayer games available for any platform. This game is good enough to be released on the PSN/XBL/PC store as its own title! This is my first ever FAQ. Initially it took me a few days to write, but as you can see from the rather lengthy version history I am constantly adding and making changes as I continue to gather new information and dispel the inaccuracies. I am confident in saying that you will not find a more comprehensive guide for this game online than right here. I hope you get as much out of this guide as I have put into it. Lastly, many thanks to the following players on PSN for their invaluable input on several areas of this guide. Their information has helped to make it more authentic, not to mention they are amazing Dead Ops players. - iMrBeast - FR1TZ22 - Thee_Frenzy - LOC1520 Thanks and ENJOY! Email: [email protected] PSN: DCIguy01 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- II. VERSION HISTORY [VHIS] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.3 (8/3/11) - First version accepted and posted to GameFAQs.com 1.4 (8/6/11) - Made alterations to all sections; adding previously missed information. - Fixed spelling/grammar errors 1.45 (8/8/11) - Gave permission to CheatCC.com and Neoseeker.com to host my guide on their sites. Notated the copyright section accordingly. 1.5 (8/10/11) - Gave permission to Supercheats.com to host my guide on their site. Notated the copyright section accordingly. - Edited "Advanced Level Descriptions," and "FAQ" sections - Fixed spelling/grammar errors 1.6 (8/13/11) - Changed RPK to M60 - Corrected error about receiving speed boosts from stolen lives - Edited a piece of critical intel regarding the order of command (thanks to "iMrBeast" from PSN for the info!) - Minor formatting changes 1.7 (8/28/11) - Added an extra tidbit about the Fate of Friendship regarding the blue player. (thanks to "iMrBeast" from PSN for the info!) - Edited "Item Pickups," "About Me," and "Avoiding Bad Players" sections - Made some formatting changes to make the guide cleaner 1.8 (9/16/11) - Added "Elite Level Descriptions" section (thanks to "iMrBeast" and "FR1TZ22" from PSN for the info!) - Fixed spelling/grammar errors 1.9 (9/22/11) - Edited "Item Pickup" and "Weapon Arsenal" sections - Added valuable information to virtually all sections of the guide; notably the Room of Fate, high level advice, going prone, and dropping lives. (thanks to "FR1TZ22" from PSN for all the info) - Rewrote strategies for beating certain arenas - Fixed spelling/grammar errors 2.0 (9/27/11) - Moved the foreward to its own, brand new section (About this Guide) - Added searchable tags to all sections to make finding information easier - Expanded the Table of Contents and made it easier to read - Edited the "FAQ" section - Added note about flamethrower crashing the game (thanks to "FR1TZ22" from PSN for the info!) - Fixed grammar errors 2.1 (10/18/11) - Edited "About Me," "About This Guide," "Critical Intel," "Room of Fate" sections - Added my contact info to multiple sections in the guide - New information about the monkey bomb discovered - Added the previously missed BARELL to the "Item Pickups" section - Added advice about the in-game trophy for dashing through zombies - Added GameFly/GameSpot to the list of approved sites - Fixed error about high rank VS high color rank (see General Advice) 2.2 (11/6/11) - Added new section "Rumors and Myths" - Added note about death during the ending cutscenes - Added info about the HUD on the player details - Removed incorrect information about the monkey bomb - Edited/fixed misconception about dog bites after round 34 - Edited "Avoiding Bad Players" and "Elite Level Descriptions" sections 2.21 (1/5/12) - Updated the "Elite Level Description" section regarding the world record 2.22 (1/15/12) - Updated the "Elite Level Description" section regarding the world record 2.3 (1/22/12) - Rewrote some of the level strategies - Updated the "About the Author" and "Critical Intel" sections - Added a few links to YouTube videos to help explain strategies 2.4 (5/3/12) - Updated the "About this Guide," "Weapon Pickups," "Critical Intel," "FAQs," and "About the Author" sections - Added note about abominable martyrs giving 1-2 hits before death - Rewrote level strategies - Corrected error regarding monkey bomb in v2.2. Upon further research, monkey bombs do, in fact, give double points for all zombies killed. - Fixed grammar errors 2.41 (5/8/12) - Updated the "Elite Level Description" section regarding the world record - Cleaned up descriptions in certain sections to make them more clear ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- III. CONTROLS / HOW TO PLAY [HTP] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you've ever played SMASH TV in the arcades or on the home consoles, you should know how to play Dead Ops Arcade (DOA.) The game is played as a top-down shooter in which you take on vast hordes of undead zombies. You start the game with a standard issue M60, but can easily upgrade to other guns and acquire other items as the game progresses. DOA also uses the same basic control scheme as Smash TV with a few additions. Note that there are slight differences with the PC and home consoles. ******** PS3/360 ******** Left Stick - Moves the player Right Stick - Shoots the gun in the direction pushed L1 - Nuke R1 - Speed Boost Pause - Brings up pause/option menu *** PC *** Left Mouse - Fire Right Mouse - N/A Mouse Wheel - Nuke Cursor - Aims where you are shooting Spacebar - Speed Boost G - Nuke (alternate) ********************************** The Player HUD (Heads-up Display) ********************************** You will notice on the game screen that each player has their own score as well as several other numbers in close vicinity. We will discuss each number and piece of the HUD in detail. Multiplier Bar - Indicates how far along the player is to advancing to the next multiplier level. A higher multiplier means more points. More points means more lives. More lives means more playing time. Lives - This is the first number underneath the screenname. As you would guess, it indicates the number of lives the player has accumulated. You start off the game with three. Nukes - The second number underneath the screenname indicates the number of bombs you have. You start the game with one. Bolts - The final number indicates the number of speed boosts you have. You start off with two. Score - The largest number on the HUD is your score. You earn a free life (for yourself only) with every 200,000 points. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- IV. WEAPON ARSENAL [WEPN] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- It is critical to understand the differences in the various guns, their strengths and their weaknesses. This section will list all of these things. ******************* M60 (Standard gun) ******************* ...This is the gun you start out with by default. Pretty standard rapid fire gun. Contains infinite ammo and is ideal for mowing down weaker zombies. Against tougher brutes and in later rounds, you will want to seek something a little more powerful. *************** Death Machine *************** ...Basically an upgraded version of the M60. It cuts through virtually any enemy with very little effort. Ideal for laying the smack down on tougher enemies and extremely helpful when obtained in the Room of Fate (discussed later.) No major weaknesses with this gun. ************ China Lake ************ ...A short distance grenade launcher that will wipe out groups of zombies with ease. The China Lake works wonders well into the higher rounds and even against the toughest of monsters. The only real drawback is that it makes it tough for you and your teammates to see what is happening right in front of them. **NOTE** A good tactical use for this weapon is to shoot and steadily move backward to ensure no zombies get through and everyone can see what is happening in front of them. ********* SPAS-12 ********* ...A spread-fire shotgun. Easily the weapon of choice for taking out large groups of zombies from all distances across the map. As the distance increases, so does the range of the spread. Add a chicken or two (or more) for utter mayhem. No real disadvantages with this weapon! ********* Ray Gun ********* ...Fires precise green bursts which can also bounce off the walls. It has devastating power and potential, but it can be like using a slot machine. The Ray Gun does not always kill its target on impact; especially in higher levels. Use at your own risk. ******* RPG-7 ******* ...Fires straight rockets at enemies with ease; killing almost anything in a single shot. This gun is ideal for taking out a long line of zombies (or those golden cows/bulls.) Unfortunately, the RPG suffers from a couple problems. It is not very effective for large groups coming from multiple angles since it can be difficult to aim at times. The other major problem with this gun is that you can very easily hit a teammate; knocking them across the screen and right into a group of zombies or a shock tower for an instant kill! **NOTE** Whatever you do, DO NOT fire this gun while mindlessly rotating in a circle. This is the easiest way to accidentally kill your teammates. ***************** M2 Flamethrower ***************** ...Your basic everyday barbeque