In the most recent update to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, a new mission “Bad Signal” was added as part of Act IV, but here’s the kicker: You can take on this mission no matter how far along you are in the story. I, for one, took on the challenge while grinding out Act I story missions.
In the lead-up to accepting this mission, I would like to strongly suggest you don’t take it on alone. To be honest, I don’t even know if your standard three-man squad would be up to the task. The only reason I managed to complete it was because I somehow stumbled into having a total of five players on my team.
“Bad Signal” is a raid in the truest sense of the imagination. It will truly test your mettle. In fact, the other reason I think I managed to make it to the end of this mission alive is that I found a Ray Gun in a Mystery Box before the mission kicked off; the very same Ray Gun that didn’t exfil with me despite the fact that we made a proper exfil. I am not salty. I am not salty at all.
“Bad Signal” mission guide
To start, you’ll need to navigate to the marker on your Tacmap. It’s on the edge of Tier II and Tier III, so make sure you’re prepared for anything. As you get close to the point, you’ll see a gigantic aether storm, but thankfully that’s not precisely where you want to go. No, your point is on the edge of the lake that separates Tier II from Tier III. It looks like a stone altar portal.
In order to formally accept the mission, a majority of your team will need to agree to it. As soon as they do, you’ll all be teleported to the Dark Aether map. I advise that you take a moment to enjoy the calm, as the next half-hour of your life is going to be very loud, and very hectic. To complete this mission, you have two major objectives: You’ll need to destroy a series of four seals that exist throughout the map, and then you’ll need to defeat the level’s raid boss before you can exfil successfully.
To destroy the seals, you’ll need to navigate to each, activate them, and then unleash holy heck on as many zombies as you possibly can until the seal has been satiated. It doesn’t seem to be attached to any kind of timer, but rather, your success here will be determined by how many zombies you kill in the area.
I wouldn’t say there are any nasty surprises that distinguish each seal from its counterparts, though it’s good to know that a majority — if not all — of the zombies are Tier II, so it might help to bring along a Pack-a-Punched weapon or two.
If you have a Ray Gun, now’s the time to use it. Just make sure you aren’t afraid to lose it, like I did.
Just when I thought I was out …
As soon as you’ve destroyed the fourth and final seal, the mission will tell you it’s time to exfil. But, don’t let your guard down — as soon as you approach the point, you’ll be attacked by the boss, Gorm’gant. Gorm’gant is a colossal, undead, wormlike creature with the ability to use aether breath like Godzilla.
It has a pretty beefy health bar, and it doesn’t help that you’ll be bombarded by undead simultaneously, so be on the move at all times. This is where it helps to not only have a Ray Gun, but also to have as many people on your team; if you can constantly be doing damage to Gorm’gant, this battle won’t be nearly as difficult. But it’ll still be chaotic, so make sure you have your wits about you.
In addition to Gorm’gant and the waves of undead, a third threat emerges that’s more annoying than it is difficult. Keep an eye out for floating aether spheres that’ll pass through you, inflicting damage. If you don’t deal with it, it’ll keep attacking you until you’re downed, so take it down before it can take you out.
As Gorm’gant is defeated, a Reward Rift will open containing a Locked Diary, so grab it and then head for the newly reconstructed portal to exfil. As of now, it’s unclear what purpose the Locked Diary will serve, though if the ensuing cutscene is any indication, Modern Warfare 3 Zombies has more story to tell yet.
