How to poison General Charkov in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War players have several options when navigating the KGB headquarters in the Desperate Measures campaign mission. Soviet double agent Belikov must obtain a keycard to let Adler and Bell inside, which can be accomplished in multiple ways. 

There are several ways to get the keycard from General Charkov, such as getting a prisoner to kill or to frame him. It is also possible to avoid Charkov altogether or even poison him if you enjoy sneaking around. But finding poison is not easy, especially when sneaking around a Russian military base. 

To poison Charkov, players must make their way to the east side of the building and locate a staircase. At the bottom of the stairs is a restricted area and a locked door. Pick the lock to enter the area and head towards Kravchenko’s office. 

A guard patrols the area, so make sure to eliminate him before attempting to lockpick the second door. Once inside Kravchenko’s office, head to his computer to find the poison locker’s combination in the corner of the room. 

Once logged into the computer, look for the logs discussing Nova 6, the infamous poisonous gas from the first Black Ops game. There is another Access Mole Investigation option, but this is not related to the poison. The first log entry lists the chemical composition of Nova 6, which is Sulfur, Rhenium, and Neodymium. Locate these elements on the periodic table near the poison locker and use their atomic numbers to open it. The combination should be 16-75-60.

Now that the poison is secured, make your way back to Charkov’s office in the northwest corner of the building. Speak to the guard at the desk in front of the office and tell him you want to speak to Charkov using the dialogue options. A poison option should appear, and the guard will escort you to Charkov.

Once inside the office, sit down while Charkov is on the phone, and the guard will pour you both a drink. The option to poison either cup will appear, but Charkov will turn around and grab the wrong cup. You must distract him by asking about his wife or previous endeavors and switch the cups when he turns around again. 

Prompt Charkov to take a drink, and sit back and enjoy the poisoning of the general. This is one of the most challenging ways to obtain the keycard, but it is one of the most satisfying and exciting methods.