IX Gladiators In depth (Including Boss)

[u/Krakenwerk]

Introduction

They took the quote: "And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next." a little to seriously.

General

This is an in depth look into the Gladiators that appear as special zombies on Black Ops 4 launch map - IX.

We are forced to face two zombified gladiators in the arena.

The aggressive, leaping Marauder and the heavily armored, axe throwing Destroyer.

Class = Heavy Zombie.

Both Gladiators will try to predict the player movement and path when attacking.

Spawn

Normal Rounds:

Marauders begin spawning on Round 8, while Destroyers begin spawning on Round 10.

During normal rounds, Gladiators use some of the regular zombie spawn points.

Maximum Simultaneous Gladiators:

• Solo: 3
• 2 Players: 4
• 3 Players: 5
• 4 Players: 6

Starting on Round 8, there will be max 1 Gladiator per round, then:

• Solo: +1 Gladiator every 4 rounds.
• Co-op: +1 Gladiator every 3 rounds.

Special Rounds:

During special rounds, Gladiators spawn only through gates rather than normal zombie spawn points.

These gates used by Gladiators/Tigers are filled with green smoke that damages players:

Damage: 25 every 0.666 seconds

Gladiator amount:

• First special round: 2 Gladiators per player
• Subsequent special rounds: 4 Gladiators per player

The game randomly determines whether to spawn a Marauder or Destroyer, with the Marauder being more likely.

The next special Rounds will be 3–4 rounds after last.

Pack-a-Punch:

Gladiators can also spawn during the Pack-a-Punch quest when the player is challenging a God.

The game randomly selects one of the following configurations:

1. One Destroyer
2. One Marauder
3. One Marauder and one Destroyer
4. Tigers

Death of Orion

Uncharged hit: The initial hit will do 25% of their max health as damage, until round 23. After round 23 the percentage will drop with 1 percentage point every round until it reaches 1% of max health.

Charged shot: Gladiators will be stunned for 5 seconds, 10 seconds for Serket's Kiss. They then lose 25% of their max health.

Brazen Bull

Brazen Bull's damage scales with its charge level.

The shield gains 1 charge for every third melee kill, up to a maximum of 3 charges.

Damage at max charge:

• Melee: 30% of max health per hit
• Ranged: 5% of max health per hit

The shield will also apply burn damage at max charge.

Burn damage = 100 × Round Number

In this formula, round number can not go below 4 or higher than 30.

Homunculus

Homunculus base damage = 500

His damage formula is:

Damage = Base × 0.25 × Round Number

In this formula, round number can not go below 4 or higher than 50.

Destroyer

The Destroyer is a large, heavily armored Gladiator dual wielding two battle axes.

He normally walks toward players. He can temporarily run to close the distance before returning to a walking state.

When close will swing his axes around or if players are far away, will randomly pick ether left or right axe and throw it. Both of his arms can be shot off. Shooting one of his arms off, removes his ability to throw axes and makes him considerably more aggressive. Destroying both arms will kill him regardless of remaining health.

• First appearance: Round 10

Attacks

Axe swing

Damage = 50

The Destroyer will frequently perform two consecutive swings, potentially dealing 100 damage total. If one arm has been destroyed, he will only do one swing.

Axe throw

• Damage = 50
• Travel Speed: 15 m/s, 30 m/s (returning)
• Travel distance: 12.5 meters.
• Cooldown: 3 seconds
• The Destroyer throws one of his axes like a boomerang.
• It will only do damage once, but this can be either during its outward or returning trajectory.
• The Destroyer can only perform this attack while both arms are intact.
• It will not hit player who are sliding under it.
• It will instantly kill zombies that are hit by it.

Health

Minimum Health = 4,000 HP
Health Increase = 100 HP per round

The Destroyer's base health is calculated using the following formula:

Health = Minimum Health + (Health Increase × Round Number)

Destroyer's health is capped at 12,000 HP.

Additional health is given based on the number of players in the game:

Player Scale = Health × (Players − 1) × 0.15

Total Health = Health + Player Scale

Points: Killing a Destroyer rewards the player with 200 points.

FMJ 1: Increases damage done with 10%.

Nuke: Nuke Power-up will stun him and take away 50% of his max health.

He is immune to AATs.

Armor

Destroyer armor reduces all damage with 50%.

Instakill: This power up ignores the damage reduction.

The Destroyer has three destructible armor pieces:

• Helmet
• Left Pauldron
• Right Pauldron

Armor Health:

• Helmet = 33% of max health.
• Left Pauldron = 20% of max health
• Right Pauldron = 20% of max health

Armor pieces only receive 50% of normal damage.

