Apocalypse Averted

Apocalypse Averted (originally known as Playing For Keeps) is the primary Easter Egg on the Zombies map Shadows of Evil featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops III. It is a unique style of Easter Egg, as it is split into two parts: 
# Apocalypse Ascendant, which rewards the achievement The Beginning of the End, and makes the Pack-a-Punch accessible.
# Apocalypse Averted, which does not reward an achievement, but instead unlocks a unique Calling Card from the Dark Ops set of Challenges, and an icon of a Summoning Key in the bottom right of the map selection for Shadows of Evil needed for the Super Easter Egg, A Better Tomorrow.
To fully complete the Easter Egg by averting the apocalypse, four players are needed. The final step only triggers if there are four players in the lobby. 
==Achieving An Ancient Arsenal==
Up until the Capture the Flag step, these steps can be done in any order.
===The Beginning of the End===
Within the map, there are a total of four ritual sites, each requiring an item that is tied to the sin that the characters have committed. Activating the ritual by placing the item along with the Summoning Key on the altar at the site will cause Keepers to spawn in along side zombies with the second and fourth ritual summoning in a Margwa upon completion. 
=== The Magician ===
The Ritual site for The Magician is his apartment above Easy Street with his sacrifice being the "Lawyer's Pen", which is located within a crate held by a crane just outside the entrance to Easy Street. The Beast is required to electrify the meter to cause the crane to swing into the map before dropping the crate, breaking it and revealing the Pen.
=== The Boxer ===
The Ritual site for The Boxer is The Anvil Gym and boxing ring located in the Waterfront District, with his sacrifice being the Championship Belt he yearned for which is hidden within a crate, dangling from a chain above the Waterfront District. The Beast can access the crate by grappling to the platform where it is held and swinging at it, which will knock it down to the ground below, revealing the Belt.
=== The Detective ===
The Ritual site for The Detective is the Ruby Rabbit nightclub in the Canals District, while his sacrifice is the Badge of his partner on the beat, hidden within a crate behind a locked grate in the canals. The Beast can break the box with melee and open the grate by shocking the volt meter hidden behind some brickwork with the Mark of the Beast painted on it. Doing so will open the grate up and allow the Badge to be picked up.
=== The Femme Fatale ===
The Ritual site for The Femme Fatale is The Black Lace Burlesque nightclub in the Footlight District, with her sacrifice being the toupee of her Producer, located on the edge of a building in the walkways leading out into the Footlights District proper. The Beast can cross the gap to the building and knock the crate containing the toupee onto the ground below, breaking the crate and revealing the Toupee.
===Ascending the Apocalypse===
With all the gateway rituals completed and the Gateworms gathered from them in hand, a new section within the Rift (Subway Station) system can be accessed. This is the Sacred Place, which houses another ritual site and four pedestals for the Gateworms, two located on the side where the ritual altar is and the other two on a seemingly impossible to cross gap. 
* Placing a Gateworm in one of the pedestals located on the altar side will cause walls to rise from the crevasse, creating walls around the Sacred Place, which can be wallran across.
* Placing the two Gateworms in the pedestals on the other side will create a one way path back to the altar.
With all four Gateworms placed, the final ritual can be started with completion having the Shadowman reveal his true intentions, thanking the group for their efforts before leaving with the Summoning Key and allowing a Margwa to spawn in. Doing this unlocks the Pack-a-Punch portal within the Sacred Place along with the skybox changing to a blood red sky and a giant Apothicon summoned over Morg City.
Completing this ritual will award players the XP reward titled "Apocalypse Ascendant" and the The Beginning of the End achievement when done for the first time.
===Obtaining the Apothicon Swords===
Whilst riding the Tram, there are three symbols that can be seen through red backlit windows. These symbols are randomized with every game. 
Symbol locations:
*Leaving Waterfront District: Out the right hand side shortly after passing the small shack on the overpass, the top right window in a square building.
*Leaving Footlight District: Out the left hand side of the Tram after passing the Peep Show, Rooster's Pipe, and Celeste's.
*Leaving Canal District: Out the left hand side after passing the Devil O Donuts and Hotel signs.
