How to Earn the Golden Shovel and Golden Helmet in Black Ops 2 Origins
The Golden Shovel (and its upgraded cousin, the Golden Helmet) is one of the most helpful setups in Black Ops 2’s Origins, making both high-round runs and Easter egg attempts much more manageable. The Golden Shovel is earned by digging up 30 dig sites, boosting your odds of rare rewards and enabling extra Perk opportunities beyond the usual 4-Perk ceiling. Using the Golden Shovel also lets you dig up the Golden Helmet, which grants protection from the deadly crush of Giant Robots—though you can still be stunned.
How to Get the Golden Shovel in Origins
You’ll automatically upgrade to the Golden Shovel after digging up 30 dig sites in Origins. If you’re aiming for this in lower rounds, the most practical approach is to open up the full map first, then roam through No Man’s Land and the trench areas near Generator 2 and Generator 3 to interact with the dig piles. These piles are easy to spot because bones stick out of them.
Dig sites can respawn every round or every couple of rounds, so just keep moving around the map and scan for the dirt mounds with bones protruding. Watch your step: some of these dig piles can spit out grenades or spawn zombies.
Once you’ve completed exactly 30 dig site interactions, your shovel changes color—gold for the version shown on the right side of your screen in BO2, and on the left in BO3. With a Gold Shovel, you can get Perk Power-Ups, but they don’t work like standard Perks. Instead, they let you buy a 5th Perk, and you can keep receiving them until you’ve acquired them all.
How to Get the Golden Helmet in Origins
You obtain the Golden Helmet by digging at dig sites while you have the Golden Shovel. However, it’s not guaranteed—expect to try multiple dig sites before it triggers. You’ll know you’ve unlocked it when you see the helmet appear on the right side of the HUD in Black Ops 2, or on the top of your character icon in Black Ops 3.
With the Golden Helmet equipped, you become invulnerable to Giant Robot footstep damage. That means you can safely stand under a Giant Robot’s movement without worrying about being killed by its stomp. Even so, don’t get careless: Giant Robot attacks can still daze and stun you, so letting one crush you is still a bad idea.
Getting the Golden Helmet is a fun extra for Origins, but it isn’t as impactful as collecting the four staffs. If you want to chase those instead, you can follow guides to build each one:
- How to Build the Ice Staff
- How to Build the Fire Staff
- How to Build the Lightning Staff
- How to Build the Wind Staff
