Ashes of the Damned Main Quest

In the Janus Towers Plaza starting area, enter the white building and melee the floor grate to find T.E.D.D.'s Head. Pick it up.

Exit west and find the pickup truck outside. Hold the install button to place T.E.D.D.'s Head onto Ol' Tessie and bring her to life.

Activate the Power at Each POI

Drive to each of the three POIs and clear the power:

1. Shoot the orange fungal growth off each Power Pump within the time limit
2. Flip the power switch in each area (Cabin at Blackwater Lake, Barn at Vandorn Farm, switch near generator at Ashwood)

Build Pack-a-Punch

Once Ashwood power is on, drive Ol' Tessie into the Ashwood Garage and interact with the crafting table to install Pack-a-Punch onto the truck's back.

Tip: Pack-a-Punch now travels with Ol' Tessie wherever she goes.

Drive southwest to Exit 115 and buy the doors to Reba's Diner (1,250 Essence). Aim to arrive before Round 5-6 when Ravagers first appear.

Get the Freezer Key

Stay inside the diner until the Cook zombie spawns (from Round 5+). Kill him and he drops the Freezer Key.

Open the Freezer

With the Freezer Key, go to the southwest corner of the diner and interact with the freezer locker to open it. Loot the Abomination Carcass from inside.

Warning: The Cook only spawns and drops the key while you're inside the diner. Kill him inside or the key won't drop.

Ravager Eyes can be obtained at any Saw Blade Trap on the map -- not just in Reba's Diner. Saw Blade Traps are found at multiple POIs including Reba's Diner, Vandorn Farm, and others.

1. Activate any Saw Blade Trap for 2,000 points.
2. Wait for a Ravager to appear (small, fast 4-legged enemies that spawn every ~5 rounds or during Max Ammo rounds).
3. Let the Ravager run into the active trap -- it drops the Ravager Eyes item.

Tip: You don't have to be at Reba's Diner for this. If a Ravager spawns near any trap location, use whichever is most convenient during your run.

Drive back to the Ashwood Garage, park Ol' Tessie inside, and interact with the crafting table. This installs the Abomination Carcass onto the hood and unlocks the Beam Attack (R1/RB). Three abomination heads on the front of the truck now shoot lasers.

Drive between any two POIs along the fog roads. Look for a purple glowing plant just off the road (not green or orange plants). Shoot it with Ol' Tessie's Beam Attack (R1/RB). It explodes and drops the Hoard Husk Chunks golden item -- get out of the truck and pick it up.

Tip: An easy spawn is on the road between Vandorn Farm and Ashwood. Only one plant needs to drop the item -- move on as soon as you have it.

Go to the Blackwater Lake area (northwest, accessed from the Ashwood Garage). Open the Cabin and head to the kitchen on the ground floor. Interact with the Jar sitting on the south-side shelf near the sink to pick up the Jar of Spores.

Tip: You can pick this up very early in the run -- the sooner the better, as the next step has a 3-round wait time.

Drive to Vandorn Farm. On the road just in front of the farm gate, find the dead horse carcass covered in red fungal spores. Interact with it to place the Jar of Spores on the carcass.

This takes 3 full rounds to complete. While you wait, continue with the next steps -- just remember to return here in 3 rounds to collect the Widow's Lantern.

Enter the Barn at Vandorn Farm. Look for the lowest hanging body furthest towards the back.

1. Throw your Combat Axe at the left foot of the hanging body. The foot falls to the floor.
2. Throw a Molotov at the foot on the floor. Wait for the fire to stop burning.
3. Pick up the charred foot -- this becomes the Human Bones item.

Tip: A free Combat Axe is in the Exit 115 Diner kitchen. If you miss, pick the axe back up and retry. A free Molotov can be found in front of the Ashwood Garage.

At Round 8 or higher, return to Janus Towers Plaza. Head to the west exit and go to the burning truck at the top of the cliffs by the roadside. Uber Klaus will spawn here.

• Uber Klaus has both melee and ranged attacks -- keep moving and target his purple weak spots for extra damage.
• Defeat him and pick up the Stabilizer Chip he drops.

Head to Ashwood and take the left zipline up. Buy the door to the back-left house (500 Essence) to reach the Ashwood Sheriff's Office. Klaus sits in a prison cell inside.

