Origins

"Every story has a beginning...and an end."

- "Origins" trailer

"Unleashed after the Germans unearthed the mysterious Element 115, this next chapter in the Zombies legacy will explore the saga’s origins as players reunite with an unlikely band of soldiers that come together to defeat the greatest evil the world has ever seen, using a period-specific arsenal that includes Wonder Weapons that harness supernatural powers, a diesel-drone and Mark IV tank, as well a new perk machine and power-ups – and that’s just the start. Players will need all the help they can get to succeed in defeating the undead, as well as evading an unprecedented 1,000-foot tall robot abomination."

- Origins release article

"Witness the origins of Group 935, as an ancient evil is unleashed upon the battlefields of World War I."

- Map description

Origins, also known as Excavation Site 64 and Dig Site, is a Zombies map included in the Apocalypse downloadable content for Call of Duty: Black Ops II released on August 27, 2013 for the Xbox 360 and on September 26, 2013 for the Playstation 3 and PC. It is the seventeenth (chronologically the first) Zombies level.

Overview
The "original characters" (younger versions of Dempsey, Nikolai, Richtofen, and Takeo) return as the four playable characters. The zombies have yellow eyes in this map. The map features Wonder Weapons that harness supernatural powers, a Panzer Soldat, the Mark IV Tank, a new utility that gives a random Perk-a-Cola and new Power-Ups. Revealed in the cinematic intro of Origins, zombies in typical crusader attire appear, but only spawn in certain areas (the four entrances to The Crazy Place and the main Excavation Site in the center of the map). Unlike typical zombies, the crusader zombies have purple eyes; possibly because they may be the original zombies not controlled by any Demonic Announcer and are exclusively affected by the Element 115. The crusader zombies also make different noises than the normal zombies.

Six generators are found across the map, which act as replacements for the classic Power Switch, and only power the area around it. If they are all powered at once, they activate the reskinned Pack-a-Punch Machine. For the first time, the Mystery Box requires power to be used. The Generators also power perk machines, although there are only 5 conventional perk machines and there are no machines at Generators 2 and 6. There are no new perks, but rather a machine called Der Wunderfizz, that gives the player a random perk bottle when activated, much like the Mystery box.

The three Giant Robots: Freya, Odin and Thor (from left to right, facing towards Generator 5 from Generator 4) travel across the map in their respective "lanes" and will instantly down players when they step on them unless the player shoots the glowing foot.

There are three new power-ups: Zombie Blood, which masks the player with zombie blood, in which they see reddish-orange, get an increased FOV, and Zombies and Panzer Soldats don't attack the player, Blood Money, which is obtained using the Shovel on graves. Blood Money is similar to Bonus Points, as it gives the player a random amount of points when obtained, and Empty Perk Bottle, which gives the player an additional perk slot.

Buildables also return, featuring four Elemental Staffs (the Staff of Lightning, the Staff of Fire, the Staff of Ice, and the Staff of Wind), the Zombie Shield with a new dieselpunk aesthetic and the Maxis Drone, which is similar to the MQ-27 Dragonfire, only using Dr. Maxis' brain. The Maxis Drone, after deployed, will follow the player, shooting at Zombies and reviving downed players.

Players can also use Shovels at certain spots to dig up certain items. These may hold beneficial items, like a weapon, Power-Up, or staff part. They may also spawn something hazardous, like a Zombie or a live grenade.

The Demonic Announcer for this map is Samantha Maxis as a young girl.

Features

 * Two new enemies, the Giant Robots and the Panzer Soldat.
 * A new Utility Vehicle named the Mark IV Tank.
 * Five new Buildables: the Maxis Drone and the Elemental Staffs.
 * A new "Major" Easter Egg, called Little Lost Girl.
 * Challenges are now in Zombies.
 * A new way of gaining Perks, the Der Wunderfizz machine.
 * Three new Power-Ups: Zombie Blood, Blood Money, and Empty Perk Bottle.
 * A Shovel that can be used to dig up Zombies, Weapons, Staff parts, Power-Ups and live grenades.
 * The G-Strike, which acts like a more powerful Monkey Bomb.
 * The One Inch Punch, a powerful melee weapon.