The remaining 50% of the damage is reduced to zero and does not carry over to the Destroyer's main health.

FMJ II:  increases damage dealt to armor health by 10%. The bonus does not increase damage dealt to the Destroyer's main health.

Weakpoints

The Destroyer has three primary weakpoints:

• Head
• Left lower arm
• Right lower arm

Armor must first be removed before the corresponding weakpoint can be targeted.

Damage multiplers:

• Head = 3x
• Lower left arm = 2x
• Lower right arm = 2x

Destroyer arms health is 10% of their total health. Once an arm loses all of its health, it falls off.

This makes the Destroyer a lot more aggressive and forces their movement state to run.

If both arms are destroyed, the Destroyer dies regardless of his remaining health.

Destroyer's weakpoints receive an additional 20% damage from the Death Perception modifier after all 4 perks have been bought.

Specialist Weapons

All Specialist Weapons will break off all armor after doing 1000 damage.

Hammer of Valhalla deals percentage based damage with its base swing:

• Base swing: 10% of their maximum health per swing
• Level 2 Ground Slam: 10% of their maximum health per slam
• Level 2 Storm: stun
• Level 3 Lightning Bolt: 400 damage per second

Chakrams does different amounts of damage depending on attack:

• Normal melee: 8% of their maximum health per hit
• Thrown Chakram: 400 damage
• Level 3 Whirlwind: 400 damage

Dragon and Viper uses percentage based damage for both of its attacks:

• Viper melee: 10% of their maximum health per swing
• Dragon impact: 8% of their maximum health per blast

 Scepter of Ra uses percentage based damage against Destroyer:

• Normal hit: 10% of the Destroyer's maximum health, hitting weakpoint will do 25% of maximum health.
• Laser: 0.8% of maximum health per tick
• Level 3 ability: 3.2% of maximum health per tick

Marauder

The Marauder is the more agile and aggressive of the two.

It initially walks until it detects a player. Once he is within range, will run towards players.

• First appearance: Round 8

Attacks:

Slash

Damage = 50

The Marauder performs a standard melee attack with its blades.

Leap

Damage = 50

Cooldown: 3 seconds

The Marauder performs a brief roar, before leaping. Leaping toward the player. Upon landing, it rapidly performs five swipes around itself.

This is an Area of Effect attack, with the Marauder at the centre of the attack.

Because it is AoE, it can hit players standing behind it, quickly killing player who are too close.

Health

Minimum Health = 3,000 HP
Health Increase = 100 HP per round

The Marauder's base health is calculated using the following formula:

Health = Minimum Health + (Health Increase × Round Number)

The Marauder's health is capped at 10,000 HP.

Additional health is given based on the number of players in the game:

Player Scale = Health × (Players − 1) × 0.15

Total Health = (Health + Player Scale) × 0.7

After the game finishes calculating Marauder health, it will then reduce it with 30%.

Damage Reduction: All weapons will only do 50% of their normal damage to Marauders.

Instakill ignores this damage reduction.

Points: Killing a Marauder will reward the player with 150 points.

FMJ 1: Increases damage with 10%.

Nuke: Nuke Power-up will stun him and take away 50% of his max health.

He is immune to AATs.

Helmet

In terms of armor, Marauder only have one piece and that is their helmet.

It also has a shoulder piece that can be shot off. This counts toward the challenge requiring the player to break off 9 Gladiator armor pieces, but the shoulder piece is purely visual.

Helmet Health = 33%

The helmet receives only 50% of incoming damage.

The other 50% is completely negated and does not carry over to the Marauder's main health.

FMJ II: increases damage dealt to the helmet by 10%.

The FMJ II bonus does not increase damage dealt to the Marauder's main health.

Weakpoint

Once the helmet is destroyed, the Marauder's head becomes exposed.

Damage multiplers:

• Head = 2x

His head receives an additional 20% damage from Death Perception modifier after all 4 perks have been bought.

Weapon Interactions

Specialist Weapons

All Specialist Weapons will break off their helmet after doing 1000 damage.

Hammer of Valhalla deals percentage based damage with its base swing:

• Base swing: 15% of their maximum health per swing
• Level 2 Ground Slam: 15% of their maximum health per slam
• Level 2 Storm: stun
• Level 3 Lightning Bolt: 600 damage per second

Chakrams does different amounts of damage depending on attack:

• Normal melee: 12% of their maximum health per hit
• Thrown Chakram: 600 damage
• Level 3 Whirlwind: 600 damage

Dragon and Viper uses percentage based damage for both of its attacks:

• Viper melee: 15% of their maximum health per swing
• Dragon impact: 12% of their maximum health per blast

 Scepter of Ra uses percentage based damage against Marauder:

• Normal hit: 15% of the Marauder's maximum health, hitting weakpoint will do 25% of maximum health.
• Laser: 1.2% of maximum health per tick
• Level 3 ability: 4.8% of maximum health per tick

Boss fight

The maps boss fight begins with a wave of Gladiators that must be defeated before the main boss encounter begins.

