If you’re heading into Cursed Mode on Ashes of the Damned to grab the Dragon Relic, you’ll want to sort out your setup before anything else, and a lot of players I know lean on something like CoD BO7 Bot Lobby to warm up beforehand. You’ll feel the difference right away if your Relic Loadout isn’t at least Tier 2, because without Golden Armor and the boosted rarity upgrades, the early rounds just drag and the late‑game hits a whole lot harder than you’ll expect.

Clearing the Core Quest

Your first real job is grinding through every major Easter Egg step until you reach the entrance to Veytharion’s Sepulcher. It sounds straightforward on paper, but players usually underestimate how much the pacing shifts in Cursed Mode. You’re juggling tougher spawns, weird modifiers and the constant pressure of not messing up a step. Still, pushing through it early pays off, since the rest of the run depends on how smoothly you handle these quests.

Hitting Round 60

Surviving long enough is half the challenge. You’ve got to make it to Round 60 before the Dragon Relic Trial even becomes an option, and by the time you’re around the mid‑40s you’ll probably start noticing how hard it is just keeping ammo and armor intact. Most players I’ve talked to end up changing their usual rhythm around this point—slower rotations, tighter training spots, and fewer hero plays because one mistake can spiral instantly.

Listening for the Cue

Once you’re in the Sepulcher fight and Round 60 ticks over, keep your headset on because the game gives you one tiny hint: a quick, unsettling laugh. It’s easy to miss if you’re too locked in on the boss, so people often think the trial bugged out when they simply didn’t hear it. That laugh is your sign that the trial is active, so the second it hits, wrap up whatever you’re doing and get moving.

Starting the Trial

Head straight to Blackwater Lake and look for the boathouse. There’s a stone there you can interact with, and hitting it kicks the challenge off immediately. The rule’s simple but annoying: explosives only. A lot of players forget this part and try to rely on their usual rifles or wonder weapons, but the moment you start the trial, those are dead weight. Because of that, most folks bring the Ray Gun or the Necrofluid Gauntlet ahead of time since both give you wide splash damage without forcing you into tight ammo corners.

Managing the Fight

The waves aren’t the hardest in the game, but the ammo situation gets rough fast. If you’re used to spamming shots, you’ll run dry before the last wave even starts. Taking slower, cleaner shots is what gets you through, and it’s the thing players usually need a couple attempts to adjust to. Once the final wave drops, the Dragon Relic pops right out and you’re good—mostly.

Living With the Relic

The moment you equip it, ammo crates turn off completely, which changes the rest of your run more than the trial itself. Most players don’t expect just how much this messes with their normal builds, so planning ahead matters a lot more than it usually does in Zombies. It’s a tough relic to run with, but if you’re ready for that tradeoff, it’s worth the grind, especially for people who’ve been experimenting with buy CoD BO7 Bot Lobbies to test different late‑game setups.