Reckoning ‘Aether Blade’ Easter Egg Guide in Black Ops 6 Zombies

‘Reckoning’ is upon us in Season 5 for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies. With the recent release of the Zombies map here in Black Ops 6, a plethora of side Easter Eggs have been found. One of these side Easter Eggs will reward players with the fabled Aether Blade, last seen in MW3 Zombies. Definitely one of the cooler Easter Eggs in Black Ops 6. Today, we’ll be going over all the steps on how to earn the Aether Blade inside of Season 5 of BO6 Zombies. Here’s what you need to know:

How to Earn the Aether Blade in Reckoning Zombies

The Paintings

Screenshot of where you place the missing paintings for the free Essence Easter Egg. Black Ops 6 Season 5
Zombies, Reckoning. — ***Place the missing paintings you find on the wall here!***

The first step you’ll want to complete is returning the 3 paintings back to the Executive Suites. These paintings are scattered across the facilities & can be picked up one at a time. If you’re playing with multiple players, you can each pick one up. The return of each painting will yield you 1,500 essence.

The first painting you can find is in the Reception Area, or back in spawn. It will against the wall in the small red side room, the one with the teleporter to Pack-A-Punch.

Screenshot of the painting location in the Pack-a-Punch room, in Black Ops 6 Season 5 Zombies., Reckoning. — ***The first painting is located in the Reception Area.***

The second painting can be found in the Pack-A-Punch room. If you head to the upper level on the same side as the Gobblegum Machine, you can find it propped up near the small stairs.

The second painting can be found in the Pack-A-Punch room. If you head to the upper level on the same side as the Pack-A-Punch Machine, you can find it propped up near the small stairs. — ***The second painting is located near a small staircase.***

The final painting can be found against a pillar in the Klaus Assembly area balcony.
It sits right next to a janitor cart as well on the left of the room (if coming from the launcher from T1).

Screenshot of third painting located in Android Assembly, Black Ops 6 Zombies Reckoning, Season 5. — ***The third painting located in Android Assembly.***

Mister Peeks & the Final Painting

Screenshot of Mister Peeks field upgrade in the Directors Office. Reckoning Zombies, Black Ops 6 Season 5. — ***Deploy Mister Peeks towards this painting to reveal the hidden safe.***

Next up, you’ll want to head into the Directors Office. There’s a painting located to the right of the portal to Pack-a-Punch. Once in-front of this painting, you need to deploy the Mister Peeks Field Upgrade aimed at it. This will cause Mister Peeks to knock the painting off the wall & reveal a hidden safe.

*Mister Peeks Field Upgrade will not be available till a later date.

Unlocking the Safe

To unlock the safe, you’ll need the safe key. To obtain this, you need to craft an RC-XD & head to the Dark Entity Containment Room. Head underneath the Forsaken & locate a grate that’s been busted open in the gate. Deploy & drive your RC-XD through the grate & to a dark Aether crystal. Detonate on this crystal & an ethereal energy will begin to ascend.

Screenshot of the grate in the wall you need to drive an RC-XD through. Reckoning, Black Ops 6 Zombies, Season 5. — ***Drive your*** ***RC-XD through this busted grate down beneath the Forsaken.*** ***Destroy the crystal at the end of space.***

As it does, crystals will spawn behind it that you must destroy. Once all are destroyed, the save key will be dropped. Pick this up & head back to the safe. Opening it up will trigger a lockdown sequence, that will spawns an elite disciple, as well as hordes of zombies. Survive that, & you can claim your reward of the Aether Blade, as well as some intel.