DOOM Eternal – The Slayer’s Arsenal

 

Introduction

This guide is intended to be a comprehensive guide for every single weapon at your disposal in the game, to work in conjunction with my previous guide concerning the many enemies you will fight. This guide is spoiler-free, save for the mention of a couple of late-game weapons you will acquire.

This guide also possesses some comparisons between weapons to help you better decide when to use which weapon. Note that while I try to be objective as possible with most strategies, some of them come from my own personal experience, and you may have varying results or strategies of your own. I encourage all who read this to consider the strategies in this guide and develop some of your own to accompany your playstyle better.

About Your Weapons

DOOM Eternal gives you access to a wide variety of unique weapons, all extremely useful in their own situations. Among these are your seven “main” guns, a set of powerful tools and equipment for harvesting resources or gaining an extra advantage in combat, and a few compelling mid-to-late game “superweapons” capable of turning the tide in a rough situation.

Each of your main weapons can be equipped with one of two modes (except for the Super Shotgun, which only has one automatically available mod), unlocked throughout the game at your leisure, and switchable in the middle of combat. These mods can make your guns quite powerful and give them extra utility in combat. These mods are crucial in gameplay, so do not neglect them.

All guns require ammo (duh), and several guns may share ammo types, forcing you to choose between them for which one is right for a certain situation. Among these are the Shotgun/Super Shotgun, the Plasma Rifle/Ballista, and the Heavy Cannon/Chaingun. One gun is not necessarily better than the other; use the right weapon for the right situation, and you will prevail.

All weapons are virtually impossible to miss, so don’t stress yourself out trying to find them. The only weapon in the game you could miss is the Chaingun, and even then it is a rather slim chance of missing it.

Combat Shotgun

 

Unlocked: At the beginning of the game

The first weapon in the Slayer’s arsenal, and a reliable tool throughout the game, especially early on. The Combat Shotgun, while not as powerful as its bigger brother, the infamous Super Shotgun, is a reliable close-range weapon for many situations. It is instrumental against fodder enemies, allowing you to clear out groups quickly or achieve a stagger in one hit, allowing for a quick glory kill when you need it. Its mods also give it much more versatility, allowing you to adapt to different situations that the Super Shotgun may prove ineffective for.

The Combat Shotgun uses shells, along with the Super Shotgun. Many players have noticed that you have a disappointingly low number of shells, only able to hold 16 at the beginning of the game and be upgradeable to 24. This was an intentional design choice on the dev team’s part to force players to use other weapons in combat due to the shotguns’ high potential. Therefore, it is important to make careful use of this weapon to get the best out of your limited ammo supply.

Sticky Bombs

The first of the two mods for the Combat Shotgun, the Sticky Bombs make this weapon much more powerful; if you use the Combat Shotgun at all, you will be using this mod a lot. While you have Sticky Bombs equipped, the shotgun will be able to launch an arcing shot that will stick to whatever surface or enemy it lands on and explode about a second after impact. These bombs are handy, and you will want to use them quite often.

The Sticky Bombs are similar to the Explosive Shot from the previous game, though with two notable differences; the delayed explosion after impact and the ability to load three shots simultaneously, allowing you to fire multiple shots in succession. When the mod is active, you will see a trio of arrows outside of your reticle to show how many you have left. These bombs will slowly reload individually over time, but if they are depleted, they will all reload at once; obviously, they will be unusable during this time.

The first and most obvious advantage of these bombs is that they are wonderful for clearing out groups of smaller enemies like explosives. A horde of Imps or Zombie Soldiers can be wiped clean with a couple of well-placed Sticky Bombs, which is especially useful if your Frag Grenade is recharging. They also deal more damage than a regular shot, allowing you to deal more damage against heavier enemies; as each bomb only costs one shell, there is no good reason not to use these when you need them.

The next advantage is its effectiveness against weak spots. Sticky Bombs are acquired very early into the game and will consistently prove to be an effective tool against enemies with destructible weak points, such as Arachnotrons. Though not quite as powerful as the Precision Bolt against weak points, they are easy to aim and can be fired multiple times in succession, useful when you don’t have time to line up a shot with the Precision Bolt. They are also the only weapon besides Frag Grenades that will cause a Cacodemon to stagger when fired into its mouth instantly.

The last advantage, one that some people may neglect, is range. The Sticky Bombs can be fired surprisingly far, especially once you get a feel for the arc it launches in, allowing you to dispatch targets from much further away than the shotgun could reach. This can be useful for dispatching enemies from a safe distance if they are too dangerous to approach or if an enemy is attempting to flee from the wrath of your buckshot.

Upgrades:

• Quick Rack: Sticky Bombs reload 20% faster (3 Points)
• Bigger Boom: Sticky Bombs have a 45% bigger explosion (6 Points)
• Mastery: Five Spot (You may have 5 Sticky Bombs loaded at once)

For the Mastery challenge, you must destroy 25 Arachnotron turrets with Sticky Bombs. This is one of the easier challenges in the game, so I would strongly recommend against using a Token to bypass it. The Mastery for this weapon is convenient, though not crucial. As you will be able to fire two more bombs before needing to reload them, you will be able to lay down bigger barrages of Sticky Bombs on your enemies, which is always helpful for any situation.

Full Auto

The other mod for the Combat Shotgun, one with a surprising amount of damage potential. When activated, the Combat Shotgun will perform a brief transformation animation before being able to let loose a stream of shells on your enemies. This can have staggering DPS potential, allowing you to carve a path through smaller enemies or shred a larger enemy in mere seconds, dealing even more DPS at close range than the Super Shotgun.

This, of course, comes with a couple of notable drawbacks, the first being that it burns your precious supply of shells insanely fast. As a result, you must be careful of your ammo supply, though the Mastery for this mod will prove extremely useful for extended usage. The other drawback is that while the Shotgun is transforming, it is unusable, and once it is transformed, you will move slower. Both of these issues can be remedied, but not fixed, by the upgrades for the mod.

