Unlike most games in the series at-large, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has a number of opportunities to make storyline choices. What will result from your choices are the fates of several characters, along with at least two distinct endings. Below are all such major opportunities for narrative decisions across all of the campaign missions.
Nowhere Left to Run
Interrogate Qasim Javadi
The first half of the Nowhere Left to Run mission has you chasing down an Iranian terrorist by the name of Qasim Javadi. You as Mason will eventually catch up with him on a rooftop, and you’ll need some information from him on the whereabouts of Arash Kadivar.
After he tells you Arash’s location, you have the option to throw him off the roof. However, if you do this, you’ll miss a piece of Evidence for Operation Chaos. If you keep interrogating Qasim, you can either release him, only for you or Adler to execute him, knock him out and capture him, or throw him off the roof anyway.
Brick in the Wall
Rescue or Silence Operative (Optional)
In the mission called Brick in the Wall, German spy Greta Keller will ask you to look into an informant of hers named Richter, who was captured by the Stasi in a security sweep — she’ll as if you can either rescue or silence him. Follow the optional waypoint to a small basement, where a tied-up Richter is surrounded by three inattentive Stasi agents. Kill those agents and talk to Richter. You can release him, or you can shoot him if you thought his error was too massive. This decision may affect the fate of Keller.
If you end up regretting a decision to save Richter, then you can correct this in the Reprogram Keycard branch of the mission Desperate Measures.
Capture or Kill Volkov
After your team saves you from capture at the end of Brick in the Wall, you’ll find Anton Volkov cornered. You can hold down the interact button to arrest him, or you can shoot him anywhere to kill him. If you kill him, Park will not be pleased with your decision, as he may have provided intelligence for MI6.
Desperate Measures
Obtain Keycard
In the Hitman-like mission Desperate Measures, you as KBG mole Belikov will have a number of options to approach your objective. You will need a keycard to allow Adler and Bell into the KGB headquarters, and the map gives you four different opportunities and methods to do so.
Zakhaev encounter
This brief scene is less so a major plot decision and more of a nod to Modern Warfare. Zakhaev from the Infinity Ward series will end up in the same elevator as a disguised Bell and Adler. He obviously won’t recognize either of you, so he’ll ask how long you’ve been around and who you report to. Remember that Belikov told you to say that you report to Sobol, so be sure to select that dialogue option for him to stop pressing you. Alternatively, you can just knock Zakhaev out.
If you select the wrong option, you’ll have to briefly brawl with him in the elevator.
End of the Line
Save Lazar or Park
You’ll be in a pickle at the end of End of the Line. You, Lazar, and Park are about to be extracted from a rooftop via Skyhook — that is, until a Cuban soldier knocks you all down with a rocket. Once you come to your senses, you’ll have very little time. You’ll have to choose between Lazar or Park to save, as you can only accommodate one of them. The other character will be left behind to die.
If you don’t make a decision, or for whatever reason don’t particularly care about either of them, you can leave both of them to their shared demise.
Identity Crisis
Perseus location
The last decision in Black Ops Cold War will also determine which final mission and ending you receive. After learning Bell’s true nature, you as that character can choose what to do with the location of Perseus. If you want to help stop Perseus from nuking all of Europe, you can tell the truth about Perseus being in Solvetsky and stop Operation Greenlight in The Final Countdown mission. If you don’t trust Adler, you can lie and say that Perseus is in Duga.
After making this decision, you can also radio Perseus to tell them of the plan, dooming Adler and the team. If you don’t inform Perseus, you’ll be dooming yourself. Either of these options will ensure that Operation Greenlight moves forward.
