How do you complete the Terminus main quest in Black Ops 6? Round-based Zombies king Treyarch has cooked up a tantalizing multistep adventure that will take you across Terminus Island. Featuring mutated monsters, brutal boss fights, and challenging conundrums, you’re going to need to lock in if you’re to get through this (relatively) unscathed.
Terminus Island is one of the new Black Ops 6 Zombies maps gracing the FPS game this year, and this spooky slab of land is home to all sorts of terrors. It’s here you’ll also find one of the Black Ops 6 Wonder Weapons – the Beamsmasher. Kitted out with not one but two distinct firing modes, the Beamsmasher is just as proficient at stopping groups of zombies in their tracks as it is at melting through them. It’s also a key component to completing the Black Ops 6 main quest. To find out how to get this powerful tool and get through the Terminus quest, read on.
Here are the steps to complete the Terminus main quest in Black Ops 6:
- Craft the Beamsmasher.
- Obtain the hard drive and hand it over to Peck.
- Obtain the codes for Nathan’s containment unit.
- Defeat Nathan and obtain the Key Card.
- Fix the network connection.
- Hack the buoys.
- Defuse the bombs.
- Defeat the Terminus boss, Patient 13.
How to craft the Beamsmasher
There are two ways to get the Beamsmasher in Black Ops 6. The first is random and requires getting incredibly lucky, while the second will send you on a quest across Terminus Island.
On paper, the simplest way to get the Beamsmasher in Black Ops 6 is by spending 950 Essence on the Mystery Boxes scattered around Terminus repeatedly until it eventually drops. However, the odds of getting a Wonder Weapon are incredibly low, so you could easily spend much longer farming the Essence for it than if you assembled one using the method below.
If you’re not feeling lucky, there’s another way to get the Beamsmasher. It’s a quest within the main quest, so there’s a lot to get your head around. But don’t worry, we’re here to take you through it step-by-step.
Turn on the three AMP Generators
The first step to getting the Beamsmasher is nice and easy. You’ll need to zip around the island, activating the AMP Generators that power Pack-a-Punch. These are marked with orange quest markers so you can’t miss them.
Turn on the three laptops
With the lights now on, head down to the Storage area south of the map, below the quick revive point, and turn the first laptop on. Next, head to the curved path to the northwest, just below the stamina up in the Communications area to find the second. The final laptop can be found by heading directly east to the docks – it’ll be perched on an outcropping just before you reach the Sea Tower.
Attach Dead Wire to your weapon
With the laptops powered up, we’re going to need to kit out one of our weapons with electric damage. Make your way to one of the arsenal machines jotted around Terminus and pay 500 Salvage to wire up your gun of choice.
Activate the inclined lift and shoot the electric boxes
Now you’re locked and loaded with Dead Wire, it’s time to shoot something. Head to the Pack-a-Punch inclined lift and activate it – you need to go up from the Bio Lab. As you ascend, peep the electric box through the row of slanted windows and shoot it. Then, quickly rotate 90 degrees to your right and shoot the now-electrified box on the wall, then rotate another 90 degrees to your right and shoot the third box on the wooden building.
To get to the following box, head into the Living Quarters (where you turned on the second AMP Generator) – it’s above the generator. Finally, make your way to the other side of the generator wall outside the building and send a few rounds into the last box, causing a set of double doors next to it to swing open.
Activate the Calibrator
With the Research Office now accessible, you need to snap up the EMF Fob. As you enter the building, you’ll find a zombie crushed beneath a unit on the floor. Finish it off and it’ll drop the fob. Now, head to the Sea Tower where you’ll discover a briefcase with a hand attached to it. Pop the briefcase open and pick up the Multiphasic Resonator inside, before returning to the office.
Back in the office, use the Multiphasic Resonator on the calibrator machine on one of the desks. Next up, you need to figure out the calibrator codes that’ll get it working.
The symbols that flashed up on the three laptops will now appear on sticky notes attached to the machine. Each symbol corresponds to a numeric value. Unfortunately, there isn’t a single combination of symbols across game versions, so you’ll have to do some light legwork if you want to solve the puzzle.
On the left-hand whiteboard at the back of the Research Office, you’ll see each symbol placed into a grid. The numbers on the left – 0, 1, 2 – represent values of 10s, while the numbers at the bottom represent single-digit values. Once you’ve determined the value of each symbol you can use them to solve the algebraic equations on the second whiteboard – the answers are the codes. Now you’ve burned your brain out sufficiently getting the codes, tap them in and you’re good to go – after finishing the round, that is.
