Der Eisendrache

"Call of Duty®: Black Ops III’s epic Zombies DLC season begins here. In “Der Eisendrache”, Origins characters Richtofen, Nikolai, Takeo, and Dempsey embark on a suicide mission to an enemy research facility built upon an archaic site of unspeakable horror. Massive deposits of Element 115 have recently been discovered, delivering inspired new gameplay and — in Zombies tradition — a variety of plot twists and surprises to discover at every turn."

- Official Description

"Bound together by a fragile alliance, our heroes pursue the scattered remains of Group 935 to their mountain top fortress in the Austrian Alps..."

- Mission Briefing

Der Eisendrache (German for The Iron Dragon) is a Zombies map that was released February 2, 2016 for the PlayStation 4, and March 3, 2016 for PC and Xbox One in the DLC map pack Awakening. It was released on April 5th, 2016 for PlayStation 3 and May 5th on Xbox 360. It is set in the Griffin Castle in Austria. The size of the map is 50% bigger than The Giant. Two Wonder Weapons are introduced, the Ragnarok DG-4 which is based on the Gravity Spikes from multiplayer, and the Wrath of the Ancients, which is based on the Sparrow.

Features
The map contains many elements from previous maps such as Origins, Mob of the Dead, Moon and Ascension. The Der Wunderfizz machines returns from Origins, as well as the Panzer Soldat, with a new look and slight weapon variations. He now has an electric trap like attack which shoots out and stuns players instead of his claw. A dragon can be found in three separate locations, which breathes fire and devours zombies one at a time, similar to Cerberus in Mob of the Dead. Feeding all the dragons roughly seven zombies will grant the players the main wonder weapon of the map, the Wrath of the Ancients.

A utility similar to the Gravity Lifts from Moon called the Wundersphere is introduced. They fling the player across the map for 500 points, but each sphere's respected landing pad must be manually activated. Two new trap, called the Death Ray and the gate trap, also make their debut. A build-able similar to the Gravity Spikes specialist weapon called the "Ragnarok DG-4", and a weapon called the "Wrath of the Ancients" are both introduced. The Wrath of the Ancients can be upgraded to four elemental variations, each one significantly more powerful than the original bow. The upgrading of the bow is also an element similar to Origins. The rocket shield also returns as a buildable from Shadows of Evil. Also returning from shadows of Evil are the gate keepers, who are present in various ways throughout the map. Dr. Groph is a character heard communicating to Richtofen throughout the rounds. Dr. Groph is not necessarily an enemy, but he is suspicious of Dr. Richtofen's plans, therefore stating that his job is to find out what Richtofen has in store or else he will do anything to make him not leave the castle. These messages can be heard through the loud speaker and radios around the map. The four original characters return once again, but this time we see their personalities much more similar to their original selves from World at War, due to 115 exposure from The Giant.

Easter Eggs

 * The main Easter Egg for the map is My Brother's Keeper.

