The Doom Slayer makes a triumphant return in DOOM: The Dark Age, id Software’s third new-Doom game (entries in the DOOM series that feature faster combat and more narrative-heavy stories). Serving as a prequel to DOOM Eternal, The Dark Age pits players against the unusually organized forces of hell in a hybrid science-fiction and dark fantasy-themed intergalactic war.
The Dark Age’s alien worlds and anachronistic weapons and armor are fantastic and confusing – a synthesis of a great myth hinted at within DOOM Eternal’s The Ancient Gods DLC expansion. Even though this version of the DOOM universe looks very different, one thing remains constant: the only thing demons fear is you.
But that doesn’t mean they won’t fight you with all their might throughout the nearly 20-hour campaign. If you want to even the odds and become an unstoppable powerhouse like the Doom Slayer, these tips and tricks will ensure you keep pace with the difficulty spikes in Doom: The Dark Age.
Use the new modifiers and accessibility settings to improve your game
If you’re a Doom veteran, you probably have a good idea of what difficulty you want to play The Dark Age’s campaign on. Classic Doom difficulty settings like Hurt Me Plenty, Ultra-Violence, Nightmare, and Permadeath Ultra-Nightmare return. I played the game on Ultra-Violence difficulty, which increases enemy damage to 200% of its normal value, and found it to be the optimal challenge for a consistent first-person shooter player.
But if you’re new to Doom, worried about playing a parry-heavy FPS game or don’t play much shooters, there are custom difficulty options you should take advantage of, which will help you more closely tailor the way you play Dark Age.
Beyond the difficulty presets, players are able to change how much damage they deal and receive, how aggressive the enemy AI is, how quickly the game progresses and how much ammunition and health resource drops it provides. Perhaps most importantly, players are able to increase (or decrease) the parry window timing, which will help most people get a grasp on the new core mechanic.
Special combat assist modifiers also make Dark Age more accessible than ever. The Advanced Aiming toggle adds crucial aim assist to help new FPS players land more shots, while the Empowered Attack option makes monsters more susceptible to staggering – creating a more comfortable experience where players can attack more relentlessly.
Practice shield placement and defense so you can fight up close
Dark Ages is slower than other new-Doom games — especially Doom Eternal. In this game, you won’t be able to navigate an area in a way that allows you to avoid all enemy fire. The player is now very heavy and cumbersome, and an integral part of the new gameplay loop is throwing that weight around to block incoming damage.
When I played Dark Ages, I found that long-range combat wasn’t as effective as closing the distance to my enemies and fighting up close. If you want to be an effective demon killer, shield strikes, block demonic counterattacks, and attack your prey with a flurry of fists and lead.
Blocking enemy attacks with the new shield saw is the easiest way to stay safe, but the best defense is still a good attack. If the player blocks at the right time, green glowing projectiles and demon melee attacks can be blocked, reflecting damage and often stunning any demons that are close to the player.
About halfway through the game, players will start getting special runes that can empower parries with special abilities like ground slams or shoulder-cannon counterattacks, making it even more worthwhile to master this skill early in the game.
There are different tools for different tasks – change weapons instantly
Weapon hot swapping is something that’s been ingrained in my mind by Doom Eternal. That game set the expectation that players would have to learn to master their entire arsenal, pulling out new guns every few seconds to deal with different demons on the battlefield.
The Dark Ages has fewer specific weapons and enemy interactions, and I think most players will find it to be a more casual-friendly game – but you’ll still want to adapt your arsenal to an evolving threat.
Plasma weapons will supercharge and blow up energy shields, while ballistic weapons will set up enemies holding metal shields to be dropped with shield saws. The super shotgun and rocket launcher are still the heavy hitters you’ll want to use against Pinky Riders and Mancubi, while the new skull-shrapnel weapons are what you’ll want to use to mow down hordes of fodder monsters.
Recognizing when it’s time to change your guns is a big part of the skill curve, as every second spent deciding this means more energy projectiles are flying toward you.