cannon. The gun has a wide range and can pretty much hit any zombie on the map. The effect of the weapon slows down the enemy until they eventually keel over and die. Highly effective in the lower rounds. Once you get into high round play, it becomes far less useful to almost ineffective. This weapon also suffers from the same problem as the RPG. The flames make it VERY difficult to see in front of you. If you do decide to use it in higher rounds, always keep the gun aimed toward your enemies. To avoid obscuring the vision of your teammates, stop firing long enough to change direction and then resume fire. Use at your own risk, or better yet, not at all. **NOTE** Whatever you do, DO NOT fire this gun while mindlessly rotating in a circle. The entire screen becomes a flaming red mass and will make it impossible to see. **NOTE 2** If you manage to get into high round play (41 and up) DO NOT USE A FLAMETHROWER and CHICKEN IN COMBINATION. This is a surefire way to crash the game. (credit to "FR1TZ22" from PSN) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- V. ITEM PICKUPS [IPCK] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- In addition to weapons, there are plenty of other useful items dropped throughout the game. Here is a short list of the ones at your disposal. ****************** Regular Treasure ****************** ...Gives the player more points. Appears as numerous varieties of silver and gold bars, medallions, etc. Pick these up as opportunity permits, because they will help raise your multiplier in small increments. ****************** Small Gems ****************** ...Instantly fills up 1/3 of the player's multiplier bar. Appears as a small sized gem on the map. Worth picking up for sure and a higher multiplier means more points and more lives. ****************** Medium Gems ****************** ...Instantly fills up 1/2 of the player's multiplier bar. Appears as a medium sized gem on the map. If you see one of these, make a concerted effort to pick it up. Not worth dropping a nuke to get, but definitely worth getting. **************** Large Gems **************** ...Instantly increases a player's multiplier by one. Appears as large gems on the map. Make every effort to pick these up when possible as a higher multiplier decreases the time and effort needed to gain an extra life. *************** Nuke *************** ...A bomb that kills every enemy on the screen (minus cows and the boss.) They appear as golden bombs on the map. You start the game with one. Use only when you are trapped with no hope of escape. Highly useful on higher rounds. **NOTE** You can only carry 9 nukes at a time. If you already have 9 and you see another one lying around, either let someone else pick it up OR drop a nuke and then pick it up. **************** Lightning Bolt **************** ...Also known as speed boosts. An item that allows the player to dash straight through a line of zombies. It appears as a lightning bolt on the map. You start the game with two. Can be used to kill a pack of zombies or as a way to escape a pursuing group. Be careful while using this as you can very easily dash yourself into a shock tower or another horde of zombies. **NOTE** You can only carry 9 bolts at a time. If you already have 9 and you see another one lying around, just leave it for somebody else. ********* Chicken ********* ...A flying chicken that hovers around the player and shoots the same gun you are currently using. Appears as a miniature chicken on the map. You can acquire up to 6 chickens at once to unleash some simply devastating attacks across the screen. **NOTE** The chicken is best used by the player who acquires the Fate of Friendship (discussed later) as clock use of the chicken is doubled. ********* Chopper ********* ...A helicopter which makes the player immune to damage as they fly around the screen blasting explosive missiles at all enemies in sight. Appears as a helicopter on the map. Great for blowing up the golden cows and getting teammates out of a jam. These are first introduced into the game at round 9. **NOTE** Any chickens in use by the player holding the chopper will automatically gain the use of a Ray Gun for the duration of the flight. *************** **URGENT NOTE** *************** This is one of the most important tips you will ever get in this guide. If the player of highest ranking color (1=green, 2=blue, 3=red, 4=yellow) picks up the chopper, he makes the team invincible for however long he has it (see the Critical Intel section for more info.) MAKE USE OF THIS TIME! (Teammates can still die by hitting shock towers, bulls, getting bit by dogs, or from explosions due to barrels and abominable martyrs.) ****** Tank ****** ...A land vehicle capable of running over any enemy in the game (excluding the boss.) Appears as a tank on the map. Fires explosive rounds similar to the China Lake. Great for taking out large groups, but somewhat difficult to control at times. These are first introduced into the game at round 5. Many people do not utilize this vehicle properly. The best way to utilize the tank is to run over the enemies while firing at the same time. Even better, block off an exit with the tank and fire in another direction to cover two directions. **NOTE** Do NOT carry a tank over a portal into a new set of rounds. There is a slight chance that the game will glitch. The player with the tank will appear underneath the map and make it impossible to see any of team members or enemies until the end of the round. Basically, if this happens, you're screwed. Reset the game. ************** Wunderwaffle ************** ...Rotating electric orbs which fry any enemy they touch. Appears as a silver orb on the map. They work in a chain-like effect, in that they will fry any number of zombies on the map, so long as they are touching or within a close proximity. Be careful, as zombies can still break through the orbs at times. ************ Sentry Gun ************ ...An automated machine gun with power identical to that of the death machine. It cannot be destroyed by enemies. Appears as a sentry gun on the map. Ideal for providing cover fire. The sentry gun will not fire at a constant rate, so do not rely on it completely. *************** Monkey Bomb *************** ...A toy monkey which attracts all zombies to it with its cymbal beat, then suddenly explodes; killing any enemy nearby. Appears as a monkey on the map. Great for the higher levels when massive swarms are overwhelming the team. The Monkey Bomb is not fool-proof, though. If a zombie is closer to you than the monkey, the zombie will come after you regardless. Best part about the monkey is that is will provide double points on all zombies killed. That means a regular zombie becomes 200 points. At the far end of the spectrum, a regular zombie killed by a player with a 9x multipler and a monkey-bomb would be worth 1800 points APIECE! **NOTE** Appropriate use of the monkey should involve waiting until there are zombies nearby before picking it up. If you pick up a monkey-bomb and there are no zombies nearby, it will go to waste. If you see a monkey that is in play, chiming away and doing its job, try not to shoot the zombies attracted to it. Focus your attention on the others coming into play (or better yet, lead them over to the monkey.) *********** Barrels *********** ...Similar to the wunderwaffle, these barrels will rotate around the player and create a barrier that kills anything they smash into. Very effective against large swarms; buying you time to cut yourself a path through the crowd. Another added benefit is that once they expire, they fly off to the side; killing anything they touch, although these kills are incidental and near impossible to predict. *********** Teddy Bear *********** ...Grants the player a force field which can be used to propel and even kill some of the enemies you face. Appears as a brown teddy bear on the map. The teddy bear is great for use in the first 12 rounds, but after that it gets to be more of a hindrance than a help. Creepy crawlers will almost always break through, as well as engineers, dogs, and any other zombie with enhanced strength. I recommend staying away from this pickup in later rounds. **NOTE** A common misconception with this item is that you are granted invincibility. The teddy bear does NOT make you immune to zombies. Rather, it creates a repulsion forcefield that deters zombies in the opposite direction; often making them run away. ******* Boots ******* ...Grants the player double the normal foot speed. Appear as boots on the map. These are basically what the player who receives the fate of Furious Feet receives (discussed later.) **NOTE** If you picked up the Furious Feet perk in the Room of Fate, do not pick up any boots you run across. Leave them for teammates. ************* Extra Lives ************* ...Grants an extra life to THE ENTIRE TEAM. Appears as a golden soldier on the map. Always be on the lookout for these babies. Pick them up at all costs; even if it means dropping a nuke or speed boost to get it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- VI. GENERAL ADVICE [GADV] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This section provides some common sense information as well as intel that will prove useful in making you a better overall player. ...The