How do you complete the BO6 Reckoning main quest? The time is here. The final Zombies map of Black Ops 6 arrived with Season 5, and we're not ready for the end. It feels like only yesterday we took our first steps in Liberty Falls, and now we're finally close to getting Sam back. Maybe.
As with each of the Zombies maps before it, there is an epic main quest to discover when playing Reckoning, the fifth and final map of the Black Ops 6 Zombies story. This is the most epic (and complex) quest in the zombie game yet, and it even offers you choices, each with its own unique rewards. So, if you're ready to find out how this all ends, here's how to complete the BO6 Zombies Reckoning main quest.
As ever, you can complete many of these tasks in a different order, so once you've tried it out, feel free to rearrange things to your preference. However, we've tried to list the actions in the most logical order to save time and travel.
Here are the steps to completing the Reckoning main quest:
- Move the mop bucket at spawn to underneath the sprinkler system (this will be important later).
- Now, while following the early-game instructions, make your way to the Mutant Research Lab to the left of reception. Pick up the syringe.
- Kill the Geneticist special zombie who only spawns in the Research Lab and collect the Key Card. Use the key card to pick up the DNA Vial.
- Next, go to Android Assembly and collect Klaus' legs (pick up his arms during Klaus rounds).
- Follow the remaining quest directions by heading to Sublevel 10 and activating the Particle Accelerator. This unlocks the PaP machine.
- Dislodge the levitating corpse and gather a blood sample. Return it to the lab.
- Defeat the Fowler Mangler and collect the Fowler Mutant Injection.
- Use the special Mutant Injection to open the Teleportation Lab.
- Find SAM Files around the map and decipher the code for the Teleportation Lab computer.
- Return to the lab and find the words showing on two static monitors. Decipher them on the Periodic table.
- Unlock the room above the Mutant Research Test Area using the atomic number you have just deciphered.
- Charge the cyst by killing zombies in this room, then pick it up.
- Drop down to the Quantum Computing Core and power the cyst by draining health from glowing mushrooms.
- Still in the Quantum Computing Core, buy Melee Machiatto and punch the Project Janus storage container.
- Collect the brain and quickly carry it to the identical storage container in the Teleportation Lab.
- Now return to the containment room, and interact with four computers to cause a power surge.
- Defeat four variations of Uber Klaus and interact with his item drop to form the Gorgofex Wonder Weapon.
- Once you have collected Klaus parts, return to the Android Assembly room and build him. Then complete a round while Klaus uses the computer in the same room.
- In the next round, follow Klaus, then activate and complete the SAM trial that spawns. Complete another round, and Klaus will go to the Teleportation Lab.
- Return to Sublevel 10 (PaP room), interact with the computer in the office, defeat Quantum Vermin, and kill zombies.
- Collect the blue orb from outside the office here, and return to the Teleportation Lab. Do not shoot your Wonder Weapon.
- Now you can shoot it, directing a charged shot at the broken portal in the Teleportation Lab to break the crystals.
- Head back up to the Executive Suites, look down the hole in the floor to the Quantum Computing Lab, and use a charged Gorgofex shot on the spore (image below).
- Drop down and collect the head before heading all the way down to the reception area.
- Place the head in the mop bucket from the start and pick it up again once it's clean. You now need to charge the head up with kills as you carry it.
- Return the head to the Teleportation Lab and place it in the portal. This unlocks Vacuum Seal Device containers around the map.
- Collect Vacuum Seal Devices from these containers (images below) and use them to collect floating purple objects nearby. Do this four times.
- Return once again to the Teleportation Lab and interact with the console in front of the portal to activate it.
- Prepare for and enter the boss fight.
Pick up the syringe in the Mutant Research Lab
The syringe is located next to the large mutant container on the ground floor, shown above. Since this is not Directed mode, there is no prompt on the item, but if you walk up to the box and interact with it, it will open and give you the syringe.
Use the key card to obtain the DNA Vial
The DNA Vial is located in refrigerated storage in the Mutant Research Test Area, shown above. Interact with the fridge once you have the key card, and it will open, revealing the vial inside.
All Klaus legs locations
There are four places you might find Klaus' legs, and all are in the Android Assembly area. There will be two for you to collect:
- On a shelf behind the Klaus production line
- On the ground to the far left of the armor upgrade
- By the broken automatic door near Klaus' torso
- In a box by the elevator
His arms, meanwhile, have a chance to drop from special Klaus rounds, so be careful to note where you shoot them down, and check the ground afterwards. Like the legs, there are two arms, but you can only get a maximum of one per round.
To build Klaus, find his torso hanging near the teleporter in the Android Assembly area and interact with it once you have all the parts.
Obtaining a blood sample
To get a blood sample you must first have collected the syringe, and then must knock down the floating corpse in Sublevel 10. To do the latter, jump into the Particle Accelerator beam to be turned into a ball of energy. Knocking something causes you to fall to the ground, so make sure the first and only thing you hit is the corpse. Both you and the corpse will drop to the floor. You can try this as many times as you need.
Provided you have the syringe, you can then interact with the body once it's on the ground to extract the sample. Take the syringe back to where you found it, but remember that placing it automatically spawns the Fowler Mutant.
Open the Teleportation Lab
Once you have defeated the Fowler Mutant and obtained the special Mutant Injection - remember this isn't the same one you can craft - head to Entity Containment. Walk over to the retinal scanner seen in the image above, located upstairs, and activate your injection. You'll be scanned and allowed to enter the Teleportation Lab.