Upgrades:

• Quick Recovery: Transforming back from Full Auto mode is 50% faster (1 Point)
• Faster Transformation: Transforming to Full Auto mode is 50% faster (3 Points)
• Fast Feet: Movement speed while in Full Auto mode is increased by 20% (5 Points)
• Mastery: Salvo Extender (Killing an enemy in Full Auto mode will cause them to drop shell ammo)

For the Mastery challenge, you must kill 15 Pinkies with Full Auto mode. If you plan on using this mod regularly, the Mastery is absolutely crucial, as it provides you with much-needed ammo to continue your barrage of buckshot. It is instrumental when mowing through hordes of smaller enemies, as they will die more often, meaning they will drop more ammo for you to use.

VS. the Super Shotgun

• Though it deals more damage per shot, the Super Shotgun will consume two shells per shot. Use the Combat Shotgun where the Super Shotgun is overkill, such as killing smaller enemies or finishing wounded bigger ones, to conserve your precious supply of shells.
• Likewise, the Super Shotgun may kill enemies before you have a chance to glory kill them. Using the Combat Shotgun will make it easier to stagger an enemy without killing them, allowing you to acquire health easier.
• The Combat Shotgun is much more effective at range than its brother, especially with the Sticky Bombs mod. Use it when you want to keep your distance while still dealing damage.
• Despite its extreme damage, the Super Shotgun is surprisingly effective at disabling weak points. Use a couple of Sticky Bombs to weaken a more dangerous foe before you reel yourself in for the Super Shotgun blast.
• With the Full Auto mode, your damage output can exceed even the Super Shotgun in close quarters, at the cost of your ammo supply. Use it when you are in a tight situation that not even the Super Shotgun can fix.

 

Heavy Cannon

 

Unlocked: About halfway through the first level

A reliable, mid-to-long range weapon, useful for tracking down faster enemies and dealing with foes from a comfortable distance. Its mods can give it extra versatility in special situations. Though it does not have as much of a base DPS as many other weapons, it will nonetheless prove to be a valuable tool in your arsenal. It shoots fast, straight, and can chew through weaker enemies in just a couple of shots.

The Heavy Cannon, also known to some as the Heavy Assault Rifle (as it was titled in 2016), uses bullets for its ammunition supply, an ammo type shared with the Chaingun. Though you have a large supply of bullets, you may find yourself chewing through them quickly, especially using the Heavy Cannon’s mods, both of which consume increased amounts of ammo.

Precision Bolt

The Precision Bolt enables a scope feature on the weapon; in fact, the only scoped weapon in the entire game. This allows you to pick off enemies from extreme distances, but it is also useful up close, especially when quick scoping against enemies. It consumes 6 bullets for one round, but it does increase damage and can punch through several smaller enemies.

The Precision Bolt’s main usefulness, however, is in the destruction of weak points. It does EXTREME damage to weak points, even more so than a regular Ballista shot. This can allow you to disable certain enemies from a safe distance or up close in a pinch. A direct hit is guaranteed to destroy a weak point, be it an Arachnotron turret, Revenant cannon, or Mancubus flamethrower. It is also handy for killing Drones towards the end of the game, popping their heads open to reveal the resources within.

Do note that while the Precision Bolt does extreme damage to weak points and heads, it has a long reload period and does not translate well into combat. It should not be considered a heavy weapon and should not be used against heavier enemies in hopes of dropping them as fast as other, bigger guns might. While it reloads, however, the gun’s regular fire is still available, and a display around your crosshair will let you know when it is ready to fire again.

Upgrades:

• Mobility: Movement speed in Precision Bolt mode is increased by 15% (3 Points)
• Fast Loader: Precision Bolt reload speed is increased by 20% (6 Points)
• Mastery: Headshot Blast (Killing an enemy with a headshot will cause a secondary blast that will damage nearby enemies)

For the Mastery challenge, you must kill 75 enemies with headshots. While this challenge is difficult and lengthy, it is frankly not worth worrying too much about, as the blast from the headshots is not all that powerful. As you and the enemies will always be constantly moving, it can be difficult to line up headshots consistently. While the upgrades for this mod are excellent, I would not worry too much about the Mastery, though if you believe yourself to be a good marksman, it may prove useful.

Micro Missiles

Returning from 2016, you can charge and fire a salvo of tiny yet surprisingly strong missiles with this mod. Activating this mode will cause the missiles to charge for a brief moment before you can let loose a controlled burst of up to a dozen missiles to erase hordes of smaller enemies or deal significant damage to bigger ones. The missiles will stick to surfaces or enemies and detonate soon after (but not on) impact.

The biggest disadvantages of this mod are the reload time and ammo consumption. After firing a full burst, it will take several seconds to load the missiles again, and you will not be able to fire any during this time. Additionally, each missile costs 2 bullets to fire; before the Mastery mod is unlocked, this means you will burn 24 bullets per salvo. While the damage output is certainly worth the increased consumption, you should take care not to let the bullets go to waste, or you will find yourself out of rounds surprisingly fast.

There is one other, somewhat lesser-known disadvantage of Micro Missiles: they will NEVER stun enemies and NEVER damage weak points. Once again, an intentional design flaw to prevent them from being spammed in every situation, the Micro Missiles can only deal with damage and have no other tactical usefulness. It is also difficult to stagger them due to their delayed fuse time; you may fill an already wounded heavy enemy with them and accidentally blowing him back to Hell (disclaimer if you are already in Hell) before you have a chance to beat the health out of him.