''It has been several months since I last received orders from you, and I cannot help but say that I am at my wits end. Since I landed on the island, I, your foolish servant, have continued my inspection and recording of Division 9's activities. However, despite being directly dispatched by you, they regard my work with suspicious eyes. As such, I have been barred from, and forbidden access to, almost all research areas. The situations continues to worsen. The installation commander ordered me to hand over my weapons for the duration of my stay. If he hadn't shown me the relevant papers ordering me to comply to maintain security, marked with your signature and seal, I would no doubt have objected. I have never raised any doubts whatsoever concerning your judgement Sir, but I am concerned that these circumstances may prove a great hindrance to my mission. I understand how important the alliance is for our righteous cause and final victory, but the influence of the German operating force "Group 935" has become increasingly worrisome. Over the last few months, the number of officers they have here has increased; I cannot help but think that it is they who are propelling the plan. Judging by what I have seen, the research done by Division 9 has been far beyond acceptable. In fact, their abberational methods of weapons research can only be described as "abnormal". Not only do they use prisoners of war for living-body tests, but they have also been trying to control the supernatural powers of Element 115. I therefore think that if we permit them to continue their work, dark clouds may soon loom over our great country. I, your foolish servant, will continue to watch them, and will report to you whenever possible. If the idea so pleases you, I think it is necessary that you intervene directly in order for us to better understand the aim of Division 9's research, and make clear the ramifications of their plans. I hope you receive this message. Your humble servant, Takeo Masaki.''
 * A new song, Dead Again, can be activated by holding the interact button in front of three Teddy Bears scattered around the map. Locations are:
 * In Samantha's bedroom, sitting on a chair.
 * In the cell opposite of the cell with Juggernog, sitting on a crate.
 * On the right of the rocket launch pad (looking from the blast doors), in the passenger seat of one of the trucks
 * Another musical easter egg, a modified version of Samantha's Lullaby, can be activated by holding the use button on a music box in Samantha's bedroom. It is located on the table next to the bed.
 * A third musical easter egg, an excerpt from Anton Reicha's Requiem, can be activated by holding the use button on three gramophones scattered around the map. Locations are:
 * In Samantha's bedroom, on top of a shelf facing opposite the teddy bear.
 * In the control room, sitting on a chair.
 * In the pyramid room, facing the staircase leading to the crypt.
 * A bunch of hidden radios and ciphers can be found around the map, similar to The Giant's radios and ciphers.
 * It is possible to turn the Control Room into a Disco. This can be done by shooting the Moon globe and then shooting the small rocket when it's beside it. The first shot will suspend the movement of the Moon globe, and the second will initiate Disco lights throughout the room along with a soundtrack of an 80's music track. After a minute or so, the music and lights will stop, but this Easter Egg can be repeated an unlimited number of times.
 * It should be noted that the Disco lights and music can only be seen and heard by players actually inside of the globe room.
 * Zombies can be changed into Skeletons. This can be done by shooting three skulls located around the map with the Wrath of the Ancients. One is by the ledge, outside, near Double Tap; one is at the ledge to the right of Mule Kick and one is at the Upper Courtyard next to the windows, at the Control Room, on the left-hand side looking towards it. The skulls fly up and down and can only be seen and hit with the GobbleGum "In Plain Sight". They can be hit with the bow's splash damage by shooting the walls or ground around them. Whenever a skull is hit, it disappears in black smoke with a sound effect, and appears on a chair in the Control Room, by the fireplace. When all of the skulls are hit, every newly-spawned zombie is a skeleton instead. This can be disabled by interacting with the skulls on the chair.
 * There is a secret melee weapon, the Plunger. To obtain it, the player must first obtain the Ragnarok DG-4. Once obtained, head to the clock tower (where the player binds the Fire Bow) and break the wall, to reveal the cogs. Place the DG-4 in trap mode. This will power up the clock. After that, interact with the console next to the exit of the tower. The player will see a lever being pulled, and this will activate the clock. The player can interact with the console any time to stop or start the clock. The player must stop the clock when it reaches 9:35. If done correctly the player will hear thunder, which indicates success of the step. If the step is failed, simply restart the clock and wait for the time again. Head downstairs to the pyramid room. A new light orb will be floating above the pyramid. Wait until anti-gravity kicks in and run around outside in the golden frames. If done correctly the player will teleport to the teleporter room. Next to the teleporter, on the table there will be a plunger. Interacting with it will pick it up, giving everyone on the map the Plunger as the new melee weapon. This melee weapon will do the same damage as a regular melee weapon. However, when the player kills a Panzersoldat, for the next minute, the player will have a flaming plunger, killing any Panzersoldat in one hit. Note that only the player who killed the Panzersoldat will have this effect.
 * Scraps of paper can be found scattered around the map, which form a letter written in Japanese by the original timeline's Takeo Masaki to the Emperor, detailing his experiences at Division 9's island facility. When translated, it reads:

Trivia

 * Originally, the map's name was announced as Der Eisendrachen, which actually translates to "The Iron Kite". This was promptly corrected by Treyarch and information thereafter regarded the map as its current name.
 * Griffin Castle is based on the real and has the same coordinates.
 * In a room seen through one of the zombie barriers in the map, an MG42 can be seen.
 * The KRM-262 can be seen in the Mystery Box, although it cannot be obtained from it.
 * Except for Stamin-Up, going prone in front of a perk machine will give the player 100 points.
 * Richtofen and Dr. Groph will communicate at certain times during the game. Dr. Groph communicates through radio transmission, and Richtofen talks regularly from the battlefield. If there is no player playing as Richtofen, he will also use the radio to talk to Groph.
 * A dynamic theme exclusive to Season Pass holders for PlayStation 4 was released on January 5th, 2016 that is based on Der Eisendrache.
 * All characters received a visual update to their appearance in this map, looking more beat-up than in comparison to their appearance in The Giant (for example, Dempsey has more cuts and bruises, while Richtofen has a small cut under his right eye).