Pop Goes The Weasel is a zombie-related gameplay achievement/trophy featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. The easter egg is a continuation of the No One Escapes Alive achievement/trophy and it is the main easter egg in Mob of the Dead. It requires the player to break "the cycle" (or alternatively continue "the cycle"; either outcome will earn the achievement/trophy).
Walkthrough
- 'Pop Goes the Weasel' MUST be completed on Original difficulty.
Prerequisites
• The players must have completed the cycle three times.
• A minimum of two players are required; however, one must be Albert Arlington. Playing solo allows you to do up to the headphones section of the this Easter Egg, but the players will not be able to board the plane in the afterlife.
• The players must obtain the Hell's Retriever by feeding all three of the Hellhounds.
Note: Steps 1 to 8 may be completed before the three cycles, and in any order. Steps 9 to 12 must be completed after the three cycles have been finished.
Step 1
Find a jail cell with a visible skull in it, and throw a Hell's Retriever inside. This cell is located outside of the caged doors just outside the library. If done correctly, the player will pick up a hidden blue skull and will hear a noise similar to purchasing a gun/door.
Step 2
Find the jail cell with the blue and green poster inside. This cell can be found near the Warden's office. Once found, have a player throw a Hell's Retreiver at it to reveal a hole in the wall. Once complete, the player will need to enter Afterlife Mode and find a hidden portal adjacent to the Warden's office. Once inside the portal, there will be a spoon on the ground near a skull. The player will need to walk over to it or zap it to teleport it to the cafeteria. (Must have flown to bridge at least once in order to complete this step)
Step 3
Enter the Warden's office and find the window nearest Speed Cola. Look outside, and there will be a telephone pole with a house behind it. Throw the Hell's Retriever at the top of the telephone pole to pick up another hidden skull. If done correctly, the player will hear the purchasing noise.
Step 4
Go down to the docks near the Mystery Box spawn location. There will be a dock that is unreachable with Mule Kick and PhD Flopper on it. Throw a Hell's Retriver at the third pole to the right to pick up another hidden skull. If done correctly, the player will hear the purchasing noise.
Step 5
Go to where the Juggernog machine can be found and go the wall with a window where zombies can spawn. If the player looks up, they will see a yellow light post. Throw a Hell's Retreiver at it to pick up another hidden blue skull. If done correctly, the player will hear the purchasing noise.
The player can also throw the Hell's Retriever at the light post whilst riding the Gondola, although each time costs 750 points. However, it is much easier.
Another way to get the skull is to go near the Juggernog machine and jump and then throw the Hell's Retreiver to obtain the skull.
Step 6
Go to the roof and walk to the far left corner where the jump-scare easter egg can be completed. There will be a gap in the wall, and the player will see two corners of the prison roof. Have a player throw a Hell's Retreiver at the nearest corner to pick up another hidden blue skull. If done correctly, the player will hear the purchasing noise.
Step 7
Enter the Cafeteria and find the window to the right of where you can purchase Claymores. There will be a spoon on top of a metal table up against a wall. Throw a Hell's Retreiver at it to pick it up. If done correctly, the player will hear Brutus say something. At this point, the spoon can be put in a tub in the infirmary, in the same room as a mystery box location.
Step 8
Enter the Warden's office. The player should see a Blundergat surrounded by flames on the Warden's desk. Have a player pick it up.
Step 9
Head back to the spiral staircase and go to the bottom where the number terminal is located. If all prior steps and three cycles have been completed, they will be randomly changing. The player must now enter Afterlife mode and enter the Mobster's prison numbers. The numbers are 101, 386, 872, and 481. If entered correctly, the number will flicker and start to randomly change again. Once all numbers have been input correctly, Brutus will speak and subsequently, the screen will turn black and white and Stanley Ferguson will begin to narrate the mobsters' escape plan.
It is advised that the player in Afterlife has another player near their original body to repeatedly partially revive them thus granting more time available for the player in Afterlife to enter the numbers, as the time in Afterlife is likely to run out before the player can enter the numbers and revive their character.
Step 10
The players must now make their way to the infirmary where the Hellhound is located. The players must start by heading up the spiral staircase where they will see a Headphone drop. These drops further explain the characters stories during their plan to escape. The rest will be found along the general route to the infirmary. The player must wait for one partition of the story to finish before they are able to pick up another Headphone drop.
Step 11
After picking up the last headphone drop on the roof, a player must enter Afterlife mode (It is advised entering Afterlife whilst in the infirmary). The player in Afterlife mode will then need to board the plane (which can be fuelled but it doesnt need to be to make it fly), and all other players will be put into afterlife mode and join their co-conspirators on the wings of the plane.
It is after this step that the achievement/trophy is unlocked. The only course of action left is to follow the easter egg to its conclusion.
Step 12 (Final Step)
When the players land on the Golden Gate Bridge, they will need to revive themselves on the electric chairs. Eventually, the player playing as Albert Arlington will see a kill marker over the others heads, and the players not playing as Albert Arlington will see a kill marker over his head. The easter egg will be completed when you either kill Arlington or Arlington kills the rest of the players.
Endings
There are two endings to this easter egg, both ending the game immediately with the screen stating "LIFE OVER". The first ending, or "the cycle continues" ending, is achieved when Weasel is successfully killed. The second ending, or "the cycle is broken" ending, is achieved when Weasel successfully kills the other players.
Trivia
- Despite the description, either outcome will unlock the achievement/trophy.
- The title is a reference to the children's nursery rhyme "Pop Goes the Weasel", as well as Albert Arlington's nickname "The Weasel".
- This is the first Zombies easter egg which ends the game upon completion.
- This is the first time players will have to kill a friendly character to complete an easter egg.
- After being revived on the bridge, the player who controls Weasel will not be attacked by Zombies. He will also have a symbol above that is similar in shape to the "revive" symbol but with "KILL" written on it instead. In addition, the other players will be unable to be killed by the zombies, and must complete the easter egg in order to finish the game.
- After a hot-fix update, the "KILL" marker has been replaced with a headshot signification marker.
- If the players get the "The Cycle is Broken" ending, an orchestral version of the music that is played when the player dies in Green Run is heard, while the camera is panning out from the Golden Gate Bridge.
- If players get the "The Cycle Continues" ending, the camera will pan through as it would if the player(s) died normally.
- In the Soundtrack of Mob of the Dead, the ending music for Pop Goes the Weasel "THE CYCLE IS BROKEN." is considered the "Good ending" while "THE CYCLE CONTINUES..." is considered the "Bad ending".
- This is the first main easter egg on Zombies that grants the players a bronze trophy instead of a silver one on the PS3.
- There is a glitch at Step 11 when all players are on the plane, they are teleported outside the plane and they are stuck in Afterlife Mode forever.
- Strangely, this achievement is only 25 Gamerscore or a Bronze Trophy. Yet the normal amount for an Easter Egg is 75 or a Silver Trophy, which is taken up by No One Escapes Alive.
- Although the achievement is only 25 Gamerscore, it is required to earn other achievements to finish the easter egg. This will total up to 145 Gamerscore, but the achievements included may be divided into different people.
- Since killing the Weasel sends the other mobsters back to the beginning of Mob of the Dead, Weasel eventually kills all the others in order for the storyline to progress.
Template:CoD9 Achievements