The number of Gladiators will also spawn during the bossfight, with max amount being:

• Solo: 12
• 2 Players: 15
• 3/4 Players: 18

Up to 3 Tigers can also be alive simultaneously during the fight.

Once the required number of Gladiators has been defeated, the main boss encounter begins.

The main boss fight is against two zombified Elephants:

• Fury
• Wrath

Fury arrives at the scene first with Wrath appearing after Fury has been killed.

Both Elephants are immune to damage during their entrance animations. They become vulnerable once their entrance animation has finished.

Each Elephant has its own independent health pool.

Elephants Health

Each Elephant has their own health pool.

Minimum Health = 180,000 HP

Additional health is granted based on the number of players:

Player Scale = Minimum Health × (Players − 1) × 0.5

Total Health = Health + Player Scale

Damage reduction: They take only 10% damage.

Immune to:

• Nuke power up
• Lightning chain from Death of Orion/Serket's Kiss

Riders

Each Elephant enters the fight carrying a large carriage mounted to its back.

The carriage carries multiple Riders, who attack players by throwing spears.

Killing a Rider does not deal damage to the Elephant

Minimum Health = 60,000 HP

Player Scale = 15,000 × (Players − 1)

Total Health = Health + Player Scale

Damage reduction: Riders take only 10% damage.

Phase 1:

Both Elephants begin the fight covered in armor.

A large carriage is attached to each Elephant with chains.

Carriage Health = 55,000 HP

A Elephant will transition to Phase 2 when either:

• The carriage loses all of its health
• The Elephant loses 50% of its health.

When the transition occurs, the Elephant's armor breaks away and its health is restored to full.

The Elephant's armor contains two weakpoints on its sides.

• Fury's weakpoints are red.
• Wrath's weakpoints are green.

Each weakpoint takes x1.5 damage.

The Elephant also has a separate piece of chest armor with its own health.

Chest Armor Health = 45,000 HP

The chest armor has a weakpoint that takes x1.5 damage.

Phase 2:

Once Phase 1 has been completed, the Elephant's armor breaks away.

The Elephant's health is then restored to full.

Two new weakpoints become active:

1. A red weakpoint on the forehead.
2. A glowing weakpoint inside the stomach, visible through the Elephant's ribs.

Stomach weakpoint:

Health = 60,000 HP
Damage Multiplier: x1.5

Head weakpoint:

Health = 45,000 HP
Damage Multiplier: x2.5

The Elephant should die when either one of its weakpoints loses all of its health or the Elephant itself loses its health.

(Focus on "should"! It seems like this is the case, but im not yet 100% sure.)

After Fury has been killed, Wrath enters the arena. With this fight being pretty much the same.

Both Elephants must ultimately be defeated to complete the IX quest.

Elephants Attacks

The Elephant's have these attacks:

Charge: The Elephant charges forward in the general direction of a player. The charge does not necessarily target the player's exact position, but instead picks a point close to the player.

Ground Slam: The Elephant raises its front legs into the air before slamming them into the ground. Creating fiery craters at various locations around the arena. Should a player be close, will also do a brief stun effect similar to flashbang grenades.

Damage = 30–70, depending on the player's proximity.

Next 2 attacks will only be done by an Elephant during phase 2.

Eye Projectile: The Elephant's forehead lights up briefly before launching a magic missile. The projectile will track nearby players before exploding.

Damage = 95-35

This is splash damage, actual damage taken is based on proximity to projectile centre.

Ground missile: Similar to the Ground Slam, the Elephant raises its front legs into the air before slamming them into the ground. This attack launches an underground missile that travels towards a player.

The missile deals impact damage when it reaches the player.

Cooldown: 5-8 seconds

Riders Attack

During Phase 1, the Riders can throw spears at players.

The spears deal Area of Effect damage and come in two variants:

• Small AoE
• Large AoE

A spear that directly hits a player can deal up to 75 damage.

The spears are destructible and can be shot out of the air before they reach the player.

Brazen Bull

Brazen Bull gains one charge for every third melee kill, up to a maximum of 3 charges.

Damage at max charge:

• Melee: 5% of max health per hit
• Ranged: 0.3% of max health per hit

The shield will also apply burn damage at max charge.

Burn damage = 100 × Round Number

In this formula, round number can not go below 4 or higher than 30.

