Throughout the Dark Aether story that’s taken place over the last few Call of Duty titles, we’ve only gotten the chance to explore the eponymous realm a few fleeting times. Now, in Season 1 of Modern Warfare 3 Zombies, we have once again broken through the veil of reality to reach this dark reflection of our world. With this new dimension also comes new missions to do and rewards to get, but to get there players will need to complete several quests and Easter Eggs.
These tasks include a fully-fledged Boss Fight and collecting items that some players might struggle with finding. We will show you how to complete the Dark Aether Rift Easter Egg and gain access to the Dark Aether in Modern Warfare 3 Zombies.
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How to Complete “Bad Signal” and Beat Gorm’gant
Note: To gain access to the Dark Aether, you will first need to every mission up through Act 3. This goes all the way up to the “Defeat Zakhaev” mission, which includes the Orcus boss fight.
Once you overcome the Aether Worm, you will gain access to Act 4 and the Mission known as “Bad Signal.” Head to sector F6 and you will find a Dark Aether portal along the coast just outside the High Threat Zone. With the Act 4 mission active, get yourself ready for a massive fight in the Dark Aether.
Weapons You Should Bring
I suggest bringing in any weapon with a large magazine such as an LMG and get it all the way up to Pack a Punch Level 3.
Don’t Forget The Perks
For Perks, you should definitely have Juggernog, Speed Cola, Stamin-Up, Quick Revive, Deadshot Daquiri, and Tombstone Soda.
Did You Pack Armor?
Make sure you come in with a 3-Plate Armor Vest and use Frenzied Guard to get some Armor back if you run out while you fight through the Dark Aether. We also suggest having multiple Self-Revive Kits because the boss fight at the end of the mission can quickly take you out.
Tip
If you are able to track down 1 or 2 Deadbolt Turret Circuits, make sure you take them with you since there is a chance that a Turret can spawn near the boss fight arena. It’s not a great idea to take a bunch of these Circuits as you aren’t guaranteed to have a Turret near the fight and you should definitely prioritize more Self Revive Kits, but having a few if you have extra space won’t hurt.
Dark Aether Portal
Once you interact with the Dark Aether Portal, you will need to open your TacMap and confirm that you want to travel to the Dark Aether. When most of your team (or just you if you’re going in solo) press “Yes,” you will be teleported to the Dark Aether. Once here, you will be tasked with activating 4 Obelisks at these locations on the map, each one having one of the Ammo Mod icons carved into them. Upon activating these Seals, you will need to feed them with collecting Zombies’ Souls by killing them near the Obelisk.
When you fill the bar seen on the left side of the screen, the Seal will explode, revealing a Quest Item that we will track down later on in this Easter Egg. These items include a Dog Collar, A Pill Bottle, a Surveillance Camera, and a Locked Diary. Once you break all the Seals, you will be told to make your way out of the Dark Aether. Head to the South part of the map to find a Portal similar to the one you used to enter this area. As you get close, however, an Aether Worm known as Gorm’gant emerges from the ground and is ready to turn you into lunch.
Gorm’gant Moves
Just like Orcus from the end of Act 3, you will need to target the glowing purple areas of the creature’s body while avoiding his attacks. His moveset includes launching out 4 orbs that will track you and do damage to you when they hit you, quickly eating away at your Armor. The best way to deal with this move is to watch for when the orbs are launched, which you will see when Gorm’gant roars, you can see the orbs fly through the sky in the direction the Worm is facing.
There is a small window of time before the orbs start to track you, so get behind Gorm’gant and then turn back to face the orbs and shoot all of them when they are far away to stop them from even getting close to you.
When Gorm’gant, pulls its head back, run toward the worm and avoid its head smash attack. Also, the boss will shoot a laser into the ground before swiping it up towards you. Once you see the laser, turn to the left or right and quickly sprint to avoid the beam.
Gorm’gant can burrow beneath the ground and then launch you into the air, devouring you. You will need to mash the Parachute button as this is the only chance to survive this move. Once the Worm spits you out, you will pull the chute and make your way back to the ground. If you don’t do this, you will be launched directly into the ground a be downed instantly.
If you get hit by the head of Gorm’gant during its slam attack, it will eat you as well, which will require you to perform the same Parachute-spamming technique.
Defeat Gorm’gant
The best way to defeat this boss is to keep circling the giant worm and keep dumping damage into its weak points. Just keep an eye on Gorm’gant and take out the orbs while avoiding its more direct attacks and pouring on damage whenever you have an opening. If you find yourself low on Armor, use your Frenzied Guard or look in these Aether Crystals around the area as they have a chance of dropping Armor when broken.
If low on ammo, use the Ammo Supply found right on the beach. Keep fighting, avoiding attacks, and doing damage and should be able to take down the boss, which will be made even easier if you have some teammates but even those going it alone should be able to take down this Dark Aether threat.
Once Gorm’gant is defeated, open the Reward Rift that spawns, collect the Locked Diary, and exfil from the Dark Aether. “Bad Signal” is now complete but this Easter Egg is just getting started.