The game claims that the missiles will home in on targets, though their guidance is very subtle, and it cannot account for bad aim. Therefore, make sure you try to hit the missiles as close to the enemies as you can so that they do not go to waste; treat them as if they are completely unguided, including leading your shots as necessary.

Upgrades:

• Quick Recharge: Micro Missile reload time is decreased by 35% (1 Point)
• Instant Loader: Micro Missile “charge” time is decreased by 75% (3 Points)
• Primary Charger: Killing an enemy with the Heavy Cannon’s regular shot will increase Micro Missile damage by 30% for 5 seconds (5 Points)
• Mastery: Bottomless Missiles (Fire missiles infinitely, without ever having to reload)

For the Mastery challenge, you must stick (not kill) 3 different enemies with a single salvo (meaning no reload) 15 times. This is a fairly easy challenge, with a wonderful payout. You can do ridiculous amounts of DPS with the Bottomless Missiles against smaller and bigger enemies alike. With the Primary Charger upgrade, you only need to pop a Zombie or Imp before letting loose a barrage of damage-boosted missiles on your foes. Take care; however, as with Bottomless Missiles enabled, you will burn through your ammo extremely fast.

VS. the Chaingun

• The Chaingun may have a higher DPS but burns through ammo extremely fast. Use the Heavy Cannon when trying to be more efficient when dealing with groups of fodder enemies.
• The Chaingun has a wider spread, making it less effective at range. The Heavy Cannon is much more effective when dealing with enemies at a distance.
• On the topic of DPS, if ammo efficiency really isn’t your thing and you want to kill many things fast, the Bottomless Missiles mastery can be on par with the Chaingun for dishing out massive amounts of damage, potentially even more potent with the Primary Charger.
• The Chaingun is woefully ineffective against weak points. A single Precision Bolt shot will save you both ammo and time when dealing with Mancubi, Arachnotrons, and the like.

 

Plasma Rifle

 

Unlocked: About halfway through the second level

Returning to its former glory in DOOM Eternal, the Plasma Rifle is a speedy automatic weapon, great for dishing out damage quickly up close. Compared to its similar counterpart, the Heavy Cannon, it has slower and less precise projectiles, making it less effective at range, but a higher fire rate up close. Additionally, enemies killed with the basic fire will create a small explosion, dealing slight damage to nearby enemies, making it amazing for dealing with groups of fodder enemies.

The Plasma Rifle uses Cells as ammunition, shared with the heavier Ballista. Besides its use as an automatic weapon, it also has a particular advantage against a couple of specific enemies, namely, project energy shields. Dumping a round of plasma shots into a shield from a Soldier or Carcass will cause the shield to overload and explode, causing damage to any nearby enemies, including the wielder of said shield.

Heat Blast

Though similar to how it worked in 2016, the Heat Blast mod has been altered in a few ways. For starters, it does much more damage when fully charged now, though it does not charge as a constantly building amount; it charges in three different “stages,” represented on the crosshair when the mod is equipped. Additionally, it will only fire as a cone in front of you instead of a circle around your entire person, so you must aim it at whatever you want dead this time around.

The heat level builds passively as the gun is fired, building up in its three stages until it is full. Firing after the heat level has fully charged will have no additional effect, but the heat will not dissipate under any circumstances, even switching weapons; the only way the heat will disappear without being used is when the mod is switched to the Microwave Beam. After firing the Heat Blast, the gun will require a moment to cool down before being fired again.

The Heat Blast mod can be used against smaller enemies or as a combo against larger enemies. You can dump a barrage of plasma shots into a heavier enemy before blasting them in the face with the excess heat. It is also surprisingly effective against weak points if you are close enough, which is beneficial for dispatching enemies with destructible weak points.

Upgrades:

• QuickFire: Cooldown period after using the Heat Blast is reduced by 25% (3 Points)
• Super Heated Rounds: Heat Blast charge per shot (and therefore overall charge time, under sustained fire) is increased by 25% (6 Points)
• Mastery: Power Surge (After using a fully charged Heat Blast shot, the Plasma Rifle’s damage will be increased for a short time)

For the Mastery challenge, you need to kill 2 or more enemies with a single Heat Blast, 30 times. Note that killing additional enemies in a blast will not count extra towards this challenge. However, the Mastery bonus is quite useful as it further adds to the usefulness of the simple but effective shoot-and-blast combo, especially against heavier enemies. The damage boost is significant, and by the time it has worn off, you can already fill up the first two stages again, allowing you to rinse and repeat.

Microwave Beam

More of a finisher move than a mainline combat tool, the Microwave Beam nonetheless has its uses in the right situation. Once an enemy is targeted with it, you can fire a beam to cook them from the inside, rendering them immobile while you give them the good ol’ Outer Haven treatment. The progress can be tracked with a bar below the crosshair; once full, the enemy will explode, dealing significant damage to everything around it.

The time it takes to cook the demon depends on the enemy’s size and how much health it has remaining, so it will take longer to cook heftier enemies if they have not been damaged. The bigger the enemy is, the bigger and badder the following explosion will be, so it is best used on heavily damaged heavier enemies for best results.

However, Microwave Beam has several significant downsides that limit its usefulness. For one, it has a concise range, even when upgraded, so you must get in close before you can use it. Second, it takes a few moments for the beam to charge and fire, which can be irritating (and lethal, at the wrong moments). It also consumes ridiculous amounts of ammo and honestly doesn’t deal enough damage to be worth it, not to mention it deals said damage excessively slow. Because of this, it is virtually useless against enemies that have not been heavily wounded and are only practical as a finisher.*

However, the single worst thing about the Microwave Beam is how it slows your movement speed to a crawl while in use, leaving you vulnerable to just about every other demon on the map while it is in use. Dashes and jumps are disabled, leaving you a proper sitting duck as long as you are zapping them; it is like being stuck in goo, except that you can’t even defend yourself. Be extremely careful when you choose to use it.

