Call of Duty: World at War: Complete Guide

A full player guide to Call of Duty: World at War on PC: the campaign mission by mission, Veteran difficulty survival, Death Card collectibles, the original Nazi Zombies maps, classic multiplayer loadouts, and how to get the 2008 game running well on a modern PC.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the final official PC patch (the game has had no new official content in many years; the Steam version is still sold). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

The campaign alternates between two fronts: Private C. Miller with the US Marines in the Pacific, and Private Dimitri Petrenko with the Red Army in Stalingrad and Berlin.
Enemies respawn until you push forward. Most areas have spawn triggers; hanging back means endless grenades. Advance to the next piece of cover to stop the waves.
Grenades are the main killer on Veteran. When you see the grenade indicator, move — don't try to outlast it.
Watch for Banzai charges. Japanese soldiers charge with bayonets; melee (V by default) as they reach you, or shoot early.
Pick up Death Cards. There are 13 hidden in the campaign; they unlock co-op cheats.
Nacht der Untoten unlocks after beating the campaign. It's the original Nazi Zombies map.
Use flamethrowers against bunkers and tall grass. They're built for Pacific missions.
Online is legacy and small. If you play multiplayer, prefer trusted servers or a community client (see below).

Controls (PC defaults)

Action	Key
Move	W A S D
Jump	Space
Crouch / Prone	C / Ctrl
Sprint	Shift (hold)
Aim down sights	Right mouse
Fire	Left mouse
Melee / bayonet	V
Reload	R
Use / interact	F
Frag grenade	G
Special grenade (smoke etc.)	Check Options, Controls
Switch weapon	1 / 2 or mouse wheel

These follow the Call of Duty 4-era PC layout; confirm them in Options, Controls, since you can rebind everything there. It's worth moving grenades and melee to mouse side buttons.

Campaign Walkthrough

Missions are listed in play order.

#	Mission	Front	Tips
1	Semper Fi	Pacific (Makin Island)	Stealth intro at night, then a firefight; stick with Sgt. Roebuck
2	Little Resistance	Pacific (Peleliu)	Beach landing; clear bunkers from the side
3	Hard Landing	Pacific (Peleliu airfield)	Tanks and machine guns; use the bazooka/rockets provided
4	Vendetta	Stalingrad	Sniper mission with Sgt. Reznov; time your shots with loud noises
5	Their Land, Their Blood	Germany, 1945	Push with tanks; use Panzerschrecks on enemy armor
6	Burn 'Em Out	Peleliu	Flamethrower mission; torch bunkers and snipers in trees
7	Relentless	Peleliu	Mortar and defense sections; watch for flanks
8	Blood and Iron	Seelow Heights	Tank mission; target enemy tank weak points
9	Ring of Steel	Berlin outskirts	Urban clearing with Reznov; fire through walls and cover
10	Eviction	Berlin	Close-quarters clearing; shotgun and SMG help
11	Black Cats	Pacific (Catalina patrol)	Turret gunner mission on a PBY; prioritize threats
12	Blowtorch and Corkscrew	Okinawa	Hardest mission on Veteran; clear mortar pits methodically
13	Breaking Point	Okinawa (Shuri Castle)	Mortars, bunkers and flame; use smoke
14	Heart of the Reich	Berlin	Street fighting toward the Reichstag
15	Downfall	Berlin (Reichstag)	Final assault; the flag-raising finale

Story beats worth knowing (per Wikipedia): the Soviet campaign opens in Stalingrad in September 1942 with Dimitri and Sgt. Reznov hunting General Amsel, and ends with Dimitri planting the Soviet flag on the Reichstag. The American campaign runs from Makin Island (August 1942) through Peleliu and a Catalina patrol to Okinawa (May 1945), where Miller has to choose whether to save Roebuck or Polonsky.

Veteran difficulty tips

Grenades: Veteran is famous for grenade spam. Throw back grenades when safe, but mostly move away.
Push to stop respawns: you usually need to advance past a trigger line to stop infinite waves.
Use smoke to cross open ground (especially on Blowtorch and Corkscrew and Breaking Point).
Weapons: carry a reliable rifle (M1 Garand, Gewehr 43, SVT-40) and a close-range backup (Thompson, PPSh-41, Trench Gun).
Save your health by staying out of sightlines rather than trying to outshoot enemies.

Death Cards (Collectibles)

There are 13 Death Cards hidden in the campaign, one per level where they appear (per Wikipedia). Each unlocks a co-op cheat modifier (for example, Paintball Mode and reduced enemy endurance). Treat them as fun replay modifiers rather than a way to make Veteran easier — expect active cheats to restrict progress and achievements. Collect them on an easier difficulty — they stay collected.

