Call of Duty Zombies Map Tier List

Call of Duty Zombies was an unexpected hit from 2008’s Call of Duty: World at War, and for over 16 years, it’s continued alongside the Campaign and Multiplayer to provide players with an experience like no other. Call of Duty Zombies has survived across multiple COD entries with over 35 maps. Yet, out of all those maps, not all of them can be the best, and not all of them can be as beloved as some of the most well-known.

With each COD Zombies map, Treyarch tries to impress with innovation, interesting story beats, and above all else – providing fun for the players. Yet, with so many maps and millions of fans to please, some players might differ with their choice of a definitive ranking of every Call of Duty Zombies map in one tier list.

This Tier List will only focus on the round-based survival maps from Treyarch’s Call of Duty titles, from World at War to Black Ops 6.

S-Tier – The Best COD Zombies Maps of All Time

Origins

The end of Black Ops 2 was also a bright beginning to the potential of COD Zombies as a whole newly rebranded identity forged in alternative history and sci-fi aesthetics. Origins brought forth a new age of the series with its replayable quests that would see players seek out great power from the four Elemental Staffs, and the impressionable characters of Primis, paired with the excitingly tense narrow pathways of the trenches of a war-torn France, made for an unforgettable peak for COD Zombies that showed the round-based gameplay was more than just killing zombies. The integration of quests, narrative complexities, and a map that will keep players constantly moving due to the impenetrable giant robots just marks an all-time height for the COD Zombies series.

Der Eisendrache

Der Eisendrache excels at combining a classic experience with something new, and the detailed atmosphere paired with the open areas and narrow paths truly cement Der Eisendrache as a map that’s the best for both camps of players. It can be easy for the more casual players, but to the die-hards, it can be more thrilling with things to do thanks to the staggeringly amazing Wonder Weapons of the Elemental Bows. Navigating the map is fun from its first playthrough past its 100th, and everything about Der Eisendrache works in favor of the players to solidify itself as a defining COD Zombies experience.

Shadows of Evil

The first map to grace Black Ops 3 was Shadows of Evil, which saw a jazzy spin on the COD Zombies franchise. The atmospheric streets of Morg City were an instant classic, and the Beast Mode mechanics to further open the map permitted excitement in its gameplay loop by providing players with things to do outside of the ordinary path of just killing zombies. Special enemies like Margwas added intense challenges to keep players on the move, and the layout of the map featuring a bustling 1920s city overrun with walking corpses made for an exciting time.

Mob of the Dead

Mob of the Dead is a beloved classic for a reason, and the atmosphere of Alcatraz in a hellscape is in a league of its own. Mob of the Dead is an early iteration of what players would expect from the best of the series to come, with its secret and expansive quest steps, rewarding Wonder Weapon, and of course, the demented Warden of Brutus who hunts the player randomly to cause disruption. Mob of the Dead is a brilliantly designed map, and a mixture of tight spaces and open areas make for some nail-biting action.

Citadelle des Morts

One of the most recent iterations of COD Zombies comes from Black Ops 6’s life cycle with Citadelle des Morts. The map follows classic traits associated with some of the best maps out there with elemental Wonder Weapons, and Citadelle des Morts doesn’t disappoint with the power within the swords featured, even if they could do with a tad extra power. Citadelle des Morts excels at bringing forth friendly training spots throughout the expansive castle and French village, making it a fun map for farming Camos and enjoying lengthy high rounds with friends or in solo play.

A-Tier – Excellent COD Zombies Maps, With Few Flaws

Ancient Evil

Arguably the best of the Chaos maps, and the finale for its hiatus was Ancient Evil. The atmosphere is top-notch with its incredible Greek Mythology scenery with an ancient Greek city and a literal Pegasus that flies around the map. The inner workings of the map itself are rather difficult, and there are not many training spots to aid players, meaning running around and fighting through hordes of undead is going to be a must, but that’s made all the easier with the detailed quests to obtain the God Hands. While the layout of the map might not be to everyone’s taste, it’s hard to deny the beauty and intricate detail within.

Revelations

The finale to Black Ops 3’s Zombies story and to Primis, Revelations is the ultimate celebration of COD Zombies from World at War to Black Ops 3. The map itself is more of a collection of COD Zombies’ greatest hits, by taking chunks from other maps and placing them within a fractured one. Revelations is grandiose and overwhelming, and while the easter egg featured might be infamous, the map layout is always a fun time for those dedicated to reaching high rounds.

