01Choose a Goal Before Opening the First Door

For a first visit, aim to restore power, assemble Pack-a-Punch, and finish one upgraded bow. That is a useful practice session even without a main-quest clear. For a quest attempt, assign bows before loading in and agree who will preserve the last zombie while others travel.

Online Solo and ranked private matches normally require an upgraded bow for each player. Local and unranked matches can require all four. Extra bow quests started during a run can complicate the Keeper’s requested colors, so do not begin an unused upgrade on a focused clear attempt. If a ritual asks for a bow you did not build, finish that bow rather than endlessly killing with the wrong one.

• Bow Requirements: Ranked, Unranked, and Local ↗

02Open the Castle, Restore Power, and Link Your Escape Routes

The power switch is in the armory beside Stamin-Up. From spawn, follow the lightning-bolt signs through the lower courtyard and castle rooms until you reach the switch. Both routes around the castle become easier to navigate once power opens the internal connections. Learn the path between the church, living quarters, armory, and Undercroft before attempting timed tasks.

Wunderspheres work only after their destination landing pads have been activated. Step on the pads as you pass them. The Undercroft teleporter connects to the rocket test site; keep enough points for your return. At the rocket site, the test siren means get behind the blast doors immediately. Do not finish a pickup outside at the cost of being trapped by the rocket test.

1. Reach the armory and use the power switch. Confirm the castle’s powered doors open.
2. In the Undercroft, stand on each of the four floor plates around the pyramid until it lights blue. After all four are active, low gravity cycles on and off.
3. During low gravity, practice a short wall run and collect the shield part if it is on your route. The effect is temporary; wait for the next cycle if it ends.
4. Activate landing pads before relying on Wunderspheres. Visit the rocket site with a clear return plan.

03Assemble Pack-a-Punch and Find It Again

The machine’s possible locations are the Undercroft, the Death Ray platform, and the rocket test site. Send the scattered pieces using their interaction prompts; the assembled machine appears at the remaining location. Look for the map indicator beside a location when you need to find where the machine has moved.

Atlas route advice: combine the rocket visit with a shield/Ragnarok or bow task, but do not postpone your first weapon upgrade solely to optimize travel. A reliable gun makes the first Panzer much less disruptive. Budget 5,000 points for the first Pack-a-Punch upgrade and keep a separate travel reserve.

1. Restore power before checking the machine stations.
2. Interact with the pieces at the available stations until they have converged. Check the third station for the complete machine.
3. Upgrade a weapon you can use comfortably while moving. The bows are upgraded through their own quests, not this machine.
4. If the station is empty later, read its location indicator before making another full lap.

04Build the Rocket Shield and Ragnarok DG-4

The shield has one part in each of three zones. Search the whole zone before crossing the map: lower courtyard and its stairs; upper courtyard, clock tower, and church frontage; then the high walls/railings in the Undercroft during low gravity. The exact spawn within each zone varies. Build at a workbench you can safely revisit for replacements.

Ragnarok DG-4 is a separate specialist weapon. Every player entering the boss needs to collect it from the built workbench and charge it. A teammate having the build complete does not mean your own specialist meter is ready.

1. Collect all three parts for each build and assemble them at a workbench.
2. If the rocket component did not appear, check that you used both switches during the same test sequence. Repeat the sequence on a later test.
3. Replace broken shields at the workbench. Charge Ragnarok through kills and preserve that charge when the next task needs a planted specialist.

05Earn the Wrath of the Ancients

Three stone dragons must finish feeding: one in the lower courtyard, one in the church, and one beside the pyramid. Kill within reach of a dragon and wait while it consumes a body before supplying the next. A pile of simultaneous kills does not skip the eating animation.

When each dragon finishes and breaks apart, collect the bow at the knight’s tomb in the passage between the church and Undercroft. It occupies a normal weapon slot. Keep access to this original bow: the teleporter-prong step uses it even after your upgrade is ready.

1. Feed the courtyard dragon while opening your route to power.
2. Feed the church dragon and then the Undercroft dragon, preserving enough zombies for useful setup tasks.
3. Confirm all three dragon symbols at the tomb are lit, then collect the Wrath of the Ancients.
4. Pick an upgrade below. Follow its completion cue before moving to the next step; ammunition spent without a cue is a reason to check your prerequisite.

