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."

- Level description/Mission Briefing

"In a timeline separate from the lives they'd previously known, Dempsey, Nikolai and Takeo were each ordered to intercept the infamous Dr. Edward Richtofen on the battlefields of World War One. Little did they realize, they would soon be forced to fight side-by-side in order to survive the onslaught of the undead horde."

- Map description for Call of Duty: Black Ops III DLC Eclipse promo

"An excavation site left behind after the Germans unearthed the mysterious new "Element 115," and unleashed the greatest evil the world has ever seen."

- Map biography

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 in the altered timeline) Zombies level.

A remastered version of the map is available in the Zombies Chronicles map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops III, along with seven other classic maps.

A fractured portion of the map is featured in Revelations.

Overview
The "original characters" (Dempsey, Nikolai, Richtofen, and Takeo) once again appear as the four playable characters, this time as younger, alternate versions of their original selves, having large differences in their personalities. The zombies have yellow and blue eyes in this map. The map features Wonder Weapons that harness supernatural powers, a new enemy, the Panzersoldat, the Mark IV Tank, a new utility that gives a random Perk-a-Cola known as the Der Wunderfizz, and new Power-Ups. Revealed in the cinematic intro of Origins, zombies in typical crusader attire appear, but only spawn at 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 blue-violet eyes; 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 five 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 Generator Five from the excavation site) 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 or the player has a golden helmet.

There are three new power-ups:
 * 1) Zombie Blood, which mask the player with Zombie blood, in which they see reddish-orange, get an increased FOV, and aren't attacked by Zombies or Panzer Soldats for a short time.
 * 2) Blood Money, which are obtained using the Shovel on graves. Blood Money is similar to Bonus Points, as it gives the player a random amount of points when collected.
 * 3) The Empty Perk Bottle, which can be found by digging up special dig spots around the map. Upon collecting the power-up, the player that picked it up will gain an extra perk slot, and will then be able to purchase an additional perk.

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, it also must recharge and be picked up again after each use.

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, who has a different announcing voice than she did in previous maps.

Features

 * Two new enemies, Templar Zombies and the Panzersoldat.
 * Three Giant Robots named Thor, Odin, and Freya roam the map. One in No Mans Land, One near the Church, and One near the Trenches.
 * 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, Ice Staff parts, Power-Ups and live grenades. This shovel can be upgraded to the Golden Shovel, after using a certain amount of times.
 * The G-Strike, which acts like a more powerful Monkey Bomb.
 * The One Inch Punch, a powerful melee weapon, which can be upgraded to the Iron fists during the Main Easter Egg.
 * Perk Machines and the Mystery Box are now powered by generators rather than one Power Switch.

Weapons
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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. This is the song that plays in the intro to the map.
 * On the scaffolding within the Excavation Site, 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).

Ciphers and Scrap Paper
Five ciphers can be found in the map as well as one scrap paper. The ciphers give some backstory to the events before Origins while the scrap paper show a drawing of Primis.

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.

Call of Duty: Black Ops III
A portion of Origins is remade as part of the final map Revelations. The portion represents the player's path from the spawn room to Generator 3, slightly tweaked with a slope leading to the top of the mount. The pathway to underneath the mount is replaced with a tunnel representing Buried, while the door from Generator 3 to the bunker in the middle now leads into the Mob of the Dead portion of the map.

A remastered version of Origins is available on  Call of Duty: Black Ops III  if the player has purchased the Zombies Chronicles map pack. The map has been designed to look very high quality while still maintaining the look and feel of the original. Differences include new better Zombies artificial intelligence, and futuristic Black Ops III-era weapons are now available in the Mystery Box and the walls instead of the futuristic-Cold War  weapons, although the weapons designed for the map returned, as well as the original wonder weapons. The characters are once again the Primis versions of " Tank" Dempsey ,  Nikolai Belinski ,  Takeo Masaki  and  Edward Richtofen.

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.