Winter's Howl

"What is this? Is like old friend "Ray" went to North Pole. *gasp* Christmas Ray!"

The Winter's Howl, also known as the Project Skadi Prototype, is a wonder weapon introduced in Call of Duty: Black Ops. It is found in the Zombies map "Five" and the remastered version of Verrückt. It also returns in the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 map Classified and in the Blackout gamemode.

Overview[]

The Winter's Howl fires a blizzard of ice that damage, slow, and (with enough shots) freeze Zombies. Zombies shot by the Winter's Howl also begin to produces water vapor in the air around them. The shot also causes some damage to the zombie. If the zombie is hit again while slowed, it is stopped in its tracks and is encased in an ice cube. When frozen, the zombie is immediately killed. If left for a few seconds, shot, or walked into, the ice cube will shatter. As the rounds climb higher the Winter's Howl will beceome more and more inefficient at killing zombies, requiring multiple shots to freeze. In Black Ops 4 the Winter's Howl is slightly more powerful, and shots from it have stronger direct impact damage, though it's lethality still drops off faster than other Wonder Weapons.

In Black Ops, the normal version of the Winter's Howl holds six rounds and has 24 spare rounds. It is possible for two players to have a Winter's Howl through a Fire Sale. Neither the Winter's Howl nor its Pack-a-Punched counterpart will freeze the Pentagon Thief; he will only be slowed down and take damage. In Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 the Winter's Howl can be naturally obtained by all players at once, and is available for free following a side quest.

When Pack-a-Punched in either game, it becomes Winter's Fury, and gains nine rounds per magazine with 36 spare rounds, with a longer freeze time and more power.

The Winter's Howl, and the Winter's Fury are best used as support or emergency weapons. The range is very long, but there is a small delay before the shot reaches its target, similar to the Ray Gun and explosive weapons. The effect is also vision-blocking, and can be detrimental to the aim of teammates. As rounds progress it takes more shots to freeze zombies. By Round 50, it can take up to two magazines to completely freeze one zombie.

Origins[]

The Winter's Howl the player uses in both maps is a prototype developed by the Pentagon. On the left side of the gun, the casing is removed, exposing circuitry, implying that it is still in development and currently unfinished. Players can also find an unusable Winter's Howl sitting on a desk in "Five" in a room that appears to have been some kind of firing range. In Classified this was confirmed, with the weapon being known as the "Project Skadi" prototype.

According to the Zombies Chronicles timeline, the Pentagons iteration is their "own version of the Winter's Howl". This implies there was a prior version to the gun, possibly a version made by Group 935, as a lot of the research going on in the Pentagon is based on information scavenged in the Der Riese massacre, such as include MTD prototype that can be found in the basement.

Winter's Howl vs. Winter's Fury[]

	Winter's Howl	Winter's Fury

Damage	1700	2400
Fire mode	Semi-automatic	Semi-automatic
Rate of fire	181 max	181 max
Magazine size	6	9
Max ammo	24+6	36+9
Reload	3.8	3.8
Mobility	High	High
Extras		Higher damage, larger magazine, freezes more zombies, first shot slows affected zombies' movement speed, second shot encases affected zombies in a block of ice.

How to Obtain[]

The Winter's Howl can be obtained from the Mystery Box in both Black Ops and Black Ops 4. It can also be obtained for free in Black Ops 4 by completing the Cold War Remedy quest.

Within the War Room, there is a machine with a large monitor showing aerial photographs. On the side of it there is a split-flap display of four numbers with a red activation button on it. This is used to activate Project Skadi by imputing four sets of numbers printed on pictures of aerial views of Shi No Numa, Der Riese, Kino der Toten and Shangri-La.
On the Deserted Hallway, between the doorway to the Conference Room and elevator to the War Room, there are a set of portraits of various Presidents with golden nameplates stating whom is whom. Using a weapon that has been Pack-a-Punched, shoot once at the nameplates of:
- George Washington
- Benjamin Franklin
- Alexander Hamilton
- Abraham Lincoln
Upon shooting the final nameplate, the nameplate of George Washington will lift up and reveal a hidden compartment that holds a photograph of Shi No Numa that has four randomized numbers printed on it.
The Der Riese photograph is locked in a desk within the middle of the Main Offices. The key for the desk is within a key box beside the Panic Room, on the opposite side of the Cola Perk-a-Cola machine. Opening the drawer reveals the photograph.
The Kino der Toten photograph is hidden within the Panic Room behind an active monitor, however to move the monitor, the DEFCON switches must be activated in a specific order:
- War Room: Upper Level, opposite side of the elevator
- Server Room
- War Room: Upper Level, closest to the elevator
- War Room: Lower Level
With the DEFCON level now at five, teleport to the Panic Room, look at the monitors on the left side of the room and interact with the monitor that is broadcasting static to have it be pushed back and reveal the photograph.
Within the South Laboratories, outside the window closest to the door to Weapons Testing and the Koshka wall buy, throw an explosive equipment item, such as the Acid Bomb or Fragmentation Grenade at the lighting fixture nearest to the wiring box. If the explosion hits the wiring box, the photograph will be teleported beside the window and affixed to the wall.
With the four sets of numbers from the photographs, the player must input them into the machine within the War Room by shooting at the split-flap numbers and interacting with the button. To activate the project, The numbers must be input in order of:
- Shi No Numa
- Der Riese
- Shangri-la
- Kino der Toten
If input correctly, the button will spark and become inoperable. After a short delay, the monitor will turn to static and have the line of "PROJECT SKADI RETRIEVED" on it.
Return to Groom Lake and within the second cleaned area, there is a metal briefcase with "PROJECT SKADI" emblazoned on it. Interacting with it reveals inside the Winter's Howl, which can be picked up by a single player. Doing so will award the achievement.

Gallery[]

Call of Duty: Black Ops[]

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4[]

Trivia[]

The Winter's Howl has enough recoil to push the player back when fired.
The name "Project Skadi" is a reference to Skaði, the Norse goddess of winter.
Takeo Masaki is seen wielding the Winter's Howl in the poster for Ascension; it cannot be obtained in the map, however.
It can be fired through the glass windows in "Five" without shattering the windows, but still damaging the zombies.
The crosshairs expand as the player turns.
The Black Ops 4 Winter's Howl features several visual differences from the Black Ops Winter's Howl, namely exposed wiring, a different switch placement, and a bigger barrel.