Dark Aether Rift Guide - How To Enter & Map

Dark Aether Rift guide in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (CoD MW3 2023). Learn about how to enter the Dark Aether Rift, Bunny and Contract location map, and rewards in Zombies MWZ.

Dark Aether Rifts Overview

New Mode Added For Season 1

Dark Aether Rifts is a new game mode added in Season 1. It offers a new end-game challenge and great rewards for players who finish the seasonal mission. Players will be given 30 minutes to complete various objectives and make it out alive.

Dark Aether Rift Location

The entrance to the Dark Aether Rift is located in the Red Zone, but you cannot enter it until you have collected four Key Items and obtained the Sigil.

How To Enter Dark Aether Rifts

Sigil Is Required to Enter the Dark Aether Rift

Sigil	Details
Sigil	How To Get: Obtained by defeating the Mega Abomination which appears after placing the four Key Items on the Pedestals. *Thereafter, it will also be available as a Tier 3 contract reward. How To Use: Use it on the surface of the Triangular Portal to enter the Dark Aether Rift.
Elder Sigil	How To Get: Obtained at a low rate by completing the contracts in the Dark Aether Rift. How To Use: Use it on the back side of the Triangular Portal to enter the Dark Aether Rift of higher difficulty.

All squad members can obtain a Sigil by defeating the Mega Abomination, which appears by collecting four Key Items and placing them on the Pedestals. One person can use a Sigil on the triangular portal to allow everyone to enter the Dark Aether Rift.

How To Collect 4 Key Items

Key Item	Pedestal to Place It On
Locked Diary	Ice

How To Get Locked Diary

1. Enter the Act 4 Bad Signal Mission
2. Gather all the items you need and prepare for a difficult fight
3. Head to the Bad Signal Exfil
4. Enter the Anomaly
5. Head to 4 locations to break the Seals
6. Defeat the Aether Worm: Gorm'gant
7. Get the Locked Diary as a reward

Key Item	Pedestal to Place It On
Pill Bottle	Skull

How To Get Pill Bottle

1. Equip Brain Rot Ammo Mod on your weapon
2. Head to an Aether Nest
3. Shoot a Cyst once to turn it green *DON'T Break it
4. Interact with the green Cyst to get a Purple Pill Bottle
5. Fly high in the sky through an Aether Tear and touch the green glowing rift
6. Find and accept a Purple Bounty Contract at the warp destination
7. Complete it to get the Gold Pill Bottle

Key Item	Pedestal to Place It On
Surveillance Camera	Lighting

How To Get Surveillance Camera

1. Equip Dead Wire Ammo on your weapon
2. Shoot a Harvester Orb to turn its color
3. Acquire the Purple Camera that fell from the Harvester Orb
4. Fly high in the sky through an Aether Tear and touch the orange glowing rift
5. Find and accept a Purple Bounty Contract at the warp destination
6. Complete it to get the Gold Surveillance Camera

Key Item	Pedestal to Place It On
Dog Collar	Flame

How To Get Dog Collar

1. Find a Dog House
2. Put the Molotov Cocktail in the Dog House
3. Kill the Hellhound to get the Purple Collar
4. Fly high in the sky through an Aether Tear and touch the red glowing rift
5. Find and accept a Purple Bounty Contract at the warp destination
6. Complete it to get the Gold Dog Collar

Place Collected Key Items on Pedestals

There are four Pedestals (Ice, Skull, Lightning, and Flame) in the area where the Dark Aether Rift is located, and you need to place the corresponding Key Item on each Pedestal.

Do NOT Place a Key Item Until You Have All 4

To get the Sigil, you will need 4 Key Items that match each of the markings on the Pedestals. When you place a Key on a Pedestal, you will not be able to pick it back up and it will disappear in the next match. Due to this, do not place a Key on the pedestal until you have all 4 Keys.

Defeat The Mega Abomination And Obtain Sigil

Once you place the keys on all 4 Pedestals, the Mega Abomination will appear. Defeat it to obtain a Sigil. If there are multiple squad members, all players will get one Sigil each.

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Sigils Can Also Be Obtained As Tier 3 Contract Rewards

After defeating the Mega Abomination that appear after collecting the four Key Items, Sigils will also be available as a Tier 3 (Red Zone) contract reward.

There Is A Dark Aether Rift of Higher Difficulty

In the Dark Aether Rift, the Elder Sigil can be obtained as a rare reward for completing a contract. Using it back side of triangular portal will allow you to enter the Dark Aether Rift of higher difficulty.