biggest piece of advice I can give ANYBODY is to play, play, and play some more. Just because you read through a book, walkthrough, etc. doesn't automatically make you a great player. Like most things in life, you will only get better through hands-on application. Play the game constantly and you will gain a better understanding of why certain things work and do not. ...It is usually better to be moving than stationary. A moving target is much harder to kill than one that just sits there. Standing in one spot will often result in death; especially in rounds 13 and beyond. ...Learn how to run and shoot in different directions. I often enter games where people are too busy fleeing a horde of zombies and forgetting to shoot as they run. This leads to getting overwhelmed and losing lives. ...Your multiplier is the key to gaining lives. With a high multiplier, you will be earning lives like it's second nature. Pick up gems when you can to increase the multiplier faster than normal. Once you reach a 9x multiplier, you should start leaving treasure behind for teammates so they can build up their multipliers. This tends to be the hardest concept for a player to grasp because they want to get high on the leaderboards. However, without a team, you won't be able to sniff a high spot on the leaderboards. Remain humble and you will go far. ...There is no reason NOT to fire your M60. You never know when an enemy will come from a corner or behind and try to catch you off guard. ...Just because you see a weapon or item spawn does not mean you have to make a mad dash for it the split second it pops on the screen. Items will remain on screen for some time before flashing and finally disappearing. Think about your situation and think about whether it would be best for you to pick it up or to let someone else pick it up. ...Do not pickup a weapon or item unless you need it. If you have 9 nukes, speed boosts, etc., you should leave it for someone else that could use it. ...Do not leave a bonus room or, god forbid, an armory without picking up every single treasure. Leaving early is downright foolish for too many reasons to mention. ...When you are in a bonus round or armory, try to leave a specific weapon (i.e.: chopper, tank) until the very end so you can get the most use out of it for the following round. ...Lead enemy hordes into the shock towers when possible. It will help thin out the forces and make it easier for the team to pick them off one by one. ...After dying, you will respawn on the map with a temporary shield of invincibility. Use that time to plow through as many zombies as you can! If necessary, block off a point of entry on the map and stay there until the shield turns yellow and is nearly worn off. ...As you progress through the game to the higher levels, it will become inevitable that someone becomes the "bomb bitch" and starts stealing lives, providing others with armory, etc. If you find yourself to be that person and you are becoming more of a hindrance than a help, LEAVE THE TREASURE FOR EVERYONE ELSE. What good does it do the team for you to pick up treasure if you keep dying on a constant basis? That multiplier you earned could have been put to better use with a better player. On the flip side, if your teammates are constantly dying and giving little to no help, you will need to make that difficult judgement call and start taking everything for yourself. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- VII. CRITICAL INTEL [CINT] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This section has information that few players know about. To have the best chance of surviving into the higher rounds of the game, you should read the intel contained within. ...When the green player picks up a chopper, the zombies will automatically go straight for him. During this time, the rest of the team is invincible to all zombies except for hellhounds, explosions, and shock towers. ALWAYS, ALWAYS let the green player pick up a chopper; especially in the higher rounds when enemy swarms become very large. This is especially useful when combined with the Fate of Fortitude (discussed later) which doubles the time of all items. ...Adding on to the previous intel, if there is no green player in the game, the blue player takes his place as the chopper "magnet." If there is no blue, then red takes his place. The only player the zombies will not follow in the chopper is yellow. So the chain of command goes: - Green - Blue - Red - Yellow ...When a teammate has zero lives and dies again, he can be revived by stealing one of the other player's lives. Stealing a life occurs automatically and cannot be triggered by any other means. A life cannot be stolen by the same player more than once in a 90 second span. When a life is stolen, the player whose life was stolen will receive a randomly chosen power-up as follows: - Chopper - Tank - 3 nukes - 4 speed boosts ...Adding on to the previous intel, if one of your lives gets stolen and are awarded nukes or speed boosts AND you have 7+ nukes or 6+ boosts, any nukes or boosts which put you over the maximum limit (9) will go to waste. If you receieve a weapon drop which puts you over the max, drop a nuke/use a boost immediately to ensure one less item goes to waste. ...If you make it to round 34 without dying once, a dogbite will give you the same amount of punishment as an exploding barrel. In other words, your health will slowly regenerate over time. YOU CAN STILL BE KILLED BY DOGBITES if you take 3-4 in a row without pause. It will remain this way for all dogs until you die (by other means.) Try as hard as possible to survive to round 34 as it will make getting to the advanced levels A LOT easier. ...If there are both treasure and gems on the ground, pick up the treasure FIRST, then pick up the gems. This will maximize your score. ...If you notice, any time an item spawns on the map it will rotate in a circle. On rare occasion, sometimes an item/weapon/vehicle will spawn and NOT rotate. When this rarity occurs, the item will remain on the map indefinitely until somebody picks it up. This is especially useful in situations where a certain weapon may be needed, the entire team already has a good weapon, etc. See this video below for a visual explanation. Watch the first few seconds and look for the infinite tank. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECbfRQCGoK4 ...It is highly recommended that you turn off controller vibration during gameplay. Your hands will get tired and it can become annoying after a long stint of play. ...After a certain round (still unconfirmed which one), if you simply survive for the round time limit, the zombies will begin to disappear. You can win the round by default in this fashion. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- VIII. BASIC LEVEL DESCRIPTIONS (1-40) [BASC] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This section gives a basic description of each level and set of rounds. It then lists a couple keys to winning the rounds in case you are having trouble. [ISL1] ************************************* ISLAND (1-4) ************************************* ...This is the starting point of the game. Nothing but slow moving zombies that come at you from north, south, east, and west. You will also notice that one side of the map is completely covered in water. Zombies that spawn from this side of the map move at a sluggish pace until they hit land, at which point they will move much faster. If you die in these levels, either quit or start over. -------------- HOW TO WIN \ / \ / \ / \/ Have a brain. There is absolutely no excuse for losing lives in these levels. If you must have some sort of advice, stay out of the water until the round has been completed. While your player is in the water, he cannot fire any weapons. [CRT1] ************************************* COURTYARD (5-8) ************************************* ...Similar to the island, but without water. The only notable exception is a statue in the middle of the room. The zombies are slightly stronger than before, but still easily beaten. These levels also introduce shock towers which can instantly kill you, a teammate, or your enemies. You should be able to navigate through these levels without much of a problem. Again, if you die here I would suggest either quitting or starting over. -------------- HOW TO WIN \ / \ / \ / \/ Do not stand directly next to the entrance points of the map where zombies will appear. Stand a little closer to the center and play it safe. Other than that, watch out for the shock towers and you will be fine. [PRS1] ************************************* PRISON (9-12) ************************************* ...This is a dual-layered arena which introduces the "challenge rounds." Round 9 is the first of these, entitled "Prison Break." Prisoner zombies come at you from the basic directions and they could be coming from the first or second floor. Shock towers become more dangerous as the hordes get a little faster. Most novices will lose their first life here, but should still get through without too much trouble. A poor team will have their game ended here. -------------- HOW TO WIN \ / \ / \ / \/ Stick in the center of the map and just shoot the zombies as they come at you. Be careful of zombies coming from the left and right