Shadows of Evil all high round strategies! Updated 1/4/16

[shirtlesservice]

Seeing as Chopper has started his guide with the lower rounds (which can be found here for anyone who is interested) I figure I can fill in some of the blanks. I'm talking about the high rounds.

 

Once you get past round 25 or so on this map, get all your perks, your wonder weapon, the shield, and maybe the sword if you're feeling like it, your focus should be on one thing: how can I maximize ammo, and what is the fastest way to do it?

 

I will go through the various strategies that have been found so far, and what each has in terms of benefits and detriments for the map. In general, these go from slowest to fastest.

Spoiler

 

Video by Apollo: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi8mFIOEI__yIN5b-4pfDVg

 

This first video shows what I believe is the easiest strategy on the map, bar none. Just use the pap room that you open after doing the four rituals. This strategy is very safe, as zombies can't hit you on the wall, barring freak accidents where they are jumping at the same time you are running. This also allows you to avoid the Margwa as much as possible when they spawn in, because they have to teleport between the sides and you almost never run into them. However, it also one of the slowest strategies that one could actually run on Shadows of Evil, so it has its detriments.

 

Spoiler

 

Video by oChaoticRavenger: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAXo8GgC5-MU2PUTuQbR5eg

 

This strategy is pretty self explanatory, train around in the open area in the canal district, where the cop's ritual area is. This strategy is beneficial because it allows for easy access to the buildable table (ie. the shield) and plenty of room to run around. However, this area is also slow and works better with less zombies, and I would use this more in co-op as a secondary spot to....

 

Spoiler

 

Video by YOUNGDIRK: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5naV75u1md7KQRdGAUBX4Q

 

The rift. The rift is, in my humble opinion, the best area on this map to train. It is the best combination of both safety and speed, and allows for high round runs in reasonable times, but also plenty of area and opportunity to escape if you get caught. Also, handling Margwas in this area is extremely easy, as you can get them stuck walking through the middle area and never actually risk running into them. I recommend running this room clockwise, because it allows you to see all the relevant spawn points as you go towards them, to best anticipate the zombies pathing and avoid them, though you can also run the area in front of the egg/sword pick up, and use the rest of the area to escape if necessary.

 

 

 

 

Now for the faster strategies...

Spoiler

 

Video by hoardkillrepeat: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8homKoiJ3JQZGmZEYekDUw

 

With a video from our very own hoardkillrepeat, aka @verrucktzombie (who unfortunately doesn't frequent the site anymore) we have the Nero's room strategy. Extremely fast (~40 zombies a shot), relatively safe (if you're an experienced zombie slayer), and for some reason canceling out the spawn of Margwas, this strategy was the fastest at the time when HKR actually made this run.

 

Spoiler

 

Video by RobThatPlayer: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5DsEf8dZLNSU9bATA0EkAg

 

The Zandis smoke lounge strategy. Perhaps the fastest and most dangerous strategy so far on this list, this strategy takes a ton of skill to accomplish, but is worth the returns. Shots kill around 45 zombies each, and fill up your sword extremely quickly, which allows for one to use it to get some extra kills during the round. The extremely quick spawns are a result of the spawn control that is created by the unopened door on the other side of the room, which allows the zombies to only come from the single window and the catwalk. In addition, as RobThatPlayer explains, he deals with the Margwa's that spawn by taking them downstairs and replenishing his shield as he does, staying efficient. However, its very clear that this strategy is for the experienced zombie player only, and shouldn't be attempted without practice, unless one wants to see the game over screen prematurely.

 

Spoiler

 

Video by Alexcuse Myself: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0qP7P8IIz4FnOHB0H1M8og

 

The Lady's Secret strategy. Similar to the Zandis strategy above it, but with a bit more room to breathe, the Lady's Secret strategy relies on the Apothicon Servant to control the waves. Killing about 40 zombies per shot, the strategy is effective, but also extremely unsafe, just like the Zandis strategy. There are however, more opportunities to escape, if you have to, using this strat rather than the previous.

 

Spoiler

 

Video by ImWNJ: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxgFW5YFobG3AO_oTDJh3qA

 

Video by SSBDanny Zombies: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC46WQoQRRLGM_RoESYmpyRA

 

The high street route at the water front. Another one of the super fast spawn areas that takes advantage of the wonder weapons effects, this strategy is very similar to some of the previous I've documented. I have 2 videos here, one showing the strat with the door open, the other with the door closed, to show the different spawn rates. Tight area, minimal chance of escape, high potential to be over run, only the wonder weapon or a gobble gum can get you out of a sticky situation when you're training here. On the upside, its fast as heck and you'll fly through the rounds doing this, especially when the spawns max out.