1. Look at the panel on the cell gate and install the Stabilizer Chip.
2. Craft at least two Stun Grenades at the nearby crafting table (check your Tac-Map). Throw them slightly to the left of Klaus inside the cell, slightly in front of him.
3. When done correctly, a stun icon appears over his head and he bursts through the roof.
4. Find Klaus outside -- the party leader can hold L1/LB to command him.

Warning: This step is very finicky. You need at least two Stun Grenades and they must land very close to Klaus -- slightly in front and to his left. Having multiple players throw stun grenades simultaneously improves success. If it fails, craft more and retry the same round.

Tip: If Klaus disappears, use the radio outside his cell or other Klaus radios on the map (visible on the Tac-Map) to summon him back.

Head to Zarya Cosmodrome (southeast, near the rocket). Buy the path downstairs to the Support Systems area (1,750 Essence).

1. Command Klaus (hold L1/LB) to stand in front of the computer console. He'll stomp the ground, activating it.
2. A red scanning circle appears on the floor. Only one player must stand inside it -- others stay outside and help defend.
3. Kill the purple-eyed zombies that swarm you. Defend the circle until the scan completes.
4. Once done, interact with the glass panel to collect the Aether Barrel.

Warning: If multiple players stand in the red circle it may not work. If the circle disappears, interact with the green/red light on the console to restart it next round -- you don't need to call Klaus again.

Carry the Aether Barrel to each of the three Power Pump locations and insert it. Kill zombies nearby to fill it with energy. You're on a 1.5-minute timer between charges -- use Ol' Tessie to travel fast and don't use Jump Pads (you'll drop the barrel).

Recommended order: Ashwood → Blackwater Lake → Vandorn Farm

Warning: The Aether Barrel's energy decays if you take too long between pumps. After Vandorn Farm, immediately take it to the next step -- don't delay.

If 3 rounds have passed since Step 6, return to the dead horse at Vandorn Farm's front gate and interact with it to collect the fully grown Widow's Lantern.

After the final charge at Vandorn Farm, carry the Aether Barrel directly into the Barn and head down to the Cellar. Interact with the mysterious cube (Kortifex Box) in the center of the room while holding the barrel. The barrel is absorbed and the box begins to glow.

Head outside and find the Jump Pad near Vandorn Farm's front gates. Ride it toward Janus Towers Plaza. While in mid-air, look down at the rooftops of Vandorn Farm -- you'll see three distinct red glowing symbols on:

• The Barn roof
• The Silo roof
• The Farmhouse roof

Screenshot these or memorise them -- they are completely random every match. You can ride the jump pad as many times as needed to check.

Return to the Kortifex Box in the Cellar. Each side of the box can be cycled through different symbols by interacting with it. Cycle each side until your three rooftop symbols each appear on one face of the box. Order doesn't matter -- just get all three symbols visible.

Once all three are set, go to the back of the box and interact with the eye symbol. If correct, the box opens and the Necrofluid Gauntlet is revealed -- pick it up!

Warning: If you input the wrong symbols the step fails. Wait until the next round to retry.

Green Orb Trial

Immediately after grabbing the Gauntlet, a lockdown begins. Green orbs spawn around the Cellar. Shoot each orb with the Necrofluid Gauntlet and reload to recall the spike back -- this destroys the orb. Clear all orbs to end the lockdown and exit.

Prerequisites: Necrofluid Gauntlet + Wisp Tea perk

1. Head to Zarya Cosmodrome and purchase the Wisp Tea perk from the perk machine near the rocket.
2. Drive to Ashwood and find the Tailor Shop in the east side of the area, just to the right of Vulture Aid.
3. Enter the Tailor Shop and stand near the glowing mirror. Kill zombies nearby to activate Wisp Tea -- the Wisp will float into and damage the mirror.
4. Once the mirror reacts and a strange cube image appears on its surface, shoot it with the Necrofluid Gauntlet.
5. The mirror shatters and drops the Powder of the Forgotten on the floor -- pick it up.

The Mysterious Limb requires killing the elite bear enemy Zursa, who only spawns naturally from Round 16 onwards.

Force Zursa to Spawn Earlier

1. Head to Zarya Cosmodrome and find three skulls around the area.
2. Shoot each skull with the Necrofluid Gauntlet until its eyes glow green.
3. Once all three skulls are activated, Zursa will roar and spawn in the Cosmodrome.

Get the Limb

1. Weaken Zursa with regular weapons.
2. Land the killing blow with Ol' Tessie's Abomination Beam (R1/RB).
3. Zursa explodes and drops the Mysterious Limb -- pick it up.

