How to beat final boss in The Tomb in Black Ops 6 Zombies

The Sentinel Artifact is the final boss of The Tomb‘s main story Easter egg in Black Ops 6 Zombies, but completing it is one of the toughest challenges in the mode to date.

The Tomb has finally arrived as part of Black Ops 6 Season 2 and players are racing to finish it as quickly as possible. However, the final boss is proving difficult for many, as fans have already criticized it for being too challenging.

While it’s definitely not for the faint-hearted, it’s more than beatable if you know what to expect. So, here’s how to defeat the Sentinel Artifact on The Tomb in BO6 Zombies.

How to prepare

Before you tackle the final boss, it’s important to make sure you have fully upgraded the Ice Staff and Pack-a-Punched your second weapon the maximum of three times. The enemies you’ll face have substantial health bars and can soak up plenty of damage, so it’s crucial that you’re also inflicting as much damage per shot as possible so you don’t get overwhelmed.

We have a guide to help you decide on the best weapon to use, but you can’t go wrong with a Shotgun for quick kills or an LMG for larger magazine sizes. Wonder Weapons don’t do any damage to the boss, so it’s vital that you fill at least one slot with a traditional gun.

Activision

Although it won’t be possible for everybody, we also recommend attempting it with a full squad of teammates, all mic’d up and willing to communicate. A solo run of the Easter egg is incredibly difficult anyway, but this final encounter is a nightmare without a team to coordinate with.

You’ll also want to make sure that you’ve got Gold Armor equipped, as this recharges by itself and doesn’t require any plates to be topped up.

For a step-by-step walkthrough of how to reach the Sentinel Artifact, check out our full breakdown of The Tomb Easter egg.

How to complete Sentinel Artifact boss fight in Black Ops 6 Zombies

1. Wait until the artifact turns purple to do damage.
   • Remember that Wonder Weapons don’t damage the boss.
2. When the artifact splits in two, repeat the process while trying to damage both evenly.
3. Once it splits into three or four, certain enemies will become possessed.
4. Deafet these enemies to reveal the artifact and shoot it to deal damage.
5. Repeat until only a small portion of health remains.
6. When the lasers start pointing above the doorway, shoot at the symbol.
   • If you aren’t quick enough, a devasting attack will wipe you and your team.
7. If you do enough damage, the boss will finally be defeated.

Phase one

At the start of the fight, the Sentinel Artifact will remain in the middle of the arena, regularly firing out lasers. These melt away your health bar in the blink of an eye and should be avoided at all costs. This can be increasingly difficult as you’re forced to run around and tackle smaller enemies, so make sure you’re always keeping an eye on the artifact itself — especially in the later stages.

You’ll notice that the artifact floats up and down but can’t be damaged. Whenever it goes up, a fresh wave of zombies will appear, so you can use this visual cue to prepare yourself.

Eventually, it will begin glowing purple, which signifies that it’s now open to deal damage. At this point, you should focus your attention on the boss itself and give it everything you’ve got, but just remember that Wonder Weapons (including the Ice Staff) don’t do any damage.

If you inflict enough, it’ll break and lose a big chunk of its health bar. It’ll also split into two pieces, which marks the start of the second stage.

Activision

Phase two

The second phase works exactly the same as the first, as you simply have to survive while waiting for your windows to damage the artifact. The only key differences are that you’ll have more enemies to deal with, and there are two pieces to aim at.

Hitting them enough will cause them to split once again and it’s best to try and hit both as much as possible. Each split takes another big chunk of the health bar down, but if you focus all of your damage on just one, it’ll split into three rather than four.

Phase three

Phase three is where things get really chaotic, as the Sentinel Artifact no longer just floats safely above the battlefield. Once it’s broken into three or four sections, it will begin possessing powerful enemies around the map, such as Amalgams or Doppleghasts.

It’s totally random each time, but whichever zombie it occupies gets a massive health and damage boost. In fact, they can virtually one-shot you if you’re not careful.

As always, it’s important to keep moving and not get backed into a corner, while trying to focus on the jacked-up enemy as much as possible. Once you defeat it, the artifact will appear over its body and can be shot at just like before.

This is where communication is key, as you’ll need to tell your teammates where the target is and decide who should be focusing on attacking them and who is going to clear the minor enemies out of the way.

Keep repeating this process to whittle down the boss’ health, all while avoiding the lasers blasting you from the middle.

Activision

Phase four

The final step isn’t as tricky on paper but easily the most tense section of the entire battle. Once the Sentinel Artifact has only a slither of health remaining, it will begin preparing its final attack, which will kill your entire team if it lands.

All of the artifacts will begin beaming themselves onto a round symbol the doorway. This is a simple DPS check, where all you have to do is keep shooting and do enough damage within the time limit. If you fail, you’ll all be wiped, but if you pass, the boss will be defeated.

A Max Ammo Power-Up will appear in the middle, so you won’t need to worry about running out of bullets. This is simply a test of whether your weapons are strong enough to finish it off before it unleashes its knockout blow.

But if you’re guns are fully upgraded, you have a full team, and you’re all focusing on the same spot, you should have no trouble at all.

And that’s it! All that’s left to do now is sit back, watch the final cutscene, claim your rewards, and mop up any sweat.

For more on Black Ops 6 Zombies, you can also check out our guides on how to complete the Easter egg in Citadelle des Morts, Terminus, and Liberty Falls.