Easter Eggs

 * Samantha is trapped and needs to be freed.

Songs

 * A new song, Archangel (sung by Elena Siegman, Malukah & Clark S. Nova), can be activated by pressing the action button in front of three green stone blocks scattered around the map. Locations are:
 * In the spawn room right of the ancient chest on the other side of the bunk bed.
 * On the second floor of the work station opposite the stairway under a bed.
 * On the scaffolding left of the entrance to the Excavation Site entrance facing spawn area next to a crate.
 * Another song, Shepherd of Fire (by Avenged Sevenfold), can be activated by pressing the action button in front of three red radios scattered around the map.
 * On the scaffolding above the possible Maxis Drone part location.
 * In the Giant Robot Freya, opposite of the the audio log.
 * On the left edge of the fire area in the Crazy place.
 * Another song, Aether, can be activated by pressing the action button when prone in front of both "1" floor panels at Generator 1 & a "5" at Generator 5 (Generator 5 must be powered on).

Morse code
After upgraded your Elemental Staffs and placed the Fire Staff in the fifth pedestal in the Staffs Room, the color panels above the room turned white, red and rarely green. These panels blink in a loop constituted by a Morse code. SOMETHING BLUE IN THE EARTH NOT SAFE WE GREW WEAK THOUGHT IT WAS FLU MEN BECAME BEASTS BLOOD TURNED TO ASH LIBERATE TUTE DE INFERNIS
 * The red lights indicate the word "INFERNO"
 * The white lights give us a cipher :
 * ENWR DRGAVSIJ ABRIKUWVT GPLR WV GMI VNFBU VBY CGNM ER LVVJ KMNP BUTYXUH QG BEJ SZC URS FVPOUR GIRFHA JYTSU GIZAJH KB OAU TVGIINHM GZXV QS QAKIIAWA
 * After it's decoded, it becomes : WARN MESSINES
 * The last line, "LIBERATE TUTE DE INFERNIS", is Latin and translates to "free yourself from hell".
 * The green lights give the name of Giovan Battista Bellaso, an Italian cryptologist who described the first form of the Vigenère cipher.

Jumpscare
When zooming in at the burning church with a sniper rifle (such as a DSR 50), a picture of a skull suddenly appears on the player's screen accompanied with a high-pitched scream, similarly to the jumpscare in Mob of the Dead. It can be seen here.

Achievements/Trophies

 * Little Lost Girl (75 Gamerscore.png/Silver Trophy Silver Trophy PS3 icon.png) - In Origins, release Samantha.
 * Not a Gold Digger (5 Gamerscore.png/Bronze Trophy Bronze Trophy PS3 icon.png) - In Origins, share a weapon you dug up.
 * All Your Base (15 Gamerscore.png/Bronze Trophy Bronze Trophy PS3 icon.png) - In Origins, activate all generators without allowing one to stop.
 * Kung Fu Grip (15 Gamerscore.png/Bronze Trophy Bronze Trophy PS3 icon.png) - In Origins, free yourself and another from the Panzer Soldat's claw in one game.
 * Playing with Power (30 Gamerscore.png/Bronze Trophy Bronze Trophy PS3 icon.png) - In Origins, build all elemental staffs in one game.
 * I'm on a Tank! (10 Gamerscore.png/Bronze Trophy Bronze Trophy PS3 icon.png) - In Origins, ride the tank around the map without getting off.
 * Saving the Day... All Day (20 Gamerscore.png/Bronze Trophy Bronze Trophy PS3 icon.png) - In Origins, revive another player four different ways in one game.
 * Master of Disguise (15 Gamerscore.png/Bronze Trophy Bronze Trophy PS3 icon.png) - In Origins, use Zombie Blood to revive three players and activate a generator in one playthrough.
 * Overachiever (25 Gamerscore.png/Bronze Trophy Bronze Trophy PS3 icon.png) - In Origins, complete all 4 Challenges in one game.
 * Master Wizard (40 Gamerscore.png/Bronze Trophy Bronze Trophy PS3 icon.png) - In Origins, wield all of the ultimate staffs in one game.