 

Spoiler

 

Video by scottiei3: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl5mzzae1i1bDGjz6Cl_AjA

 

The Ruby Rabbit strategy. This video by scotiei3 showcases the Ruby Rabbit strategy, and there's a reason that this guy has gotten to round 168 with it (the world record on this map at the time). This strategy is one of the fastest on the map, as it takes advantage of the spawn system in the Ruby Rabbit, and actually seems to have plenty of escape routes through out the loop you run, so it can be fairly safe as well. A fine choice to get to the much higher rounds, I personally did a quick (one and a half hour) round 46 run without downing with this strategy, and it is my personal favorite on this map.

 

Spoiler

 

Video by iSn SlayZz: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfZdJU2CUiIE5mjJnOgukYg

 

The Canal Strategy. I was joking on some other thread the other day (CoDz Challenges) about how training in the canals would be a good challenge to see how high of a round you could get to with you and a couple friends. Turns out someone was already developing a legitimate strategy for this area, and its effective into the higher rounds, with an easy escape to the rift if necessary. It's unclear how reliable the spawn system and control is, but it might be worth trying if you're feeling adventurous :D

 

Spoiler

 

Video by Dahniska: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqThcfEWobOYZiUIKH79jyA

 

The Footlight strategy. Created by Dahniska, this is a faster, a bit more compact, post past strategy that utilizes blast furnace for most of the kills, and the wonder weapon as more of a panic weapon. This strategy can be used as an alternative, faster version of the rift strategy in the higher rounds now that the wonder weapon has been patched.

 

Spoiler

 

Video by TWiTCHaH: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuA9c6rgaeFele7glUQl03w

 

The back of Waterfront strategy. Originally posted by 5and5 pre-patch, this strategy involves constant wave spawning, and camping at the back of the waterfront district, while keeping the high street and door to junction closed so the zombies only come from three windows total. Recommend being very experienced at zombies before running this strategy, as well as having the wonder weapon, because getting out of this area is quite difficult, with the best strategy being to hit the beastmode fountain after going down, and allowing the zombies to pile up at the trap before training them and going around. The wonder weapon, a gun with Turned, and the upgraded sword are all recommended to maximize the killing potential of this area, and if you buy mule kick like in the video, a gun with blast furnace as well.

 

 

 

So that's what I've got so far guys. I'll update this post with any new strategies that come to light. If you guys have seen or done something that I haven't mentioned, let me know and Ill include it. Happy Slaying :D

Edited February 15, 2016 by shirtlesservice

[Ragdo11706]

Nice! I was going to add a few of the 50+ strats but I believe you covered most of it. Did you include the strat inside the Ruby Rabbit. That's another fast efficient strat to run. 

 

I would also suggest the Burlesque Dancers area. This is another spot that will take advantage of the spawn control. Also another area with plenty of room to move around. Only one exit thou. 

 

 

I would credit the people's videos you used unless you made your own. Just a suggestion. 

[shirtlesservice]

1 hour ago, Ragdo11706 said:

Nice! I was going to add a few of the 50+ strats but I believe you covered most of it. Did you include the strat inside the Ruby Rabbit. That's another fast efficient strat to run. 

 

I would also suggest the Burlesque Dancers area. This is another spot that will take advantage of the spawn control. Also another area with plenty of room to move around. Only one exit thou. 

 

 

I would credit the people's videos you used unless you made your own. Just a suggestion. 

I'll look into those ones in the morning, it's really late right now, and I'll include channel links with that edit tomorrow. I figure their getting the views either way so it's no harm done, but I'll look into finding and citing the original strategists when I can.

[Rissole25]

Pretty nice. I'm just curious, are high round runs with the upgraded Wonder Weapon legal? As far as I heard, the way to upgrade it hasn't been found, and the way people have been doing it was a glitch.

[Ragdo11706]

3 hours ago, Rissole25 said:

Pretty nice. I'm just curious, are high round runs with the upgraded Wonder Weapon legal? As far as I heard, the way to upgrade it hasn't been found, and the way people have been doing it was a glitch.

So far all the "Big Players" have used it. So therefore I would have to say Yup it's legal. I've yet to see a 100+ game without someone using it at least once.