as they can be hard to see until they cross underneath the catwalks. If you are having a hard time, just move to the second level and camp; forcing the zombies into a chokepoint. Just to be sure to watch both directions if you do this. [CAV1] ************************************* CAVE (13-16) ************************************* ...Arena is very similar to the courtyard, except that the lighting is worse which makes it tougher to see the enemies and the shock towers (especially round 16.) Creepy crawlers (fast moving critters that are very difficult to shoot down) are introduced here in the challenge round (13.) Teddy bears are almost ineffective against them at times. Most novice players will either lose all their lives here or have their game ended. If you only make it to these rounds on your first few playthroughs, this is to be expected. -------------- HOW TO WIN \ / \ / \ / \/ Keep moving while shooting and do not get trapped in a corner. Let me say this again. DO NOT STAND IN A CORNER. You may be able to hold off the crawlers from one direction, but you WILL eventually get overwhelmed by doing this. Instead, fake the zombies out by constantly switching directions and stay near the center of the map. [MRK1] ************************************* MARKET (17-20) ************************************* ...The first large arena. A wide open space with zombies coming from the basic directions and the same types of hazards and enemies from previous stages. The major obstacles here are charging bulls. They are neutral and can kill you or the enemy, so use them to your advantage. They cannot be killed except by explosive rounds from a weapon or vehicle. Be on the lookout for shining golden bulls as they provide numerous gems when killed. -------------- HOW TO WIN \ / \ / \ / \/ One thing to avoid doing in these levels is unnecessarily blowing up bulls when you don't need to. Blowing up a bull causes it to explode blood and guts all over the map. While this may look cool at first, it severely hinders you and your teams' vision, making it much harder to see the other enemies on screen. Unless the bull is shining gold, DO NOT shoot at it. As long as you watch out for the bulls and keep moving, you should be able to get through these levels without much of an issue due to the amount of room you have to run and gun. **NOTE** You can change your game settings in the main menu before starting the game to eliminate the gore of exploding bulls. If you change the parental setting to restricted rather than unrestricted, you will see a puff rather than gory guts all over. [KOW1] ************************************* KOWLOON (21-24) ************************************* ...Similar to the prison in that it has two levels, but far more dangerous with the layout. These rounds introduce Engineer zombies in the challenge round (22) which will give many players a hard time at first. They come down from the sky and take a lot of damage before they die. Luckily they move slowly until they are near death, then charge at you full speed. Zombies in general are much faster than before as well. A moderately decent player will usually start biting the dust here. -------------- HOW TO WIN \ / \ / \ / \/ Several strategies work here, but I suggest you get the team to camp on top of a staircase and force the zombie hordes into a chokepoint. This allows for a much easier time of mowing them down. If you use this strategy, DO NOT go for an item or weapon unless it is within a safe distance and you can safely return to the camp point. The challenge round (22) requires a different strategy. There is always a corner of the map green in color. It is green for a reason, because it is deemed a "safe" zone. That corner of the map is the only spot in which the engineers will not drop on the head of the player. Find the green corner for round 22 and just camp out until the end of the round. As a general point, do NOT fire randomly into a crowd of Engineers as one single hit can start them charging at you. Take your time and pick them off one by one. [SRT1] ************************************* STREET (25-28) ************************************* ...Another large arena similar to the market. The same enemies and hazards as before make their return here. The major difference comes in the challenge round "Fish in a Barrel" (25.) Barrels will roll off rooftops and explode when shot. Use them to your advantage when possible. Another notable difference is that the enemies come from the corners of the map and from the buildings. This makes camping much more difficult. Most players who have skill will be able to make it this far before being wiped out. -------------- HOW TO WIN \ / \ / \ / \/ Try to use the shock towers as a barrier of defense against the zombies whenever possible. The best places to do this are at the very top and bottom of the screen. Also use your items such as speed boosts to take out long lines and escape a tough spot. You will notice there is a staircase on the side of the building which can be used to make an escape. I recommend not using it unless you are 110% sure that there are no zombies coming from the doorway on top of the building. [GRD1] ************************************* GRID (29-32) ************************************* ...Another large map with some oil tankers and walls designed for good escape and camping points. The challenge round "Abominable Martyr" (30) introduces large red brutes that will explode when killed, killing anything nearby. As you will find out, a direct explosion will kill you, but a blast at medium range will count the same as a barell blast or dog bite. Two blasts and you are dead. Very easy to become overwhelmed here without proper strategy. -------------- HOW TO WIN \ / \ / \ / \/ Use the designated corners as camping spots and force the enemies into a chokepoint. As long as one of the team members has a death machine, it should not be a concern. Round 30 will require a run and gun strategy due to the abominable martyrs, but otherwise you can just camp your way through these rounds. DO NOT go for an item or weapon unless it is within a safe distance and you can safely return to the camp point. [FST1] ************************************* FOREST (33-36) ************************************* ...Back to a smaller map this time. Same enemies and hazards as before, only greater in number. The enemies will enter the arena from numerous directions. Pay particular attention to the north and south as zombies can enter the map from virtually any point in the foilage. The challenge round "Who Cried Wolf?" (34) introduces hellhounds which are lightning fast. Unlike regular zombies, they do not kill instantaneously. Dogs will deliver a bite which turns the screen red and shows a small bite mark. Your player can sustain 3 bites before dying. This arena tends to be where many good players meet their demise. Only an excellent player will survive beyond here. -------------- HOW TO WIN \ / \ / \ / \/ Round 33 is a standard round, but 34-36 require extreme attention to the dogs. If you see one, shoot it before anything else. The player with the furious feet will be able to outrun the dogs and bunch them up, so make use of it if that is your perk. As far as the other players go, look for a corner of the map that provides decent shock tower coverage and camp out for the entire round. In the event no such corner exists, do whatever you have to do to survive round 34. Use nukes, speed boosts, and anything else at your disposal. Rounds 35-36 will be a tad bit easier as they have far fewer dogs to worry about. As always, keep moving and try to keep from getting cornered. **NOTE** In the event you happen to make it to round 34 without dying once, you will be able to take a lot more abuse from all dogs for the entire game (until you die for the first time.) [JNG1] ************************************* JUNGLE (37-40) ************************************* ...This is it, the final arena. The challenge round music will play throughout all four rounds as these rounds are equivalent to a challenge round. Enemies spawn from all directions and dogs become more dangerous than ever. Shock towers become very dangerous with all of the action happening at once. Even those players with outstanding skill will often die here. -------------- HOW TO WIN \ / \ / \ / \/ Move as a unit. Unless you have the Furious Feet perk, trying to split up and taking on the hordes individually will often result in death unless you can fake them out. Use your items such as nukes and speed boosts here as needed. [APE1] ************************************* BOSS ROUND (The Cosmic Silverback) ************************************* ...Once you kill the final zombie in round 40, the words "BOSS ROUND" will flash across the screen. Moments later, the gorilla you have seen sporadically throughout the game comes at you full force in a final showdown. He will chase you down and charge at you with speed boosts. To make things worse, you need to kill him while fighting off an entire horde of zombies. -------------- HOW TO WIN \ / \ / \ / \/ Run and gun. If you stand still for any length of time, you may as well kiss yourself goodbye. Try to snake your way around and constantly change directions. If you see the ape go down in a charging stance, he