Alternatively, you can just pay 5,000 Essence to bribe Peck to give you the codes, but where’s the fun in that?
Obtain the AMP Munition
With the calibrator now calibrating, it’ll pop up with a map of the island, before pinning a marker down on one of the smaller surrounding islands – grab the Multiphasic Resonator from the Calibrator before you go.
Upon arrival at the marked island, you’ll spot a glowing orb that you have to place the Multiphasic Resonator into. Doing so will spawn zombies limitlessly until a glowing zombie matching the color of the orb appears. Kill it and place the ball of energy it drops into the orb. Rinse and repeat once more and the orb will fly off to another island.
Pick the Multiphasic Resonator up then head to the next island. You’ll have to repeat the process until the AMP Munition finally drops from the orb.
Assemble the Beamsmasher
Having acquired the AMP Munition it’s time to claim your prize. Head back to the Research Office and you’ll see the incomplete Beamsmasher perched on the workbench at the back. Walk up to it, hold to assemble, and you’ve completed the first step of the Black Ops 6 Terminus main quest.
Obtain the hard drive and hand it over to Peck
With the Beamsmasher in hand, you’re now going to head down to the Bio Lab. Above the doors leading out to the PhD Flopper or Speed Cola machines, you’ll find purchasable Tentacle Traps that’ll set you back 750 Essence apiece. The Hard Drive will drop from one of the traps after you attack along the tentacles with the Beamsmasher’s standard fire. The correct trap will have a Project Janus Key Card beneath it.
After scooping up the Hard Drive, deliver it to the drop box in the Guard Station – you’ll find this attached to the wall next to Peck. Peck will hack into the Bio Lab containment unit holding Maya’s brother, Nathan. Head back to the Bio Lab and interact with the unit to begin the next phase of the quest.
Obtain the codes for Nathan’s containment unit
While Peck’s been able to get you to Nathan, unfortunately, he can’t quite crack the door open for you. You’re going to have to scurry around collecting three numbers that form the code for the containment unit. Below is the proper order.
Interrogation Rooms number
The first number is denoted by the hour (small) hand on a clock found in the Interrogation Rooms area – specifically the caged room with the blood-covered chair in the middle.
Mess Hall number
The second number is denoted by a playing card pinned to a board in the Mess Hall. The number on the card is the number you want.
Engineering number
The third and final number is denoted by a ‘days since last injury’ poster found next to the crafting bench in the Engineering area. The number is written in the white box.
With the three numbers now noted, head back to the Bio Lab and free Nathan using the relief valves – these need to be opened in unison if you’re in a squad.
Defeat Nathan and obtain the Key Card
As it transpires, Nathan – or the Amalgam-esque mini-boss formerly known as Nathan – isn’t particularly happy to see you. To defeat this incredibly tanky opponent, stay on the move as you whittle him down with your Beamsmasher and whatever else you’ve had the time to upgrade.
The big gimmick in this fight is that Nathan will chow down on other zombies to heal himself, so managing the masses will be crucial to keeping the fight down to a modest length. We’d further recommend having at least Jugger-Nog and a level two armor vest locked and loaded.
After Nathan’s been reduced to nothing, you’ll be treated to a brief cutscene. Once it ends, dive into the water below the Bio Lab on the Pack-a-Punch side and pick up Key Card on the floor. Take it to the Communications room and find the computer terminal with green text on the top floor. Lo and behold, you’ll get a “network connection error” message when you interact with it – it’s never easy, is it? Hold down the interact button on the PC until it lights up and gives you a prompt.
Fix the network connection
If you were hoping the network connection error was simply caused by some mutated rat chewing through the ethernet cable, we have bad news. For this section, you’re going to need to haul yourself over to the wrecked ship on a speedboat and track down the Node Connectors inside, before connecting them to power lines scattered across Terminus. There are up to three nodes to connect, depending on your party size.
Before you do this, though, make sure your loadout is juiced as a lockdown protocol will trigger as soon as you pick them up. You can’t sprint while holding the connectors, so drop them again and fend off the zombies for a couple of minutes. Now, grab the Node Connector and get moving.
Here’s what you need to do with the three Node Connectors:
- Take the first Node Connector to South Island (Crab Island). The slot is to the left of the workbench.
- Take the second Node Connector to the Sea Tower. The slot is directly beneath the tower and is easily accessible by boat.
