CoD Zombies Season 5 update patch notes: New perk, Outbreak region, Field Upgrades

Brad Norton
Cold War Zombies gameplay

Call of Duty Zombies fans are in luck as Black Ops Cold War Season 5 brought one of the biggest content updates yet. From more Outbreak Regions to a brand new Perk and even a few weapons, here’s everything there is to know.

Hot off the heels of Mauer Der Toten’s release, even more Zombies content just arrived in Cold War’s Season 5 update. Before the patch was deployed, Treyarch revealed everything on the way to both Outbreak and standard Zombies maps.

On one hand, Outbreak players have a new Region to explore along with all-new Objectives. On the other, round-based Zombies players have a new Perk and new equipment at their disposal.

There’s plenty to keep on top of so we’ve got a full overview of everything that arrived as part of the Cold War Season 5 patch.

New CoD Zombies Perk: Death Perception

Cold War Zombies gameplay
Death Perception made its CoD return in Cold War Season 5.

As one of the biggest additions in Season 5, a classic Zombies Perk made its return. Death Perception debuted as the ninth Perk in Cold War after a brief appearance in Black Ops 4.

At its base level, Death Perception highlights “obscured” enemies with a unique outline. If you’re in the dark or struggling to see enemies nearby, this perk will keep you well aware of your surroundings.

As you upgrade Death Perception, however, more powerful effects come into play. Below are the five upgrade tiers for the new Zombies Perk, according to prominent leaker ‘TheMW2Ghost.’

  • Tier 1: Minimap update rate increased.
  • Tier 2: Enemies give danger indicators when behind the player.
  • Tier 3: Gain 20% more looted salvage.
  • Tier 4: Increase armor penetration damage by 10%.
  • Tier 5: Nearby chests, resources, and item drops are outlined through walls.

This new addition is available across both Outbreak and the standard round-based maps.

Tesla Storm Field Upgrade

Zombies gameplay
Chain lightning between teammates with the new Field Upgrade.

Next up in Season 5 is the new Tesla Storm Field Upgrade. Activating this ability will give all nearby Zombies a sudden shock.

Upon triggering the Tesla Storm, lightning chains between you and your teammates, damaging regular Zombies caught in between. If you’re able to upgrade the ability, the lightning will soon be able to stun higher-tier Zombies and also boost movement speed.

New Zombies weapons in Season 5

It wouldn’t be a major seasonal update without new weapons in Zombies. This time around, players are able to get their hands on a deadly Flamethrower.

This new weapon isn’t part of standard loadouts, instead, it can be called in as a Support Weapon when needed.

New Outbreak Region in Season 5: Collateral

Season 5 brings a “huge new region” to Outbreak as Collateral opens up. This “unstable area” in the Algerian Desert is littered with Aetherium as you would expect.

From crashed satellites to oil drills, teams will have plenty of tasks to complete while traveling through Collateral in Season 5.

New Outbreak Objective: Transport

Cold War Zombies gameplay
You’ll have to drive this important vehicle to safety as part of a new Outbreak Objective.

Jumping back into Outbreak, players will notice a brand new Objective type. Transport requires teams to escort a Requiem machine across various parts of the map.

This machine is actually drivable as players can ram through hordes of Zombies from inside the truck.

Tanks arriving in Outbreak

CoD Zombies tank
Tanks should help even the odds in Outbreak.

Not the only new vehicle in Season 5, Tanks are also on the way to help you take down the most challenging foes. Exclusive to Outbreak, Tanks will soon be scattered across the map at various Regions.

One player is able to steer while another mans a mounted minigun on top. What it lacks in speed, it certainly makes up for in firepower.

Grappling Gun Crafting Item

Last but not least in Season 5 is a brand new Crafting Item. With the right resources in hand, players can put together a Grapple Gun for easier traversal.

klaus zombies black ops cold war
Call of Duty Zombies continues to get major Black Ops Cold War updates.

There’s currently no telling what’s required to build the new item, but we’ll be sure to keep you updated here as those details emerge.