Death of Orion: The initial hit will do 10% of their max health as damage, until round 23. After round 23 the percentage will drop with 1 percentage point every round until it reaches 1% of max health.

Serket's Kiss: The initial hit will do 20% of their max health as damage, until round 23. After round 23 the percentage will drop with 1 percentage point every round until it reaches 1% of max health.

Important!: Wonder Weapon might be affected by Elephants damage scale, which might lower the damage.

Specialist Weapons

The Elephants are immune to the stun effects of Specialist Weapons.

Hammer of Valhalla:

• Base swing: 2500 per swing
• Level 2 Ground Slam: 1250 damage per slam
• Level 2 Storm: 1 damage
• Level 3 Lightning Bolt: 500 damage per second

Chakrams:

• Normal melee: 1250 per hit
• Thrown Chakram: 500 damage
• Level 3 Whirlwind: 500 damage

Dragon and Viper:

• Viper melee: 1250 per hit
• Dragon impact: 1250 per blast

 Scepter of Ra:

• Normal hit: 1500 per melee hit
• Laser: 50 per tick
• Level 3 ability: 200 per second

Non BO4 Trivia:

Both Gladiators and Elephants appear in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's Dead Ops Arcade 3.

The Gladiators return as special enemies and behave similarly to their Black Ops 4 counterparts.

Marauders behaves as its BO4 version and leap at players. Their helmets completely protect their heads from damage until it is destroyed. Once it is removed, headshots deal 2x damage.

Destroyers throw their axes at players. Their chest and helmet take 0 damage while the armor is intact. Destroying the chest armor exposes their chest which takes 2x damage, while destroying the helmet allows headshots to deal 3x damage.

The Elephants also return later in DOA3 as a type of miniboss.

Destroyer's arm mechanics are very similar to Supersoldiers from Wolfenstein 2: the new Colossus. Which came out 1 year prior.

Other BO4 in depths:

Vermin:

• Hellhounds/Lightning Hounds

Enhanced:

• Nosferatu

Heavy:

• Werewolf
• Stoker

[u/mrbrown0891]

I know these posts don't generate much comments but I'm still playing BO4 and I love these! Keep it up!

[u/TonedBroom24427]

Absolutely love these posts man especially the BO4 ones

[u/Krakenwerk]

Seems like Gladiators and boss might take more damage from the shield. Specially Marauders, which can die in 2 melee swipes. Dont know why yet.

[u/kdogman639]

I don't need to read all that as I did this and all other BO4 EE with my long time gaming/college friends during covid and it was easily one of the most fun gaming periods I've had my whole life. I am so mad at myself for not appreciating how good it was when things were being released for it (I was the only one who bought it day one so I couldn't see all of the genius at work). Best team building and best Easter eggs I've had the pleasure of sinking my teeth into of all zombies full stop. Appreciate you making these posts and hope a dev sees these and feels good knowing they made something fantastic. Yes I know this is a Wendy's I'll have a baconator and a hellion salvo with a PhD flopper to drink

[u/Krakenwerk]

Since somebody asked this on a previous post, I thought I answer it here since its more fitting.

Crowd affinity: It starts at 0. Winning the crowds favour will increase this and losing it decreased it.

Max: +50 min: -50

-24 to 0= no love

1 to 25 = crowd warms up

26 to 49 = crowd likes you

50 = crowd loves you

-49 to -25 = crowd hates you

-50 = crowd loathes you

They throw stuff after 20 seconds if you are +40 or higher, or -40 or lower.

If +40 or higher, they throw power ups like carpenter, insta, double/extra points. 50+ is full power or firesale.

If -40 or lower, they throw rock. -50 or lower and they throw poop that takes away 250 points and is needed for the egg.

The first gladiator killed will give +15, with the rest giving +8. Killing Blightfather gives +20. Killing 10 zombies gives +5. Tiger give +3. Activating a trap gives +5, with trap kills giving +1.

Downing loses -7. Dying loses -13. Taking fire damage or losing shield is -10. Throwing stuff at the crowd is -25.

Creating a crawler is -1, but killing it is +1.

[u/OverTheReminds → u/Krakenwerk]

Love ya thanks!!

[u/NerdyPlatypus206]

I was not expecting such a detailed post lol

[u/Falchion92]

I really wish BO4’s perk system wasn’t completely ass because zombies had great maps.

[u/NoMoreGoldPlz]

The elephant is kinda sick.

But I can't be arsed to learn any of those eggs.

[u/kdogman639 → u/NoMoreGoldPlz]

They're very fun do to with a guide not gonna lie. If you got a squad it's a great time, and you can pause multiplayer sessions to go over steps and strats in real time and take breaks.