How to Get the Best Ending in Black Ops 2

Last Updated: September 9, 2021

Black Ops 2 is a first-person shooter game developed by Treyarch. It is the first game in the series to have multiple endings. When trying to get the best ending, there are a lot of actions and objectives you have to complete or perform. On some missions, if you fail them, you’d have to restart the whole campaign to get the ending you want. How do you get, arguably, the best ending? Just scroll down to step 1 to found out how.

Steps

1
Rescue Woods. In the mission “Pyrrhic Victory,” Woods had disappeared while he was helping rebels fight against Angola’s Marxist government; you must successfully rescue Woods.
2
Do NOT shoot Kravchenko. In the mission “Old Wounds,” you have to resist shooting Kravchenko; instead, interrogate him.
- After the interrogation, though, Kravchenko will still be killed, but he has to be killed after he admits that he was associated with Menendez and that his men were inside the CIA.
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3
Shoot Mason in the leg or anywhere else that is not a kill spot. In the mission “Suffer with Me,” instead of shooting the person in the head, who is actually Mason, shoot him anywhere that is not a kill spot. This will cause Menendez to shoot both of Woods’ legs, crippling him.
- You might have to shoot Mason in the leg twice.
4
Complete ALL strikeforce missions. To get the best ending, you must complete all SF missions no matter what
- Keep in mind that if you fail all SF missions, it changes the dialogue in Odysseus, you won't get any Chinese support in the mission Judgement day, and everyone including Karma died.

1
Find a CIA memo in “Time and Fate.” In the mission “Time and Fate,” you have to find a CIA memo which is behind your objective right by the burning files so you can learn about the mole.
2
Find all intels and protect Harper in “Fallen Angel.” In the mission “Fallen Angel,” you have to keep recording info about Zhao’s secret meeting, and protect Harper by not driving by the flaming pipe after you get close to the flare.
- That will unlock the other strikeforce missions which you also have to complete to get the best ending.
3
Recover the Celerium Worm. In the mission “Celerium,” you have to recover the Celerium Worm.
4
Save Karma and kill DeFalco. In the mission “Karma,” you have to successfully save Karma and prevent DeFalco from escaping, and kill him.
- If you fail this mission, you have a second chance of saving Karma by doing the Strike Force mission "Second Chance" of saving Karma.
5
Kill Harper. In the mission “Achilles’ Veil,” you have kill Harper so Farid's cover won't be blown. Lynch’s/Karma’s survival is dependent on Farid’s survival.
6
Shoot Admiral Briggs in the leg. In the mission “Odysseus,” you will be playing as Menendez. You have to shoot Admiral Briggs in the leg. This will make him be able to reactivate USS Obama's defenses
- Since SDC and JSOC have allied, the SDC assists in defending Brigg’s ship, “Barack Obama,” by sending their drones depending on if you completed all the strikeforce missions.
7
Protect the president. In the mission “Cordis Die,” when Menendez is able to hack into USS Obama, he also sent the hacked drones from the ship to attack Los Angeles, where a meeting of G20 leaders is taking place. As Section, all you have to do is protect the president, who is en route to the meeting.
8
Capture Menendez. In the mission “Judgement Day,” JSOC is able to trace the source of the hacking of drones. Section leads JSOC forces to apprehend or kill Menendez. In order to get the best ending, you just have to capture Menendez, NOT kill him.

Community Q&A

Question

What do you mean by "protect Harper?"

Community Answer

When are you close to ending the mission part where you are driving cars, there is a pipeline that's spewing fire. Avoid it so that harper doesn't get burned.
Question

Can I still kill Menendez at the end and get a good ending?

Community Answer

No. If you kill him, he will upload the video to YouTube and tell everyone about Cordia dying and declare a second strike.
Question

Can I still get a good ending if I don't collect the intels?

Community Answer

Yes, although you won't have the best possible ending.