is preparing to speed boost in your direction. If you are doing well on lives, try to hold on to a couple nukes for this battle as they will become invaluable for clearing out the hordes. When the ape gets low on health, engineers will begin to drop from the sky and abominable martyrs will start chasing you as well. Ignore them. If someone manages to pick up a chopper, lure the ape directly into an electrical pole and keep him there for as long as possible. Another great way to drain the life bar of the ape is to snag an RPG or death machine and blast straight at it. He will take a serious amount of damage this way and increase your chances of winning. If you want to be cheap about it, try this next one. Wait for an RPG to appear, die on purpose, pick up the RPG, then stand right next to the monkey (while still invincible) and blast him repeatedly with the rockets. Dual damage will take him down twice as fast. **NOTE** After defeating the monkey, a large number of gems will spew forth from the silverback's corpse. Feel free to pick them up, along with the mass amounts of treasure. Once finished, enter the portal to exit the arena and, seemingly, beat the game. (If you are a hardcore player you already know this is not the case.) A cutscene plays showing you victorious over the monkey, only to have a SECOND one drop down from above and knock you all the way back to the beginning island. Whatever you do, DO NOT MOVE AROUND WHILE THIS CUTSCENE IS PLAYING. The game is still live and you can lose a life if your character accidentally runs into a shock tower. Wait until round 41 begins before moving again. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- IX. ADVANCED LEVEL DESCRIPTIONS (41-80) [ADVD] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Only outstanding Dead Ops players make it to these rounds. A high degree of skill and teamwork will be necessary to survive. ***************** MAIN DIFFERENCES ***************** ...Rounds vary in length from 5-10 minutes. ...Zombies can take more damage than before. ...No more challenge rounds from this point forward. ...There are no additional Rooms of Fate ...About midway through, the shock towers will stop flashing; making it nearly impossible to tell if they are turned on or off. Bottom line, stay away. [ISL2] ************************************* ISLAND REVISITED (41-44) ************************************* ...Makes the first visit look like child's play. Just about every enemy in the game outside of the Abominable Martyr will be coming for you. The sheer number of zombies can overwhelm even the most seasoned player. -------------- HOW TO WIN \ / \ / \ / \/ The best way to approach these rounds is to have two team members camp in a specified corner while the third guy runs around bunching up the zombies in a large group. It will be the responsibility of the campers to watch the nearby corners and, when possible, aid the man running around the map. Always be on the lookout for dogs. Ideally, the man running around should be either the Furious Feet or Fortune/Fortitude. [CRT2] ************************************* COURTYARD REVISITED (45-48) ************************************* ...Similar to the last four levels, an overwhelming number of zombies pour at you from everywhere. There are a few more shock towers since your last visit as well. -------------- HOW TO WIN \ / \ / \ / \/ Use the same strategy listed for rounds 41-44. The only change is to make sure to use the shock towers as cover to help thin out the enemy hordes. [PRS2] ************************************* PRISON REVISITED (49-52) ************************************* ...This time around, the prison has quite a few more shock towers on the bottom level and the enemy hordes are larger than ever. -------------- HOW TO WIN \ / \ / \ / \/ The best way to handle this arena is to have one guy (doesn't really matter who) stay down on the bottom level tearing up the zombies and picking up all the items while the other team members stick on top providing cover fire and killing the enemies that come from the doorway on top. [CAV2] ************************************* CAVE REVISITED (53-56) ************************************* ...These rounds are remarkably similar to 45-48. The only thing making it tougher is the increased number of shock towers. That, and the round length starts to increase here by a few minutes. Fortunately, there is no "super" challenge round of creepy crawlers, which would prove nearly impossible. For the record, there is not another Room of Fate. Another thing of note here is that unless you are the host, the shock towers will no longer flash when activated. VERY few players make it past these rounds. Most players who make it past round 40 will wind up dying here. -------------- HOW TO WIN \ / \ / \ / \/ Employ the same strategy as you did in the Courtyard (45-48.) Watch the entryways for zombies to come out at the last moment; ESPECIALLY the dogs. Dogs will likely kill players more than anything else here. Lastly, since towers will no longer light up (except for the host,) do not even attempt to walk/boost through them as it will mean certain death. [MRK2] ************************************* MARKET REVISITED (57-60) ************************************* ...The second visit to the marketplace has more of the same from previous rounds. Higher swarms of enemies, shock towers, and the bulls of course. The bulls are EXTREMELY helpful and will aid in your quest to advance through these rounds. One note here, round 57 has NO bulls which means you will have to earn the win through skill (and that's no bull.) -------------- HOW TO WIN \ / \ / \ / \/ This is a larger map, so use the open space to evade the enemies. Stay away from the entry points and use those bulls to help make rounds 58-60 a hell of a lot easier. If you wish, you can employ the corner-camp and bait strategy, which works fine as well. [KOW2] ************************************* KOWLOON REVISITED (61-64) ************************************* ...There is virtually no difference from the first time with the exception of the hellhounds and the zombies taking many more shots before they die. These rounds serve as "rebuilding" points as you can very easily replenish your items and bolster your point total by playing it safe (see below.) -------------- HOW TO WIN \ / \ / \ / \/ Similar to the first time, camp on the top of the stairs and force the zombies into a chokepoint. DO NOT go for an item or weapon unless it is within a safe distance and you can safely return to the camp point. If you are feeling brave, have a player run around on the ground level, tearing up the zombies while the others provide coverfire and/or shoot the zombies zoming out the doors on top (similar to the strategy used in rounds 29-52.) [SRT2] ************************************* STREET REVISITED (65-68) ************************************* ...The major difference this time around is the number of shock towers. They can, and should, be used as defense against the massive swarms. Otherwise, it's similar to the first time you came through the streets. -------------- HOW TO WIN \ / \ / \ / \/ Stick and move. Grab power-ups when you can and lure the enemies into the shock towers when possible. This is a great time to use speed boosts to take out long lines of enemies as well. Just make sure you don't boost into a shock tower. [GRD2] ************************************* GRID REVISITED (69-72) ************************************* ...Aside from the larger enemy swarms, the shock towers can become a major pain in the ass in these rounds. Be very careful of running near the white oil tanks as one shock tower is almost always too close to allow safe passage. Thankfully, there are no abominable martyrs this time around. -------------- HOW TO WIN \ / \ / \ / \/ Similar to the first go-around, use the designated corners as camping spots and force the enemies into a chokepoint. As long as one of the team members has a death machine, it should not be a concern. If you are doing a 4-player game, use one man as bait to bunch up the zombies and take the pressure off the rest of the team who camps in the corner. [FST2] ************************************* FOREST REVISITED (73-76) ************************************* ...Same layout as before with a couple more shock towers. These rounds become very difficult due to the small space and enemies come at you from all possible points of the map. Be extremely cautious when running around as there are a couple shock towers that seemingly blend into the scenery and look like blood spots instead of towers. -------------- HOW TO WIN \ / \ / \ / \/ Use the same strategy discussed in the Courtyard and Cave (crawler arena.) One player bunches 'em up, the other players stick in a corner. Be very, very careful of the shock towers in this arena. Often times, there will be one corner with so many towers grouped together that you will not be able to safely maneuver around them. In those cases, stay away from those corners so as not to get trapped. [JNG2] ************************************* JUNGLE REVISITED (77-80) ************************************* ...Just as hectic as it was the first time around. Enemy swarms are all over the place, come from every direction, and take more damage than ever before. Particular