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Main Quest · Call of the Dead

Ensemble Cast

Call of the Dead’s main quest frees the original crew — Richtofen, Dempsey, Takeo and Nikolai — who are trapped behind a locked door in the Siberian outpost, and hands them the Golden Rod their story needs next. Solo it is the "Stand-in" achievement; in co-op it becomes "Ensemble Cast", which layers extra steps (the frozen vodka, the lighthouse dials, radios and foghorns) onto the same spine. The heart of it is the V-R11 wonder weapon and the lighthouse tractor beam.

Difficulty: ModerateSolo availableSpoilers: medium
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Still from “Call of Duty: Black Ops Escalation - Call of the Dead [Official HD]”
Call of the Dead · Call of Duty via YouTubeOpen route diagram

Preparation

Before you start

Prerequisites

  • • Power on
  • • The V-R11 from the Mystery Box

Walkthrough

Step by step

  1. 01

    Turn on the power

    Throw the switch on the ship’s top deck near the bridge.

  2. 02

    Find the trapped crew

    Melee the locked metal door in the room beneath PhD Flopper and listen — the old crew answers from inside.

  3. 03

    Pull the V-R11 from the Box

    Cycle the Mystery Box until the V-R11 turns up.

    Tip: In co-op, the extra "Ensemble Cast" steps slot in around here — dials, radios, foghorns and the frozen vodka.

  4. 04

    Send a human up the beam

    Shoot a zombie with the V-R11 at the base of the lighthouse so the new human is pulled up the green tractor beam.

  5. 05

    Knock him down for the Golden Rod

    Damage the rising human with explosives or heavy fire before he reaches the top — done right, the Golden Rod drops at the bottom of the stairs.

  6. 06

    Deliver the Golden Rod

    Insert the rod at the tube beside the crew’s door to free them and finish the quest.

    The Golden Rod leaves with the crew — it is the Vril component Richtofen’s plan needs, and it resurfaces on Moon.

Following along in-game? Switch to Guided Mode for one step at a time on a screen you can read at arm's length.

References

  1. 1.Call of the Dead — Call of Duty Wiki — Call of Duty Wiki (Fandom). callofduty.fandom.com · accessed Jul 21, 2026Community-verifiedcorroborate

Last reviewed Jul 15, 2026. Spotted an error? Suggest a correction.