An efficient way to have all 3 symbols seen in 2 Tram rides is to first take the Tram from the Waterfront to Footlight, looking out the side with the Bootlegger wallbuy, as the Waterfront and Footlight symbols will be seen. Next, take the Tram from Footlight to Canals District, this time looking out the side of the Tram opposite the Bootlegger. The third symbol will be seen upon almost reaching the Canals District Tram Station.
These symbols correlate to a wall opposite of where the Sacred Place is in the Rift (Subway Station). With all three symbols noted down, In Beast Mode, players can see nine symbols around a doorway next to the Mystery Box spawn and GobbleGum Machine. Electroshocking the three symbols that are active in the match will cause the wall to dissolve and reveal a statue housing four swords and four Eggs. If the incorrect set is electrified, the wall will reject it, making a sound and hiding the symbols until the next round.
Interacting with the statue will remove one of the Eggs from it, these Eggs can be placed on the Apothicon statues located within large smash-able crates that can be found at:
*Footlight District alleyway, underneath the Perk-a-Cola machine spawn.
*Behind the Ruby Rabbit front entrance stairs in the Canals District.
*In the destroyed building in the Waterfront District, in the room after the Perk-a-Cola machine.
*Opposite of the statue that was originally holding the Eggs in the Rift (Subway Station).
Placing the Egg on the statue will cause it to start absorbing souls, which it can do up to 12 times before it stops accepting souls and glows white. The Egg can then be picked up and the process repeated on the remaining statues. After the fourth statue is complete the Egg will glow blue and can be returned to the sword statue to award the player with the Apothicon Sword, which has a unique name for each character. Each player in the match must charge their own Egg at all four statues, but each statue is capable of charging all four Eggs at the same time.
===Upgrading the Apothicon Swords===
After obtaining the Swords, they must be upgraded into their "Reborn Keeper Sword" form by returning to the Ritual Site specific to the character that is currently playing as and interact with the Keeper spirit that now floats above the ritual altar. They will give the player the "Arch-Ovum", which can now be used on four red ritual circles on the ground around the map, near to the ritual sites of all the characters:
*In front of the The Black Lace Burlesque nightclub entrance in the Footlight District.
*In between the Workbench and entrance to the Ruby Rabbit nightclub in the Canals District.
*Directly in front of The Anvil gym in the Waterfront District.
*Outside the entrance to Easy Street in the Junction.
After placing the Arch-Ovum Egg on the circle, up to two Margwas will spawn on solo, and up to four in co-op. These Margwas will only attack the player who summoned them, though others can still be damaged if they are in range of their swipe and slam attacks. After killing them, the Arch-Ovum will be automatically returned to the player with part of the chitin surrounding it removed. Each of these four ritual circles must be completed for every player. 
* Each player can only complete one circle per round, but the same circle can be chosen multiple times per round by different players. 
* Other players cannot begin an Arch-Ovum ritual if another player still has Margwas alive spawned by their Arch-Ovum ritual.
* The Margwas spawned by these rituals do not grant points when their heads are destroyed, though the Parasites they spawn still grant points for killing them.
Once all the rituals are done, the player can now head back to their character's ritual table, and give their Apothicon Sword to the Keeper spirit which they will upgrade it to its "Reborn" form.
==Capture the Flag==
The player should now head to Nero Blackstone's ritual area. An open book will spawn on the ground next to the shelves. Interact with the book, which will make a flag with purple mist coming out of it fall from the ceiling next to Widow's Wine.
A player must pick up the flag, which will remove all zombies currently on the map. Insanity Elementals will start rapidly spawning, and the player will now have to carry the flag to a spot radiating with bright purple lightning energy on the ground. There will also be dark purple circles on the ground, which can significantly damage players if they step on them.
* Once placed down, the players must protect the flag from incoming attacks. The Shadowman will also appear periodically near the flag and spawn Parasites. Eventually, there will be a chime, and the flag can be picked up again. 
* Although all of these spots can technically be done in any order, it is recommended to do 2 spots in a single District each flag attempt to make it easier to track progress. 