Warning: The final hit MUST come from Ol' Tessie's Beam Attack. If killed by anything else, the Mysterious Limb will not drop.

All 6 ingredients are required before entering:

• Widow's Lantern -- Dead horse at Vandorn Farm front gate (after 3 rounds)
• Human Bones -- Hanging body in Vandorn Barn (Combat Axe + Molotov)
• Ravager Eyes -- Saw Blade Trap kill
• Hoard Husk Chunks -- Purple roadside plant shot with Ol' Tessie Beam
• Powder of the Forgotten -- Tailor Shop mirror in Ashwood (Wisp Tea + Gauntlet)
• Mysterious Limb -- Kill Zursa with Ol' Tessie Beam Attack

The Puzzle

1. Head to Zarya Cosmodrome, buy the door to Yuri's Lab (southwest of the Cosmodrome). Inside, find the chemistry table with 6 golden bowls -- each holds one ingredient.
2. Interact ONLY with the Powder of the Forgotten (2nd bowl from the right). Do NOT touch any other bowls yet. White smoke fills the air, and once it clears, three lines of Pigpen cipher symbols appear on the chalkboard.
3. Decode the symbols. Each symbol maps to one ingredient. The solution is different every match. Read the chalkboard right to left -- this is the order you interact with the three bowls.

The bowl positions from left to right are:

• Bowl 1 (far left) = Widow's Lantern
• Bowl 2 = Hoard Husk Chunks
• Bowl 3 = Ravager Eyes
• Bowl 4 = Human Bones
• Bowl 5 = Powder of the Forgotten (don't touch again)
• Bowl 6 (far right) = Mysterious Limb

Interact with the three correct bowls in the correct order. If done right, red mist appears around the equipment. If the vial turns black, you failed -- wait until the next round and retry from step 2.

Blood Sacrifice

Interact with the vial to donate your blood. This permanently reduces that player's health for the rest of the session. The player donating should have Juggernog equipped.

A lockdown begins -- all players are teleported inside Yuri's Lab and zombies rush in. Health does NOT regenerate during this phase. The player who donated blood cannot go down -- if they do, the step fails and must be redone next round.

Lockdown Survival Tips

• All players stand in the same corner near the table
• Toss Monkey Bombs / Decoy Grenades one at a time to spread zombie distraction
• Use and reload the Necrofluid Gauntlet to restore some health (spike recall heals)
• The blood donor should use Aether Shroud if health gets critically low
• The Necrofluid Gauntlet, Monkey Bombs, and Aether Shroud are critical here, especially in solo

After the lockdown clears: a floating clock tower appears by Ashwood Bridge, and a locked chest/prism appears in Rabbit Alley in Ashwood. The map has changed -- this confirms the step is done.

A large locked prism is now in Rabbit Alley (behind the building with Pack-a-Punch in Ashwood). Three chains hold it shut -- each is opened by one of three keys hidden in the fog roads. Collect and deposit one key at a time -- never carry more than one.

To collect each key: look for a coloured glint at one of the spawn points. Shoot the glint with the Necrofluid Gauntlet and reload to pull the key toward you. Carry it back to the Ashwood prism and interact to remove one chain. Do NOT use Jump Pads while carrying a key -- you'll drop it.

Nightbird Key (Red) -- Orda Graveyard (Ashwood to Exit 115 road)

Debuff: Slashes your max health and disables health regeneration until deposited.

3 possible spawn locations:

• Inside a T-Rex skull on the road
• Inside a T-Rex skull hanging on a cliff
• Near the Exit 115 gate, on a small cliff behind a broken vehicle

Terrapin Key (Green) -- Grounded Ship (Ashwood to Vandorn Farm road)

Debuff: Disables your sprint -- you can only walk until deposited.

3 possible spawn locations:

• Front of the boat, next to a blue shipping container
• In a shipping crate on the deck (harder to spot)
• Inside the bottom walkway of the ship

Bruin Key (Yellow) -- Crashed Rocket (Ashwood to Zarya Cosmodrome road)

Debuff: Disables all firearms -- melee only until deposited.

3 possible spawn locations:

• On the cliff immediately left after leaving Ashwood's exit gate
• On top of the fallen red pylon/radio tower mid-path
• On the building with the spinning radar dish near the Cosmodrome entrance

Tip: Use Ol' Tessie to transport keys where possible -- being in the truck bypasses the debuff.