*As of Update 1 (May 14, 2020), the Microwave Beam’s damage has been buffed to make it somewhat more efficient. While it still consumes ammo at an incredibly high rate, far more than you would from regular fire, it will cook demons somewhat faster now. As a result, most smaller demons can be cooked in about a second from full health, and it is slightly more useful for finishing off wounded heavier demons. However, continue to use caution with this mod, as the damage increase is not significant enough to make the other downsides worth disregarding.

Upgrades:

• Faster Beam Charge: Charge time (to fire, not to kill) is reduced by 66% (3 Points)
• Increased Range: Targeting range is increased by 50% (6 Points)
• Mastery: Concussive Blast (Killing an enemy with Microwave Beam will create a secondary larger, non-damaging blast that falters enemies)

For the Mastery challenge, you must kill at least one other demon with the Microwave Beam’s explosion 15 times. I’ll be honest; I try not to be biased with this guide, but this mod is really not that great compared to the Heat Blast. The explosion is useful but not much more powerful than the Heat Blast itself, even once upgraded. The reduced movement speed is often fatal on greater difficulties, even for a couple of moments. Regardless, it still has its uses in certain situations, and if you have been able to make effective use of it, then, by all means, continue to do so.

VS. the Ballista

Compared to the other two weapon pairs, the Ballista and Plasma Rifle are so vastly different that there’s not much to even compare about them. However, there are a few things to consider:

• Both weapons are effective against shields, overloading them and causing them to explode, but the Plasma Rifle is generally better for this, as it can deal damage faster and save ammo; there’s no good reason to burn a Ballista shot just to blow up a single Shield Soldier.
• The Plasma Rifle excels at dealing with hordes of smaller enemies, perhaps more so than any other main weapon in the game. The Plasma Rifle burns ammo, but the Ballista will burn ammo even faster, with much less group potential.
• Both weapons burn ammo quickly; keep chainsawing to keep your reserves up.

 

Rocket Launcher

 

Unlocked: Relatively early in the third level

Big, slow, and extremely dangerous. The Rocket Launcher has been reworked to be far more strategic than it was in the previous game…and far cooler-looking as well. Unlike the previous game, most of your explosive weapons will not damage you in DOOM Eternal, but it is the opposite for the Rocket Launcher: now, it damages you even more than it did before. Its fire rate and projectiles are far slower, forcing you to choose your shots carefully, as well as limiting you to a pathetically low ammo supply, not unlike the shotgun.

The upside? Massive amounts of damage, far more than anything else in your arsenal, excluding the superweapons. Whether clearing out groups or taking down heavy enemies, the Rocket Launcher is very effective at getting the job done in DOOM Eternal, whatever the job may be. It is also surprisingly effective against enemies with destructible weak points, though it will likely kill such enemies outright faster than it destroys their weak points in most situations.

Note that one particular hazard for using the Rocket Launcher is the Carcass, who was actually designed with the express purpose of harassing rocket-users. As he projects a shield directly in front of you with little warning, you may accidentally fire a rocket straight into it in the middle of combat, causing it to blow up straight in your face. Remain aware of your surroundings to avoid such embarrassing incidents.

Remote Detonate

Simple as it sounds, the ability to remotely detonate a rocket mid-flight. While its uses may be limited, and the other mod can generally outshine it, it is still helpful to have in the right situations, especially once upgraded. Enemies with strong frontal armor, such as Pinkies and Shield Soldiers, can be taken down much more easily by simply detonating a rocket behind them. Make sure not to detonate it in your face.

The Remote Detonation is also useful for dealing with crowds of enemies that you can’t score a good angle on for a direct hit, such as when you’re below them. Firing a rocket over their heads and detonating at the right time can allow you to achieve equally destructive results without dealing with the hassle of finding a good firing angle. You can also use it from behind cover, popping out to fire a shot and detonating it while you remain safely out of harm’s way.

Upgrades:

• Proximity Flare: Rockets will trigger a blue flare when they are within detonation range of a target (3 Points)
• Concussive Blast: Remote Detonations now trigger a larger secondary, non-damaging blast that can falter demons (6 Points)
• Mastery: Explosive Array (If a rocket is detonated while in Proximity Flare range of an enemy, it will activate additional explosives to create a larger explosion)

For the Mastery challenge, you must kill 60 enemies while the Proximity Flare is active. The upgrades for Remote Detonation make it much more useful for crowd control, as the concussive blast and larger area of effect are both great for dealing with groups of enemies, big and small. Though the following mod outshines it in sheer DPS potential, the Remote Detonation mod has a high degree of utility that may prove useful in numerous situations.

Lock-On Burst

One of the biggest downsides of the Rocket Launcher, as mentioned before, is its terrible fire rate, only able to fire once every second or so. The Lock-On Burst remedies this, making the Rocket Launcher’s DPS output absolutely terrifying against whatever it might be pointed at. When the mod is activated, it will begin locking on to the closest enemy under the crosshair, charging up its burst as it does so. Once charged, it will let loose a volley of three rockets, tracking down their target until they hit something.

As opposed to Remote Detonation, this mod is more useful for killing heavier, individual enemies than dealing with groups, as you can only lock on to one (or two) enemies at a time. However, the rockets will still deal significant damage to any enemies who find themselves too close to the intended target. The rockets are also useful for tracking fast-moving enemies, though they may impact against walls or other surfaces if they move too much.

The biggest issue with Lock-On Burst is that it may sometimes lock onto the wrong target, usually a passing Imp who gets between you and the intended receiver. This will force you to break the lock and reacquire it, costing you precious time and generally irritating you. As such, try to make sure the crosshair is as far from other enemies as possible while remaining on the intended target to minimize such incidents.