Gorod Krovi

Stalingrad, but with dragons – that’s the premise of Gorod Krovi, which combines mechanical steel with undead flesh to create a rather unique experience thanks to an abundance of unique enemy types outside of the standard zombie unit. Gorod Krovi feels a tad small compared to the Black Ops 3 era maps, but there’s a lot to love about the design, like the abundance of new weapons and the ability to ride a dragon.

Zetsubou No Shima

Another of Division 9’s foreboding experiment facilities, Zetsubou No Shima roots itself in horror again, with a map infested with mutated spiders and fearsome plant life. The map almost feels like a maze with its requirements from water sources and deep caverns in the central facility. Zetsubou offers a unique challenge with its trials and the many things to get done in a single game, which might overwhelm the casual player.

Moon

The finale for Black Ops and the Ultimis crew ascends to the grandest of heights by taking players to the Moon. With Moon, players could enjoy new mechanics like the low-gravity, no-oxygen zones, and the endless hordes at Groom Lake’s Pack-a-Punch site. While Moon and its selection of areas and weapons were a lot of fun, the endless hunt from the zombie astronaut and the constant juggling of hacking excavators in later rounds made a thrilling experience just a tad tedious.

Call of the Dead

Call of the Dead was the turning point of COD Zombies into a brighter future, as it’s technically the first map that had its own devoted assets. Call of the Dead has a chilling atmosphere in the abandoned Siberian outpost, and its unique gameplay mechanic of George A. Romero constantly chasing the player to keep them moving and avoid repetitive playstyles certainly created further difficulty, but in a fun way for veteran players to challenge themselves with. Expansive areas and cold waters made Call of the Dead a cold and fun experience.

IX

One of the starting maps for the Chaos Story in Black Ops 4 was IX, which took players to a gladiator arena in the Roman Empire. With creepy tunnels that spread out of a fairly small map, IX provides players with quite a few tricks to master – alongside deadly new adversaries like gladiators and zombie tigers. IX is a beautiful and tense map that combines the fun of die-hard fans and casual play into a unified style.

B-Tier – Great COD Zombies Maps, With a Few Things That Hold Them Back

Buried

An Old West town buried deep underground, Buried celebrated what players loved about Zombies by permitting overpowered and fun styles of gameplay. The traps, Wonder Weapons, and ability to gain all Perk-a-Colas made Buried a lot of fun, but reaching high rounds was far too simplified to warrant any deeper strategies, yet that doesn’t take away from the simplified fun of the map.

Kino Der Toten

The first map of Black Ops’ life cycle, Kino der Toten teleports players to the theater of the damned, in which zombies and Nova Six Crawlers creep out of the wood of this abandoned cinema. Kino der Toten is beloved as a classic, and it’s not just the highlighted elements of nostalgia that does that. Plenty of spacious areas, an excellent wonder weapon with the Thunder Gun, and a well-designed layout – it all cements Kino der Toten as a classic choice for casual high-round games.

Ascension

A Russian Cosmodrome facility left abandoned and in disarray by the undead, Ascension dulls its colors until the power is turned back on, and when achieved, saturation makes for a brightly colored map. Ascension is one of the easiest COD Zombies maps, and for that reason, it’s one of the most fun. Many training areas are open square to allow for easy movement, but one big sin of the map is the space monkey rounds, which will see space monkeys return to Earth to smash up Perk-a-Cola Machines that players have purchased from, which can really mess with the gameplay – especially if players have purchased Perks from across the map.

Shangri-La

Shangri-La is another controversial addition to the COD Zombies entries due to how its map focuses on traps and tight corridors. Shangri-La is extremely difficult to navigate, and being deterred by hordes of undead, zombie monkeys, and special banshee and napalm zombies will make everyone panic, especially when every area is designed so close together that it’s a fight just to get past one zombie. Yet, the jungle design and the atmosphere helped Shangri-La to excel outside of the traditional maps of old.

Der Riese/The Giant

Der Riese and The Giant are effectively the same map, except for a different selection of weapons from the Mystery Box and a few easter eggs that don’t exactly change the formula. Der Riese and The Giant are excellent starter maps, and their design as the final World at War map provides greatness that continues forward with the Pack-a-Punch machine. Outside of this stellar addition, Der Riese and The Giant add plenty of interesting training spots, and even a catwalk for the more casual player who might just want to farm up some kills by standing still.