Once all three keys are deposited, a cutscene plays. When it ends, the DG-2 Turret Barrel appears in place of the prism.

Drive Ol' Tessie to the Ashwood Garage, park inside, and interact with the upgrade workbench to install the DG-2 Turret Barrel onto the truck. Ol' Tessie now has a powerful turret weapon -- you're ready for the final objectives.

Requires: DG-2 Turret Barrel on Ol' Tessie + Necrofluid Gauntlet

Charge the Gauntlet

Drive Ol' Tessie to the Ashwood Clock Tower (by Ashwood Bridge) and shoot it with the DG-2 Turret. The clock activates and glows. Then shoot one of the glowing clock faces with the Necrofluid Gauntlet and reload -- you turn purple and glowing.

Kill Time

While glowing purple, shoot the clock tower with the DG-2 Turret again, then follow up with a shot from the Necrofluid Gauntlet. The clock explodes and shifts to a deeper purple glow -- confirming this objective is complete.

Tip: You can only shoot the clock faces once per round for the purple charge. If you fail, wait until next round.

Requires: DG-2 Turret + purple-charged Necrofluid Gauntlet + Melee Macchiato perk (from Blackwater Lake) + Even-numbered round

Trigger the Lightning (if not active)

Drive to Exit 115 and use the DG-2 Turret to shoot a sparking lamppost with no light. A second will start sparking -- shoot that, then the third. All three hit = lightning strikes the area. Lightning naturally strikes every even-numbered round.

Charge the Gauntlet and Start the Timer

Return to Ashwood, get a purple charge from the Clock Tower (DG-2 shot, Gauntlet shot, reload), then drive back to Exit 115. Park Ol' Tessie next to the red truck by the diner. Climb onto the Service Station rooftop and shoot the clock face with your purple-charged Necrofluid Gauntlet. A 60-second timer begins.

Wake and Lead the 3 Zombies

You must wake three special zombies and lead each to their matching coloured lightning:

• The Mechanic (Yellow Lightning -- Service Station Rooftop): Summon Klaus and command him (L1/LB) to stomp next to the dead mechanic by the elevated car inside McDougal's Service Station. A yellow light enters the zombie, waking him. Lead the Mechanic up to the Service Station rooftop and into the yellow lightning.
• The Trucker (Pink Lightning -- Service Station Rooftop): Use Ol' Tessie's Abomination Beam to shoot the back of the red cargo truck outside Reba's Diner. The doors open and the Trucker wakes up. Lead him to the rooftop pink lightning.
• The Waitress (Red/Purple Lightning -- Diner Rooftop): With Melee Macchiato active, enter Reba's Diner and melee the cash register opposite the soda machine. The Waitress wakes up. Climb Reba's Diner rooftop (use Ol' Tessie's hood as a step-up) and lead her to the purple lightning.

Tip: Progress does NOT reset on failure -- any zombie you've already delivered to their lightning strike stays done. Just wait for the next even-numbered round to finish remaining ones. In co-op, assign one player per zombie.

When all three transform into wisps and disappear, the Exit 115 objective is complete.

Requires: Purple-charged Necrofluid Gauntlet (2 separate charges needed)

Slow Both Array Towers

1. Recharge your Gauntlet at the Ashwood Clock Tower (DG-2, Gauntlet, reload).
2. Head to Zarya Cosmodrome and find the two spinning array/satellite towers (northwest and northeast).
3. Shoot one with the purple-charged Gauntlet -- it slows down.
4. Return to Ashwood, get another clock charge, go back and shoot the second array tower.

Warning: You need two separate clock charges -- one per tower.

Decode the Symbol Sequence

With both towers slowed, enter the Control Room (next to the Wisp Tea perk machine). On the right side of the room, two monitors flash Pigpen cipher symbols. They spell one of four possible words: ROCKET, ENGINE, LAUNCH, or WEAPON. It's different every match.

Translate your word into numbers using the alphabet (A=00, B=01, C=02 ... Z=25).

Enter the Code

In the same room, find monitors with flashing numbers (next to three wisps on the left). Shoot the red button on each monitor from left to right when the number matching your word's corresponding letter appears on screen.

Warning: If you fail, you must redo the entire step from scratch -- including slowing both array towers again.

If done correctly, blue souls flow toward the rocket and a launch animation plays -- the Cosmodrome objective is complete.