Upgrades:

• Fast Reset: Lock-on recharge time is decreased by 37.5% (3 Points)
• Quick Launch: Lock-on speed is increased by 50% (6 Points)
• Mastery: Dual Lock (A second lock-on target can be acquired; note that this will not split the rockets between both targets but fire two three-shot bursts in succession)

For the Mastery challenge, you must kill 15 Prowlers with Lock-On Burst. While Prowlers are generally not worth a Lock-On Burst, it will instantly kill them if all three connect, so this is a fairly easy challenge. All of these upgrades make this already dangerous mod even more so, allowing you to fire more rockets more often. Dual Lock can be useful for dispatching two heavy targets at once, though unfortunately, the locks must be acquired successively (i.e., you will not establish both locks at once).

VS. then…nothing?

Unlike most of the other weapons, the Rocket Launcher has no counterpart to share ammo with. Rockets are for the Rocket Launcher, and only the Rocket Launcher, so you don’t have to worry about balancing your ammo with another weapon. The Rocket Launcher does have a meager supply, only having 9 to 13 rockets available, so you should still moderate your supply carefully.

Super Shotgun

 

Unlocked: Later on in the third level

Here it is, folks, the one you’ve all been waiting for. It’s back; it’s better, it’s bloodier than ever, it’s the iconic tool of the Slayer, the Super Shotgun itself. Dealing incredible amounts of damage at close range, the Super Shotgun is unmatched in sheer damage output by any non-superweapon gun, save for a fully charged Ballista, which is much slower to prepare. With a widespread, it can be effective against small groups of fodder enemies, and it certainly proves itself more than effective against the larger ones.

Not even the iconic Super Shotgun is without its downsides, however. Its range is miserable outside of what could barely be considered more than melee distance, forcing you to close into dangerous distances with enemies to make effective use out of it. It also consumes two shells per shot, putting a strain on your already limited supply of shotgun ammo, and takes some time to reload, meaning you can’t crank out a steady stream of fire with it.

Meat Hook

Unlike the other weapons, the Super Shotgun only has one “mod,” which is equipped with the SS as soon as it is acquired, instead of being retrieved from a Modbot. This mod, however, is a crucial part of the Super Shotgun’s combat potential: a grappling hook, able to latch itself to enemies and pull you towards them for a sweet French kiss of lead. This can mitigate the poor range of the SS and allow you to traverse the battlefield quickly.

Once latched on, the hook will begin pulling you in until you reach melee distance, manually break the connection with your own movement, or break a line of sight with the enemy, such as if they should retreat behind a wall or jump down a ledge (some enemies may be frozen in place while hooked, while others, typically larger ones, will move normally). Note that grappling the enemy does not significantly damage, so be prepared to deal with them as soon as you are reeled in. Also, note that even if you are out of shotgun ammo, you may still switch to the SS and use the hook anyway.

Upgrades:

• Quick Hands: Meat Hook recharge time is decreased by 25% (3 Points)
• Fast Hands: Super Shotgun reload speed is increased by 33% (6 Points)
• Mastery: Flaming Hook (Enemies caught by the Meat Hook will be briefly set on fire, causing them to drop armor)

For this Mastery, you must kill 50 enemies while using the Meat Hook; note that killing multiple enemies in a blast WILL count extra, as you only need to kill enemies while using the Hook, not necessarily the enemy you hooked. It is surprisingly easy, and I would recommend doing this as soon as possible because this mastery is amazing. Though the enemy does not remain on fire for more than a second or two after being hooked (making combo’ing weapons impractical), it allows you to harvest small amounts of armor at any point in time with a hook and a point-blank blast, which is incredibly useful given the rather long recharge time of the Flame Belch. I would almost consider this upgrade essential.

VS. the Combat Shotgun

• Sheer burst damage output. The Super Shotgun is far more effective at point-blank range than the Combat Shotgun, likely even more efficient in terms of damage per shell.
• The Combat Shotgun does not possess a grappling hook, being much more suited towards dispatching enemies from a medium distance. If you want to get up close and personal, let the hook work for you.
• The Super Shotgun will often falter most enemies, even the larger ones, giving a skilled player extra time to swap to another weapon and deal additional damage or to simply get away before the enemy can retaliate, before rinsing and repeating.

 

Ballista

 

Unlocked: Before starting the fifth level

An incredibly slow, high-damage beam weapon similar to the Gauss Cannon from the previous installment, yet certainly not the same as. The Ballista shares its ammo supply with the Plasma Rifle, consuming 25 cells per shot. The Ballista fires in a straight beam that has no travel time, making it useful for dispatching enemies at any distance, and it is very effective at destroying weak points. As a bonus, it is extremely effective against flying enemies, namely the Cacodemon and Pain Elemental, making it an effective weapon for clearing the skies.

The fire rate is miserably slow, however, even more so than the Rocket Launcher. After firing a shot, it takes a couple of seconds to reload, far more than anything else in the game. To circumvent this, it is essential to learn how to combo with the Ballista: firing a shot with it, switching to another weapon (the Super Shotgun is a popular candidate), firing a shot or two with that weapon, and switching back to the Ballista. As a result, you will spend those couple of seconds still dealing damage, as opposed to, well, not dealing damage.

Arablest

A sort of “charged shot” for the Ballista, similar to the Precision Bolt from 2016, though regrettably without the scope. When the Arablest is activated, it will charge up an explosive shot at no additional ammo cost. When fired, it will embed itself into an enemy or surface (preferably the former) and explode shortly afterward, dealing extra damage to the enemy and all enemies nearby.

This nearly doubles the Ballista’s damage output, with the bonus of area damage. It also grants even more of a damage bonus against flying enemies, able to punch a Cacodemon out of the sky in one shot and a Pain Elemental in two. Be wary, as your movement speed will be slightly reduced while charging it, though you will still be able to dash normally.