Terminus

Terminus is the first story-focused map of the Black Ops 6 era with its own dedicated crew, and it brings the franchise back to its horror roots with its creepy atmosphere. Terminus excels at mixing creative design with fun training zones, and the plethora of easter eggs allows players to always engage in the content built into the map, as does further exploration of Terminus with the tactical rafts that allows players to venture to new islands for further separation from their squad.

C-Tier – COD Zombies Maps That Have Pros and Cons

Five

Five is iconic in its own right with an easter egg song from Eminem and a cast of classic politicians like Nixon and JFK. Where Five falters a tad is in its lacking Wonder Weapon with Winter’s Howl and the tight corners that make training to high rounds a true challenge. Five has a great atmosphere, and the Pentagon Thief is a fun replacement for Hellhound rounds, but the map is a tad too challenging for the casual experience.

Mauer Der Toten

Take to the streets of a city divided by East and West Germany, where players must navigate the overground and underground on a map that has its fairly expanded training areas, but also its tightly woven spots that spell doom. Mauer der Toten is a lethal experience thanks to the abundance of special enemies like the Disciples and Manglers, and it does offer the most unique difficulty experience among the small selection of Black Ops Cold War maps.

Liberty Falls

Liberty Falls is the most casual map of Black Ops 6, which makes it a great choice for farming Augments and Camos. While there is much to Liberty Falls that makes it feel like a standard Multiplayer map translated to Zombies, there are still quite a few things to enjoy about it, outside of its aesthetics. The map has plenty of avenues to train zombies, and they still come with a fair share of challenges which stops the map from being too easy.

Die Maschine

Die Maschine was the first map for the Black Ops Cold War cycle, and as a reboot to the Zombies franchise, it brought players back to Nacht der Untoten. Die Maschine is more than a remake, as it extends through the abandoned airfield so that players can finally explore the outside areas and the dangerous scientific underground experiment facility beneath. Die Maschine has a pretty good atmosphere, an overpowered Wonder Weapon, and a fairly decent avenue of repetitive play for the casual community.

Blood of the Dead

Blood of the Dead is a story-heavy map, and its central focus is for the lore fans of Primis and the evolving story. The story and the main quest are central to the map’s layout, which is mainly an oversimplified remake of Mob of the Dead. Everything from the original is here, but the additional rooms and areas just serve more complex layers that often go unnoticed due to the challenge found from within this map’s main quest.

Dead of the Night

With a cast of celebrities, Dead of the Night invites players into a gala of undead, where a mansion within the Chaos Story has been overwhelmed by vampires, werewolves, and of course, zombies. Dead of the Night continues the Black Ops 4 tradition by providing players with plenty of things to do. Still, Dead of the Night can be somewhat overwhelming in that regard, especially with its many different types of enemies that can often be frustrating to fight rather than fun. The cast of characters doesn’t help with the immersive aspects of superior maps.

Shi No Numa

Taking to the Pacific in the swamp facilities of Division 9, Shi No Numa throws players into a dense forest and a classic from World at War. Shi No Numa is writhing with zombies that move and act differently, and the slowing mud of some areas makes for anxious sprints in high rounds. Shi No Numa invests heavily in map-specific traps like the Flogger, and the moving Mystery Box is an intriguing aspect that follows forward into future and superior maps that evolve from the simplistic formula present here.

Voyage of Despair

The largest fault of Voyage of Despair comes from its own design and ambition, as this map is often far too big and clustered with its many different floors and decks that players fail to navigate through to the end. Voyage of Despair does have some intrigue with its detailed recreation of the Titanic, but the confusing layout of the ship and the many aspects of buildables and easter eggs makes it an overwhelming map which not many players can benefit from.

D-Tier – COD Zombies Maps That Have Quite a Few Flaws

Classified

Classified was a bonus map for Black Ops 4 where players could enter into a reimagined version of Five from Black Ops. Instead of harboring the politicians of the original map, players embark on the Pentagon as Ultimis in a map that continues the restricted and claustrophobic trend of the original, albeit with new rooms and set pieces. At the end of the day, Classified is a remake, so it has to be marked down somewhat, and its replayability mainly comes from its demanding challenge.