- Take the third Node Connector to the Sea Caves. The slot is parallel to the Speed Cola machine along the eastern passage.
Now you’re all connected, head back to the Guard Station, and grab the Hacking Device which appears in the deposit box after talking to Peck.
Hack the buoys
For the next step, you’re heading back out to sea. Grab a boat and track down one of the buoys jotted around – they’ll have parasites zipping about nearby. Hop out of the boat and hold down the interact button to begin hacking the first buoy (this takes five seconds). After the first buoy is sorted, a timer will appear. From here, simply go from buoy to buoy in a clockwise/counter-clockwise motion around the island.
It should only take three buoys to clear this step, but occasionally a fourth will spawn – you’ll know if it has because the timer will continue to count down after buoy number three’s been cleared.
If you’re tackling this in a group, we’d recommend one of you act as the defuser, one as the boat driver, and the others as mob management. There’s a good chance a giant bio-spewing tentacle will emerge from the deep and chase you, so drop off the defuser and do a quick loop to draw it away.
Defuse the bombs
Now the buoys have been well hacked, it’s time to head back to the Bio Lab. You’re once again going to be on the clock as you look to defuse three bombs while fending off hordes of zombies. If you’re running solo, we’d recommend stocking up on Monkey Bombs or Aether Shrouds before you reach the Lab as the countdown will start as soon as you enter the area.
Simply move from bomb to bomb, defusing them as you go. Each bomb takes ten seconds to defuse, but you’ll have a relatively generous five-minute time limit to get them done. Progress on each bomb is also held if you need to pause the defuser to clear mobs, so don’t feel the need to risk an extra couple of seconds’ progress. It’s easier to do this as a group, with one defuser flanked by two bodyguards, but if you took our advice and prepped appropriately, it’s very doable solo. Now that you’ve defused the bombs, it’s time for the big finale.
Defeat the Terminus boss, Patient 13
Before attempting the Terminus boss, we’d recommend you max out at least one of your weapons – we’re talking level three Pack-a-Punch, gold rarity, the works. You’ll also want level three body armor and a solid line-up of perks. Though you can clear most of the quest steps with more modest gear, Patient 13 is no joke.
When you’re ready to begin, head to the slightly ajar door at the bottom of the Bio Lab. It’ll initiate a ready check if you’re in a squad, and once everyone’s accepted, you’ll be teleported into the arena. Say hello to Squidward.
Phase one of the fight has you shooting the glowing red globules that appear on the boss’s body. Here you’ll have to watch out for Patient 13’s huge slam attack. This is telegraphed by the boss pulling back two tentacles over its shoulders, before unleashing them for massive damage. During this phase, the critical points can change. At points, you’ll have to shoot the two tentacles immediately flanking the boss when they begin to show yellow globules.
As a side note, if the tentacles that spawn around the arena are a nuisance, you can destroy them by shooting their smaller yellow globules. However, you’ll have to balance your ammo usage as refills will be expensive by this point.
The second phase isn’t particularly different from the first, though here the critical point will change again as the boss’s mouth begins to glow, beckoning your bullets. Be careful, as the boss will begin lashing out its tongue down the center of the arena – if you touch it, it’ll pull you in and down you instantly.
The only real switch-up in the fight comes during the third and final phase, which you’ll reach when the boss hits the 20-25% HP mark. The whole arena barring the ammo crate platform is locked off, and you’ll now have to shoot the boss in its brightly glowing eyes (oh, and the red globules are back).
Here, Patient 13 gains another new move which can instantly down you if you’re not careful. The boss will charge up a huge electric orb before discharging it, so stay behind cover when this happens.
Generally, we’d recommend finding shelter behind the larger metal units when you can, peeking out and lasering the boss when safe to do so. At this point, you’re just nuking as much as possible until Patient 13 finally dies. When the deed is done a cutscene will play – congratulations, you’ve completed the Black Ops 6 Terminus main quest.
Black Ops 6 Terminus main quest rewards
With the quest complete, it’s now time to return to the lobby, where you’ll be greeted with the following rewards:
- Trophy Collector Maya operator skin.
- Terminus Quest Complete calling card – this will have a gold skull in the bottom-right corner if you cleared the quest during release week.
And there you have it – everything you need to know about the Black Ops 6 Terminus main quest and how to clear it. If you haven’t done so already, it’s time to move onto the Black Ops 6 Liberty Falls main quest and continue your Zombies domination.