[shirtlesservice]

9 hours ago, Rissole25 said:

Pretty nice. I'm just curious, are high round runs with the upgraded Wonder Weapon legal? As far as I heard, the way to upgrade it hasn't been found, and the way people have been doing it was a glitch.

I'm pretty sure everyone agrees that the upgraded wonder weapon was supposed to be in the game, since the pack-a-punch version does actually exist (have a name, particle effects change, etc) so I would say that they count. The skill it takes to get to the higher rounds is still there.

 

Maybe upgrading the wonder weapon without glitching it is a reward from the EE that we didn't figure out yet? I don't know, just throwing out a theory.

Edited November 14, 2015 by shirtlesservice

[shirtlesservice]

14 hours ago, Ragdo11706 said:

Did you include the strat inside the Ruby Rabbit. That's another fast efficient strat to run. 

 

I would also suggest the Burlesque Dancers area. This is another spot that will take advantage of the spawn control. Also another area with plenty of room to move around. Only one exit thou. 

Where did you find footage of these? I can't find anything showing them

[shirtlesservice]

Updated the post with all the video's creators and as many of the strategy creators as I could find.

[Chopper]

Great thread mate.

 

I wouldn't worry too much about who created anything.  Zombies has been out long enough with enough great players that every strategy is thought of by multiple people.

 

Scottie and Steve had run everything you have shown before general release for instance.

The red room found me and 2 friends in there on our first co-op run. I alluded to it in my guide with not opening doors to trains.

 

It's a shame but its true.

 

 

[shirtlesservice]

21 minutes ago, Chopper said:

Great thread mate.

 

I wouldn't worry too much about who created anything.  Zombies has been out long enough with enough great players that every strategy is thought of by multiple people.

 

Scottie and Steve had run everything you have shown before general release for instance.

The red room found me and 2 friends in there on our first co-op run. I alluded to it in my guide with not opening doors to trains.

 

It's a shame but its true.

 

 

I figured this, guys like Steve always get there first :D I'll just leave it with the video creators then, that's easy enough.

[Ragdo11706]

The strategy in the Ruby Rabbit Scotti3 ran has by far got to be the fastest. GG on 168!

[boybad]

Agree with Rissole25.
It is a real shame that using glitches is accepted to claim world records.

[BestOfAllTime32]

Well now that it has been patched, I think calling anyone who used the glitch the World record holder is illegitimate. 

 

When it was available to everyone and anyone, I think it is a legit record, but now that it has been patched, it has to have an asterisk, and be referred to as record with glitch because it's going to be a lot harder to hit the record with a third of the ammo.

 

It also invalidates most of these strategies, unfortunately. There just isn't enough ammo to do a lot of these.

[Chopper]

@boybadIt's all relative.

 

I'm going to go off on a little tangent for a minute.  I was talking to Scottie and Steve a few days ago regarding this entire issue and we had a lot of feedback from their viewers.

 

Is locking the astronaut on Moon on one side of the map using the excavators a glitch?  No, it's use of the game mechanics.

Is locking the astronaut between pads in the Dome a glitch?  Yes, it clearly is.

 

Only one of these methods is accepted on ZombieLegends or ZombieRecords which makes no sense to me.

Using the excavators takes maybe 20 minutes longer let's say.  When the world record is close to 80 hours or so, does it really matter?

 

Being realistic, there are maybe 20 people who could ever claim an actual world record for a few reasons.

• The time it takes is mind-boggling.
• The skill it takes is unique.  Lots and lots of people can get to 50 with no downs.  To get to 150 with no downs is so different they might as well be different games.
• To be accepted onto the 2 leaderboard sites, you need to stream the entire gameplay.

Here's how all that comes across to me.

• Normal people can't ever get a world record.
• The Treyarch leaderboards will eventually be full of modders and therefore hold no tangible value.
• The above point means that we need places to go for 'legit' records.
• The leaderboard sites are moderated by that particular community, of less than a 1000 people.
• Whatever those people accept, is what goes in their world.

Glitching to triple the ammo in a gun isn't the same as glitching on a table in Five for instance.

You still have to put in the work and play the game.

I watched Scottie spend like 20 minutes going around SOE trying to get an ammo from digging and whatnot.  With an entire pack of crazy zombies, some of which randomly respawn.  You know how easy it is to screw up doing something like that?

 

If Treyarch permanently remove the ability to PAP that gun, more than likely it will be decided that it isn't to be used.

