Ashes of the Damned is the only Zombies map available at Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 release, and the first challenging objective on the map everyone rushes for is to activate the Pack-a-Punch machine. In BO7, you need to bolt the Pack-a-Punch onto Ol’ Tessie, the truck that becomes your lifeline for the rest of the run. Once you get it installed, you can upgrade weapons anywhere you can park her, making long routes and high-threat zones much easier to survive. Below is a full walkthrough on how to unlock the Pack-a-Punch machine in Black Ops 7: Zombies Ashes of the Damned.
Investigate the Server Room
Right after you enter the map, you find yourself in Janus Towers Plaza with a waypoint directing you across the street to the Server Room. The door isn’t free and costs 1,250 Essence to unlock, so you’ll first have to kill the nearby zombies to collect this amount.
Inside, the place looks empty until you check the floor. A vent grate is on the ground to the right side of the room. Melee it to open, which reveals T.E.D.D.’s Head, the piece required to get Ol’ Tessie operational. Pick up the item and head outside through the open door at the front right.
Go to marked Ol’ Tessie in front, a few steps from the Server Room. Interact with the truck to place T.E.D.D.’s Head into the dashboard, which wakes up the truck, and you can have the first drive.
Drive to Blackwater Lake
With Tessie active, next follow the marker down the street and turn left toward a west wooden gate. Slam through it, and the map opens into the forest. This is where the map introduces the special zombie zones — the corrupted pathways connecting each region.
Zombies leap onto the truck, explosive blobs litter the road, and Tessie takes constant chip damage all the way through. Staying inside the cab is the only way to survive these stretches. Just keep your foot down and weave around the orange blobs since they detonate on contact and chunk Tessie’s health. Green blobs, on the other hand, heal Tessie, so drive onto them if they’re along your line (don’t stray too far away from the path for them).
Once you drive past the Monolith Forest, you’ll reach the Blackwater Lake and see a sign appear above the next fence. Break through the entrance to enter the area, and the danger stops.
Restore Power at Blackwater Lake
The Restore Power objective marker leads you to a Power Pump wrapped with glowing orange cysts, where you have to clear the infestation, but the game doesn’t give you much breathing room.
When you shoot the first cyst, a 30-second timer begins. You have to wipe every growth around the pump before the timer expires. When the final cyst pops, a larger, spongier one appears on top. That last one soaks a bit more damage, so keep pressure on it and don’t let zombies interrupt you. If you fail, you must wait for the next zombie round to try again until orange cysts reappear on the pump.
Once the infestation is removed, follow the power cable into the nearby cabin. The door costs 1,750 Essence, and the switch is upstairs. Flip it to turn on the power at Blackwater Lake. Now get back to Tessie because the next area is waiting.
Drive to Ashwood
With one zone restored, drive Tessie back out the way you came to get to Ashwood. The corrupted path wakes up again, so expect another round of exploding blobs and zombies clawing at the doors. Ashwood is the final objective before Pack-a-Punch becomes available. The path funnels you straight toward the garage area, and once you park in front of it, the way forward becomes clear.
Restore Power at Ashwood
Ashwood has multiple elevated sections, and you’ll have to climb. Look across from the garage to see a zipline running up to the upper walkway. Ride it, then move inside the building down the stairs to the locked door and spend 1,000 Essence to open.
Not far past that is a floating debris pile with a purple glow that blocks the next doorway, and the obstruction costs 1,750 Essence to clear. Once removed, you’ll find the second infected Power Pump ahead and the same minigame to complete as in Blackwater Lake.
This infestation works exactly like the previous pump — same cysts, 30-second window, and big final growth at the end. Clear the area of stray zombies first so you don’t get swarmed during the limited timer.
After the last cyst is destroyed, follow the marker to the power switch, which is next to the pump, a few stairs up. Flip the switch to turn on the power in Ashwood. There’s an open area to the right of the power switch from where you can drop to ground level, where you left the Tessie.
How to Install the Pack-a-Punch on Ol’ Tessie
With power restored in both required regions, the Ashwood garage finally opens. Drive Tessie inside, where she automatically repairs. There’s an upgrade bench at the back of the garage with the Pack-a-Punch module resting on top. Interact with it, and Tessie gets fitted with a full Pack-a-Punch unit on her rear platform.
From this point forward, Tessie works as a mobile upgrade station. Any time you need higher-tier firepower, go to the back of the truck and upgrade normally. The install also increases Tessie’s speed, so the corrupted travel zones become far less punishing on future runs. Ol’ Tessie is now fully powered and armed, and so are you.
