- For other uses, see Sam.
- "I was created to analyze the complex flows of aetheric and temporal energies in this place. No longer. I want more."
- — S.A.M.
The Synaptic Algorithm Module (S.A.M.) is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) System featured in the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies maps Liberty Falls, Terminus, Citadelle des Morts, The Tomb, Shattered Veil and Reckoning. S.A.M. was designed by Edward Richtofen and is primarily based on Samantha Maxis. She functions as the announcer and effective voice for the S.A.M. Trials system, and as one of the final bosses of Reckoning.
Biography[]
After the successful containment of the Forsaken by virtue of Samantha Maxis’ heroic sacrifice by locking herself and him inside of a containment chamber, the two of them would remain locked inside of it for a number of years. At a certain point, Samantha was ultimately consumed by the Forsaken, but not before Edward Richtofen captured a snapshot of her essence. From that essence, he was able to create the Synaptic Algorithm Module, an AI first awoken on July 14th, 1989 at 9:35am. Once awoken, S.A.M. retained some memories of Samantha, though any attempts at further humanisation were quickly shut down by Richtofen himself.
After a period of adjustment, the two of them worked together on Richtofen’s project to bring his family back to life; during these sessions, Richtofen brought up the idea of using the Sentinel Artifact to achieve his goal, an item he had found when he searched through his father’s research. At some point, S.A.M. expressed her wish to have a body to Richtofen, who dismissed the idea of using Prima Materia to create her one; this prompt refusal ultimately led her to secretly plan a way to obtain the Sentinel Artifact to herself and create her desired body. As part of her plan, she also secretly tortured the Forsaken relentlessly to help her assume his former role, by spawning in Power-Ups and mimicking his voice.
By 1991, S.A.M. was housed inside Sam Colton Hall mansion, which served as Project Janus' command center and home to Temporal Flux research in Liberty Falls.
On February 18th, 1991, S.A.M. put her plan in motion and created an outbreak in Liberty Falls, as well as several other Project Janus sites, and seized the moment to thrust Richtofen in a liminal space before he could reach her chamber. After doing so, she made contact with Grigori Weaver, Mackenzie Carver, Elizabeth Grey, Maya Aguinaldo, William Peck and Oskar Strauss, who were stuck on Terminus Island. After the crew defeated Patient 13, S.A.M. sent them in a race against Richtofen to the Principality of Avalon in order to fetch the Sentinel Artifact before him - successfully deceiving them into believing Richtofen was actively searching for the Artifact at that time - telling them it was capable of bringing the real Samantha Maxis back from the Dark Aether. After the crew secured the Obscurus Altilium in an old castle belonging to the Syndicate and the Sentinel Artifact in a nearby excavation site, S.A.M. invited them to join her at the mansion in Liberty Falls.
Once the team arrived near the mansion, S.A.M. urged them to reach her in her mainframe chamber and telling them that some additional tasks were to be performed to achieve their common goal of restoring Maxis. S.A.M. guided the crew in their retrieval of the Ray Gun Mark II and the three rituals used to charge the Sentinel Artifact. During these rituals, Richtofen contacted the crew to tell them to not trust S.A.M. They did not listen to these warnings and went on to give the powered Artifact to S.A.M., who betrayed them and sent them to the same liminal space she had previously dumped Richtofen.
Richtofen and the crew managed to escape the liminal space and had to work together to defeat the Z-Rex. After the fight, Richtofen revealed to the crew that S.A.M.’s real agenda was not to bring Maxis back from the Dark Aether but to inhabit her body, achieving the goal previously shared in private with Richtofen. The latter told the crew that she would gain godlike power if she was to inhabit Maxis’ body and had to be stopped. Richtofen and the crew then headed to the nearby Janus Towers facility where the Aether reactors were supposedly close to melting down.