* A Max Ammo will drop every time the flag is done on each spot (up to two times for each District), so players do not have to worry about Ammo consumption while defending it. This is why defending 2 spots for each District instead of random chosen spots is recommended, for a relatively even distribution of ammunition replenishments.
* An example of the spots for the Main Junction: 
** First, it must be taken from the Rift (Subway Station) and placed down on the purple electric spot near Stamin-Up in front of the Footlight District entrance. 
** Once the chime is heard, the next purple electric spot at the entrance to the Easy Street. Once again, it must be defended, and once it finishes, it must now be taken to Nero's ritual site. 
** Once placed down at Nero's ritual site, it does not have to be defended, and the Keeper spirit there will become solid, and teleport down under the Rift (Subway Station) area. After a while, a Margwa will spawn, the Insanity Elementals will stop spawning and the round continues normally with regular zombies (or Parasites, if it was their exclusive round).
If the flag is ever destroyed, it can be picked up again underground an unlimited number of times. The flag carrier going down will also cause this. The flag does not possess much health, being destroyed by only a few direct hits from Insanity Elementals. 
* Proper weapons and equipment such as a fresh Rocket Shield, Pack-a-Punched weapons (with a noteworthy wallbuy choice being the KRM-262 as the Dagon's Glare) being recommended.
* Summoning the Civil Protector whenever the players are defending the flags can also be of a great help, and utilizing Li'l Arnies may give players breathing room. 
This must now be repeated three times for the other characters: again, there will be two purple electric spots on the ground on the way to the ritual site that the flag must be placed on, after which the flag must be brought to the summoning table. 
* It is recommended to use the several portals in the Rift (Subway Station) to quickly jump to each other District, so that the 2 spots in each can be reached quickly.
* Only one successful Flag attempt can be made per round, though retrying a failed attempt can be done immediately.
==Capturing the Shadowman==
Once all spirits at the ritual sites have been turned into Keepers, they will guard the pedestals with the Gateworms at the sacred place underground next to the Pack-a-Punch. Every player has to interact with a pedestal to ready their respective Keeper, and once all are in position (i.e. all players have interacted with a pedestal), they will use their power to remove the Shadowman's shield. 
* Note: Once each player interacts with their Keeper, they will hand over their Reborn Keeper Sword, which will be unavailable for use until the end of the Easter Egg.
Once the shield is down, the players should focus fire on him. He will rapidly teleport around the room as he takes damage, making it more difficult to capture him. As he takes damage, he will gradually move towards the summoning table, and if it is interacted with, he will be trapped inside the Summoning Key, completing this step. Capturing him must be done quickly, or he will return to his original position and regain his shield, resetting the step.
* Every time his shields are broken, a Margwa will spawn. Additionally, zombies will still keep spawning during this step, and the room cannot be exited until it is completed. This is arguably the most difficult part of the Easter Egg, so powerful weapons and equipment are again highly recommended.
* If the player fails to capture the Shadowman, he will bring back his shield, and the Keepers will turn purple. The Shadowman's shield can be deactivated again once the player interacts with all four Keepers, turning them all orange.
* This step is as far as this Easter Egg can be performed with less than four players. If this is the case, the Reborn Keeper Sword will be returned here. If four players are present, proceed to the next step, as the Swords will not be returned yet.
==Averting the Apocalypse==
Once the Shadowman is trapped inside the Summoning Key, there will be a giant Gateworm at the summoning table, and it will teleport to the center of the map above ground. The room can now be exited. Zombies will de-spawn, and the glow inside Margwas' heads will become purple instead of yellow. Margwas will spawn in high amounts indefinitely until this final step is completed as the current round is at a standstill. All Beast Mode Pedestals will also be disabled at the start of this step.
Note: If any of the players bleed out and die during this step, calling the Tram at any Station will automatically respawn them.
* Players will be frequently "infected", causing a magenta aura to appear around the screen, resembling the effect when a Parasite round occurs. To avoid going down, players must then "cleanse" themselves by passing through one of the many glowing white orb wisps, which spawn in several locations around the map in each District. These orbs can be used multiple times. Furthermore, even if downed, infection can still progress, and players can possibly go down again if they are revived as the infection reaches the critical threshold. Infection can also take ahold of players in Beast Mode.
