Zombies Map Tier Lists | Podcast Der Toten

[RadZakpak]

Come check out the latest Podcast Der Toten, the official CoDz podcast, featuring myself, @Mattzs, and @Tac. In this week's episode, we share our zombies map tier lists.

 

 

Who had the best list? What does yours look like? Post a comment below!

 

[Tac]

all other opinions are ofc wrong including mattzs and rad

[anonymous]

17 hours ago, Tac said:

all other opinions are ofc wrong including mattzs and rad

No doubt  

[clueless]

Okay prepare for a long in-depth ranking system with some unorthodox picks, going in order of release between Treyarch, Exo Zombies, Infinite Warfare Zombies and WWII Zombies. Keep in mind this list ignores Gobblegum/Fate and Fortune/Consumable/Elixir usage.

 

S) Nacht der Untoten, Moon, Tranzit (+Sectional Maps), Zombies in Spaceland, Alpha Omega

 

Nacht is the original, the first and foremost foundation that laid down at least a decade of Zombies. If nothing else it's here out of respect and humility.

 

Moon is the map I can say I've played more than every other map combined. While it has RNG problems regarding the Easter Egg it is beyond rewarding when it is accomplished and laid the foundation for Easter Eggs in its time. The theme, the vibes, the gameplay was solid and had variety for everyone. BO3 took some of the nostalgic glitches away but gave an even more breathtaking (pun intended) experience that does the map justice.

 

Tranzit. Oh boy, this map does not deserve it from the gameplay side at all, but between it and its smaller parts it was the perfect launch system for any Zombies game ever. The large Easter Egg filled map for veterans and smaller maps of varying difficulties for players learning or just want a quick game of survival. The atmosphere gives the mood of "you reap what you sow", especially if you kept up with BO1. Playing for the first time was chilling seeing how badly the Earth was scarred from our ordeals on the Moon. Unfortunately the map was nothing like it was meant to be, due to a multitude of constraints. If we had gotten what Jimmy envisioned for this map we would have a completely different side of Zombies today, for better or worse we can only leave a mystery.

 

Zombies in Spaceland was given far too much negativity that gave a stigma of it being childish and too cartoony and I take a moment to say there's a reason this map outranks most other maps, including many Treyarch maps. It plays so smoothly, and somehow manages to be an introductory map for new players and a perfect map for zombies veterans at the same time. The boss fight is challenging but rewards players that take the time to understand it, and sadly sets up a story we will never have the conclusion to.

 

Alpha Omega should not be here, but I am overruling this with my bias because the only real issue I have with the map is the Nova 6 Bombers (I guess that's their official names?) which their spawning is easy to control. I'll admit the ventilation system failing in the late 10's/early 20's gave me flashbacks to Carrier, but I quickly learned there was little consequence by not maintaining them and none if you were all set with Pack-a-Punch for the game (which happens often since one of your guns is usually a Ray Gun Mark II Prototype). The Easter Egg is packed with lore and connects many of my favorite plot points, tying both Moon and Tranzit into the mix (among other maps that deserved explanations for certain points) either through gameplay or information. 

 

A) Verrückt, Mob of the Dead, Shadows of Evil, The Giant, Classified, Tag der Toten

 

Verrückt still gives my, a 24 year old, goosebumps. The map is horrific, with a WWII backstory as a tuberculosis sanatorium retrofitted to help the Nazis. And the horrified screams of victims/patients echoing through the halls only added to the factor. Only reason it's not S rank is because of the Verruckt Sprinters.

 

Mob of the Dead and Shadows of Evil both strike the tones of their maps perfectly. The settings, the music, they fit a Lovecraftian City and a Hellscape Prison. The gameplay is fantastic for both, albeit with a long setup that sets them back from being S Rank (anyone else ever have to wait 20+ rounds for the Xenomatter?).

 

The Giant is just a better Der Riese with more lore. Enough said.

 

Classified is just a better FIVE with more lore, while I'm happy they didn't bring back Yuri I am also disappointed we can't rip him a new one here. 

 

Tag der Toten is a great map, and fixes many issues I had with Call of the Dead while building the lore spectacularly through more than just the Easter Egg. While I'm upset we didn't get the Scavenger and V-R11 reworked I'm perfectly fine with the Thundergun being in a Siberian post, and the Wunderwaffe which also makes sense given its the personal lab of Ultimis Richtofen.

