I love when games give me the option to pet dogs, and surprisingly, you can pet the Plaguehounds in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s Zombies mode. But unless you use a specific weapon effect, you’d never even know you had the option to pet them.
Die Maschine’s Plaguehounds are special round-based enemies that attack in waves, which are almost exactly like the hellhounds found in previous iterations of Zombies. The zombified hounds aren’t known for their good temperament, but if you can turn one into an ally for a brief period, Cold War will give you the option to pet the good doggo.
Petting a Plaguehound on Die Maschine requires a few steps, but it’s all easy objectives that the game guides you through at the beginning. You’ll need to turn on the power and forge the Pack-A-Punch machine, which is the iconic Zombies device used to upgrade the damage output of your weapons. The Pack-A-Punch can also be used to apply an alternate ammo-type to your weapon. There are four ammo effects to choose from, but you’ll need to select Brain Rot if you want to indulge in some petting.
With Brain Rot equipped on your gun, bullets have a chance to turn a zombie or hound into an ally for a brief period. Simply use the Brain Rotted gun during a round of Plaguehounds, and you should get at least one hound to turn docile. Then you’ll have the option to interact (Square on PlayStation) with the Plaguehound. The effect only lasts about 10-15 seconds, so you have to act fast to pet the good hound. You also get 50 bonus points for petting. Don’t try to pet Plaguehounds without the use of brain rot though, as it will likely end in your demise.
It’s unclear if petting is a feature that’s been Zombies since Cold War’s launch, or one added with last week’s Season One content update, but I love the option to make a temporary friend of a zombie dog.