The Odin Artifact from The Tomb.
- "A powerful relic with a history spanning eons."
- — Black Ops 6 Intel
Sentinel Artifacts are an in-game mechanic introduced in the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Zombies map Voyage of Despair, and later present in IX during the intro cutscene, and are in-game in Dead of the Night and Ancient Evil. They are prominent in the Chaos Story, and are effectively the Chaos Story's replacement for the Power mechanic in the previous Aether Story.
They are also mentioned within the Dark Aether Saga in Call of Duty: Vanguard and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on the maps Shi No Numa, Terminus and Citadelle des Morts respectively. The Odin Sentinel Artifact makes an in-game appearance and serves as an enemy on the map The Tomb.
Overview[]
Gameplay[]
Sentinel Artifacts essentially work as the Chaos story version of the Power Switch, as many areas of a map cannot be opened up until the Sentinel Artifact is activated. The difference between the two, however, lies in the fact that the Artifact is not necessary to buy Perks. However, Pack-a-Punch cannot be activated without the Sentinel Artifact, apart from IX. The Sentinel Artifact is located in the following locations for each map:
- Voyage of Despair - Located on the Poop Deck.
- Dead of the Night - Located in the Grand Staircase.
- Ancient Evil - Located in the hand of a headless statue in the Amphitheater.
Story[]
Chaos Story[]
The Sentinel Artifacts were created by the mysterious group known as the Nine in order to harness and protect the power of Prima Materia. When activated, the Artifacts will begin a Trial that will test the worthiness of an individual, through battling the undead and other creatures. Once activated, an individual cannot leave a Trial unless it is fully completed, or the individual is killed. The Sentinel Artifacts are each based on a specific God of a mythology, with the Artifact on Voyage of Despair corresponding to Odin, the Artifact in IX corresponding to Ra, the Artifact in Dead of the Night corresponding to Danu, and the Artifact in Ancient Evil corresponding to Zeus.
The Danu Artifact, at some point, came into the possession of Alistair Rhodes, until it was stolen by his butler, Godfrey, and the enigmatic religious group known as "The Order" during a house party in Alistair's manor. The Artifact was activated, transforming the guests of the Rhodes Manor into Zombies, Nosferatus, Catalysts, and Werewolves. Soon after, Godfrey, Jonathan Warwick, Christina Mirela, and Gideon Jones completed the Trial set forth by the Danu Artifact. After receiving a premonition of the Odin Artifact, Godfrey murdered the other three members before he was subsequently shot to death by Scarlett Rhodes, the daughter of Alistair.
Soon after Alistair's kidnapping, as requested by him, Scarlett gathered three of Alistair's most trusted companions; Stanton Shaw, Diego Necalli, and Bruno Delacroix. The group of four traveled onto the Titanic in order to gain the Odin Artifact, until it was subsequently stolen and activated by a member of the Order. Afterwards, the four began the Trial for the Artifact and completed it. They were then shown a vision of Delphi, Greece, where they would be able to find the Oracle and learn more about the Order that they faced off against.
The group soon arrived in Delphi, and spoke to the Oracle. They then inhaled an unknown vapor that allowed the group to travel into the bodies of individuals in the past. There, they were transported to a gladiatorial arena in Roman Egypt, where they were forced by the Order, and their leader, the High Priest of Chaos, to complete the Trial of Ra. They were then, in those bodies, executed by the Order.
At some point, during ancient Greek history, demigod Perseus used the Zeus Artifact in Delphi to complete the trial to usurp his father as ruler of Olympus. He kept Medusa, who went by the name of the "Oracle", trapped within Delphi after beheading her 2 sisters. After awakening, Scarlett, using her knowledge gained from her experience in the Trial of Ra, opened the gateway to Delphi. They headed towards the Temple of Apollo, where they discovered the imprisoned Oracle. They agreed to help her in exchange for the freedom of Alistair Rhodes. After the trial was completed, and Scarlett and her friends defeated Perseus, as well as the mighty Pegasus, the crew returned to the Temple of Apollo, where Scarlett proceeded to free the dying Oracle. Meanwhile, Diego, Shaw and Bruno find Alistair, who has been turned to stone alongside 2 members of the Order. At this point, Diego realizes the identity of the Oracle, and rushes to save Scarlett. The Oracle, who reveals herself as Medusa, then kisses Scarlett in order to gain knowledge of modern history. Due to the kiss, Scarlett is put into a comatose state, and is dragged behind a pillar to safety by Diego. Medusa puts on one of the masks belonging to the Order, proclaiming that she will access the Library, and take control of the world.
Dark Aether Saga[]
Amateur demonologist Alistair Rhodes, at some point, wrote about the existence of objects of power known as Sentinel Artifacts. In an attempt to retrieve an Artifact, Rhodes enlisted the help of his long-time friend and collaborator Sir Archibald Fotherington-Smythe to investigate some Roman ruins in the south of France, in the hopes of locating the Sentinel Artifact. Once there, Archibald and his crew spent almost a month attempting to retrieve the Artifact in the caverns of said ruins; nevertheless, after completing the required steps to activate the bridge to where the Sentinel Artifact was located, Archibald and the rest of his crew were presumably killed when he interacted with it.
Alistair Rhodes' work would later be studied by fellow demonologist Gabriel Krafft, who himself never figured out what they were.
By 1991, Edward Richtofen became obsessed with finding a Sentinel Artifact which, he believed, had the ability to control Prima Materia. He hired Franco's French Syndicate which in turn employed Sergei Ravenov to abduct Krafft for interrogation and find the location of the Artifact, believed to be located in the Principality of Avalon. Some time after that, the team of Grigori Weaver, Mackenzie Carver, Maya Aguinaldo and Elizabeth Grey along with Oskar Strauss, William Peck and Raptor One left Terminus island and were briefed by S.A.M. about the importance of the Sentinel Artifact - as well as setting the goal of rescuing Samantha Maxis -, they traveled to Avalon in an attempt to save Krafft from the French Syndicate and to know the location of the Artifact. Once there, a zombie outbreak occurred, and had to fight they way into the castle where Krafft was being held captive. Once they reached the dungeon area of the castle, they found a poorly aged Krafft badly beaten locked in a cell, but still aware enough that he informed them that they needed the Obscurus Altilium in order to find the Artifact. Once the Autilium was in their possession, they ran back to Krafft's cell and found him mortally wounded by the zombies that had broken through his cell door. With his dying breaths, he told them to take the Autilium to the excavation site, and to be wary of the Sentinel Artifact, as it could "consume you".
Once the former operatives of Requiem and Maya Aguinaldo reached the excavation site, the Obscurus Autilium they had brought with them came to life and started to play voice recordings of Sir Archibald Fotherington-Smythe, who had been on the same site as them many decades before. Through Archibald's recordings, the crew managed to find their way through the site (and even craft the Ice Staff) until they eventually found the Sentinel Artifact in a nexus inside the Dark Aether; once they made their way to it and interacted with it, the Artifact started a Trial and the Crew had to fight off the ensuing zombie horde. After the Crew managed to survive the Trial, they retrieved the Sentinel Artifact and travelled to Richtofen's Mansion in Liberty Falls, in the hopes of getting closer to their primary goal of rescuing Samantha from the Dark Aether.
Gallery[]
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4[]
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6[]