Tag Der Toten

A remake of Call of the Dead, Tag der Toten expands on the original but leaves out the most entertaining aspect: George Romero. While George’s lack of inclusion is out of respect due to his passing, it’s still a notable absence, and while Tag der Toten does serve some interesting areas in a large map, it’s still just a remake with added sections that don’t provide the meat that fans would expect from a grand finale.

Alpha Omega

For the first time ever, players could merge the characters of Ultimis and Primis, but unfortunately, that takes place in a remake of Nuketown Zombies. While Alpha Omega does offer players more than a simple remake of Nuketown Zombies, that would require them to venture underground, where obnoxious and frustrating variants of the Nova-Six Crawlers will plague them. Alpha Omega is a tightly woven and punishing map where the main easter egg takes central focus over replayability.

TranZit

TranZit is easily one of the most divisive maps in COD Zombies history, and there’s a good reason for that. TranZit is a product of a great idea trapped on limited hardware, as players could navigate a multitude of areas entrenched in fog and abandon. However, due to the limited technology of the PS3 and Xbox 360, limitations were necessary to stop TranZit from crashing, so the Denizens and dense fog would make TranZit feel like a chore to play, especially when so much running was needed just to even attempt getting the Pack-a-Punch online.

Firebase Z

Firebase Z is the first DLC map of the Black Ops Cold War era, and it takes players to a Vietnam base. However, Firebase Z lacks the atmosphere expected of more Asian-centric maps like Shi No Numa, and its wide-open spaces make for an easy time with little compromise, and the addition of the protection-based rounds against the Orda, and the many Mimics, only makes Firebase Z a tad more annoying than fun.

Forsaken

Forsaken was the final map in Black Ops Cold War and this secluded had a few interesting sights but falls for the same trap as most of the Black Ops Cold War maps in which they aren’t entirely interesting to play in. Most areas aren’t complex and are completely safe, and the reason to play the map is reliant on the rather rapid boss fight against the Forsaken itself.

Verruckt

The second map in the series, Verruckt knows how to conquer the atmosphere by placing its players in an undead asylum, abandoned with psychological terror plaguing those who venture here. An introduction to Power and Perk-a-Colas makes for an interesting time, but by today’s standards, it’s quite simplistic and claustrophobic, even if the concept of splitting up players into their own starting areas is a unique trait to have.

Nacht Der Untoten

Nacht der Untoten is where the Zombies fun began all those years ago, and this founding map definitely deserves some respect for what it brought for the future of the franchise. However, isolated from its importance, Nacht der Untoten is a very small map that lacks the innovation of future entries, like spacious areas, Perks, and Pack-a-Punch. It’s still atmospheric and scary, but lasting long here is a death sentence.

E-Tier – Arguably the Worst COD Zombies Maps of All Time

Die Rise

There isn’t much love for Die Rise, and it’s easy to see why. The map continues Black Ops 2’s trend of innovative mechanics, and as such, it made verticality a feature, where players could easily fall to their deaths due to the high-rise buildings and risky jumps between buildings. Die Rise was hard to navigate through, and the inclusion of moving elevators and buildings separated by large jumps that could easily result in death, made for a punishing experience.

Town

There’s nothing inherently awful about Town other than the fact that there is simply not much to do here. Town is simply a segment from TranZit, taken from the Green Run map and placed into its own small section where certain areas are cut off and the Pack-a-Punch sits in the center. It’s fun for a minute, and extremely casual, but lacks the offerings of full-on maps.

Nuketown Zombies

As bonus content for Black Ops 2, Nuketown Zombies was an interesting experience, as well as a nostalgic one. Nuketown Zombies was the beloved Nuketown map as fans knew it, but this time, infected with nuclear fallout and zombies. The random Perk-a-Colas that dropped from the sky and the lack of areas to train in made it a difficult map where players would run out of things to do fairly quickly.

Farm

Another one of TranZit’s surgically cut pieces is placed into its own map, and Farm doesn’t offer players much to do outside of a challenging experience due to the fact that Farm only features a few Perks and no Pack-a-Punch in sight, so training zombies in high rounds almost becomes impossible in such a small, foggy area with no way to upgrade weapons.

Bus Depot

Bus Depot is the first area of TranZit, where players are now restricted to the simplistic two lanes that go back and forth with nothing else. Bus Depot has a Mystery Box, but no Perks or Pack-a-Punch, so those who venture here are forced into a concentrated area where the only method of attack is to train zombies in a line, hit the Mystery Box, and repeat until boredom strikes or death comes for the player character.