How to defeat The Nightmare in Black Ops 7

How do you defeat The Nightmare in Black Ops 7? Frank Woods has been consumed by The Nightmare, a gigantic, deadly flower, and it's up to the Joint Special Operations Command squad to stop this destructive plant.

Striking down this Black Ops 7 boss can be difficult depending on the number of people you're playing with, featuring several weak points that you must target before you can dish out any real damage. The Nightmare can be found on Distortion, the third mission in the Black Ops 7 missions list, but we won't spoil how long Black Ops 7 is in case you want the final runtime to be a surprise.

The Nightmare boss fight strategy

First phase

We highly recommend using the Grapple Hook minor ability to evade The Nightmare's attacks, particularly its red vomit AoE attack, which could knock you down unless you get behind cover. It's also helpful when targeting its weak points as it allows you to instantly access the raised platforms on the map, giving you a better view of the boss.

When you first begin the fight against The Nightmare, you won't be able to deal any damage until you destroy the growths on its body. These growths may not appear right away, so be patient and wait for the glowing yellow spots to sprout.

As soon as the growths show up, blast them away with any Black Ops 7 weapon you have equipped, then target The Nightmare's heads to chip away at its health bar. When The Nightmare has been stunned, enemies will spawn to stop you from hurting the boss. If you're playing with friends, it's worth splitting the duties so one group focuses on the boss while the others deal with the infested mobs.

During its weakened state, you will be able to take away a quarter of the boss' health bar before it freezes up, forcing you to wipe out the spawned enemies before you can proceed. As it reawakens, it sends out several eyeball-like drones that fly directly into your squad, exploding on impact. You can shoot them before they touch you to avoid being hurt, though, you need to watch out for any Scourge and Fear minions who can crawl behind you as you're dealing with the drones.

Second phase

While the eyeball attack is happening, the next set of growths will appear on The Nightmare, so keep your crosshair locked to the boss' body right when you take care of the drones. Destroying these growths deals heavy damage every time you get rid of one, reducing it to half health, so you don't have to worry about shooting its heads this time.

At this point in the fight, the number of spawned enemies ramps up to make your life more difficult. One of the ways you can improve your odds of survival is by picking up the Crash Cart major ability located in the boxes on the upper platforms with a red outline. This lets you revive your downed teammates from a distance, and it provides your squad with a health buff if everyone is still alive.

Third phase

After destroying the third set of growths, you will need to aim at the Nightmare's heads to drain its health once again, and if you hurt them enough during this phase, each head will explode. The main difference this time is that the heads will continue to attack while in a vulnerable state, which can make things difficult.

If you're playing solo, stay close to its roots while hiding behind cover, only peeking out between The Nightmare's vomit AoE attack. Fortunately, this isn't much of a problem when playing with a full squad as the heads will only target one person at a time, leaving one squad member free to deal damage. The more heads you destroy, the easier this fight becomes, so if you've made it to this stage, you should be on your way to victory.

And that's everything you need to take down The Nightmare in Black Ops 7. When you end up finishing the campaign, make sure you check out our Black Ops 7 mastery camo guide to find out how to unlock some of the best skins in the game.