Upgrades:

• Full Speed: Movement speed is increased by 30% when charging Arablest (3 Points)
• Stronger Explosion: Arablest explosion size is increased by 60% (6 Points)
• Mastery: Instant Salvo (Arablest will begin instantly recharging after a direct hit)

For the Mastery challenge, you must kill 20 Cacodemons. This can be a fairly easy challenge, as you will fight many Cacodemons soon after acquiring the Ballista if you can acquire and upgrade the Arablest mod early on. It is also a handy mod, as it significantly reduces the worst downside of the Ballista: its reload speed. With the mastery unlocked, you can lay down a barrage of shots at least twice as fast as before, which is especially useful in all situations.

Destroyer Blade

As the Arablest is to the Gauss Cannon’s precision bolt, so is the Destroyer Blade to Siege Mode. Consuming 50 cells to fire, worth two regular shots, it is a chargeable wide blade of energy capable of slicing through hordes of enemies and doing massive damage, at the cost of your movement speed… in fact, your movement.

While charging the Destroyer Blade, your movement will rapidly decrease until you are practically not moving at all. During this time, you cannot dash (though you can still jump), leaving you extremely vulnerable to anything that moves, which is to say, everything. Because of this, the Destroyer Blade is extremely situational and requires careful planning, a downside that limits its general usefulness. If you can properly get it charged, however, the results can be devastating.

Upgrades:

• Charging Blast: At maximum charge, the Destroyer Blade will emit a blast wave that falters demons (3 Points)
• Rapid Chains: Charge time is reduced by 20% (6 Points)
• Mastery: Incremental Blade (The blade can now be charged and fired in three stages, allowing it to be fired before the full charge, requiring 16, 33, and the usual 50 cells, respectively)

For the Mastery challenge, you must kill at least 3 enemies with the Destroyer Blade 15 times. Honestly, this mod is only useful with the mastery upgrade, and even then, its use is rather limited, as the weaker shots are not particularly strong. Though it is useful for carving through hordes, there are much more practical methods of dealing with groups of enemies, particularly methods that don’t involve you standing still and defenseless for several seconds. When combined with the Ice Bomb, you may be able to get enough breathing room to charge it properly, but you’re honestly just better off using something else.

VS. the Plasma Rifle

As stated before, there’s so much difference between these two guns that there’s hardly anything to compare. However, there are still a few general tips about when to use this gun over the other.

• Where the Plasma Rifle excels in group combat, the Ballista excels in dealing out heavy damage to larger enemies, especially with an upgraded Arablest.
• When fighting Pain Elementals and Cacodemons, there’s really no better option than the Ballista. No weapon can do as much damage to them as quickly, period.
• Once again, keep an eye on your ammo reserves. Despite this weapon’s slow fire rate compared to the other, you may still find yourself burning through ammunition quickly.

 

Chaingun

 

Unlocked: In the middle of the fifth level (CAN BE MISSED, make sure to grab it)

The last, but certainly not the least of your main weapons, the Chaingun is back with a vengeance. No longer requiring any time to spin up, the Chaingun will fire at maximum speed all the time. It shares its ammunition supply of bullets with the Heavy Cannon, though it possesses a much higher fire rate, able to shred through even larger enemies in seconds.

The Chaingun is particularly useful in faltering enemies. At the same time, it lets loose a constant hail of bullets on them, stopping them from advancing on you while you pump them full of lead from a comfortable distance. This is particularly useful against Hell/Dread Knights and Barons of Hell, who make it their goal to close into melee distance as fast as possible.

The Chaingun’s only real downsides are its extreme rate of ammo consumption and its ineffectiveness at long range. Because of this, it is much better to use the Chaingun at close to the medium range so that your ammo does not go to waste.

Mobile Turret

What’s cooler than having a minigun with three separate tri-barrels? A minigun with four separate tri-barrels. The Mobile Turret is the Chaingun’s offensive mod, turning an already impressive weapon into a killing machine with little competition. Once transformed, its fire rate increases exponentially, sending its DPS through the roof at the cost of an equally ridiculous rate of ammo consumption.

The only downside to the Mobile Turret (aside from ammo consumption) is that it can take a couple of moments to transform, and sustained fire can quickly overheat it, rendering it useless for several seconds. Fortunately, both of these problems can be remedied with upgrades, making it a very reliable mod.

Upgrades:

• Rapid Deploy: Transformation speed increased by 50% (3 Points)
• Fast Gunner: Increased movement speed when in Turret mode (6 Points)
• Mastery: Ultimate Cooling (Mobile Turret will never overheat)

You must kill 5 enemies in a single turret deployment for the Mastery challenge without overheating, 10 times. These upgrades, while simple, significantly reduce the few problems you may suffer from the Mobile Turret. If you’re not using the Shield, there is honestly no reason not to be using this mod constantly with this gun.

Energy Shield

A unique mod in that it is primarily defensive rather than offensive. When activated, it will, as the name suggests, produce an energy shield in front of you, absorbing all attacks until it is depleted. It is simple but incredibly effective in situations where you need breathing room, allowing you to sit comfortably behind mobile cover while you continue to rain bullets.

The Shield’s recharge time is rather slow; unfortunately, it will be further slowed based on how much it was depleted while it was up. Because of this, you cannot rely on the Energy Shield for regular cover, but rather to give you a few moments of safety when you most need it. Even when you are quite skilled at the game, you may find situations where you will want this shield to save your life, particularly on greater difficulties.

Upgrades:

• Fast Recovery: Shield recharge time is reduced by 37.5% (3 Points)
• Dash Smash: Dashing into Heavy demons will falter them (6 Points)
• Mastery: Shield Launch (Dealing enough damage while the shield is active will launch it forward on release, faltering and slightly damaging all demons it hits)

For the Mastery challenge, you must deal 20000 damage while the shield is active. While this may sound like a large number, the amount of damage the Chaingun deals is impressive, and this is actually one of the easiest mastery challenges in the game. These upgrades, like with the Turret, enhance an already potent mod to have additional usefulness. While the Mobile Turret is far more powerful, the Energy Shield is useful for keeping yourself safe in tight situations without sacrificing firepower.