I tell you something though, it will still be one of the guys from those sites that hold the record, or at least the majority accepted record.

 

There are many people already over a hundred on SOE, and from what I've seen all come from those places, or that community.

So in my opinion, that community can decide what's legit and what's not.

 

I don't get why Treyarch want to limit the gun the way they have.  I understand that it's their game and they are free to choose how they make it, but leaving it so you have to use a wall-gun double PAPed to kill forever (which btw is what an awful lot of people want) yet removed the killing length of the wonder weapon is pointless. 

 

[superstudmuffin]

The way I see it as these people are seriously skilled at what they do, the footage confirms this regardless of the playing conditions at the time. However the problem when Treyarch have knee jerk reaction to restrict anything they are not hurting these players. They are hurting the majority of their players.

 

i can't speak for everyone but from experience, I've played maybe 10 games since release. Work commitments, family etc take priority over playing video games. Only to find out someone has not turned their PS4 off for 2 weeks has already taken advantage of a NON properly tested game and claim records.

 

look I'm not complaining as far as I see it these blokes in fact do hold the record, what pisses me off is Treyarch moves the goal posts mid game and make it unachievable for anyone else.

[shirtlesservice]

8 hours ago, superstudmuffin said:

look I'm not complaining as far as I see it these blokes in fact do hold the record, what pisses me off is Treyarch moves the goal posts mid game and make it unachievable for anyone else.

There has to be a way to upgrade it legitimately, otherwise it Treyarch wouldn't put it in the game in the first place. Fear not, we will find a way.

 

Or someone will anyway, then we'll all do that.

 

In the mean time, are there any other strategies that anyone has seen that I don't have up yet? Anything to add?

[boybad]

 

I hardly play solo, so team strategies is my main interest... maybe i should get a team to get 4 guns PaP them and get a world record with 4 players...

 

ohh hang on that may be cheating.

[shirtlesservice]

6 minutes ago, boybad said:

 

I hardly play solo, so team strategies is my main interest... maybe i should get a team to get 4 guns PaP them and get a world record with 4 players...

 

ohh hang on that may be cheating.

.....What?

[boybad]

........What?

[shirtlesservice]

11 minutes ago, boybad said:

........What?

I don't understand how pack-a-punching 4 guns and using your camping strategy could be considered cheating in the current game state... I do see the point of how using a glitch to upgrade a weapon that clearly wasn't meant to be upgraded (because it was patched) could be.

 

To be clear, I'm just playing devils advocate here, I think the records are legit and the skill it takes to develop strategies and get to the high rounds is definitely present, but I can totally see how they were taking advantage of Treyarch having not foreseen the glitch. 

[boybad]

I think it would be cheap, it feels cheap, i mean 100black holes + ammo bubblegums + ammo meatball step... basically MAX every round.
This method will be the easiest strat with 4 players in the history of COD zombies. Not something i would make a video about, or be proud of doing..

Nothing wrong with the strategies, they are all very nice indeed.

[shirtlesservice]

19 hours ago, boybad said:

I think it would be cheap, it feels cheap, i mean 100black holes + ammo bubblegums + ammo meatball step... basically MAX every round.
This method will be the easiest strat with 4 players in the history of COD zombies. Not something i would make a video about, or be proud of doing..

Nothing wrong with the strategies, they are all very nice indeed.

I feel like most good camping strategies with 4 people is like this though. On shadows of evil it's just easier because of double pap and widows wine and such, not even taking into account the wonder weapon.

[Megaton A]

PaPing the wonderweapon was patched? Has the patch not come to the Xbox One yet or something? Because I just did it tonight. First time I ever did it, actually.

[shirtlesservice]

5 hours ago, Megaton A said:

PaPing the wonderweapon was patched? Has the patch not come to the Xbox One yet or something? Because I just did it tonight. First time I ever did it, actually.

Same, last night I did it on ps4. It seems to work just fine for me

[83457]

I'm in over my head here. New to soe, just hit a mere 25 running trains with non pap... But i wanted to point out a spot that I've found to be surprisingly easy, but i can't say how it plays in the long run and it will never be the best spot...

 

But if you find yourself near the boxing ring in the waterfront district, just behind the ring is a build table, left of the table (while looking at the table) is a ramp coming down around a corner to the table. Running a C shape up and down that ramp was quite easy. Sure beats trying to run around the boxing building or the dock there, should you end up in the area. Doors open/closed nearby didn't seem to matter much.

 

Shrug, just something to keep in mind.