Black Ops 6 Zombies Grief mode explained

Although Black Ops 6 Zombies doesn’t get a new map in Season 4, the devs are bringing back the fan-favorite Grief mode that hasn’t been seen since Black Ops 2.

Zombies has always traditionally been you against wave after wave of the undead. However, Grief changes things up by making it competitive, where you’re going up against another team to see who can survive the longest.

The mode was last seen in 2012’s Black Ops 2, and it returns with the Season 4 update on May 29. We already have a ton of details about it, so we’re breaking down how it works.

What is Grief in Black Ops 6 Zombies?

Grief is a 4v4 competitive mode in Black Ops 6 Zombies, where your team has to outlast the other team to claim victory.

While you can’t damage the other team, you can hinder them by body-blocking them, slowing them down by hitting them with melee weapons and shooting them, or by capturing zones to give them debuffs.

The first team to have all four members dead or down will lose, but don’t give up if you’re the last alive, as your team will be revived every three rounds.

Capture Zones explained

Capture Zones will spawn regularly throughout a match, and by stepping inside them and securing enough kills, you’ll trigger ‘Grief’ on the other team (give them a debuff).

Activision

If neither team secures the capture zone, then Grief will be applied to both teams, so you can’t ignore them.

Here are all the different types of Grief:

• Weapon Nerf: The affected players inflict considerably reduced damage to zombie enemies.
• Ammo Drain: All ammo-based weapons, including those stowed, receive an ammo drain with bullets or shells being removed constantly while the Grief is active.
• Zombie Ambush: An Elite zombie is summoned, and it solely focuses its killing power on the enemy team until either the Elite or the team are defeated, or the timer runs out.
• Weapon Carousel: The rival players’ weapons are randomly swapped every few seconds.
• Frozen: This Grief reduces the enemy players’ movement, along with frost and ice coating the characters.

All map arenas

Every Zombies map is available in Grief, but they’re chopped up into different arenas to keep teams together. Doors will be open, the power will be on, and if an important item or machine isn’t in the area, it’ll be added in a new location.

Activision

Here are all of the arenas and the POIs they include:

• Liberty Falls Arena 1: Pump & Pay, Motor Lodge, and Fuller’s Liberty Lanes
• Liberty Falls Arena 2: Dark Aether Church, Cemetery, Hilltop
• Terminus Arena 1: Bio Lab
• Terminus Arena 2: Crab Island 
• Citadelle des Morts Arena: Courtyard, Ramparts, and Entrance Hall
• The Tomb Arena 1: Dig Site, Mausoleum
• The Tomb Arena 2: Dark Aether Nexus
• Shattered Veil Arena 1: Garden Pond, Lower Terrace
• Shattered Veil Arena 2: Upper Terrace, Shem’s Henge, Motor Court
• Shattered Veil Arena 3: Mansion Foyer, Overlook, East Foyer, Library
• Shattered Veil Arena 4: West Hallways, Southwest Balcony, Bottlery

Restrictions

Much like Ranked Play, there are certain restrictions to keep the mode balanced:

• Wonder Weapons
• GobbleGums: Exit Strategy, Idle Eyes, Wonderbar!, Time Out, and Flavor Hex (Season 4 GobbleGum)
• All main quests disabled

While there isn’t a new map in Season 4, there’s still at least one more to come before Call of Duty 2025, as the Janus Towers map was revealed at the end of the Shattered Veil Easter Egg.