SAM Files locations and how to decipher them
There are a few places you can find SAM Files, and you'll need to locate four of them:
- The Director's Office desk
- The Director's Office coffee table
- The Director's office TV cabinet
- The Executive Suite large table
- An Executive Suite round coffee table
- The Executive Suite desk
Interact with the files to read the note, and jot down the number of the item and the month of archive. The four numbers provide the code you're looking for, in the order of the months - earliest to latest.
For example, if your notes read:
- 1. 10th month
- 3. 7th month
- 4. 8th month
- 6. 2nd month
Your code would be 6341. Head back to the teleportation lab and enter the code into the computer.
Decipher the Periodic Table code
Head back down to the Mutant Research Lab, where two of the screens showing vertical static now flash up with a green word. This gives you the code for the room above the Mutant Research Test Area.
- Take the first letter of each of these words to make a chemical symbol
- Find that chemical symbol on the Periodic Table
- Use that number, prefixed with zero (either 0XX or 00X), on the keypad by one of the upstairs doors.
Enter the room and complete one or two rounds in here. You'll notice that most zombies turn into Vermin, which must be killed in this room to charge the Cyst. After some time, you'll be able to pick up the Cyst, sitting in one of the machines at the front of the room. You won't be able to interact with it until it's fully charged.
Take the cyst to the Quantum Computing Lab
With the cyst now in hand, drop down through the hole in the floor to the Quantum Computing Lab - the glowing, Aetheric, fungal area. It's a good idea to have one zombie alive at the end of a round to complete the next step.
Find a large, glowing mushroom with yellow particles gushing from it. Stand beneath it, and you'll automatically hold out the cyst, improving its Aetheric Flora Health with the pollen from the mushroom. Stand here until complete, then move on to the next. There are three in total, and you'll know you're in the right place when your character holds the cyst in their hand.
Beware that these mushrooms drop poisonous liquid that deals damage to you. Simply keep moving out of the area of effect, while remaining close to the fungus.
Collect the brain
With Melee Machiatto equipped, punch the containment machine in the Quantum Computing Lab shown above. You can then pick the brain up, but beware, this will start a countdown.
With the brain in hand, head back to the Teleportation Room as quickly as possible. Make sure you've unlocked all passages. If you don't make it, you can try again. If you do, place the brain in the identical storage unit in the Teleportation room for now.
Cause a power surge in the Containment room
Now you can head back to the Dark Entity Containment room, and you'll hear one of the computer decks beeping. On it, you'll see the words 'Initiate Power Surge' and will be able to interact with it, starting a very fast countdown timer. Again, this is a good time to have one or two zombies alive to hold up the round.
Once triggered, you must activate all four computers before the timer runs out. Turn to your left from the first PC to find the second. Then, to your left again for the third - the quickest path is to jump over these two. The fourth and final system is then behind you. This is easier with more than one player, but you might also want someone to distract zombies.
Defeat Uber Klaus
Triggering the power surge causes an Uber Klaus boss to appear. Get him to low health before killing him on the now electrified panel in front of The Forsaken (the eye inside the containment box).
Next, defeat the Uber Klaus Core, causing a more powerful Uber Klaus to appear. This is the third and final phase, and this Uber Klaus drops an item when defeated.
Collect the Fungal Head
By using a charged Gorgofex shot on the spore shown in the image above, as viewed from the hole in the floor in the Mutant Research Lab, the Fungal Head will drop. Take it downstairs (or rather drop through the floor again) and place it in the bucket that should now be filled with water (see the first step above).
Once clean, pick the head up again, and it will turn into a soul box, meaning you need to feed it with kills. As you're carrying it, you are the area around which these kills must happen, making it fairly easy. As you get kills, carry the head to the Teleportation Lab, and, once charged, place it in the portal.
Vacuum Seal Devices
Vacuum seal devices can be seen around the map from the start, but before you activate the portal using the Fungal Head, they will be locked. Now, items will be floating nearby and glowing purple, and the boxes will be open.
Locate four of these boxes, interact with them to remove the Vacuum Seal Devices, and use them to capture the glowing items. Be sure to pick them back up again, and carry all four back to the Teleportation Lab once more. Place them inside the console in front of the portal to activate the boss fight portal.
Prepare for the boss fight(s)
Now take your time to prepare for the boss fight of your choice. That's right, for the first time ever you can choose the ending to this zombies story. Spoilers ahead.
Through your time in Reckoning, provided you're playing as one of the story characters, the voicelines will hint that you have to choose between SAM and Richtoffen as the fight comes to a close. The options given to you when you enter the boss fight are who to battle, so if you're hoping to save SAM, be sure to choose the other fight and vice versa.
Reckoning main quest rewards
As ever, completing the Reckoning main quest before it gets added to BO6 Directed mode grants you exclusive rewards, with the Calling Card reward changing forever once Directed mode is added. For completing this final act, there are more rewards for any of the maps so far:
- 'Blood, Sweat, an' Gears' Operator Skin for Grey
- A Weapon Charm
- Different Calling Cards for each ending
- XP rewards
So, that's it, whichever ending you choose, the BO6 Reckoning main quest closes the book on BO6 Zombies. We recommend you complete both if you can, though, and do so before Directed mode is released for the final Zombies map to claim your exclusive rewards. Don't forget to also check out the Reckoning secret song, using our guide to trigger the special track.