06Lightning Bow: Bonfires, Wall Run, and Charged Urns

The Lightning Bow is a practical first upgrade because its stages are easy to separate into checkpoints. The two bonfire passes are different: ordinary arrows ignite them first; lightning drawn from the urns ignites them again later. Do not confuse the pyramid’s low-gravity wall symbols with the separate BRM wall-buy tiles.

1. Shoot the weather vane above the Death Ray area with the bow. Pick up the broken arrow revealed below it.
2. Light all three distant bonfires: beyond the clock tower, beyond the Double Tap side toward the rocket area, and on the cliff visible from the rocket site. Use a charged shot and adjust for the arrow’s arc until each fire is visibly burning.
3. During low gravity, wall-run over all five wind symbols around the pyramid without touching the floor. If you land early, restart the chain during the next cycle.
4. Fill the urns at the clock-tower stairs, above Double Tap, and inside the rocket tunnel by killing nearby zombies. Stop when each urn’s soul effect is complete.
5. Draw and hold a charged arrow beside a filled urn until electricity attaches to it. Shoot the corresponding bonfire while keeping the charge: clock tower to the nearby distant fire, Double Tap to the fire above the rocket approach, rocket tunnel to the mountain fire. Repeat for all three.
6. Return to the weather vane and interact with the blue smoke. Collect the repaired arrow after its animation.
7. Place it in the lightning chest beside the pyramid, fill the chest with nearby zombie souls, then interact to offer the original bow. Wait for the bow to reform and claim the upgrade.

• MrRoflWaffles: Lightning Bow Upgrade ↗

07Wolf Bow: Read the Story, Then Follow the Spirit

The four paintings change locations, but their story order does not. Identify the pictures themselves rather than memorizing which room to click first: the king with wolves, the mounted warrior/battle, the burning castle, then the dead king with his wolves. Search the clock tower, trophy room, church, and living quarters. A wrong choice resets the sequence.

The spirit wolf’s stops are not completed just by killing enough enemies. After the wolf digs, collect the revealed remains before following it again. If it stays in place, inspect the dirt at its feet.

1. Interact with the four paintings in story order. Listen for the howl and collect the arrow revealed by the wolf-marked wall near the Undercroft approach.
2. At the rocket site, shoot the red flag above the cliff. Pick up the skull that rolls down and bring it to the wolf skeleton at the pyramid’s upgrade station.
3. Follow the summoned wolf. At each of its three digging stops, kill zombies nearby until it finishes digging, then interact with the exposed bones.
4. At its final position by the pyramid wall, wait for low gravity. Wall-run and shoot the wolf symbol above the ledge to raise the platform.
5. Stand on the platform and interact with the opening to assemble the skeleton and receive the repaired arrow.
6. Place the arrow in the wolf chest, charge it with souls, and offer the base bow. Collect the finished Wolf Bow after the transformation.

• MrRoflWaffles: Wolf Bow Upgrade ↗

08Fire Bow: Midair Targets and the Fireplace Route

The Fire Bow is the most aim-sensitive route. Keep a points reserve for repeated Wundersphere flights, and practise the launch direction before spending your last arrows. A ground shot does not satisfy the midair circle step.

For the fireplace stage, compare the symbol from the clock with the symbols at the fireplaces. The active circle determines your starting point. You create small lava markers as stepping stones; stand on the newest marker before firing the next shot. Treat four shots as the limit, rather than improvising a long chain.

1. Shoot the red symbol upstairs in the clock tower and collect the broken arrow.
2. Survive a rocket test behind the doors. As the test ends, quickly step out and shoot the glowing rock on the right-hand cliff above the site. A successful shot sends a fireball toward the castle. If the glow has gone out, wait for another test.
3. While airborne from a Wundersphere, hit each of the three floor circles: near the spawn/gatehouse approach, at the Death Ray, and outside the clock tower. A hit makes the target glow.
4. At ground level, kill zombies inside each lit circle until it sends a beam upward. Finish all three before returning to the clock tower.
5. Interact with the clock mechanism upstairs to reveal a symbol. Match it to the fireplace in Samantha’s room, the church, or the lower courtyard room near the Double Tap route.
6. Start on the circle that remains lit. Shoot toward the matching fireplace, step onto the lava marker left by your arrow, and continue from there. Reach the fireplace within four shots, then interact with it to place the arrow. If you fail, restart the route when the game allows the next attempt.
7. Go to the floating fireball at the Death Ray area and interact. Collect the repaired arrow it releases.
8. Charge the fire chest at the pyramid with souls, offer the base bow, and take the Fire Bow.