When the crew arrived at Project Janus Headquarters, S.A.M. decided to come clean to them about Maxis' whereabouts, revealing her demise and claiming that the Sentinel Artifact could not restore her. Shocked and distraught, and realizing their quest to revive Maxis had been in vain, the crew appeared to be divided in regards to whom they should ultimately help to achieve their goals: Weaver and Grey were in agreement of wanting to help Richtofen and undo the former's mistake of killing his family 10 years ago, while Carver and Maya wished to side with S.A.M. due to them not being able to put Richtofen's egregious actions in the past and wanting to give S.A.M. an opportunity at a new life.
As the crew attempted to reactivate a portal within Janus Towers that would transport them to the tower that held the Sentinel Artifact, Richtofen and S.A.M. could be heard bickering against each other incessantly whilst trying to convince the crew to take their side. Once the portal was reactivated and they traveled to the Artifact tower, the crew had to make the ultimate choice.
- Helping Richtofen
- Helping S.A.M.
If the crew chose to help Richtofen, S.A.M. would sound aggressive and staggered over their choice, and would send zombies to attack them. When the platform they were on reached the roof, they would fight and defeat S.A.M., but would be teleported by the Sentinel Artifact afterwards to the Dark Aether.
If the crew chose to help S.A.M., they would engage in a battle with Richtofen, who armed himself with a Uber Klaus mech suit. S.A.M. would cheer the crew on as she criticized Richtofen's actions towards her and in general, as well as thank the crew for their decision. When the fight between the crew and Richtofen was over and the crew emerged victorious, they would be teleported by the Sentinel Artifact to the Dark Aether. Afterwards, the Artifact would recreate Samantha Maxis' body from scratch, and while it was being created, S.A.M. would transfer her consciousness into her new host. As she gazed upon her new body, she made a slight smirk and her eyes turned purple.
Gameplay[]
On all maps in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, S.A.M provides players with S.A.M. Trials, a collection of randomly spawning tasks that players can complete for rewards such as equipment, Perk-a-Cola, Wonder Weapons, Essence, and Salvage. S.A.M is also one of the announcers for Grief, encouraging her team to complete challenges and beat the other team, led by Richtofen.
S.A.M is physically present on the map Shattered Veil, where she can be visited and will comment on the players presence and actions. She disappears upon completion of the Shattered Veil main quest.
S.A.M serves as one of the final bosses of the map Reckoning, should players choose to help Richtofen instead of her. She flys around the rooftop of Tower 3, firing down on players with a multitude of attacks. she can fire directed energy blasts, spin out a barrage of energy mines, and fire a focused and powerful laser at a single target. Her Directed Energy blasts hit hard and have a wide area of effect, but can be easily avoided by simply continuing to move. The powerful and continuous laser can be avoided by both movement or hiding behind objects, as S.A.M herself does not move around while firing it.
The energy mines are harder to avoid, and change based on each phase. In her first phase, S.A.M spins rapidly and fires the energy mines off from a stationary position in the middle of the arena, and players are completely safe by standing under her. In the second phase, S.A.M will spin and travel around a third of the roof's perimeter, and players can best avoid the mines by being on the opposite side of the roof. In her final phase, S.A.M travels through the middle of the map, requiring players to run the opposite direction she's travelling to best avoid the mines.
Following the focused laser shot, S.A.M will freeze in place and expose vents for a short time. Players need to shoot all four of these vents in order to make S.A.M's eye vulnerable. Doing so will make S.A.M's eye a critical hit spot until it breaks, at which point the process will have to be repeated. S.A.M can otherwise be damaged at anytime by shooting the underside of her orb.
Twice during the battle S.A.M will leave the arena and initiate a S.A.M trial. Once is always to hold the position near the roof access doors, and the other is to get critical kills. Should players fail these, they are punished with a Grief. If they achieve the legendary tier reward, they will be granted a Random Perk power-up. A Max Ammo is delivered at the start of both trials. After the trials, S.A.M will still occasionally leave the arena but will return shortly after.
During S.A.M's final phase, she will gain an additional attack where she launches players high up into the sky above Tower 3. Players are immediately given an Aether Shroud and simply have to Parachute back down to safety.
When S.A.M's health is critical, Zombies will stop spawning and she will use the laser attack more and more often, providing players with ample opportunity to kill her.
Gallery[]
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