levels have more shock towers as with all other advanced levels. -------------- HOW TO WIN \ / \ / \ / \/ There's no way around it. To win here, you need to have sharp eyes and very quick reflexes. Have one eye on the enemies you are shooting and the other eye on the edge of the map closet to where you are standing. You do NOT want to be taken by surprise this late in the game. Look for areas of the map that can provide decent cover with shock towers and momentarily camp behind them to thin out the swarm before it becomes too large or they start coming at you from behind. [APE2] ************************************* BOSS ROUND (TWO Cosmic Silverbacks) ************************************* ...You thought one hairy ape was bad enough? Try taking on TWO of them at the same time while fending off the usual cast of zombies! This is far and away one of the most difficult tasks you will undertake in a video game. -------------- HOW TO WIN \ / \ / \ / \/ I hope you have been conserving your armory, because you'll need it. Speed bursts are a HUGE help as they will get you out of trouble and away from a monkey about to close in for the kill. If you have any nukes available, use them here to wipe out the persuing forces so you can focus on the apes by themselves. As the saying goes - divide and conquer. This is much easier said than done, because you are fighting off the other enemies as well. If you see a dog, shoot it down first. To make things easier, have one player (preferably the furious feet guy) lure one ape around the map while the rest of the team focuses on killing the second ape. You can also use the strategy outlined in the round 40 boss fight (Invincibility/RPG combo.) **NOTE** Similar to the first boss fight, after defeating the monkies, a large number of gems will spew forth from the silverback corpses. Feel free to pick them up, along with the mass amounts of treasure. Once finished, enter the portal to exit the arena. Whatever you do, DO NOT MOVE AROUND WHILE THE VICTORY CUTSCENE IS PLAYING. The game is still live and you can lose a life if your character accidentally runs into a shock tower. Wait until round 41 begins before moving again. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- X. ELITE LEVEL DESCRIPTIONS (81-120) [1337] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you manage to make it past round 80, consider yourself a Dead Ops god. Very few, and I do mean few, players in the world have managed to get to this point. Originally, this section contained strategies for each individual arena just as I had done for the previous 80 rounds. However, in reality there is not much difference in these rounds in terms of level layout from the second to the third playthrough. Truth is, if you get this far into the game, you know what to do and probably don't need a guide anymore. For this reason, I decided there was no point in having individual sections devoted to each arena (ie. 81-84.) I instead replaced each arena strategy with general advice and tips to best help players survive. ****************** MAIN DIFFERENCES ****************** ...The rounds get even longer at about 14-15 minutes apiece. ...Enemies take even more abuse. ...Zombies tend to spawn out of 3-4 doors at once, very frequently. ...Extra life drops will spawn twice PER ROUND. ...If you happen to reach the Boss Round following round 120, you will fight THREE (3) monkeys. **NOTE** From this point forward, if you have a chicken and flamethrower you risk crashing the game due to the amount of action on screen at once. Avoid the flamethrower at all costs if you have a chicken. (credit to FR1TZ22 from PSN for the advice) *************** GENERAL ADVICE *************** ...Stay to the outside of the maps when possible. Unless your designated team role is to be the zombie bait, running through the middle is a recipe for disaster. ...Use each and every shock tower as a barrier for defense and to help thin out the enemy forces. ...Conserve your armory. Only use your nukes and bolts as a last resort. You will need every last bit of help you can get from this point forward; particularly beginning with rounds 93-96. ...Pick up the two extra men per stage at any cost. Some of the rounds will see you and your team lose lives, no matter how hard you try. The sheer number and strength of the zombies can overwhelm even the most elite players in the world. ...Most people think the game ends at round 99 because the leaderboards do not show any rounds beyond that point. You would be incorrect. In truth, DOA can go on for a seemingly infinite number of rounds. The only limit to the game is the game itself. Once the game has so many sprites on the screen at one time, it will inevitably crash. Knowing this, this guide could go on indefinitely. However, strategizing beyond this point in the game is almost pointless since only about a handful of people in the world have ever reached beyond round 100. If that number ever reasonably increases (highly unlikely) then I will look into adding strategy for levels beyond this point. **NOTE** There is rumor floating around that the game ends after round 200. This was proposed by a couple of people who supposeldy hacked the PC version of the game to see how far the rounds would go. This is unconfirmed since nobody has approached that round total as of yet. To reach round 200, without break, would take an estimated 77 hours!! ***************************** ************************************************* *************************************************************** **********************************[WREC]*********************************** The current world record for rounds survived, as of the date of this guide's most recent publication, is 160 rounds - set on the PS3 by three players: Thee_Frenzy, LOC1520, and FR1TZ22. Here is the video which proves they not only made round 160, but the ensuing boss round with FOUR MONKEYS!!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkkkVYPe_Ko Incidentally, these players are also the only ones to ever pass round 120. *************************************************************************** *************************************************************** ********************************************** ***************************** ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- XI. THE ROOM OF FATE [ROF] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Between rounds 13-15, you will encounter the Room of Fate. It is a standard room with four exits that will grant the player one of four permanent enhancements for the rest of the game. In order to receive one of these enhancements, the player must walk over to an exit and wait until the power-up drops down from the sky. If they do not do this, the opportunity to receive that power-up is lost. They are as follows: Fortune and Fortitude ...Doubles the duration of all weapons and items picked up. Also ensures that the player has no less than a 2x multiplier at all times. Ideally, the highest ranking color should always get this power-up. While in the chopper, the highest ranking color attracts all zombies to him (except dogs.) With the gem equipped, you are basically giving your team one full minute of invulnerability. Typically, the best player on the team should get this power-up. Firepower ...Grants the death machine as a base weapon. The player can still pick up other weapons, but as they expire the gun will default back to the death machine. If you select this perk, it is best to just leave all other weapons for teammates as the death machine is more than capable of killing anything in its path. Players with less experience should take this perk. **NOTE** If playing solo, I personally recommend getting the Firepower perk. Friendship ...Grants a permanent chicken that will always follow the player around. It uses the same gun as the one the player is carrying. Any additional chickens that the player picks up will last twice as long as normal. For this reason, the team should ALWAYS leave any chickens found in the game for the player with the Friendship perk. **NOTE** If you get this perk and happen to be the BLUE player, you will be able to take one extra bite from a dog before being killed (4 bites) as opposed to the normal 3 bites. Furious Feet ...Grants the player a permanent boost of speed. Also grants a minimum of three speed boosts (lightning bolts) at the start of each round. The player with this perk should try to leave all speed boosts and turbo boots for other players since the booster automatically gets three of their own every round. **NOTE** Normally when you exit a round, all unconscious players are automatically revived at the start of the next round. When you enter the Room of Fate, all unconscious players will remain unconscious until their revival timer expires. This means that a KO'd player runs the risk of not getting a powerup unless they revive fast enough to beat the timer! Make sure that the team waits for ALL players to revive before exiting rounds 13-15. ******************** ********************************* Determining Your Desired Fate ********************************* ******************** There are actually two methods of doing this: one for solo player and one for multiplayer. I will discuss both in this section and the reason why the solo