VS. the Heavy Cannon

• The Heavy Cannon cannot dish out nearly as much damage as the Chaingun (except with the Bottomless Missiles), making it far more effective against heavier demons.
• Even with the Mobile Turret mod, the Chaingun is still more ammo-efficient than the Micro Missiles and bears a similar firepower amount.
• The Chaingun can falter even the strongest of enemies, giving you more breathing room where the Heavy Cannon cannot.
• The Chaingun is useful for plowing through hordes where precision or ammo efficiency are not concerned.

 

Chainsaw

 

Unlocked: Literally not even a full minute into the first level (unless you’re slow)

The infamous, the one and only, the Great Communicator itself…ladies and gentlemen, the Chainsaw, one of the most valuable tools of the game. The Chainsaw is typically not equippable as an actual weapon but swung once when the key for it is pressed, automatically initiating a glory kill-like animation on the targeted enemy if there is enough fuel. As the animation plays, the enemy will be carved open to reveal the wonderful boon inside, all types of ammo (save for superweapon ammo, discussed later) to refill your arsenal and get back to killing.

The Chainsaw requires fuel to operate, and you have a minimal supply, only able to carry up to three at a time. This is mitigated by the fact that, should you run out, you will regenerate one point of fuel after about 20 seconds or so, allowing you to consistently chainsaw enemies and keep your ammo reserves up. If you’re impatient, fuel cans can be found that will give you a point of the fuel, or you can strategically stockpile your fuel points until you are full and carve open a Heavy enemy.

On that topic, it will cost you one point of fuel to chainsaw all Fodder enemies, except for Lost Souls, which cannot be chainsawed, and Drones, which require three points of fuel to chainsaw (but should not need to be chainsawed anyway, as they drop ammo via an alternative method). All Heavy enemies in the game will cost three fuel to chainsaw; Simultaneously, this is only possible when you are full. It will burn your entire supply; it can be useful for removing stronger enemies from play instantly as Dread Knights and Cyber-Mancubi. Unfortunately, Super Heavy enemies cannot be chainsawed under any circumstances.

Be careful not to use the Chainsaw against enemies when you do not have the fuel to do so, as you will be trapped in an animation of attempting to start the saw but failing to do so. This can cost you precious seconds in the middle of hectic combat. If god forbid, you should run out of ammo for ALL of your weapons (excluding the superweapons); the game will forcibly switch you over to the Chainsaw. This is the only way to “equip” the Chainsaw in this game as you could in 2016, though it is by no means a practical one, and you should stick to simply swinging it around with the assigned button.

Use the Chainsaw regularly. No, not sometimes, regularly. Yes, that means all the time. You should never be running out of ammo for all of your weapons all the time; if you are, it’s because you aren’t using the Chainsaw often enough. The game does NOT have enough ammo pickups to sustain you, and you MUST use the Chainsaw to keep your reserves up. Plus, it looks really cool when you use it.

Flame Belch

 

Unlocked: Before starting the second level

At first glance, it seems like having a rechargeable, shoulder-mounted flamethrower would be a devastating weapon to mix into combat. Unfortunately, the Flame Belch is not intended to do any significant damage whatsoever, unable to kill even a basic zombie. So why is it so useful? The Flame Belch is an essential tool, especially on greater difficulties, as it is your main supplier of armor throughout the game, an extra layer of health on top of your regular supply to keep you alive longer, which is always helpful.

Once activated, the Flame Belch will spray a deceptively long-reaching jet of flame for about a second, setting all enemies caught in the blast on fire for a few seconds. During this time, any damage received will cause them to drop armor, and killing them will make them burst into a small shower of armor pickups. They will also drop a tiny amount of armor on their own, though it is often a negligible amount.

As a shoulder-mounted weapon, the animation for firing is quick and does not interrupt you, so you can still move and fire during this time. In fact, turning while the Flame Belch is firing can allow you to douse a much larger group of enemies if they are within range, as it only needs to contact for a split second to set them ablaze. The more enemies that are on fire, the more armor you can harvest.

You will find that the Flame Belch has an irritatingly long cooldown, so it is important to maximize its effectiveness wherever you can. There are two main situations where you can maximize its effectiveness: fighting a large group of fodder enemies or dealing with one or two heavier enemies. In the case of the former, setting a huge group of Zombies or Soldiers on fire, combined with a quick explosive or Blood Punch, will kill them all immediately and shower you in armor, sometimes enough for a full restore.

Though this is the more effective harvesting armor method, there is another viable option if you do not have a convenient cluster of fodder enemies. By setting a couple of larger demons on fire and pumping bullets into them, you can make heavier enemies into armor factories, which is especially useful when you are fighting larger demons with a limited supply of fodder enemies to harvest for armor. Setting those enemies on fire will allow you to keep up your offensive without having to back off to find resources somewhere else.

The Flame Belch has a unique system of upgrades; unlike all weapons and equipment, it is not upgraded through Weapon Points or Praetor Tokens but indirectly through Sentinel Crystals. As you increase your health, ammo, and armor, you will find options to upgrade the Flame Belch as well by selecting two upgrades in a single “category.”

Upgrades:

• Quickdraw Belch: Flame Belch cools down faster (Health/Armor)
• Napalm Belch: Heavy/Super Heavy enemies stay on fire for longer (Ammo/Health)
• Belch Armor Boost: Enemies drop armor at a higher rate (Health/Ammo)

These upgrades are critical in making the Flame Belch more powerful. In my opinion, they are far more important than the other three Sentinel Crystal boosts, so I would make it a priority to unlock them as fast as possible. All three of these upgrades will allow you to get more armor, more often, especially against the heavier enemies, which will be even more useful later in the game.

