Unlocking Dark Aether Rifts and New Schematics in Call of Duty: MW3 Zombies

The setup

To begin the Easter egg quest in Season 1 of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, you must first complete the new Season 1 Bad Signal story mission. It's crucial to make sure you're well-prepared before taking on this mission, so be sure to load into the match with as much gear as possible to save time.

Collect remaining quest items

To complete the Bad Signal story mission, we have prepared a comprehensive guide that includes all the necessary gear for defeating the boss. Be sure to follow our guide and obtain the Locked Diary item from the reward rift. Once acquired, exit the mission to extract with this valuable item.

Collect remaining quest items

The Locked Diary obtained from the mission rewards is just one of the four required items. The remaining pieces can be collected in any order, but it is advisable to equip certain gear or ammo mods to facilitate the task.

Pill bottle

For this particular quest, it is necessary to equip a firearm with the brain rot modification. It is best to use a standard, non-upgraded weapon for this purpose.

Head to an infested building, such as an Infested Stronghold or the smaller Aether nests. Utilize the Brain Rot gun to target cysts with single shots in an attempt to activate Brain Rot. It may require multiple shots to activate the Brain Rot. Once activated, the cyst will turn green, allowing you to interact with it and obtain a purple pill bottle from inside.

Brain rot cyst

Keep the pill bottle in your backpack. If needed, you can exfil with this item for later use in case you run out of time or want to wait for a new match.

To use the collar with the collar equipped, search for an Aether tear, the purple glowing rifts that allow you to parachute back down to the map. Similar to the dog houses, these are only visible on the minimap when nearby. Keep driving until you locate one.

Utilize the rift to ascend into the sky, but be sure to deploy your parachute right away. There will be another Aether tear in the sky for you to pass through. These may appear green or red, and at times you may need to change direction as you may not always be facing the right way.

Another Aether rift has appeared in the sky, emitting either a red or green light. Upon entering the rift, you will be transported to a different location on the map, where you will witness a luminous object descending from above. Use your parachute to land at the location where the object touches down - it will be a radiant contract phone.

Seize the contract and fulfill the accompanying Mimic bounty, which is a relatively straightforward tier 1 encounter. Upon completing this task, you will gain access to a reward rift containing a golden pill bottle of rare quality. Acquire the golden pill bottle as your reward.

Golden pill bottle

Dog collar

You'll need the element of fire to collect the dog collar, so begin by igniting a match using molotovs or thermite. You'll need to locate one of the numerous dog houses scattered across the map. These appear randomly and are only visible on the minimap when you're in close proximity. Simply drive around until you spot one pop up on the minimap.

Dog house

Typically, you would place meat inside the dog house to summon a friendly hellhound companion that you can interact with, but in this case, you'll need to place the molotov or thermite stick instead. This will summon the enemy hellhound that you must defeat. The dog will drop the collar item that you need to retrieve.

Follow the same instructions as for the pill bottle. Place the collar in your backpack and activate an Aether tear. Use the second Aether tear in the sky, track the illuminated contract phone descending from above, and fulfill the assigned Mangler bounty.

Prepare for combat as this is a high-risk Mangler bounty. Stay on the rooftops and use killstreaks if available. The reward rift upon completion will hold a golden dog collar for you to retrieve.

Surveillance camera

To collect the camera, you'll need to have the Deadwire ammo mod. Equip Deadwire to a gun and find one of the Harvester Orbs, the floating purple orb event that gives you points. Shoot it until it drops the surveillance camera item.

Surveillance camera

Once you have the camera, repeat the same process as with the previous items. Go through the Aether tear with the camera, grab the glowing contract, and complete the Disciple bounty. This contract is just a medium-threat level zone, but you'll still want a decent Pack-a-Punched gun here. The reward rift will be a golden surveillance camera. Collect this item.

Place the items

To start a fresh match, you'll need all four of these items. Each player only needs one of each, so if one of your teammates already has the collar, you won't need to get one yourself. Just make sure that collectively, all four items are covered.

Make sure you're equipped with tier 3 Pack-a-Punch weapons, 3-plate, killstreak, and perks. Gear up similar to the boss fight you completed earlier. Juggernaut suits can also be quite helpful here. Additionally, I highly recommend the Tombstone perk for the player holding the items. It's important not to die and risk losing all of the items.

Make your way to the swirling purple tornado marked on the map. It's located across the water from the Bad Signal mission marker, so it's hard to miss.

Symbol pedestalsAs you approach the base of the tornado, you'll notice four pedestals with different ammo mod symbols. Your task is to place a specific item on each pedestal.

Place the items on the pedestals in the following order:

Locked Diary on the pedestal marked with the Cryofreeze symbol

Pill bottle on the pedestal marked with Brain Rot

Surveillance camera on the Deadwire pedestal

The Napalm pedestal holds a dog collar. After activating the pedestal, a portal will appear and release an Abomination enemy. Defeat the enemy to obtain the "Dark Aether Rift Sigil" item, which is essential for returning to the Dark Aether, the location of the previous story mission.

How to complete Dark Aether Rifts and unlock new schematics

If you're still well equipped and eager to proceed, you can use the Sigil on the portal. It's a one-time use item, but you will have the opportunity to obtain more by finishing tier 3 contracts. Use the Sigil by placing it on the side of the gate, and the gate will unlock and emit a yellow glow. Once you have entered the Dark Aether, you will have a 30-minute timer to complete three contracts. Locate and interact with three Mister Peeks plushies (the blue bunny from the Mystery Box) and fulfill the contract assigned by each one.

Prepare yourself for this section as you would for a boss fight or Easter egg. The threat level here surpasses that of tier 3 on the map, equivalent to a tier 4 in terms of difficulty. These challenges can be completed in any order and are scattered across various locations.

On a rooftop ledge of a building on the top left side of the map

In the front window of a green bus just bottom left of the fortress

Atop the round battlement of the fortress, there is an ascender nearby. I recommend starting by exploring the left side of the map. These bunnies are indicated by a sound cue. When you're near, you'll hear a child giggling.

Make sure to thoroughly search each reward rift to maximize your chances of obtaining one of the three new items in the game: The Aether Blade, Dog Bone, or Golden Armor Plate.

Also, do not forget to secure an Elder Sigil item drop for your squad before exfiltrating, as only one is needed.

When you're ready to leave, locate one of the triangular portals similar to the one you used to enter. You can find them either on top of the fortress or underground, so you have multiple options. Entering any of these portals will conclude your match, and you will retain any sigils and items you gathered during your time in the Dark Aether.

To begin a new match with the Elder Sigil, place the Sigil on the opposite side of the gate from the previous match. The gate will change to a red color, indicating that this is a tier 5 threat zone.

Utilizing a six-player "super squad" is extremely beneficial. Follow the previous steps by revisiting the same bunny locations and completing the contracts. The timer for this task has now been reduced to just 15 minutes.

This tier 5 zone is where you can gather and access the new schematics needed for crafting the Aether Blade, Dog Bone, or Golden Armor Plate items.

Editor's P/S

As a Gen Z fan of Call of Duty, I'm thrilled about the new Dark Aether Rifts and schematics in MW3 Zombies. The Easter egg quest sounds challenging and exciting, and I can't wait to try it out with my friends. I'm also looking forward to unlocking the new weapons and gear, which will add even more depth and variety to the game.

Overall, I think this update is a great addition to MW3 Zombies and I'm excited to see what else the developers have in store for us in the future. I'm also impressed with the level of detail and thought that has gone into the Easter egg quest. It's clear that the developers are passionate about the game and want to create a truly immersive and rewarding experience for players.