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10 Tips for Playing Grief Mode in "Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 – Zombies"



10 Grief Mode Tips

There are now four maps in which players can play Grief Mode, and there are different strategies for each of these maps. This list will not include strategies for specific maps, but instead will provide 10 general tips for playing Grief Mode:

  1. Grab a Weapon
  2. Don't Hesitate Picking Up Power-Ups
  3. Don't Stab/Shoot Opponents in Early Rounds
  4. Invest in Double Tap
  5. Ignore Opponents Going Down in Low Rounds
  6. Learn How to Use a Steak
  7. Bring Opponents Down in Mid-Rounds
  8. Keep Them Down
  9. Don't Be Predictable
  10. Throw Them Off Their Game
  11. Attack the Weak to Trap the Strong

Grief Tip 1: Grab a Weapon

I see lots of players trying to utilize the M1911 on the first and second round. This is a great idea in a normal survival game, but can be counter-productive in Grief. There are fewer zombies per player and you are competing against another team for kills. Every kill you get is not only points for you, but also fewer points from them.

I like to grab the M14 as soon as the first round starts. This will allow me to kill zombies quickly with a headshot. Due to its range, I will be able to steal zombies from the enemy team across the map.

Grief Tip 2: Don't Hesitate Picking Up Power-Ups

In Survival Mode, it is a good idea to announce a Power-Up before you pick it up. However, in Grief, only one team benefits from most Power-Ups. So, while you are waiting for your team to reload their weapons a player on the other team swoops in and grabs the Max-Ammo.

In Grief, you should jump on a Power-Up as soon as you can, with the exception of Fire-Sales. These are the only Power-Ups that are shared by both teams, it doesn't matter who grabs it. I will often not pick it up. Instead, I will tell my team there is one on the board, and then head immediately for a Mystery Box location. By the time the other team picks up the Power-Up, I will already be in a better position to beat them to the box.

Grief Tip 3: Don't Stab/Shoot Opponents in Early Rounds

I often become the victim of a vicious knife attack on round one and two. This very rarely will prevent me from getting any kills, but will instead prevent the player that is messing with me from getting any kills. This will also get me used to reacting to this type of attack early in the game.

I prefer to leave the other team alone in the early rounds. Lure them into a false sense of security, and then strike them when it counts.


Grief Tip 4: Invest in Double Tap

Double-Tap is often the first Perk that I will purchase. It makes my bullets twice as strong, which increases my chance of stealing their zombies. It also saves me ammo, which leads to having points to purchase perks and better weapons.

Don't buy Double-Tap first if you think there is a good chance that you will go down. Instead, buy Jugger-Nog so that it will be harder for you to lose Double-Tap when you finally buy it.

Grief Tip 5: Ignore Opponents Going Down on Low Rounds

If an opponent goes down before round 10 you are better off not getting involved. There is little chance that you will prevent the revive and you will make it so they take defensive measures when reviving.

When an opponent is down in a low round their team is scrambling to pick them up. This means they are not concentrating on getting kills. Use this opportunity to kill as many zombies as possible. This will give you the points you will need to buy the weapons that will help you keep them down in higher rounds.

Grief Tip 6: How to Use a Steak

The steak Power-Up is unique to Grief Mode. This Power-Up attracts zombies similar to a Monkey Bomb. Unlike a Monkey Bomb, it can be attached to a player, causing them to be the monkey.

Early Rounds:

In early rounds I will not throw these on the enemy. This is unlikely to bring them down, but will instead allow them to get extra kills. Instead you can either throw this in a corner or on another player on your team. This will attract the zombies to an area that will allow you to get extra kills. I prefer throwing it on a player on my team because it goes away faster when not attached to a player and the other team can utilize it when they realize where it is at.

If you are going to attach it to a player on your team make sure you let them know what is going on first. Allow them an opportunity to object before making them your zombie bait.

Late Round:

If it is round twelve or higher then I will consider throwing it on an opponent. First I will make sure the round is not almost over, and then I will find a player that is likely to go down. I will let my team know my plan and ask them not to kill any zombies. Instead, we will all run our trains at the tainted player.

Survive A Steak:

If you find yourself on the receiving end of a steak during a high round, there are ways to increase your chance of survival. First, don't panic. Running around blindly has the same effect as running around when you are on fire, you are just going to make it worse.

Instead, move towards the best player on your team. Let them know you have been hit by the steak. This will allow them to help keep the zombies off of you. Try to keep a line of zombies behind you. The other team should not be shooting, so you can get a very large train. Run into your opponent's camping area as soon as the steak starts to wear off. As soon as it wears off the zombies will go after them and you, so try to keep one of them between you and the zombie.

Grief Tip 6: Bring Opponents Down in Mid-Rounds

Don't wait until the rounds are very high to attack the other team. When the rounds get high it becomes difficult to trap them without trapping yourself. I will start to attack between round 12 and 17, depending on the skill of the other team.