Nazi Zombies

Nazi Zombies debuted in World at War and is still one of its most-played modes.

Map	Source	Key features
Nacht der Untoten	Base game (unlocks after campaign)	Small bunker, Mystery Box, Ray Gun, no perks
Zombie Verrückt	Map Pack 1	Asylum, power switch, first Perk-a-Colas
Shi No Numa	Map Pack 2	Swamp, introduces Dempsey, Nikolai, Takeo, and Richtofen; Wunderwaffe DG-2
Der Riese	Map Pack 3	Factory, teleporters, Pack-a-Punch, Monkey Bombs

Per Wikipedia, all map packs were released free on Windows (they were paid DLC on Xbox 360 and PS3), so an up-to-date Steam install includes all four maps. Every Zombies game starts you with only an M1911 pistol; you earn points from hits, kills, and repairing barriers, and spend them on wall weapons, the Mystery Box, and doors that open more of the map.

Map notes

Nacht der Untoten: tiny and perk-free, so everything rides on wall weapons and the Mystery Box. Pick one defensible room and hold it.
Zombie Verrückt: the perk machines don't work until the power is on, so reaching the power switch is the first goal of every game.
Shi No Numa: a bigger, more open map built around the swamp; learn a training route early and use the Wunderwaffe DG-2 for crowds if the Box gives it to you.
Der Riese: the teleporters are the key to the map and to reaching Pack-a-Punch. Monkey Bombs from the Mystery Box are the best panic button.

Zombies tips

Rack up points early by shooting zombies in the body a few times before a knife or headshot kill.
Board up windows in early rounds for extra points and safety.
Train zombies in large circles once rounds get hard, then shoot the pack from the front.
Juggernog (where available) is the first perk to buy.
Mystery Box: chase the Ray Gun and Wunderwaffe DG-2.
Pack-a-Punch on Der Riese massively upgrades a weapon.
Monkey Bombs buy time when you're cornered.

Multiplayer

Classic loadout basics

Killstreaks: Recon Plane (3 kills), Artillery (5 kills), Attack Dogs (7 kills).
Perks come in three tiers; well-known picks include Stopping Power, Juggernaut, Double Tap, Deep Impact, Steady Aim, Extreme Conditioning, and Second Chance.
Tanks appear on certain maps; use rockets and satchels against them.
Weapons to learn: MP40, Thompson, PPSh-41, STG-44, M1 Garand, Kar98k, Springfield, Type 100, MG42.

Current state on PC

World at War's PC multiplayer is from 2008. Official player counts are small, and the community has long warned that old Call of Duty PC multiplayer builds are vulnerable to exploits on untrusted servers. Many PC players instead use Plutonium T4, a community client that runs World at War multiplayer and Zombies with modern fixes and dedicated servers; it requires your own legitimate game files. Only use community clients from their official site, and understand they're unofficial.

Getting It Running on a Modern PC

Resolution and widescreen: the game supports widescreen resolutions natively; set them in Options.
FOV: the default is narrow. The cg_fov console variable raises it, but the stock game caps how high it can go and the single-player console may need unlocking first. Check a current PC fix guide before editing config files.
Frame rate: com_maxfps limits FPS; very high values can cause physics quirks in older CoD engines, so a moderate cap is safest.
Crashes on startup: running as administrator and verifying game files in Steam fixes many issues.
Mods: the official mod tools let you install community maps and mods, especially custom Zombies maps.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Camping in cover on Veteran. Infinite respawns mean you have to advance.
Ignoring tree snipers. They're common in the Pacific missions; scan canopies.
Wasting Zombies points early. Buy doors and perks with a plan.
Standing in fire. The flamethrower sections are dangerous to you too.
Joining random old PC servers. Prefer trusted servers or a maintained community client.

Advanced Tips

Knife-lunge in Zombies early rounds for points and ammo conservation.
Recon Plane timing: call it when enemies are pushing, not right after a spawn.
Artillery on predictable routes (spawn exits, flag points).
Use console commands in single-player for fun replays after collecting Death Cards.
Veteran speed: memorize trigger lines and sprint between cover.

FAQ

How long is the World at War campaign? About 6 to 8 hours on normal difficulty.

How do I unlock Nazi Zombies? Beat the campaign to unlock Nacht der Untoten. The other three maps come with the patched PC version.

Is there co-op? Yes, up to four players online in the campaign (two in split-screen on consoles), with competitive co-op scoring.

Is multiplayer still active? It's small and legacy. Many PC players use the Plutonium community client.

How many Death Cards are there? 13.

Is World at War connected to Black Ops? Yes. Reznov and Dimitri's story continues into Black Ops, and Zombies carries on through the Black Ops games.