* To progress with this step, players need to kill many of the purple Margwas. Each time one is killed, a random Beast Mode Pedestal on the map will glow with blue flame again. To get a sufficient amount of the Pedestals active, at least 4 Margwas will need to be killed, but due to the random nature of which the Pedestals become active, more will be needed if they are not in locations near players, or if players run out of Beast Mode and need to enter Beast Mode again, as each Pedestal made active this way can only be used once until another Margwa is killed.
* During this step, players now have an "infinite" amount of Beast Mode. The bar does not drain over time, but Margwas will still pursue and attack players, and walking over the purple circles that periodically re-appear on the ground will deplete the bar.
To complete this step, three players must shock the electrical boxes seen in each of the Tram Stations. These electrical boxes do not glow or spark, are cube shaped, and are always located high up on the wall, barely touching the ceiling albeit in slightly different locations in each Tram Station. This will power up the rails and turn them electric blue for a moderate amount of time. 
* The fourth player has to call/ride the Tram to any Station. Immediately after the Tram is activated, the three players in Beast Mode should head to the center and shock the three Keepers in the middle, as the giant Gateworm is not there due to being hit by the Tram. Do not shock the Keepers if the giant Gateworm is still present, as this will do nothing.
* If the three players in Beast Mode take too long to reach the center and shock the Keepers, the giant worm will reappear, and the Tram must be called again while all three tracks are blue once by shocking the electrical boxes again.
* If done correctly, the Keepers will charge their beams similar to capturing the Shadowman, which will join together and shoot up at the giant Apothicon in the sky.
Another method to complete this step is by having two players in Beast Mode situated near the electrical box at two Tram Stations. A third player should be in the center of the map in Beast Mode, ready to shock the Keepers. The fourth player should be in human form at a Tram Station without the Tram present. 
* To start, the fourth player must call in the Tram and then immediately run to the nearest Beast Mode Pedestal, get into Beast Mode, then shock the electrical box at the Tram Station they called the Tram from.
* The other two players should be shocking the electrical boxes after the Tram is called. After the Tram hits the giant Gateworm, the player in the center of the map needs to shock the three Keepers. 
A cutscene will play, showing the giant Apothicon in the sky disappearing. One of the Keepers will descend from above, with the Summoning Key in its hand. However, Richtofen will suddenly grab it, explain that he is busy and has a universe to set right, run into a portal, and disappear.
After this, all players will automatically exit the Beast Mode, the purple Margwas will despawn, the atmosphere returns to normal, and the game continues. Players get 1000 XP for completing Apocalypse Averted, as well as 6000 XP from the Dark Ops challenge when completing the Easter Egg for the first time. The Reborn Keeper Swords will also be returned to the players. Furthermore, the Civil Protector will become upgraded for the rest of the match. 
== Gallery ==
Apocalypse Averted calling card BO3.png|The calling card for completing the easter egg.
Summoning Key Icon BO3.png|The unique Summoning Key icon for completing the easter egg.
Shadows of Evil Apothicon Rift Stone BOIII.jpg|Ascending the apocalypse.
Shadows of Evil Shadow Man's Shield BOIII.png|The Shadow Man with his shield.
Symbol Canals Black Ops 3 Shadows of Evil.png|Symbol when leaving the Canals district
Symbol Footlight Black Ops 3 Shadows of Evil.png|Symbol when leaving the Footlight district
Symbol Docks Black Ops 3 Shadows of Evil.png|Symbol when leaving the Waterfront district
Shadows of Evil Sword and Egg stand BOIII.jpg|The area in which you obtain the Apothicon Swords & Eggs.
Shadows of Evil Completed Apothicon Egg on Stand BOIII.png|A completed egg after obtaining 12 kills.
Shadows of Evil Flag BOIII.png|The Flag
== Videos ==
Black Ops 3 Zombies FULL Shadows of Evil Easter Egg Guide "Apocalypse Averted"|Full walkthrough
Category:Easter eggs
Category:Call of Duty: Black Ops III Zombies Main Quests