COD Black Ops 7: Nightmare Guide & Tips

Nightmare is the main boss of the Distortion mission, featuring three independent faces, growth attacks, and hallucination phases. Defeating it requires timing your shots, surviving illusions, and destroying each exposed core.

What is Nightmare in COD Black Ops 7

Nightmare is a major multi-phase boss enemy encountered in the Distortion mission. It attacks using large growths from its mouth and triggers hallucinations that distort visuals and movement perception. The boss is divided into three separate faces, each containing a vulnerable growth core that must be destroyed to finish the encounter.

COD Black Ops 7 Nightmare overview

How to defeat Nightmare

The boss exposes the core inside its face for short moments. These brief openings are your only reliable damage windows. You must hit each face directly when it opens, avoid the face slam attacks, survive hallucinations, and repeat the cycle until all three faces are destroyed.

Step by step guide to defeat Nightmare

Phase: 1

Step 1: Identify the active face

Watch which face wakes up first so you know where the first attacks and openings will appear.

Step 2: Weaken the nightmare by destroying the growths

Attack the growth on nightmare to deal more damage and weaken it.

Step 3: Dodge the AOV attack from Nightmare

Time your dodge just as the Nightmare Boss lifts its arm—this signals the AOV strike is about to land.

Step 4: Use Grappling Hook to get better angle

Use the Grappling Hook to escape the chaos, get to higher ground, and attack the Nightmare boss from a better position and escape the AOV attacks

Phase: 2

Step 1: Avoid the face strike

The active face lunges forward with a heavy growth-lined strike. Keep strafing sideways to prevent taking direct damage.

Step 2: Aim at the face core

When the face opens, the central core becomes visible. Shoot directly into the face to deal maximum damage.

Phase: 3

Step 1: Handle hallucination phase

When hallucinations begin, your vision blurs and enemy shapes distort. Move constantly and use a healing item immediately to stay safe through chip damage until the arena clears.

Step 2: Repeat for the next face

Each new face repeats the pattern but becomes faster with shorter core openings. Stay patient and wait for safe opportunities to attack.

Step 3: Destroy the final face

The last phase is the quickest and most aggressive. Use high-damage or rapid-fire weapons to break the final face core before its attacks overwhelm you.

Nightmare combat tips

• Always attack the face when it opens — that’s the only true weak-point exposure.
• Stay mid-range so you can read the face strike animation clearly.
• LMGs, ARs, or fast-firing weapons help break each face faster.
• Heal immediately when hallucination starts to avoid surprise deaths.
• Reposition between phases to reload and prepare for the next face attack.

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