If you're hunting the Civil Protector Head Relic on Astra Malorum, plan for a long night, not a quick flex. I've seen people queue up thinking it's like a tidy little side quest, then get folded before the game even lets them start. You'll want your loadout dialed in, your perks planned, and your patience intact. Some folks warm up runs in a CoD BO7 Bot Lobby just to get their movement and perk routing feeling automatic, because once this starts rolling, mistakes cost you.
Step 1: Meet the real requirement
The quest doesn't politely appear when you're "ready." It hard-gates you behind high rounds. You need to survive to Round 60 before anything meaningful can even trigger, and that's where most runs die. Don't chase every shiny objective early. Build a stable loop. Keep your points steady, keep your armour topped off, and don't get cute with risky revives if you're solo. By the time you hit 50+, everything's faster and angrier, so you should already be running the map like it's muscle memory, not a sightseeing tour.
Step 2: The candle puzzle in Museum Infinitum
Once you finally clear 60, head to the Museum Infinitum and look up. You'll spot chandeliers with single lit candles. This is the annoying bit. You need PHD Flopper, and you're using the flop blast to snuff candles in a hidden order. No hint. No mercy. Miss the correct sequence and it resets, and you're stuck waiting until the next round to attempt it again. The easiest way to stay sane is to commit to a pattern: left-to-right, then clockwise, whatever. Write down what you tried. When you nail the right order, you'll get a clear activation sound that cuts through the chaos.
Step 3: Red Relic Trial at the Crash Site
After the audio cue, sprint for the Crash Site and find the Red Relic Trial orb. Touching it kicks off a nasty arena-style fight. If you're solo, it starts right away; in co-op, you'll need the team to agree. Go in prepared: Golden Armor helps a ton, and you'll want a hard-hitting, top-rarity weapon because the waves don't play fair. You're dealing with six waves where sprinters are the default, and the pressure never really dips. On Waves 3 and 6, High Value Target Mimics show up and soak damage like it's their job, so call your shots, keep distance, and don't tunnel-vision the boss while sprinters chew your back.
What you actually get, and the catch
Clear all six waves and you'll be sent back with the unlock notice for the Civil Protector Head. It feels earned, because it is. Just remember it's not a free win button in future runs: equipping it comes with Perk Decay, meaning you'll lose a perk for every 100 kills you rack up, and that changes how you pace fights and which perks you prioritise. If you're practising routes or testing builds before committing to a full attempt, a CoD BO7 Bot Lobbies for sale can be a convenient way to get repetitions in without burning a whole evening.