Guaranteed To Obtain Rare Schematics

Enemies in the high difficulty Rift are very strong, equal to or stronger than those in the Red Zone. With this higher difficulty, you are guaranteed to obtain rare Schematics (Aether Blade, Golden Armor Plate, and Dog Bone) as a reward for completing each contract. However, you can only obtain these Schematics the first time you complete these contracts.

Contracts Location in the Dark Aether Rift

Contracts and Exfil Point Location Map

In the Dark Aether Rift, you can accept Contracts by finding the bunnies located in three designated spots. The locations of the bunnies and Exfil Points are fixed and will always spawn in the same places.

Aether Extractors Contract Location

Escort Contract Location

Outlast Contract Location

Dark Aether Rift Guide

Dark Aether Rift Rewards

• Elder Sigil
• Aether Blade (Not a Schematic)
• Golden Armor Plate (Not a Schematic)
• Dog Bone (Not a Schematic)
• Flawless Aetherium Crystal
• Various Aether Tool
• Various Perk-a-Colas
• Various Ammo Mods

Good Chance Of Obtaining High Rarity Rewards

There has been an update on December 19, making the chances of getting high rarity rewards such as Dog Bones and Legendary Aether Tools considerably higher in the Dark Aether Rift. This has made going to the Dark Aether Rift a lot more worth your while.

It's Best To Play In Multiplayer

The enemies strength is between Tier 2 and 3, and because there are many of them, it's best to tackle this mission with at least three people (or two if you're really confident). Escort Contracts, in particular, are tough to complete with a small team, especially when you need to protect the ACV.

Please use the following bulletin board for recruiting squad members.

Healing Aura Is Recommended For The Field Upgrade

For the Field Upgrade, Healing Aura is recommended. Since there are many zombies and reviving downed squad members is challenging, so use Healing Aura for revival.

Increase The Level Of Pack-a-Punch To 2 Or Higher

If you're playing with a squad of about 3 people, it's a good idea to upgrade your weapon to level 3. However, if you have 4 people or more in the squad, level 2 may be work just fine.

It Helps To Have The Sentry Guns

Make sure to purchase several Sentry Guns. They are especially useful for achieving Escort Contracts, so it is recommend placing Sentry Guns on top of the ACV.

Elder Dark Aether Rift Guide (Hard-Level)

Elder Dark Aether Rift Rewards

• Elder Sigil
• Aether Blade Schematic (Guaranteed)
• Golden Armor Plate Schematic (Guaranteed)
• Dog Bone Schematic (Guaranteed)
• Aether Blade
• Golden Armor Plate
• Dog Bone
• Flawless Aetherium Crystal
• Various Aether Tool
• Various Perk-a-Colas
• Various Ammo Mods

How To Get Schematics

There are 3 bunnies that activate different contracts. You can obtain the Dog Bone Schematic by completing the 1st contract, the Golden Armor Plate Schematic for the 2nd contract, and the Aether Blade Schematic for the 3rd one. They can be done in any order, but you can only obtain the Golden Armor Plate and Aether Blade Schematic if you complete the 2nd and 3rd contract in the same match. You won't be able to obtain the Aether Blade Schematic by completing 2 contracts, coming back in another match and completing the one you missed before.

Memorizing The Map Is Key

Memorizing the map will help you greatly when you enter the Elder Dark Aether Rift. If you are thinking of where to go next so working on other things, Zombies will line up making it harder for you to defeat them all.

How To Complete Elder Dark Aether Rift Without Wasting Items

Escort → Aether Extractor → Outlast

Completing the Elder Dark Aether Rift may be hard, but with this way, you will avoid wasting any resources and it may be easier to complete. Use the guide below to help you as reference.

Escort Is Hardest To Complete

Out of the 3 Contracts, the Escort is the hardest to complete. You will need to use all your resources during this contract. You will want to place a Sentry Gun on the ACV to help you defeat all the enemies. If you are in a full squad of 3, when the ACV stops, you will want to all use Jaggernaut. If you don't have many people in the squad, then you will want to use the Jagger during the Mega Abomination. Then throwing Kazimir (Tactical) will help you along the way.

Use Rest Of Resources On Outlast

The Aether Extractor is not as hard, so if you have any resources left, then you will want to use it in the Outlast mission. The Outlast is again not that hard than the Escort, so keep calm and defeat your enemies.

Bringing Special Items Is Helpful

Bring Dog Bone And Golden Armor To Make It Easier

If you have already gotten the Dog Bone and the Golden Armor prior, then it is recommended to bring it with you during combat because it will make the game a lot easier for you.

Scorcher Is Useful When Getting The Bunny

While your teammates are heading to the next contract location, if you have the Scorcher, head to get the bunny. The key is for the other teammates to get to the next location so won't be attacked with any extra zombies then you already get chased by.

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