Every Call of Duty: Cold War Dark Ops challenge

black ops Cold War Dark Ops challenges
(Image credit: Treyarch, Activision)

What are the Black Ops – Cold War Dark Ops challenges? These objectives are tucked away in the menus, but they appear in three Cold War modes: Campaign, Multiplayer, and even Zombies. These elusive challenges are difficult to achieve, mainly because their content shows up as 'classified' when you check them out in the Dark Ops tab. 

There's no way to take a sneaky look at these challenges until you earn them, but the list below will help you on your way. Each mode has its own set of CoD: Cold War Dark Ops challenges and rewards. If you manage to complete them all, there are also three Dark Ops Master animated Calling Cards up for grabs. Originally shared by COD Tracker, here's every challenge that'll no doubt keep you busy for days, and the rewards you'll receive for unlocking each one.

Campaign

Black Ops – Cold War Dark Ops Campaign challenges

If you're hoping to ace the campaign, there are six Dark Ops challenges to work towards:

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NameChallengeReward
Anti-HeroTake out the marked enemies via takedowns in the Ashes to Ashes mission.A Calling Card.
Awkward ChatAnswer both questions correctly while in the elevator during the Desperate Measures mission.A Calling Card.
Cover Your TracksStash five bodies away as Belikov in the Desperate Measures mission.A Calling Card.
DefiantTry to jump off the bridge to your death in the Break on Through mission.A Calling Card.
Retro GamerUnlock every arcade machine.A Calling Card.
What Do the Numbers Mean?Decrypt the floppy disk in the Operation Chaos mission.A Calling Card.
Dark Ops MasterComplete every Dark Ops challenge.An animated Calling Card.

There are nowhere near as many Dark Ops challenges in the Campaign compared to the other modes, so it should be easier to unlock the Dark Ops Master achievement here. Decrypting the floppy disk requires you to uncover Black Ops Cold War evidence from other missions. You then have to solve a puzzle, which takes some extra work. If you need some help finding the Call of Duty: Cold War floppy disk code and passphrase, I'm here to help you work it out.

Multiplayer

(Image credit: Treyarch, Activision)

CoD: Cold War Dark Ops Multiplayer challenges

If you're dominating in the Cold War multiplayer, you may as well try your hand at these 13 Dark Ops challenges:

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NameChallengeRewards
Back At YouThrow a frag grenade back to kill the enemy that threw it at you.1,000 XP and a Calling Card.
Brutal KillerEarn a Brutal Medal (25 kills without dying).5,000 XP and a Calling Card.
Chain KillerGet a Kill Chain (get rapid kills on more than 7 players).10,000 XP and a Calling Card.
Frenzy KillerEarn a Frenzy Kill medal (5 rapid kills).5,000 XP and a Calling Card.
From the DepthsUsing a primary or secondary weapon underwater, achieve 25 kills against enemies that are on land, or a ship's surface.5,000 XP and a Calling Card.
Hard WipeEliminate a squad of four in a Fireteam mode on your own.5,000 XP and a Calling Card.
Mega KillerEarn a Mega Kill medal (6 rapid kills).10,000 XP and a Calling Card.
Nuclear Killer Earn a Nuclear medal (30 kills without dying).5,000 XP and a Calling Card.
Nuked OutEarn a Nuclear medal in free-for-all without using scorestreaks..5,000 XP and a Calling Card.
Relentless KillerEarn 10 Relentless medals (20 kills without dying).5,000 XP and a Calling Card.
Ultra KillerEarn an Ultra Kill medal (7 rapid kills).10,000 XP and a Calling Card.
Underwater OpsWhile underwater, plant C4 on an enemy Gunboat or Wakerunner to detonate and destroy the vehicle, killing the occupants. Do this five times.5,000 XP and a Calling Card.
Very NuclearEarn a Nuclear medal with 21 different weapons. All kills must come from that weapon.5,000 XP and a Calling Card.
Dark Ops MasterComplete all Dark Ops challenges.10,000 XP and an Animated Calling Card.

Cold War's Multiplayer is fun to rush around in, but you'll need some serious skills to earn some of its Dark Ops challenges. Scoring multiple rapid kills depends on you being at the top of your game in these matches. The Relentless Killer achievement also sounds particularly difficult to obtain. Banking 20 kills without dying is far from easy, and managing that multiple times is incredibly impressive. 

Zombies

(Image credit: Treyarch, Activision)

Call of Duty: Cold War Dark Ops Zombies challenges

Fancy yourself a formidable zombie slayer? Here are the 13 Cold War Dark Ops Zombies challenges:

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NameChallengeRewards
Another Round?Reach round 100 in the Zombies mode.10,000 XP and a Calling Card.
Armed to the TeethHave two fully upgraded weapons, equipped with ammo mods, and six active perks in a single game.1,000 XP and a Calling Card.
Box AddictBuy every weapon from the mystery box in a single game.5,000 XP and a Calling Card.
CheckmateDo every single trial in Die Maschine in a single game.10,000 XP and a Calling Card.
Evil UnleashedComplete the main quest (Easter egg).5,000 XP and a Calling Card.
Good EnoughReach round 20 using your starting load out (no upgrades).10,000 XP and a Calling Card.
Harbinger of DoomKill 50 enemies with a single support.5,000 XP and a Calling Card.
InvincibleReach round 30 without going down.10,000 XP and a Calling Card.
King of SilverbacksIn Dead Ops Arcade, earn a cumulative high score of 999,999,999.5,000 XP and a Calling Card.
Pristine PeltIn Dead Ops Arcade, defeat Mamaback in the final round without dying.5,000 XP and a Calling Card.
Reaper of the UndeadKill 1,000,000 enemies.10,000 XP and a Calling Card.
Social DistancingReach round 20 without taking a hit.5,000 XP and a Calling Card.
The AnvilExfil a game only using melee attacks.5,000 XP and a Calling Card.
Dark Ops MasterComplete 11 Dark Ops challenges.10,000 XP and an animated Calling Card.

The Call of Duty community were quick off the mark to complete the Zombies Easter egg. While working through those tasks is especially challenging with hordes of zombies hot on your heels, knowing that your efforts are acknowledged afterwards make it all worthwhile. Speaking of tricky challenges, I'm unsure whether I'll ever unlock the Reaper of the Undead Calling Card. Its early days, but eliminating 1,000,000 enemies is a lot to ask. At least I've got plenty of time to try.

Emma Matthews

As PC Gamer's guides writer, Emma is usually juggling several games at once. She loves competitive first-person shooters like CS:GO and Call of Duty, but she always has time for a few rounds of Hearthstone. She's happiest when she's rescuing pugs in Spelunky 2.