• MrRoflWaffles: Fire Bow Upgrade ↗

09Void Bow: Six Skulls and a Three-Word Code

Keep a note of the three words spoken by the urn in their exact order. They refer to the knight emblems, not directly to the floor glyphs. First translate each spoken emblem using its knight statue; then use the corresponding glyphs. Randomly shooting symbols is a poor way to recover a missed instruction.

1. Shoot the purple mark above the gatehouse entrance and take the broken arrow. In the trophy room below the clock tower, melee a zombie over the glowing floor square, then interact with the revealed urn.
2. Collect six skulls: the wall near Mule Kick; the upper-courtyard window by the church stairs; the sink in the teleporter room; the rocket-site truck; the broken wall near Double Tap; and the toy chest in Samantha’s room.
3. Bring six crawler zombies into the purple ritual circle. Let the floating skulls consume them.
4. Listen to the urn’s three emblem words. If you missed them, shoot/interact with the urn to repeat the instruction before proceeding.
5. In the knight-statue room, interact with the statues corresponding to those emblems and record their glyphs in order. Kill zombies to collect the dropped glyphs needed for the ritual.
6. Return to the circle and shoot the three matching glyphs in the spoken order. Wait for the success response, then place the broken arrow in the purple beam and collect it when repaired.
7. Place the arrow in the void chest by the pyramid, fill it with souls, and offer the base bow. Claim the Void Bow after the animation.

• MrRoflWaffles: Void Bow Upgrade ↗

10First Wisp Cycle and the Trip into the Past

Complete the needed bow upgrades and keep a normal zombie alive before starting. Timed wisp hunts are much easier when nobody advances the round unexpectedly. Use the base bow to shoot the small prongs above the Undercroft teleporter until they glow and the activation sound plays; then switch back to an upgraded bow.

Four wisps must be shot in sequence. Only shoot the object that is visibly sparking. A stray shot or nearby Widow’s Wine blast at an inactive target can fail the attempt. On failure, wait for the next round’s cue and repeat the hunt rather than firing at all eight objects.

1. Find the current sparking object and shoot it with an upgraded bow. Repeat immediately for each new wisp until all four have been hit.
2. When the teleporter glows purple, gather the crew and travel to the past.
3. Pick up the soul canister and Death Ray fuse/parts. Watch Dr. Groph enter three safe symbols and record their order.
4. On return, deal with the Panzer before working on consoles. Enter the safe code during the same round; a round change can make that code unusable.

11Use the Death Ray to Bring Down the Capsule

The safe code and the memory games are separate tasks. The safe code is the three-symbol sequence from the past. The memory games ask you to match the large displayed symbol to the correct small monitor position. Assign one person to operate while the rest protect the area.

1. Ensure the Death Ray has been activated at least once, install the fuse, and set its switch to Protect.
2. At the terminal beside the clock tower, enter Groph’s three safe symbols in order. Collect the items from the safe by the Undercroft teleporter.
3. Install the pieces in the Death Ray pylons, then switch the machine back to Destroy.
4. Complete the symbol-memory game at the clock-tower terminal and the rocket-site terminal. Remember which symbol belongs to each small screen, then press the matching screen for each large symbol.
5. After both terminals succeed, use the green button at the back of the Death Ray. Confirm the capsule crashes into the courtyard and collect the golden rod.
6. Complete another wisp cycle and revisit the past. Use the button hidden behind the book near the room’s right side to open the box containing the stone tablet; collect it before returning.

• MrRoflWaffles: Main Quest Video ↗

12Escort the Keeper and Prepare the Pyramid

Take the rod to the knight’s tomb and insert it to summon the Keeper. At each stop, stand inside the white circle and use the bow indicated by your screen’s colored border. The similar blues are easy to confuse: the darker electric blue requests Lightning, while pale blue requests Wolf. Purple is Void and orange is Fire.

The route visits the upper courtyard, Mule Kick area, living quarters, and the gate/Double Tap side. The gate-side ritual needs the stone tablet placed in its wall recess. If souls are not being accepted, check the circle, bow color, and tablet before advancing another round.