 

B) Kino der Toten, ASCENSION, Die Rise, Buried, Der Eisendrache, Revelations, Attack of the Radioactive Thing, The Final Reich, IX, Ancient Evil

 

Kino der Toten is a fun map that covers the basics and has backstory found through tapes and hints throughout the facility. Very straightforward map with one goal: SURVIVE.

 

ASCENSION is also a fun and easy map while switching things up by adding enemies that attack perks, a unique effect only seen again with the Zombie Spaceman. 

 

Die Rise had potential to be better, but still had a solid presence thanks in part to the Sliquifier and the Trample Steam. Not much lore on the surface, but a LOT builds onto the map later on and going back now uncovers an entirely new side to the map.

 

Buried has the most unforgivable step in any Easter Egg, may Monty have mercy on all that try the dreaded Sharpshooter. As a map, it's fun, unique and definitely changes things up from the more dreary locations of the previous maps while still maintaining seriousness. (Plus the LSAT wallbuy bumped it up a grade for me, top notch you guys seriously thank you for making my favorite LMG a 2000 point wallbuy in the spawn room.) The Time Bomb is a hit-or-miss, you'll either have a troll random get it or have someone get everyone a bunch of free perks and set up the true life insurance policy (Richtofen why didn't you stop by here while jumping around for the Kronorium?)

 

Der Eisendrache is Origins older cousin that matured into a better person and made sure to understand the teachings of their relatives. The best of Origins, the best of Moon, the best of Der Riese/The Giant. If there wasn't a bloodbath for the Electric Bow and a bit less of Groph's microphone yelling I'd put this in the A class.

 

Revelations, while one of the most painfully disappointing Easter Eggs ever still makes a solid survival map. Everything is in the box or a Perk, simple enough to play and still complex enough to be enjoyable without going for everything.

 

Attack of the Radioactive Thing has a lot of grounded steps for an Easter Egg, and the layout of the map mixed with the enemies makes a very interesting gameplay flow. Crogs are enemies that are weak from the back which makes you change your pace to match theirs and I liked that. Plus the Chemist Step is NOT as bad as made out to be. Tedious yes but it's simple math and honestly, you're making a damn nuke to feed to the Crogzilla. 

 

The Final Reich is the only map I've done an Easter Egg for on WWII and it was far from enjoyable for me. The boss was amazing but getting there was like pulling teeth. Gameplay is fine as long as I ignore the quests for Wonder Weapons as they're not worth the trouble at all in my opinion.

 

IX is a good introductory map to teach everyone what's changed, but god damn do they throw too many special enemies. Plus you'll notice my seething anger for Blue Catalysts which docks the Chaos maps for single-handedly ruining most experiences when not having a Wonder Weapon or the right Repack.

 

Ancient Evil is actually pretty fun. One of the most tolerable Chaos maps, the Hands of Gods are simple with multiple upgrades that are challenging in their own ways and unique, and the Easter Egg is not only fun but simple enough to keep track of. Sadly it builds up the climax to a story we will never have the conclusion to.

 

C) Der Riese, "FIVE", Call of the Dead, Nuketown Zombies, Origins, Zetsubou no Shima, Shaolin Shuffle, Gröesten Haus, Voyage of Despair, Dead of the Night

 

Der Riese is a classic, but The Giant is better from a gameplay perspective.

 

"FIVE" is a good map but there's only two ways really to deal with the Pentagon Thief properly and Classified has a better gameplay flow.

 

Call of the Dead is great but the Wonder Weapons are lackluster for high rounds or Solo, and George comes back WAY too quick after killing him.

 

Nuketown Zombies is fun but waiting until Round 24 for Jug is not.

 

Origins is good but not great. The Staffs are obviously amazing but you NEED them to play the map. The Easter Egg can be done solo but requires all 4 Staffs to be upgraded which is TEDIOUS. The map has a lot to do but if you don't start early it becomes a very painful uphill struggle, especially if you aren't ready for Round 8.

 

Zetsubou no Shima is both more and less tedious. No Staffs but there's plants you need to tend to for certain utilities and esentially part of the Easter Egg becomes "wait at least 3 rounds and hope you get what you need from this plant". The gameplay is good but the setup kills repeat runs.

 

Shaolin Shuffle is actually pretty fun. Only reason it's low is because of the Ninja Zombies, which if you haven't seen be warned they are quite possibly the worst type of Zombie you will ever experience.

 

Gröesten Haus is Nacht's dollar store knockoff. Simple but also has tanky sword arm heavy enemies and basically a Panzer Soldat in this tight small house.