There are different strategies for doing this on each map, but the basic idea stays the same. Try to cause the player to have more zombies than their situation will allow them to control. This often means paying attention to the weapons they are using, where they are running, and the Perks they have.

This can often be accomplished by stabbing them into zombies, shooting them when they are surrounded, or running a train around them. I prefer to use team work to combine some of these actions. Two players will gather trains while one player watches them while holding an upgraded LMG. The players will bring the trains into their area as I stab the player into the open. Then the player with the upgraded LMG will light them up. This type of coordinated attack is rarely expected and normally devastating.

Grief Tip 7: Keeping Them Down

On round 11 or later, when an opponent goes down your entire team should stop killing zombies. They should all make their way to the downed opponent and start running around that player. That will cause most of the zombies in the game to be circling the downed player. This is often called running a train on a player.

The other team will have a hard time picking this player up when there are so many zombies in the area. However, this strategy is less likely to work if they have very powerful weapons, Monkey Bombs, and Quick Revive. I will continue to do this, because it will force them to use their Monkey Bombs and ammo.

Unless I have the GalvaKnuckles, I rarely waste my time stabbing a player off of a revive. This only works on players that don't know how to duck down to revive and it will cause you to be in the center of the circle of zombies.

Grief Tip 8: Don't Be Predictable

It is much easier to take down a predictable player. If a player is running the same route consistently then it is only a matter of timing to bring them down. I prefer to be all over the map, not running in any specific pattern.

An entire team is predictable when they camp an area. It allows the other team to devise a plan of action that will bring them down. It is harder to do so against a team that is always moving.

Grief Tip 9: Throw Them off Their Game

There will sometimes be players that are hard to take down. Allowing the game to reach high rounds is always a risk. When in that situation you should try to throw them off their game.

I stabbed and shot the same player for three rounds, starting on round 17. By gaining points early in the game, I could afford to waste my ammo and didn't need to accumulate points. I was not stabbing and shooting the player randomly, I was stabbing them into the path of zombies and shooting them when they had more than three zombies in their area. These actions alone were unlikely to take this player down. But, they switched areas multiple times to avoid me, wasted ammo shooting back at me, and allowed themselves to get frustrated. The player eventually got stuck in a doorway, went down, and rage quit.

Continually putting a player into bad circumstances will force them to waste the ammo in their good weapons. It will also increase the chance of them making a fatal error.

Grief Tip 10: Attack the Weak to Trap the Strong

There is often one player that is difficult to take down. This player might have a high level of skill, have very good weapons, or have a lot of experience playing Grief. You could waste a lot of time and effort trying to take this player down.

It is often a better idea to take down the other players on his team. This will cause him to either make himself vulnerable trying to revive, or continue to lose 10% of his points. Constantly losing points will make any player run into ammo issues.

More Grief Mode Resources

There are four playable Grief Maps in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2:


Bongtoker420xxx on November 02, 2014:

I have a better strategy I wait at jug street and go up the stairs and tell my teammates to camp there so when they come up the stairs I double block :)

Host Knife on November 02, 2014:

I play on host and I'm bad off host and wish I could grief like bong but I suck

You Mad Squritle on November 02, 2014:

im pretty sure I'm a dumb fat mexican

FBC Fury on November 02, 2014:

I'm pretty sure your not even good at grief

mumbojumbo on August 21, 2014:

Well even this is 11 months late I decided to post this comment anyway, to down other players when they are prone if you go to a height and jump on them they will down. If you are boxed by a player and they put down a trampoline start jumping because if they go prone and are flinged into you, you down. If you are crouch and someone flys above you with a paralyser and drops on you, you down. If someone downs themselves on Pack a Punch when another team is Packing don't revive your teamate unless the other team takes their weapon by downing themselves they are blocking the other teams Pack a Punch, likewise don't revive a teammate if they down at jugg to stop the other team getting their jugg at a high round. I know this because my team and I usually win at round 5 - 10. A lot of the people I play with are in the Top 20.

milkman on January 31, 2014:

Im pretty sure ive beaten u a bunch

Valerio on September 09, 2013:

And how i can kill they with this method? I don't want to kill normally the enemies ..i think there is a glitch : sometimes ,people , throw themselves against me . They kill me all the time when i'm down (for example while i'm reanimating my friends ) ..!!

Edward D. Saterstad (author) from PA on August 30, 2013:

Yes, I don't normally use this method unless they only have one player remaining. But when I am playing on my regular Grief Team we have two players that will do this when able.

I normally kill players in ways that limits my risk of going down.

Valerio on August 30, 2013:

hello .. i see that you know how to play ! So .. do you know how to kill enemies player with throwing yourself at them where they are squatting? I see players online that did this ..!

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