How To Open Dark Aether Rift in MW3 Zombies (Ultimate Guide)

Treyarch finally stepped up and bestowed us with Call of Duty MW3 Zombies which is pretty sweet. It’s pretty rewarding, allowing you to complete story missions, take up contracts, and dive deeper into the lore of the Dark Aether Rift in MW3 – a nice compliment to the multiplayer and challenges Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Season 1 has to offer. How to open Dark Aether Rift Portal in MW3 Zombies? You need to obtain Sigils to unlock Dark Aether Rift, which are single-use items. Opening up Dark Aether Rift or Portal is no easy task, but we’re here to help you with the fastest method to unlock Dark Aether Rift Portal in MW3 Zombies.

How To Unlock The Dark Aether Rift in MW3 Zombies – Overview and Requirements

To Open Dark Aether Rift in MW3 Zombies is a challenging task. You’ll need two ammo mods; Brain Rot and Dead Wire Ammo Mods, and Tyr Akimbo revolvers beefed up by Aether Tools and a PaP Level 3 (Pack a Punch Level 3) Weapon.

To be fair, you need to collect a total of 3 Purple Items to further unlock the 3 Golden Key Items to open Dark Aether Portal in MW3 Zombies.

Therfore, you need to clear out and eliminate:
1. An Aether Nest
2. A Harvestor Orb
3. Doghouse Hell Hound Spawn

With each objective, you need to complete 3 HVT contracts (guided via Purple Aether Tears), and bounties to get 3 Key Golden Items. Complete the Act 4 Mission “Bad Signals” to get the Locked Diary, one of the 4 key items to obtain your first in your venture to open the Dark Aether Portal in MWZ.

After obtaining all key items, placing the key items on 4 specific Pedestals and fighting and defeating a Mega Abomination and Zombie Horde as the Dark Aether Rift opens, you’ll obtain your Rift-Reward – a Sigil. The Sigil is a single-use key to open and unlock Dark Aether Rift Portal in MW3 Zombies.

Here are the 3 Purple Items and 4 Golden key Items to unlock Dark Aether Rift in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Zombies:

  1. The Locked Diary – Completing the ACT 4 “Bad Signals” Story Mission.
  2. The Purple Pill Bottle – From an Aether Nest Using Brain Rot Ammo Mod on an underpowered weapon on Toxic Cysts.
  3. The Golden Pill Bottle – From an HVT Contract guided via Purple and Green Aether Tears.
  4. The Purple Surveillance Camera – Using the Dead Wire Ammo Mod Weapon on Harvester Orbs.
  5. The Golden Surveillance Camera – From an HVT Contract guided via Purple and Yellow Aether Tears.
  6. The Purple Dog Collar – Placing a Molotov and Chunks of Meat(Obtained from running over Zombies) in a Doghouse and eliminating the Hell Hound Spawn.
  7. The Golden Dog Collar – From an HVT Bounty Contract guided via Purple and Red Aether Tears.

IMPORTANT:
Do not place any of the Key Items on the Dark Aether Rift Pedestals before obtaining all the necessary items. Otherwise, you’ll soft-lock the Aether Portal and won’t be able to unlock the Dark Aether Rift in MW3 Zombies.

Step 1: Complete Act 4 Mission “Bad Signals” to Obtain the Locked Diary in MW3 Zombies

How to Open the Dark Aether Rift Portal

First of all, you’ll need to complete the Act 4 Story Mission in MW3 Zombies by killing the Red Worm, which is pretty challenging. After killing the red worm, you unlock the Locked Diary, which is one of the first steps to unlock Dark Aether Rift in MW3 Zombies.

Step 2: How to Obtain The Purple and Golden Pill Bottle in MW3 Zombies

Now, you need to obtain 3 other items to open Dark Aether Rift in MW3 Zombies and obtain a Sigil.

The second key item we need is the pill bottle in MW3 Zombies. For this, you need to have the brain rot ammo mod. If you don’t have it, complete some tier 3 missions to unlock the brain rot ammo mod schematics in Zombies mode.

How to Obtain The Purple Pill Bottle – Open Dark Aether Rift MW3 Zombies

How to Open the Dark Aether Rift Portal

Now, head to your nearest Aether Nest and shoot at one of the cysts. Make sure you don’t use a weapon that’s too powerful, otherwise the cyst will pop. Once you shoot at it, you’ll be given a prompt to interact with the Cyst.