 

Voyage of Despair I give points for keeping to the real ship but what a pain to maneuver. Even with named locations I get lost in this map, and if a teammate is down they're pretty much dead with how many places enemies can come from. The Easter Egg seems easy but I got cheated of my win by a faulty Homunculus that didn't lure anything and just danced

 

Dead of the Night has FAR too many vampires. They take way too many bullets even with Silver Bullets, while I feel Werewolves take too little. The map was meant to be a launch map and a prologue to Chaos Story but due to constraints it became a DLC map instead and suddenly has little value to the story with the crew already being established. The saving grace of this map is box weapons can be bought ammo with the Silver Bullet mechanic, plus the map itself has a nice aesthetic to it.

 

D) Shi no Numa, Shangri-la, Descent, Gorod Krovi, Rave in the Redwoods, The Frozen Dawn, Blood of the Dead

 

Shi no Numa is simple and never clicked with me. Great EE song, great lore, not a fan of playing the map.

 

Shangri-la broke my TV and I will never forgive it for that. If it didn't have one of my favorite Wonder Weapons it would be at the bottom.

 

Descent forces players into a boss fight in an early round, and the Easter Egg takes so long to do. I don't ever remember beating this before Round 30 minimum. 

 

Gorod Krovi has a painful series of Easter Egg steps varying from "Escort the defiant zombie that runs away from you" to "Simon Says Die". The Gauntlet of Siegfried is so much fun though once you go through a series of tasks to get it. Dragon Boss is fun, Nikolai kills any fun that fight has. Basically need Near-Death Experience to sustain yourself in that fight or have a good Gobblegum to survive.

 

Rave in the Redwoods is another map that I liked but couldn't have it click right. It's fun just...less? Something always felt off when I played it and it's not just the psychedelics. 

 

The Frozen Dawn is one I never bothered playing much due to how close it was to BO4's launch but the weapons were good just a pain to obtain.

 

Blood of the Dead takes what I loved about Mob and butchers it from all ends in the name of lore. The Easter Egg is asinine, the Pack-a-Punch is a pain to chase, and the Acid Gat is a nerf gun compared to its former glory. While the majority of changes are welcomed, and the generic gameplay is fine, the Easter Egg being what it is alone is enough to drag this down.

 

E) Carrier, The Beast from Beyond, The Shadowed Throne

 

Carrier is a toss-up. Easter Egg takes a LONG time, and various threats every round/other round that get progressively worse kill natural progression of the game. The Limbo was a unique weapon that was enjoyable, but fails to make up for the flaws the map has.

 

The Beast from Beyond took my dreams of a Zombies / Cryptid mashup map and crumpled them. Instead we get another map with Ninjas and in bigger numbers too, AND multiple Ripsaw Killers from Rave at once! I would have loved fighting just a variety of Cryptids alongside Zombies, but alas my dreams were killed just as the Extinction story was in this map. On top of that while the Easter Egg is easy to complete, the Boss Fight is such a shitshow without specific variant weapons to basically cheat through the fight.

 

The Shadowed Throne I can honestly say I have no idea what to do. I've tried playing it without guides and I am beyond lost with what to do in this map aside to unlock basic things.

 

F) Infection, The Darkest Shore, The Tortured Path

 

Infection. Do you like escort missions where the helpless escortee decides to fistfight an entire horde of zombies? Entire areas being blocked off to simulate difficulty? Power being cut off to the entire map and all players if you fail a challenge including aforementioned escort missions? Wonder Weapons that make the Jet Gun feel appreciated? Boy do I have a map for you!

 

The Darkest Shore makes me angry. Let's leave it at that.

 

The Tortured Path I'm not sure even fully qualifies as a Zombies map. It's more of 10 rounds of challenges that need to be completed or the game ends in three locations and effectively goes against almost everything that makes up the core of Zombies across every platform it's existed on.

[anonymous]

@clueless Really enjoyed reading these. Curious to your Shangri-La story, tho. Care to explain?

[clueless]

4 minutes ago, anonymous said:

@clueless Really enjoyed reading these. Curious to your Shangri-La story, tho. Care to explain?

My friends and I were all finally online together to do the Shangri-la Easter Egg. We get the game started, we start setting up and then we pressed the four buttons. As soon as I saw them all push inwards my TV died, fading from the outer border to the center. 

[anonymous]

16 hours ago, clueless said:

My friends and I were all finally online together to do the Shangri-la Easter Egg. We get the game started, we start setting up and then we pressed the four buttons. As soon as I saw them all push inwards my TV died, fading from the outer border to the center. 

Wow, almost sounds like pressing the buttons would lead to the death of your TV, kinda creepy