method does not always work in multiplayer. ******************** SOLO PLAYER METHOD ******************** ...As the Room of Fate loads up, do not move the control stick and do not fire your gun. Exit arrows will begin to randomly appear on the screen. The order in which they appear will determine which fate corresponds to which door. They are as follows: 1st Arrow - Fortitude (gem) 2nd Arrow - Firepower (death machine) 3rd Arrow - Friendship (chicken) 4th Arrow - Furious Feet (lightning) ******************** MULTIPLAYER METHOD ******************** ...This method is much more complex and requires strict attention. Some TV's (most HD, especially 1080p) cannot see all 4 arrows as they pop. They can't even see 3 when everyone stands still (usually 2.) To resolve this, the characters have to get in one vertical line on the RIGHT of the statue and watch for the arrows. Since you can only see 3, you have to watch for the delay. Sometimes the delay (invisible arrow) is the first or last. To determine this, you have to watch to see if the delay is immediately after the words "The Room of Fate" disappear or not. If there is not a split second delay (takes practice to watch for) and there was no delay between arrows, the delay or invisible arrow was the last arrow and that will be feet. I know this sounds complex, but trust me - IT WORKS. (credit to FR1TZ22 from PSN for this invaluable info) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- XII. AVOIDING BAD PLAYERS [ABP] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here is a guide to ensuring you don't get stuck with any clowns on your team. If you wish to get far in this game, you will want to make sure you are playing with people who know what they are doing. Even if you are a DOA god and think you are good enough to carry a team by yourself, you still need to be wary of bad players. Why? Inevitably, once a bad player has gotten sick of sitting there twiddling their thumbs waiting to be revived enough times, THEY WILL QUIT. Sounds like a good thing, right? Well, what if that person is the host? All of your hard work will have gone for nothing. **NOTE** Be advised that as you adhere to the criteria on this list, you may find yourself searching for quite a while before finding quality teammates. Trust me, it will be worth your while to go through this checklist. Once you find some good players, add them to your playlist so you don't have to do this every single time you play DOA. ******************** PREGAME LOBBY ******************** ...Find players with microphones. It makes for easy communication so everyone knows what to do. If a player does not have a mic, send that person a message and ask them if they have one. If they don't have one, leave the game. ...Once you've found players with mics, listen for any kind of clues that indicate they are new to the game or will just be a jackass. Things like: "I've never played this game before." "What do the buttons do?" "I'm just gonna mess around." "This game sucks." (then why in the hell are they playing it? Seriously, you would be amazed at how often this happens, yet these people stick around. I've even heard someone say he started DOA because he didn't even know what game he chose, which just indicates pure idiocy on his end.) ...Always search for players with round experience of AT LEAST 20 or higher. It doesn't guarantee a good game, but it decreases the likelihood of stupidity and increases the chances that they know what to do in the Room of Fate. ...Avoid playing anyone who uses a split screen. These people can be identified by the same screenname listed twice in the same room (one of the duplicate names will also have a "2" in parentheses.) 98% of these players are bad (or have one good player and one bad player) and exhibit many of the problems listed in the section below. ********************* DURING THE GAME ********************* ...The first thing to check upon game startup is the connection you have to your teammates. Immediately hit select to pull up the player team/score screen. Make sure that all players have AT LEAST a solid 3-bar connection. If even one player has a 2-bar or less connection, leave the game immediately. Players with bad connections will end up dying often, stealing lives, and hurting the team in the longrun. ...If someone immediately drops a nuke or speed boost as the game begins (or really at any point prior to round 13,) you should leave just as fast. These people are either new to the game and don't know the controls or are just being morons. ...If someone just stands there on screen getting killed continuously, just leave the game. Once the player loses all their lives, they will start stealing other team members lives; including yours. This is a no-brainer. ...If someone suddenly asks you to "cover" them while in the middle of a round, get out of the game. This type of behavior is downright inconsiderate to the rest of the team. It will lead to lives being lost continuously and, eventually, lives getting stolen. This kind of crap only happens in low level rounds. Low level rounds only last for a couple minutes. If you cannot wait until the end of a round to do your business, you should not be playing the game. ...If someone does not choose a door while in the Room of Fate, leave the game. A player who does not understand how this room works is either new to the game or a piss-poor player. Either way, don't waste your time with them. ...If someone dies in a bonus room when there are no enemies on screen, or at the end of a round or when all enemies have been defeated, particularly from trying (impossibly) to kill the Cosmic Silverback, bid farewell. This just shows that the player's head is not in the game and it will only get worse in higher rounds. ...If someone picks up a flamethrower and starts spinning it in circles, ask that person to stop. If they continue to do it, get out of there. Contrary to popular belief, this tactic does more harm than good. It makes it difficult to see anything in the arena, and frankly, it will NOT work on higher rounds with tougher enemies (which is ironic, because these people never see the higher rounds.) ...If someone grabs an RPG and starts spinning in circles while blasting you, inadvertently or not, get the hell out of there. These people do not understand how the weapon works and end up accidentally killing their teammates; ruining their multiplier and scattering their hard earned gems all over the place for teammates to steal. ...If someone picks up a weapon or item that they clearly do not need (i.e. picking up sprint shoes when they already have the furious feet perk, death machine when they already have the firepower perk, etc,) be very cautious. These people only care about themselves; not the team. One instance warrants a gentle request to stop it. Anything more, get out of there and find some players who care about teamwork. ...If someone uses a speed boost simply to beat you or a teammate to an item or treasure, get yourself out of the game. All that person is doing is wasting an item that they will be needing in the later rounds. The only time this is warranted is at the end of a round and only if you have ONE speed boost remaining. This is because all players receive at least one speed boost at the start of the next round (furious feet gets three.) ...If someone gets on a mic and starts verbally berating you or someone else for no good reason, tell them where they can stick it and then leave. Chances are that person sucks, wants people to let him get all the items and money, or is just hungry for respect. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- XIII. RUMORS AND MYTHS [RUMR] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- There are a lot of false rumors out there about the game. This section debunks them all and lists a few you may not even know about. ************ BONUS ROOMS ************ ...Follow the monkey into the same exit he goes and you will get a bonus room. ...Go in the opposite direction of the monkey (same as above.) ...Always go to the right/down/left ...Enter the side of the room with candles These theories have ALL been proven false. The truth of the matter is that there is NO proven way to get a bonus room every time. If you think you know the correct pattern, think again. Any strategy you've concocted is likely the result of pure chance and coincidence. It is completely random. ********************* GETTING MORE WEAPONS ********************* ...If you do not pick up a weapon or item, it will come back later in the game and in bigger numbers. This rumor has been proven false and was probably made by those who wanted to get weapons just for themselves. If you see a weapon or item you want, just pick it up. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- XIV. FAQ's [FRQ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This section lists all of the most commonly asked questions I receive about this game. It is broken into two sections with questions about the game and about myself. *************** GAME SPECIFIC *************** Q: How do I access DOA and make it playable? A: There are two ways to do this. The first is to simply beat the single player campaign (on any difficulty level) and DOA will then show up in the Zombies game mode menus. The second way is much easier. At the Main Menu screen, mash the trigger buttons on PS3/XBL at the same time or Space Bar on the PC to break free of the chair. Once done, walk over to the computer terminal and type "DOA". This will unlock Dead Ops without having to beat the game the long way. Doing it in this manner will automatically launch you into the Solo version of the game. Q: How long does/did it take to get to round X? A: The first 40 rounds are 2-3 minutes a piece. Rounds 41-80 double; going 6-8 minutes each. 81-120 double again at roughly 15 minutes apiece. The cycle continues to endlessly double. Truthfully it varies; but here are the average times for most players: 20 rounds - 30 minutes 40 rounds - 2 hours 80 rounds - 6 hours 99 rounds - 12 hours 120 rounds - 20 hours *160 rounds - 76.5 hours (including breaks) *denotes world record Q: Can you take breaks in between rounds? A: Yes. You can take a break for as long as you like. Just be sure the rest of the team knows that you are taking a break so they do not accidentally move on without you. Oh, and make sure you don't stand next to a shock tower or in the pathway of a charging bull... Q: Is there more than one Room of Fate? A: No. Q: How do you go prone (lie down) in Dead Ops? A: Hit Start, go to Options, then hit circle/B very quickly to get back to the game. Your character will now lie down on the ground. He will also move very slowly. By tapping Circle/B very quickly while on the ground, your character will move a little bit faster. As far as I know, going prone doesn't serve any real purpose other than to show off. Q: Is there a specific way to guarantee you will get a bonus room or an armory? A: No. Let me say it again... NO! There is NO WAY to determine the correct path to a bonus room. It is completely random. (See the Rumors and Myths section also.) Q: Can you kill the Cosmic Silverback before a boss round? (40/80/120/etc) A: No, but HE can kill YOU. If you try to kill him before a boss round, all you are doing is wasting time, your ammo, and putting yourself in danger of losing a much needed life. If you notice, the Silverback always has a red ring around him at all times. This indicates he is invincible. Anybody who tells you they have killed the silverback before a boss round is lying. Period. If you need video proof, see the link below. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJS23mvDrBU (credit to Fr1tz22 and Thee_Frenzy from PSN) Q: Can you steal or "give" a life to a downed player by walking over their body? A: No; however it is possible to pass a life to a teammate if they are still alive. When a life is earned, it drops from the sky. As it is dropping, if someone stands behind the person earning a life on his left shoulder with his gun (not shooting) into him, it provides the best chance for this to happen. You can also boost away from the life while it is dropping, but this requires perfect timing. The life will then sit on the ground (unlit up which means only 1 person will get the life). You can also pass a life to someone while they are in a helicopter. Because they are above you, the life will hit them first if you stand directly below them but this obviously requires luck with timing. Prison Break arena is very easy to pass lives. The person below just has to stand below someone on the catwalk when earning a life. What most people may be thinking here is that if you die as a life is dropping down, the life will float above your dead body until you revive. If a teammate passes over your body while the life is sitting above them, he will get it instead. This also works with nukes/sprints/tanks/heli's. Q: I died from only 1-2 dog bites in a single round and your guide says I can take up to 3! What gives? A: Dog bites carry over to future rounds. Once your character dies, the bite counter is reset. Q: How do you keep getting all those nukes/lightning/choppers/tanks and how come I never get them?! A: See the CRITICAL INTEL section. (Quick code CINT) Q: What is the best way to earn the trophy/achievement for dashing through a line of zombies? A: This is most easily done in Solo mode and can be done as early as level 1. Just wait until the screen fills up with zombies, back yourself into a corner, then when the time is right use a lightning bolt to dash through all of them. The trophy should pop almost immediately afterward. ******************** QUESTIONS ABOUT ME ******************** Q: Damn, you sure got to a high round. You probably cheated or hacked the game. So yeah, did you? A: No, and in fact I can tell you that 99.999% of all the people I have played with who have high rankings have earned their spots on the leaderboards. The only people who say such things are the ones who suck and just can't fathom how somebody else could be that much better than they are. If you doubt my legitimacy, play a game with me and find out for yourself. Q: Why would you want to play a game for 8+ hours at a time? A: It's fun and it's a challenge. Besides, when I get into a long high level 80+ round game, I don't actually play for 8 hours straight. I take food breaks, restroom breaks, sleep breaks, and I actually plan breaks for other activites as needed. I know how to balance my work/play/life schedule. Q: I love your guide! How can I thank you? A: Thanks! Just click the button/link at the top of the guide which will recommend it to others. Q: I have a suggestion that will help the guide. Can you add it to your FAQ? A: Sure. Just email me ([email protected]) and I will review it before posting to the guide (giving you credit, of course.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- XV. ABOUT THE AUTHOR [BILL] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ...I live on the west coast (USA) and play Dead Ops Arcade on the PS3. I may not be the best ever, but I'm good enough to know what I'm talking about. Here are my best DOA statistics: ***************************** UNOFFICIALLY (as of 1/21/12) ***************************** ...High Round Game - 90, 13:00 minutes, 3 players High Round Rank - #70 (out of 4.2 million PS3 users) High Score - 9,965,650 million High Kills - 25,828 *These rankings and stats are unofficial because the game I was playing lagged and crashed out in the middle of round 90. Otherwise, my team was doing well enough that we could have easily cracked round 100+. Here is the video which proves I made it to round 90: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo_26nmLVdc *************************** OFFICIALLY (as of 7/29/11) *************************** ...High Round Game - 75, 6:39 minutes, 3 players High Round Rank - #97 (out of 3.2 million PS3 users) High Score - 7,898,925 High Kills - 11,700 ############################################################## IF YOU WISH TO PLAY A GAME WITH ME, PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING: ############################################## ################################ ################ ###### ### # ...I will gladly play DOA with anyone on PS3, provided they follow a few basic guidelines listed below: - You MUST have a headset and speak English. - We must have a connection strength of AT LEAST 3 bars. - Have a willingness to listen and learn. If you are playing with me, it is likely that you want to improve at DOA. Therefore if I give you advice or instructions in-game, please do as I ask and you can ask questions later if necessary. - Make sure you do not fall into any of the categories listed in the "Avoiding Bad Players" section. (If you blatently break any of these rules, I will end the game and never play with you again.) ...The best times to reach me are Fri/Sat/Sun. Please also keep in mind the average time for a high-round game. Because of this, a long DOA game is not always an easy thing to schedule. ...Additionally, if you wish to play with me, please send me a message (PSN or email) indicating that you read my guide online. This way, I know that while you may not be an expert, you at least have a general idea of how to play the game. If I don't respond within a few minutes, chances are I'm in a game or away from the system. Multiple messages or game invites in a short time span WILL GET YOU BLOCKED. ...Lastly, please do not send me any friend requests. They will be declined. Since posting this guide, I have gotten a lot friend requests. PS3 friend lists only hold 100 players and I cannot accomodate everyone. If we agree to play a game, I will send a game invite when we are both confirmed to be online at the same time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- XVI. COPYRIGHT [COPY] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (C) 2011-2012 Bill Albrecht This guide may not be posted or distributed, in part or in whole, without the expressed written permission of myself. Feel free to print it out for personal reference, but it may not be sold for profit. Additionally, if I give you permission to host the guide, please ensure that the most recent version is always posted. The following sites have permission to post this guide: - CheatCC.com - GameFAQs.com - GameFly.com (extension of GameFAQs) - GameSpot.com (extension of GameFAQs) - Neoseeker.com - Supercheats.com If this guide is found on any site other than those listed above, please report it to me immediately through my email: [email protected]