Zombies has, since its inception, been more a full-fledged game-within-a-game than it ever was a simple game mode, sporting its very own playerbase that is oftentimes completely separate from the main CoD cohort of fans. Indeed, many a player purchases CoD just to get their hands on Zombies, so beloved and iconic it is.
And, as with every new installment of the game, there exists a number of weapons new and old to choose from; and, as usual, there are numerous changes to sort through.
Some familiar faces return to form and some new entrants make a splash in the arsenal of weaponry to choose from this time around, so follow us while we walk you through our picks for the best guns in Cold War Zombies.
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Cold War Zombies: Best Guns
While there is, arguably, no singular “best” weapon for Zombies, with each player’s playstyle and approach resonating more with certain weapons in the arsenal of zombie-blasting machinery at their disposal, there is a set of characteristics that narrow the field of viable options down significantly.
Rather than contending with quick-thinking, equally-armed human opponents, you’re going to progressively be horded with appropriately multitudinous swarms of mindless zombies.
As such, sniper rifles and — for the most part — other range-oriented weapons generally fall to the wayside in favor of high damage, high output weapons with little down-time.
In a game mode where you’re looking to mow down waves of zombies rather than singular foes, features like magazine size, movement speed, and straight-power become favored over pinpoint accuracy or ADS time.
Operating along those lines, we’ve rounded up the top handful of weapons for slaying zombies en-masses and making it to that glorious Round 255+.
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Ray Gun (Obviously)
One of your first choices for zombie slaying will, of course, be the omnipotent Ray Gun. A longstanding feature of the franchise, this Wonder Weapon does a miraculous amount of damage and sports an AoE — making it the weapon of choice for the aspiring zombie exterminator.
Indeed, the Ray-Gun was so powerful upon release that Treyarch was forced to hard-nerf it to a third of its original damage to prevent it from being, in the truest sense of the word, broken. At all stages.
Even with the nerf, however, the Ray Gun undoubtedly remains the single best weapon in Zombies period. Unlike the rest of the weapons on this list, there is effectively zero debate about the Raygun’s place on any Zombies-gun tier list.
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RPD
The RPD is as straightforward a zombie-killer as zombie-killers come. With a large magazine and tons of damage, the RPD LMG is not only king of the acronym but an excellent choice for players looking to annihilate zombie hordes en-masse. The only true downside to the RPD is the reload-time characteristic to all LMGs.
Because of this, the RPD really, truly shines when you’re popping speed-colas to cut down on the downtime between magazines. Until then, pairing the RPD with a capable alternate to protect you on the off-chance you make a misstep while reloading is a great way to safely escort yourself to the latter rounds of Zombies.
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D.I.E Shockwave
The newest Wonder Weapon on the block, for what the D.I.E Shockwave lacks in outright damage it more than makes up for in utility and satisfaction. As an added bonus, with the right know-how you can use it to turn into the closest thing CoD has ever had to the Last Airbender.
The gun emits a huge blast of energy that passes through whole waves of zombies, damaging each one along the way.
Players firing it right out of the box might be disappointed with its surprisingly low damage — especially when compared to its older sibling, the Raygun. That is, until they start using the left trigger to suck up the souls of the undead.
What makes the Shockwave so effective is this secondary function. The Shockwave can absorb the souls of the undead before, empowering itself and charging it full of ammo.
Suck up enough souls, and the D.I.E Shockwave hits a heck of a lot harder and, more importantly, never requires ammo; its magazine is effectively limitless.
You might not be able to Pack-A-Punch the Shockwave, but you can upgrade it into four Elemental variants, the most popular of which is the D.I.E Electrobolt that specializes in murdering bosses. The shockwave might not be your mainstay, but it’s a great backup for the utility that infinite ammo provides.
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Gallo SA12
Every Zombies installment has had that one shotgun designed almost perfectly to blast undead cadavers en-masse. This time around it’s the bombastic Gallo SA12. With incredible power, trademark AoE, and a surprisingly effective range for a shotgun, the Gallo SA12 can see you through a few dozen rounds with ease.
Pack-A-Punching the Gallo SA12 helps round out the weapon’s lower ammo capacity and keeps its damage sufficient for latter waves.
One of the bonus features of the Gallo is that it can be purchased right off the wall at the Crash Site, making it a ready go-to for anybody looking to get some mileage in Zombies with an accessible setup.
M16
A classic of early CoD games, the M16 is back with a vengeance this time around in Cold War, and Zombies is no exception. An all-around tactical rifle, where it falls short in close-range in Multiplayer, with many dozens of bodies for each burst to find home in, the M16 is a much more versatile weapon. The M16 can be used to mow down waves of enemies or spam headshots on bosses.
But the M16’s true potential is only unlocked with its fully upgraded, fully Pack-A-Punched variety that endows it with a 130 round magazine and 6-round burst — making it truly one of the most spectacular zombie-shredders in the game.
That’s our Cold War Zombies Best Guns list! We hope it helps keep your brains inside your skull and your limbs relatively attached to your body during your Die Maschine rampages. Feel free to shoot any questions at us down below, and don’t forget to check out our Black Ops Cold War Archives!
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