Requires: Purple-charged Necrofluid Gauntlet + all 4 ritual items collected

The Farmhouse Clock Puzzle

Recharge your Gauntlet at the Ashwood Clock Tower. Use the Jump Pad in Ashwood to travel to Vandorn Farm. Enter the Farmhouse. Look at the clock on the wall behind the father zombie at the head of the dining table -- it shows either 3:00, 6:00, 9:00, or 12:00 (random each match).

Look at the floor around the dining table -- Roman numerals are etched into it (III=3, VI=6, IX=9, XII=12). While still glowing purple, stand on the numeral matching the clock time. The father zombie's head will slowly rotate toward you. When his eyes glow red, shoot him with the purple-charged Necrofluid Gauntlet. His head glows blue -- confirmed.

Collect All 4 Ritual Items

All items are within Vandorn Farm and spawn in the same location every match:

• Tasty-Face (Teddy Bear Head) -- Upstairs Farmhouse bedroom, bottom bunk bed
• Pa's Pigsticker -- Garage, interact with the workbench on the north wall
• Junior's Fun-Face (Mask) -- Barn upper floor, corpse with mask near hay, left of Death Perception perk
• Ma's Chalice -- Barn Cellar, interact with the bathtub on the northwest wall

Perform and Defend the Ritual

Head to the centre of Vandorn Farm's outdoor area -- four glowing red circles are on the ground. Interact with each circle to place one ritual item (they glow gold once placed). After placing the last item, interact with it again to start the ritual.

Waves of zombies immediately attack the ritual items (not you). Defend all four items for just over 60 seconds.

Tip: Use Kazimir grenades, the Saw Blade Trap, and Frenzied Guard to distract zombies. If any item is destroyed, the ritual fails but can be retried next round.

On success, wisps replace the circles and a voiceline from the Entity plays, confirming the Vandorn Farm objective is complete.

All four objectives from Step 20 must be complete before proceeding.

Drive Ol' Tessie to Blackwater Lake and find Klaus at the pier/dock. Interact with him to start a boss fight vote. Once accepted, wait a few seconds.

Board Ol' Tessie and drive into Monolith Forest. Gray/orange wisps will begin appearing in front of you on the roads. Drive through each wisp -- a white wisp flies ahead to indicate the next location.

Route (3 wisps per road section, 12 total)

1. Blackwater Lake → Janus Towers Plaza (Monolith Forest)
2. Janus Towers Plaza → Vandorn Farm (Collapsed Tower)
3. Vandorn Farm → Ashwood (Grounded Ship road)
4. Ashwood → Blackwater Lake (Lost Cabins)

Wisps are not hidden but the route is timed -- if you run out of time, wait until the next round and try again. Hit each wisp as soon as it appears and avoid taking damage.

After collecting the final wisp at Lost Cabins, you are immediately teleported into the boss arena.

Preparation: Before starting Step 21, make sure you have full armor, maxed ammo, Gobblegums ready, and Aether Shroud charged. Have someone designated as the permanent driver and someone on the DG-2 Turret.

Phase 1 -- Damage and Weak Points

• Use Ol' Tessie to boost and ram into Veytharion repeatedly.
• The DG-2 Turret deals strong damage -- aim for the open mouths and undercarriage.
• The Necrofluid Gauntlet also deals good damage during this phase.

Phase 2 -- Immunity Break

• Veytharion goes immune and spins constantly.
• Shoot him with the turret until a blue beam of light appears.
• Drive Ol' Tessie into the beam to absorb it -- this powers up the truck, removes immunity, and reveals a weak spot at the bottom.
• A Max Ammo spawns in an arena corner after this phase completes.

Phase 3 -- Purple Laser Attack

• Veytharion adds a purple laser beam that targets players and can destroy Ol' Tessie.
• Ram the boss while it charges the laser to cancel the attack before it fires.
• Continue the ramming + turret damage strategy.

Survival Tips

• Avoid red missiles at all costs -- red circles on the ground mark where they'll land.
• Veytharion can grab and throw Ol' Tessie across the arena, forcing players out. Use Salvage to repair immediately.
• Use Aether Shroud when repairing the truck or reviving teammates -- invisibility prevents damage during repairs.
• Bring Monkey Bombs to distract zombies spawning around the arena.
• Teleporters behind pillars at the arena edges will instantly teleport you back to the truck (when repaired).
• Non-drivers should focus on revives, armor, and dealing damage with the turret and Gauntlet.

Once Veytharion's health reaches zero -- the cutscene plays and the Easter egg is complete!