1. Follow the Keeper to its current circle; do not assume the next stop from an earlier run.
2. Kill with the requested upgraded bow while standing in the circle until the Keeper moves. Let the appropriate bow owner take the kills in co-op.
3. At the gate-side stop, install the stone tablet from the second past visit.
4. After all four stops, follow the Keeper to the pyramid. Insert the soul canister collected during the first past visit into the empty corner position.
5. Pause for a readiness check: each player has Ragnarok DG-4 charged, ammunition, shield, perks, and a plan for Panzer waves.

13Defeat the Keeper and Finish the Quest

At the pyramid, every player places Ragnarok DG-4 on a blue floor plate to start the boss encounter. Once inside, keep moving and watch the middle of the arena. The central electrical effect is the signal for a Ragnarok placement; spending your charge casually can leave the crew unable to interrupt the attack.

If nobody can place Ragnarok in time, get behind a pillar to break the Keeper’s line of sight during the lethal electrical attack. Rebuild specialist charge from enemies and wait for another opening. Saving a failed damage window is better than sacrificing the whole attempt.

1. When the electrical orb forms in the center, have a charged player plant Ragnarok there.
2. Shoot the exposed glowing chest while the Keeper is vulnerable. Return to movement and cover when the window closes.
3. Clear the Panzer intermissions, use the arena pillars, and replenish specialist charge. Repeat the central-orb interruption and damage phase until the Keeper is defeated.
4. After returning to the Undercroft, interact with the pyramid and collect the Summoning Key when it becomes available.
5. Bring the key to the terminal near the clock tower and activate the final sequence. Let the ending complete before marking the main quest finished in Atlas.

14Songs, the BRM, and Optional Discoveries

These are separate accomplishments, not prerequisites for My Brother’s Keeper. Save them for a practice run or complete them while a teammate handles a safe last zombie. Do not spend your final ammunition or risk a timed quest cycle for a cosmetic discovery.

• Community Visual References for Optional Discoveries ↗

15Panzer Helmet, Plunger, and Skeleton Mode

The helmet and plunger involve later combat and precise triggers. Use the linked visual references for object placement rather than shooting every ornament in the castle. They are optional; the core quest does not depend on either.

For the Panzer helmet, locate the hanging Panzer claws in the spawn tunnel, the connector near the armory/church, and the bridge/catwalk area. Shoot a claw down, then shoot it again with a Panzer directly in front so it launches into and kills that Panzer. Repeat with the other claws; collect the helmet that appears above the starting area. Do not confuse a claw decoration falling with a successful Panzer kill.

For the plunger, shoot open the Fire Bow mark in the clock tower to expose the mechanism, then place Ragnarok as a trap behind the clock. Use the clock control to stop the hands at 9:35 and recover Ragnarok after success. During low gravity, wall-run across the glowing circular marker to the right of the pyramid-room entrance until you teleport to the past. Collect the plunger in the room before returning. Killing a Panzer temporarily empowers the plunger; it is not permanently a one-hit melee weapon.

For skeleton mode, use In Plain Sight and shoot the three hidden skulls with a bow: near Mule Kick, above the church windows, and near Double Tap. To switch the effect off, interact with the skulls on the chair in the church. This optional effect changes appearance, not the conditions for recording a main-quest clear.

• Community Reference: Helmet, Plunger, and Skeleton Triggers ↗

16Recover the Run Instead of Chasing the Script

Atlas survival advice: learn one open loop before attempting a compact camping position. Keep the horde behind you, use a charged bow shot to buy space, and cross narrow doorways only after checking the other side. The Death Ray can help control a Panzer, but it does not replace a plan for its arrival.

When someone goes down, communicate the revive location and draw enemies away before turning back. A replacement shield, Juggernog, and a usable gun are more important than immediately restarting a timed quest. In co-op, designate the player holding the last zombie; do not have two teammates independently decide to end the round.

17Record the Version and the Outcome Honestly

Der Eisendrache is represented by the Black Ops III entry in Atlas. The map was released on multiple platforms; its ranked/private/local setting matters for bow requirements. A custom-map remake or modded ruleset should not be treated as the standard version simply because it uses the same castle artwork.

Log the highest round reached in the session separately from the quest time. Building a bow or reaching the Keeper is a milestone, but neither is a completed main quest. Use Side Achievements for the upgrades you finished and Notes for the last checkpoint reached. An untimed clear can remain untimed.

• Record a Run Clearly ↗
• Compare Records Under the Same Rules ↗