With the recent release of Season 2 in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, the game’s Zombies mode has gotten a major new content expansion. Alongside Outbreak, players can now access two new Skill tiers in Zombies Season 2, thanks to the new Refined and Flawless Aetherium Crystals.
Black Ops Cold War Zombies Season 2: New Skill Tiers
Prior to the launch of Season 2, players could improve their Weapon Classes, Field Upgrades, Perks, and Weapon Mods up to Tier III by spending Raw Aetherium Crystals. Now, players can reach two greater levels of power, but they’ll need a special resource to do it. To earn Refined or Flawless Aetherium Crystals, players must reach specific high rounds in a Zombies match, or complete high numbers of objectives in Outbreak. As such, they will only be accessible late into the game.
In most cases, Tier IV upgrades for Weapon Classes is simply a boosted version of the Tier I upgrade. For instance, Pistols gain +10% close-quarters bonus damage at Tier I. At Tier IV, this bonus becomes +25%. Similarly, Tier V upgrades are typically the same as Tier II, but with a higher bonus. Melee is the exception to this rule, as Tier V allows players to heal slightly with every successful melee attack.
The bonuses granted by Field Upgrades and Perks at Tiers IV and V tend to be more distinct. For instance, Tombstone Soda will allow players to respawn at the end of the round, rather than at the start of the next round, when upgraded to Tier IV. At Tier V, you will no longer suffer from Perk decay while downed. This means that, rather than needing to recover several Perks, you’ll generally just need to reacquire Tombstone Soda. Finally, the original four Weapon Mods can also be upgraded to Tiers IV & V. In their case, these higher tiers add extra utility effects or boosts.