Full CoD Zombies Season 5 patch notes

Perks

  • Death Perception
    • New upgradeable Perk now available in the Der Wunderfizz machine in all round-based maps and Outbreak.
    • Obscured enemies are keylined.
      • Skill Tier I – Mini-map update rate is increased.
      • Skill Tier II – Enemies give danger indicators when behind the player.
      • Skill Tier III – Gain 20% more looted Salvage and High-Grade Salvage.
      • Skill Tier IV – Increase armor penetration damage by 25%.
      • Skill Tier V – Nearby chests, resources, and item drops are keylined through walls.
  • Tombstone
    • Players now take 25% less damage in shadow form.
    • Cost has been removed from the Tombstone stash.

Field Upgrades

  • Tesla Storm
    • New Field Upgrade now available in all round-based maps and Outbreak.
    • For 10 seconds, lightning connects to other players, stunning and damaging normal enemies.
      • Skill Tier I – Double the damage dealt to enemies stunned by Tesla Storm.
      • Skill Tier II – Increase the duration to 15 seconds.
      • Skill Tier III – Special enemies can be stunned and damaged by Tesla Storm.
      • Skill Tier IV – Players generating a field gain 25% increased movement speed.
      • Skill Tier V – Elite enemies can be stunned and damaged by Tesla Storm.

Support

  • Flamethrower
    • New Flamethrower Support Weapon available in all round-based maps and Outbreak.

Outbreak

  • Regions
    • Collateral Region now available.
  • Objectives
    • Transport Objective added.
  • Vehicles
    • Tank vehicle added to several Regions.
  • Equipment
    • Grapple Gun added as new Equipment available at the Crafting Table.
  • Enemies
    • Disciple added to Outbreak.
    • Addressed an issue where fire FX were not being applied to Special enemies when using Napalm Burst.
    • Addressed an issue where the Mimic could appear to have two overlapping heads.
  • Intel
    • New Season Five story Intel added throughout Outbreak.
  • Gameplay
    • Omega Helicopter added.
  • Playlists
    • Endless
      • Standard Outbreak experience with the option to Warp or Exfil in all Regions.
    • 3 Region
      • New playlist added. The first two Regions only have the option to Warp, while the third Region will only have the Exfil option.

Round-Based Maps

  • “Mauer Der Toten”
    • Gameplay
      • Added a couple of hidden surprises. 😉
    • Main Quest
      • Addressed an issue where the boss could become stuck when players quickly moved to the next arena during the Main Quest boss fight.
      • Closed an exploit that allowed infinitely charging and activating the Field Upgrade for the canister during the Main Quest.
    • Support
      • Addressed an issue where the screen was too dark when using the Cruise Missile Support, making it difficult to aim.
    • Stability
      • Fixed various stability issues related to Klaus, the Main Quest, and Ammo Caches.
    • PC
      • Addressed an issue where the dials on the safe were not legible when playing at Low or Lowest texture quality settings on PC.
  • General
    • Reduced max Essence for respawning players in round-based maps to 25,000. This will now cap out at Round 25 instead of Round 50.

Dead Ops Arcade 3

  • Bonus Map
    • Added Ikari EggXit bonus map to The Wild.

Onslaught (PlayStation)

  • Maps
    • Echelon added to Onslaught map rotation.
  • Intel
    • Added new Dark Aether story Intel to discover in Onslaught.
  • Modes
    • Onslaught maps can now be selected when playing in Local.

Season Challenges

  • 20 new Zombies Season Challenges available to be revealed and unlocked with exclusive Calling Card and XP rewards.
  • Reveal a new Challenge every 10 Season Levels. Complete all 20 Season Challenges to unlock the Season Five Zombies Master Animated Calling Card.

Blueprints

  • Addressed an issue where applying a Blueprint to a weapon that had been Pack-a-Punched to Tier II or III would reset it to Pack-a-Punch Tier I camo.
  • Addressed an issue where Blueprint weapon skins were not retained when warping to the next Region in Outbreak.
  • Addressed an issue where attachments were being removed from weapons when applying Blueprints with Mule Kick.

Featured Playlists

  • Outbreak (Endless and 3 Region) [NEW]
  • Mauer der Toten
  • Firebase Z
  • Die Maschine
  • Dead Ops Arcade: First Person
  • Dead Ops Arcade
  • Onslaught (PlayStation)
  • Onslaught Echelon (PlayStation) [NEW]
  • Onslaught Accelerated (PlayStation)
  • Onslaught Containment (PlayStation)