Interact with the Toxic Cyst, and you’ve just unlocked the Purple Pill Bottle in MW3. But this is just the first step to obtaining the Golden Pill Bottle. Clear the Aether Nest and move on to the next step.

How to Open the Dark Aether Rift Portal

How To Obtain The Golden Pill Bottle – Open Dark Aether Rift MW3 Zombies

How to get Sigils MW3 Zombies

Now, it’s time for you to locate an Aether Tear. There are multiple Aether Tears scattered around the map, and once you find one, enter it.

How to Open the Dark Aether Rift Portal

You’ll spawn in the air, but in the distance, you’ll spot a Green Aether Portal. Parachute up to it, and you’ll spawn in the air near an HVT Contract.

How to get Sigils MW3 Zombies

Make your way to the HVT Contract and accept it. Go to the location of the HVT Zombie Bounty and eliminate it. The Zombie will drop the Golden Pill Bottle, and that’s pretty much the easiest way to obtain the Golden Pill Bottle in MW3 Zombies.

How to get Sigils MW3 Zombies

Step 3: How To Obtain The Purple and Golden Surveillance Cameras in MW3 Zombies

The Purple Surveillance Camera requires you to destroy a Harvester Orb using a weapon equipped with the Dead Wire Ammo Mod. To obtain the Golden Surveillance Camera, hop through Aether Tears, accept the HVT Contract, and kill the HVT Bounty.

How to Obtain the Purple Surveillance Camera – Unlock Dark Aether Rift MW3 Zombies

How to get Sigils MW3 Zombies

Now, you’ll need to obtain the purple surveillance camera, which can be dropped from Harvester Orbs. These are dark orbs that will be floating around the map, so keep an eye out for them. You’ll also need the Dead Wire Ammo Mod on your weapon. Destroy the Harvester Orb and it will drop the Purple Surveillance Camera. Now, it’s time to move to the next step.

How to get Sigils MW3 Zombies

How to Obtain the Golden Surveillance Camera

How to get Sigils MW3 Zombies

Similar to how you obtained the golden pill bottle, you need to locate another Purple Aether Tear. Hop into the Aether Tear, but this time, you’ll see a Yellow Aether Tear in the distance.

Parachute and enter it to spawn in the air, near another HVT Contract.

Open Dark Aether Rift MW3 Zombies
Unlock Dark Aether Rift MW3 Zombies
How to get Sigils MW3 Zombies

Be careful now, because you’ll land in a medium threat zone this time around. Accept the HVT Contract and head towards the location of the HVT Bounty.

Dark Aether Rift MW3 Zombies

Find the Marked HVT and eliminate it, which will drop the Golden Surveillance Camera in MW3 Zombies. And now it’s time to stash your items and move on.

Open Dark Aether Rift MW3 Zombies
Unlock Dark Aether Rift MW3 Zombies

It’s time for you to Exfil from Urzikstan’s Exclusion Zone, as you make your way to obtain the fourth item on the list. This time, you’ll need to head into a Tier 3 Zone for the Purple and Golden Dog Collars.

Step 4: How to Obtain The Purple and Golden Dog Collar in MW3 Zombies

How to Open  Dark Aether Rift Portal MW3 Zombies
Unlock Dark Aether Rift

You need chunks of meat and a Molotov to spawn a Hellhound at one of the many Dog Houses in MW3 Zombies. Eliminate it to get the Purple Dog Collar. To obtain the Golden Dog Collar, you’ll need to locate a purple Aether tear, parachute to a red Aether tear, and accept your final HVT Bounty Contract for the guide. Eliminate the target to get the Golden Dog Collar.

How to Get The Purple Dog Collar

Open Dark Aether Rift MW3 Zombies
How to Unlock Dark Aether Rift Portal

To obtain the purple dog collar, you’ll need two items; Molotov’s and Chunks of Meat. 

To get chunks of meat, just start an Escort Mission and drive around on your quad bike. Run over a few zombies, and you’ll obtain Chunks of Meat in no time.

The next step is to locate a Doghouse. Doghouses are marked all over the map. They can be spotted from the distance by fumes of thick black smoke rising.

How to Open the Dark Aether Rift Portal MW3 Zombies

Walk up to the Dog House and place the Molotov and the Chunks of Meat inside, and you’ll spawn a Hell Hound.

Open Dark Aether Rift MW3 Zombies
How to Unlock the Dark Aether Rift Portal

Eliminate the Hell Hound, and it will drop the Purple Dog Collar in MW3 Zombies.

