Moon

Moon moves the Ultimis crew off Earth to Griffin Station, a Group 935 base on the lunar surface, and it is the most mechanically dense map in the original saga. Low gravity in the Biodome and out on the surface, sealed rooms that vent to vacuum when an excavator drills into them, a spacesuit you have to wear outside, and a teleporter that shuttles the crew back to Area 51 on Earth all sit on top of the usual round-based survival — and this is where the original storyline reaches its climax.

Power

The power switch is in the central underground labs, reached from the Receiving Bay spawn through Tunnel 6 or Tunnel 11. Turning it on pressurises the enclosed rooms — restoring their oxygen and artificial gravity — and brings the perk machines and lighting online. It also wakes the three excavators, Pi, Omicron and Epsilon, which from then on periodically drill into Tunnel 6, Tunnel 11 and the Biodome and vent those areas to vacuum until their control panels are dealt with.

Pack-a-Punch

Pack-a-Punch is not on the Moon at all — it sits back at Area 51 on Earth, the same no-man’s-land the match opens in. Everyone stands on the teleporter pad together to travel between the two, and the machine costs the usual 5,000 points. Area 51 has no rounds: zombies pour in continuously and only escalate the longer you linger, so it is a place you visit and leave rather than fight in, and you cannot make the return trip twice in the same round.

Wonder weapon: the Wave Gun

Moon’s signature weapon is the Wave Gun, pulled from the Mystery Box (a QED can also conjure one). It has two forms you switch between: the combined Wave Gun makes a cluster of zombies cough, swell and burst into red mist, while splitting it hands you the dual-wielded Zap Guns, which drop a single target instantly with a bolt of electricity. Pack-a-Punched, they become the Max Wave Gun and Porter’s X2 Zap Gun.

Equipment: the Hacker, the P.E.S. and the excavators

Two devices define how you move around the station. The P.E.S. — a spacesuit collected from the labs — lets you survive the vacuum of the surface and any breached room. The Hacker, also from the labs, shares that equipment slot and can discount or refund perks and the Box, tamper with power-ups and doors, and stop an excavator breach for a 1,000-point bonus. The Moon-exclusive QED is a wildcard tactical grenade with random effects, and the returning Gersch Device opens a small singularity that pulls zombies in.

Perks

All eight perks can be held at once here — Moon is where Mule Kick debuted, letting you carry a third weapon. Jugger-Nog and Speed Cola sit on the Earth side at Area 51, an access quirk worth planning around, and in solo Quick Revive is the usual cheap self-revive. Completing the main quest permanently grants the surviving player every perk, kept even through a down — the basis of the "Perks in Spaaaaace!" reward.

The Astronaut and staying alive

The map’s special enemy is the Astronaut, a lone figure that walks steadily toward the nearest player and never runs. Let it reach you and its head-butt teleports you somewhere random, steals a perk and drops you to critical health, so it is an enemy to keep at a distance — a Gersch Device or QED at its feet removes it cleanly. Between the vacuum, the low-gravity Biodome and the excavator breaches, positioning matters more here than raw firepower.

Richtofen’s Grand Scheme

The main quest, "Richtofen’s Grand Scheme," runs through two objectives — "Cryogenic Slumber Party" and "Big Bang Theory." Broadly, the crew work a terminal sequence, feed a Vril device into the pyramid device (the MPD) at the map’s centre, and swap Richtofen’s soul with Samantha’s to make him the new master of the undead — then, at Maxis’s urging, fire three rockets at Earth. In the original release full completion needed four players; the Black Ops III remaster allows it solo.

Story

Moon is the finale of the Ultimis storyline. Samantha Maxis had been trapped inside the MPD, the demonic announcer whose voice governed the zombies; on Moon, Richtofen executes the plan he has built toward across the whole saga and takes her place, seizing control of the horde. Maxis, reduced to a disembodied voice, has the crew launch missiles at Earth to check Richtofen’s new power — devastating the planet and setting up the ruined world of the Black Ops II maps.