Rex Infernus: How to Beat the Main Quest Easter Egg in Black Ops 7

The Finale of Black Ops 7 Zombies

Rex Infernus is the last round-based Zombies map in Black Ops 7. It arrived on August 20, 2026 with Season 05 Reloaded, and the Main Quest was playable from day one. Season 6 is live now and Modern Warfare 4 launches on October 23, so this map remains the way to close out the Black Ops 7 Zombies story.

The goal is to cleanse the Shadowsmiths' places of power, reach the Warden's inner sanctum and end him. There is no new smith to hunt down as on earlier maps: this is the real endgame.

Heads-up for newcomers: the Easter Egg is long, many steps hinge on puzzles and timing, and according to community reports some details change from match to match. The walkthrough below is split into stages so you know what to prepare for.

How the Story Got Here

The Warden enslaved the Shadowsmiths and stole their essence. In Ashes of the Damned and Astra Malorum the crew freed Veytharion and Caltheris, bringing back Dempsey, Maya, Nikolai and Grey. Paradox Junction revealed the Warden's plan to reshape the Dark Aether.

On Totenreich the crew freed Dravakar, and on Kowakujo they freed Nyxara and recovered the World Seed. All four smiths are free and the seed is in hand, so all that is left is finding the Warden.

That matters for planning: all four Shadowsmiths return on Rex Infernus, and each has a temple with its own puzzle.

Pack-a-Punch and Warden's Blight

You start in an abandoned house and hold out until the phone rings. A portal then takes you to the Nexus Forge, where you place the World Seed. Two red Dread Skulls appear and lead you to two braziers. Light both, turn the Crank Wheels and the forge sinks down, opening Pack-a-Punch.

Next comes the Wonder Weapon. Warden's Blight is a pair of crossbows, and the quest cannot be finished without it. According to player reports, the route looks like this:

• Astral Flame. Use the Void Claw grapple to pull floating purple orbs to Pack-a-Punch, then turn the wheel. The braziers start producing flame you will need at almost every step.

• Nyxara's crystal. It is hidden behind a breakable wall above the entrance of Dravakar's main chamber. Explosives or PHD Flopper will break it.

• Silent Area. Finish the crystal puzzle in Nyxara's temple, let the plant drain your health and eat the fruit. The dark forest opens from Round 8.

• Three parts. They lie next to bodies in the forest. After that, solve Dravakar's riddle and assemble the weapon at the anvil.

Pack-a-Punch Warden's Blight as early as you can, since the charged shot is required at nearly every later step.

The Shadowsmith Temples and the Nexus

Nyxara's and Dravakar's puzzles are already behind you after building the weapon. That leaves Veytharion and Caltheris, and you can do both ahead of time. Veytharion's puzzle has you ferry four stone blocks across so that fire never touches water or the plant without the hand block between them. Caltheris has four pressure plates, and on each you must quickly hit four glowing targets.

Then comes the most tangled part. Shoot the tiny basketball by the house, remember the order of four blue symbols appearing on its facade, wait for an Exfil round (the earliest is Round 11) and repeat the order with your shots. The reward is a special exfil, and after it the Eye of the Forge. It turns the green Void Claw grapple into the red Void Talon.

The Void Talon tears 15 eye-shaped plates off the Nexus mechanism. Gears behind the lower plates are covered in webbing. Burn it away and the Nexus starts spinning three rings that you align with the temples.

Each temple has its own corrupted item that goes into its brazier. The summary below follows community reports, and methods can differ.

Cleansing the Places of Power and Fighting the Warden

The order is similar for every temple. Align the Nexus rings with it, put the item in the brazier and light it with Astral Flame. A symbol moves onto a zombie, which you must kill with the matching hand of the Titan Trap. Then comes a unique pressure plate condition, a laser ring raised by a charged Warden's Blight shot, four Shadow Souls and the Shadowsmith's face. Finally you launch an orb at the statue and hit a glowing point with flame during rain.

The plate condition differs per temple: lie prone at Nyxara, jump at Veytharion, hold aim at Caltheris. Dravakar is the least predictable, and killing zombies while standing on the plate works most often. The laser ring is aimed differently each time, so check exact angles against a video.

Once all four temples are cleansed, glowing circles appear in the Nexus Core and every player stands on one. Prepare before you step in. The community recommends:

• a Pack-a-Punch Level III Warden's Blight and a strong Level III ranged weapon, ideally an LMG, assault rifle or marksman rifle;

• full armor, a Self-Revive and spare Essence for ammo;

• Frenzied Guard or Aether Shroud, Kazimir grenades and strong GobbleGums such as Perkaholic or Power Keg.

The core of the fight: the Warden is wrapped in orbiting skulls, and while they are alive his weak point is out of reach. Break the skulls and the glowing tail on his back becomes the main target. Shadow Souls appear between phases and should be destroyed at once, or he stays protected and can regain health. Do not ignore Warden Stingers either, since they fire at you and are tied to a large arena attack. Midway you are pulled into a prison challenge and come back with an Acquired Blessing. Later phases repeat the loop, this time with three skulls.

New Enemies, the Titan Trap and Other Finds

Rex Infernus adds two spider-themed enemies. Deathspinners are fast and shoot slowing webs, with the abdomen as their weak spot. The Web Mother is a new Elite: it teleports, lunges at players, blocks passages with webbing and cocoons zombies. Reportedly its skull is the weak point. Keep your distance and clear the webs first.

The Titan Trap is the map's trap, where a giant Titan slams its hands into the ground. It does more than clear zombies: the symbols on its shackles decide which hand must kill the marked zombie during the temple cleansing.

Widow's Wine returns too, answering dangerously low health with a burst of webbing. Its Major Augments are Widow's Bite, Hatchling, Web Spinner and Tangled Web. One summons a friendly Deathspinner, another creates a slowing field and a third cocoons enemies caught in the blast.

There is also a new Ultra GobbleGum, Fully Packed, which instantly upgrades the weapon in your hands to Pack-a-Punch Level III. It saves a lot of Essence on early attempts. According to launch coverage, the TR2 Marksman Rifle and Olympia Shotgun were added to the Mystery Box as well.

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Rewards, Cursed Mode and What to Do Next

According to launch coverage, the Main Quest rewards the Bloodthorn Wonder Weapon Skin, a Calling Card and 10,000 XP. Players who finished before Directed Mode arrived also got a unique Calling Card variant. Directed Mode reportedly reached Rex Infernus on September 17, 2026, so that variant can no longer be earned.

There are side goals as well: collecting all Intel such as audio logs, documents and artifacts, plus a Mastery Challenge. Launch coverage says they give extra Calling Cards and 10,000 XP each.

Cursed Mode, as on earlier maps, removes quest guidance, limits the HUD and starts you with only a pistol. Beat the regular Main Quest first so you know the map.

The XP is useful for general progress, and if you would rather skip the grind, Leveling can help. For goals outside Zombies there are the Campaign and Prestige.