How to Open the Dark Aether Rift Portal

How To Get the Golden Dog Collar – Open Dark Aether Rift in MW3 Zombies

Dark Aether Rift MW3 Zombies
How to Open the Dark Aether Rift Portal

As previously done, you need to locate a purple Aether Tear. Walk up to it and parachute to a Red Aether Rift in the distance.

Dark Aether Rift MW3 Zombies

You’ll spawn near another HVT Bounty. Traverse to the HVT Bounty and accept it. Now, track down the HVT Bounty Zombie and eliminate it. Voilà, you’ve now obtained the Golden Dog Collar in MW3 Zombies. Time to Exfil from the exclusion zone once again.

How to Open the Dark Aether Rift Portal

Step 5: How To Open Dark Aether Rift in MW3 Zombies

Dark Aether Rift MW3 Zombies
How to Open the Dark Aether Rift Portal

Now, you’ve obtained all the 4 key items needed to obtain the Sigil and open Dark Aether Rift in MW3 Zombies.

Now, head back into the Exclusion Zone in Urzikstan in MW3 Zombies and enter the Tier 3 Red Zone. You’ll come across an Aether Tornado. Walk inside it to find the Dark Aether Portal surrounded by 4 pedestals.

You need to specifically place each item on a specific pedestal, depending upon the symbols etched onto the base of the pedestal.

  • Place the Locked Diary on the Pedestal with the Cryofreeze or Snowflake symbol.
  • Place the Golden Pill Bottle on the Pedestal bearing the Brain Rot Symbol.
  • Place the Golden Dog Collar on the Pedestal with the Napalm Symbol.
  • Place the Golden Surveillance Camera on the Dead Wire or Lightning Bolt Pedestal.

How To Kill the Mega Abomination

How to Open the Dark Aether Rift Portal - How to Kill Mega Abomination in MW3 Zombies

Now, the Mega Abomination will spawn, along with a horde of zombies at his side. You need to tidy up your loadout for the final part of this guide. Equip the Akimbo Snake shot Tyr Revolvers to quickly chip the Mega Abomination’s Health. If you’re scared of losing your inventory, make sure to use the Tombstone Perk.

In addition, a Pack a Punch 3 Tier-3 weapon should help. Also equip some Aether Tools and Aetherium Crystals, Sentry Gun, A Two Plate Vest, 3 Self Revives. Furthermore, make sure to equip the Golden Dog Collar, the Golden Pill Bottle, the Golden Pill Bottle, and the Locked Diary as these are necessary items to unlock Dark Aether Rift Portal in MW3 Zombies.

Recommended Loadout To Kill The Mega Abomination – How To Open Dark Aether Rift MW3 Zombies

Dark Aether Rift MW3
  • Tyr Akimbo Revolvers
  • Tier-3 Pack a Punch Weapon
  • Aether Tools
  • Aetherium Crystals
  • Sentry Gun
  • Two-Plate Vest
  • 3 Self Revives
  • Decoy Grenades

Use decoy grenades to distract the zombie horde, the Tyr Akimbo revolvers work well to kill the Mega Abomination, and the Sentry Gun works well to assist you in the boss battle.

How To Get Sigils To Open Dark Aether Rift in MW3 Zombies

How To Get Sigils in MW3 Zombies
Open Dark Aether Rift MW3 Zombies
Unlock Dark Aether Rift MW3 Zombies

After you kill the zombies and the Mega Abomination, you’ll obtain a Sigil. The Sigil can be used to open Dark Aether Rift Portal in MW3 Zombies. Now, you can obtain multiple Sigils by Completing Tier 3 Contracts in the Red Zone. As you make your way into the Dark Aether Rift, you’ll run into a few contacts allowing you to obtain Elder Sigils too!

But for now, you should focus on stacking up your inventory and exfiling for the moment, as the Dark Aether Rift Zone has a higher threat level than the normal exclusion zone of Urzikstan in MW3 Zombies.

And that pretty much wraps our guide on How To Unlock Dark Aether Portal In MW3 Zombies and gain your first Sigil. Now you can gain multiple Sigils by completing Tier 3 contracts in MW3 Zombies.

For more guides, bug fixes, news, and updates on MW3, stay tuned for more on EsportsNext.

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Naseer Abbas
Naseer Abbas
Naseer is a modern-day Ted in a human skin who relishes in making games easier to play for others while making real life harder for peers to partake in the great social experiment.

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