Things to Do First in Ashes of the Damned – BO7 Zombies

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Check out our ranking of the best training spots in Ashes of the Damned!

Free T.E.D.D. From the Server Room and Get Ol’ Tessie Moving

By Round 3, It’s Time to Leave Janus Towers Plaza

When you start playing Ashes of the Damned, prioritize getting ‘Critical Kills’ – eliminate zombies with headshots. These earn you 115 Essence (points) each, which is 25 more than a standard kill. Once you’ve collected 1,250 Essence, go south of where you spawned to Janus Towers Plaza and unlock the Server Room. Inside, look for a grate on the floor in the southwest corner. Break it open with a melee attack to reveal T.E.D.D.’s Head. Pick it up and take it to Ol’ Tessie, the truck parked outside the Server Room. Interacting with Ol’ Tessie while you have T.E.D.D.’s Head will activate her as a drivable vehicle. Ol’ Tessie is crucial for navigating this map, so stick close to her!

Travel to Vandorn Farm and Activate the Power

Vandorn Farm Remains the Best Training Spot to Farm Essence and Salvage

Now that you have the vehicle, Ol’ Tessie, get in and use the right triggers (RT/R2) to speed up and the left stick to steer. Drive east from Janus Towers Plaza – you’ll see wooden barriers blocking the way. Breaking through these barriers will lead you to the next area. You could go west, but heading east to Vandorn Farm is the easiest and safest route for defeating zombies. Be careful driving through the fog between locations, as lots of zombies will appear. Focus on the road, and drive through the glowing green Dark Aether plants to repair Ol’ Tessie and collect free Essence and Salvage. Just steer clear of the red plants!

After reaching Vandorn Farm, go to the Power Pump on the north side and shoot all the glowing bulbs with your weapon. You have 30 seconds to destroy them all, including a final one that appears on top of the Pump. Once you’ve done that, head south and open the Barn – it costs 1,750 Essence. Inside the Barn, upstairs, you’ll find a switch that unlocks Perks and The Arsenal at Vandorn Farm. These Perks will be helpful right now, so it’s best to stay in this area for a few rounds to collect more Essence. We recommend sticking around until you can buy Tier 2 Armor from the Garage for 4,000 Essence, which will give you better protection against zombies. Then, when you have at least 5,000 Essence, you can move on to Ashwood.

Head to Ashwood for All Your Upgrades, Including Pack-a-Punch

Ashwood Has Pack-a-Punch, The Arsenal, and Essential Crutch Perks for Survival

Okay, so by around Round 7, you’ll want to head towards Ashwood. The way to get there is pretty straightforward – just hop on Ol’ Tessie and go through that new gate that opened up to the south. That’ll take you right through the Grounded Ship and eventually to Ashwood. Don’t worry, it’s a pretty linear path through the ship, and there are green plants everywhere if you need to heal. Once you get to Ashwood, park Ol’ Tessie near the locked garage. Then, look east and you’ll see a zipline that takes you up to the higher parts of town. Once you’re inside, go right and open the locked door at Market Square – it costs 1,000 Essence. Then, do the same at Judgement Square for 1,750 Essence. That’ll get you to Ashwood Bridge, where there’s another Power Pump you can activate. You’ve got to shoot all the bulbs within 30 seconds, so be quick!

Once the Power Pump is on and the Power Switch is flipped, the garage where you parked Ol’ Tessie will open, letting you drive inside. Inside the workshop, on the west wall, you’ll find the Pack-a-Punch Machine. Using it on Ol’ Tessie is a key upgrade – it adds a speed boost for the car and lets you upgrade your weapons using the truck’s rear.

Focus On Acquiring Salvage and Essence for Additional Upgrades

It’s Time to Upgrade Your Gun and Grab Vital Perks

Now that you’ve unlocked Pack-a-Punch, use your Essence to improve your gear. You likely already have good armor, so let’s focus on increasing your damage. Spend 5,000 Essence to upgrade your main weapon at Ol’ Tessie using Pack-a-Punch – you’ll definitely feel the difference! For an even bigger boost, take the east zipline to Judgement Square and spend 500 Salvage at The Arsenal to upgrade your weapon’s rarity. Around round 8 or 9, you should now have a powerful Pack-a-Punch weapon, solid armor, and increased weapon damage.

For now, stick around Ashwood and collect Essence by killing zombies. Once you have 5,500 Essence, use the zipline to return to Ashwood Bridge and go into The Ruby Rabbit. Downstairs, on the north wall, you’ll find Jugger-Nog, which increases your health. You can also get Vulture Aid in the Market Square if you want – it gives you more items dropped by enemies, like Essence, Salvage, and Equipment. These are all helpful early on because Salvage improves your weapon quality and Essence lets you buy Perks and upgrade your weapons.

Fill Out the Map and Grab Additional Perks

Get More Essence to Open the Map and Grab Even More Perks

Now that you’ve unlocked Pack-a-Punch, Jugger-Nog, and Vulture Aid, you can move on from Ashwood – it’s not a very efficient place to earn points. Head southwest in Ol’ Tessie and drive through the Orda Graveyard to reach Exit 115. This area is perfect for earning points because of its long streets and plenty of cover. Once you’re there, spend 500 Essence to unlock McDougal’s Service Station in the southwest corner, where you’ll find the Deadshot Daiquiri perk. This perk automatically aims for headshots, which deal extra damage. With three perks already, focus on earning 10,000 Essence by killing zombies in this area. Then, use that Essence to upgrade to Tier 3 Armor, which will significantly increase your survivability. Don’t forget to repair your armor when it gets damaged, and Vulture Aid will help you collect more armor plates from zombies.

Now that you have 3 Perks and Tier 3 armor, it’s time to return to Ashwood with Ol’ Tessie. From there, head northwest through the Lost Cabins to reach Blackwater Lake. While you’re there, activate the Power Pump and enter the cabin – if you have 1,750 Essence, you can get Speed Cola upstairs. This perk will help you reload and equip armor plates much faster, which is useful when the zombie attacks increase. Finally, go back to Janus Towers Plaza (the starting area) and buy Quick Revive in the Server Room. This last perk will allow you to regain health more quickly.

Complete T.E.D.D. Tasks and Prepare for the Fight of Your Life

Earn Free Perks and More with T.E.D.D. Tasks, and Invest in the Napalm Burst Ammo Mod

You’ll eventually start getting alerts on your screen at the beginning of each round saying “A T.E.D.D. Task Has Appeared,” along with where to find it. It’s always worth going out of your way to complete these tasks! They only cost about 500 Essence, and you’ll get Salvage, more Essence, free weapon upgrades, and even a free Perk as a reward. Best of all, this Perk doesn’t add to the cost of your next one.

You should have around 500 Salvage thanks to completing the T.E.D.D. Task and collecting Salvage from plants and Vulture Aid stations. Take that Salvage to any Arsenal Machine. We suggest going back to the Farm for a safe place to fight zombies. Buy the Napalm Burst Ammo Mod – it’s very effective against Zursa, which are tough zombie bears. Once you’ve upgraded your weapon with Pack-a-Punch, any additional upgrades, and the Napalm Burst mod, you’re ready for the main challenge in this round-based survival mode. Zursa will appear in Round 16, and you can defeat it quickly by shooting its glowing weak points and head.

Just keep buying Perks with Essence as you find them on the map, work your way up to Tier 3 Pack-a-Punch, and use Salvage to improve your weapons.

Ready to jump out of Zombies? Check in here to Exfil and leave as a winner!

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2025-11-14 20:37