Collect the Pedestal Quest Items
Now that you have the Locked Diary, you will need to collect the 3 other items you saw at the Obelisks in the Dark Aether and bring them to the pedestals at the center of the Aether tornado found on the small island in sector F5.
Placing all of these items on the correct Pedestals will open the Dark Aether Rift that will allow you to reenter the Place Below Creation, where you can complete endgame content with unique and powerful rewards.
These Quest Items can be found in the Urzikstan by performing certain Easter Eggs and can be done in any order, but each one will take you to one of the different Threat Zones, so we will go through the list of items by starting in the Low Threat Zone and going up to the High Threat Zone.
Tip
While you can bring the Locked Diary into your game while you try and get these other Items, I suggest unequipping it and then leaving your match to re-equip the Diary after you get the other Items just so you don’t accidentally end up losing the Diary and be forced to fight Gorm’gant again
Pill Bottle:
You will need to get the Brain Rot Ammo Mod and head to either an Infested Nest or an Infested Stronghold. With your Brain Rot-equipped weapon, shoot one of the Cysts but don’t destroy it. The Cyst will change color and you will be able to interact with it. Once you complete interacting with the Cyst, it will burst and allow you to pick up the Pill Bottle from the destroyed Cyst.
How To Upgrade:
When you pick up the Bottle or any of the other Quest Items, you will notice it is Purple instead of Gold like the Locked Diary. You will need to upgrade the item to the Gold Tier before you can use it on the Pedestals to open your gateway to the Dark Aether. To upgrade the Quest Item, find an Aether Tear. This will launch you into the air and, if you have one of the Quest Items, will allow you to parachute into another Tear that will begin the upgrade progress.
With the Pill Bottle, go through the Green Rift while in the air, and you will teleport above the hotel in the Ghalia Seaside in Sector C5 of the Low Threat Zone along with a Purple Bounty Contract. Pick up the new Contract and hunt down your target. You will come across the HVT along with other Elite enemies which you will need to defeat to get the Reward Rift. Inside this Rift, is the upgraded Pill Bottle.
Surveillance Camera:
This requires you to find an Aether Orb and have the Dead Wire Ammo Mod. When you shoot an Aether Orb with Dead Wire, it will turn gold. Destroy the gold Orb and it will drop the Surveillance Camera. Repeat the process of going through an Aether Tear and then float through an orange tear in the sky to spawn above Sector F7 with another purple Bounty Contract, this time in the Medium Threat Zone. Once again, you will find a gold version of the Camera in the Reward Rift that spawns when the HVT is eliminated.
Dog Collar:
You can get the Dog Collar by putting a Chunk of Flesh and either a Molotov Cocktail or Thermite Grenade into a Dog House found across the map. Here is where you can find Dog Houses across Urzikstan. Putting these items into the House will spawn an enemy Hellhound. Defeat it and it will drop the Collar. Repeat the process with the Aether Rift one last time and go through the floating Red Rift. You will arrive in the High Threat Zone above a building in Sector F4. Defeat the HVT from the third and final purple Bounty Contract to get the golden Dog Collar. If you didn’t bring the Locked Diary, exfil, and load into another match with all 4 Quest Items.
How to Open the Dark Aether Rift
With all the gold Quest Items now acquired, head to the Dark Aether Rift icon in Sector F5 and go into the Dark Aether tornado. You will need to place each of the Quest Items onto the Pedestal that has the same Ammo Mod icon that the item came from in the Dark Aether.
- Pill Bottle – Brain Rot Icon Pedestal
- Surveillance Camera – Dead Wire Pedestal
- Dog Collar – Napalm Blast Pedestal
- Locked Diary – Cryo Freeze Pedestal
Once all the items are placed, a large Dark Aether portal will appear. Interacting with it will spawn an HVT Mega Abomination so make sure you are ready for a fight with something like a Juggernaut suit before you do this step.
When the 3-headed monster is defeated, it will drop a new item known as the Sigil, and the Dark Aether Portal will now be open. This means that this Dark Aether Rift will now appear in every single future game you load into and you won’t need to get all of these Quest Items again.
You can approach the side of the portal and you will be prompted to use a Sigil to open the portal and travel to the Dark Aether. You will need to use a Sigil to go to the Dark Aether and these can now appear in Reward Rifts after completing Contracts in the High Threat Zone.
Dark Aether Contracts and Schematic Rewards
Once in the Dark Aether, you will be tasked with completing 3 Contracts. These are found in the form of 3 Mr. Peeks dolls that spawn in the same location every match. View our video above to spot exactly where each doll can be located.
This is an Outlast Contract which tasks you with surviving in the interior of the Al Bagra Fortress just above the Pack-a-Punch machine. These Contracts can reward you with new highend rewards such as the Golden Armor Vest, Dog Bone, and Aether Blade as well as the Schematics for all of these items. You can also find Elder Sigils, which can be used to load into an even more difficult version of the Dark Aether. Completing all the Contracts in a single match will also unlock the Geode Weapon Blueprint for the MCW Assault Rifle.
Note: You can also find keys around the area that can unlock certain doors in the Dark Aether.