Frag Grenades

 

Unlocked: Later on in the first level (sometime after the Heavy Cannon)

Those of you who played the previous game may remember the Frag Grenades, those cute little firecrackers you picked up early on that could barely kill a group of Imps. Honestly, you were far more likely to kill yourself with those things than you were to kill anything else. Not anymore. These grenades have been turned into nasty killing machines, and as a bonus, they no longer deal damage to you.

Fired from the same shoulder-mounted launcher as your Flame Belch, there is no longer an animation for firing frag grenades that will interrupt your carnage, allowing you to drop it right in the middle of combat. It is a potent weapon, great for dealing with groups of troublesome enemies or simply getting in some extra damage on a heavier enemy. It is also the only weapon besides Sticky Bombs capable of triggering the Cacodemon’s instant stagger, making it particularly useful against them.

The Frag Grenade can be best used in conjunction with other equipment, like the Flame Belch or Ice Bombs; you can set a group on fire before blowing them all to pieces and armor shards, or lock down a group of pesky demons before knocking them down with a Frag Grenade. Combining all three while depleting your equipment can be an incredibly deadly combo if done in the right situation.

Like the Flame Belch, the Frag Grenade operates on a cooldown timer rather than an ammo supply, meaning that you can fire and forget about it, so long as you make sure you don’t fire it at the wrong moment and end up needing it a moment later. Rather than being upgraded with Weapon Points, the Frag Grenade is upgraded via Praetor Suit tokens in the Suit upgrade menu; these upgrades are powerful but expensive, so spend wisely.

Upgrades:

• Faster Frag Cooldown: Recharges faster (3 Tokens)
• Combustion Concussion: Emits a secondary, larger, non-damaging explosion that falters enemies (3 Tokens)
• Scatter Bombs: Enemies killed by the explosion will spawn additional, smaller explosives (4 Tokens)
• Frag Stock Up: Can hold two grenades at a time (5 Tokens)

These upgrades make an already powerful piece of equipment even more dangerous to enemies in all situations, and a fully upgraded Frag Grenade is a potent weapon. The faster recharge, combined with the double charge supply, allow the grenade to be used far more often, and the scatter bombs make it even more effective against groups. Meanwhile, the concussive blast will, in turn, make it much more useful against heavier enemies, giving you a moment to counterattack while they are momentarily stunned by the grenade.

Ice Bombs

 

Unlocked: Before starting the third level

Why wait until Hell freezes over when you can speed the process up a little bit? The Ice Bomb, the final piece to your shoulder-mounted equipment launcher, will detonate on impact and freeze all enemies caught in its range, giving you breathing room and leaving them completely vulnerable to your onslaught. A pretty cool piece of equipment, if I say so myself (sorry).

The Ice Bomb works against enemies of all shapes and sizes, making it useful in all situations where you need demons just to stop and chill for a moment. While it obviously has no destructive potential on its own, it can help to enhance the potency of the rest of your arsenal. Pop a frag grenade into a helpless cluster of frozen demons, or set them on fire for easy armor harvesting. Why can frozen demons burn? Don’t ask questions.

The Ice Bomb is handy against troublesome, fast-moving enemies like the Whiplash and Prowler, locking them down for an easy kill. It is also extremely effective against Pinkies, as their turning speed makes it difficult to get behind them properly; simply pop an Ice Bomb, and you can leisurely walk behind them before blowing them apart.

Like the Frag Grenade, the Ice Bomb must be upgraded using Praetor Tokens instead of Weapon Points. The Ice Bomb shares a firing button with the Frag Grenade, and you must manually toggle between the two; note that they do NOT share a cooldown and may be used completely independent of each other.

Upgrades:

• Faster Ice Cooldown: Recharges faster (3 Tokens)
• Permafrost: Enemies remain frozen for longer (3 Tokens)
• Ice Drops: Damaging and killing frozen enemies will cause them to drop health (4 Tokens)
• Frost Bite: Frozen enemies take increased damage (5 Tokens)

These upgrades are crucial to increasing the Ice Bomb’s combo potential with other weapons, particularly the last upgrade, as the increased damage against frozen enemies is a significant bonus. Additionally, if you are starved for resources and find a group of enemies, you can freeze and burn them before using a Blood Punch, grenade, or another preferred disposal method to drop massive amounts of armor AND health. Though expensive, these upgrades can pay off surprisingly well.

Blood Punch

 

Unlocked: Early on in the second level

Not so much of a “weapon” in a conventional sense as it is an ability, I still felt like I ought to discuss the Blood Punch nonetheless, as it is a useful tool. You may notice early on in the game that, for such a ripped guy, the Slayer’s melee is laughably bad, not even able to kill a Zombie in less than several hits. Why is it that a man who can rip demons in half can’t even do enough damage to break their nose?

The Blood Punch remedies this, being a potent melee attack that will automatically activate when within melee range of an enemy. As the Slayer swings his fist through the air, it will create an orange shockwave that damages all enemies around you. This will kill most fodder enemies in one hit and do significant damage to heavier enemies, especially a select few vulnerable to it (the Pinky and Cyber-Mancubus being the most notable of this list).

The Blood Punch is limited to a single charge, but it can easily be refilled with two glory kills. With the Health/Armor for Blood upgrades from the Sentinel Crystals, you can recharge it slightly with each health/armor pickup while at the full amount of that resources; this can be useful when paired with the Flame Belch and the Punch and Reave rune to instantly dispatch a group of fodder enemies and recharge your Blood Punch instantly.

The Blood Punch will also falter just about any enemy it hits, allowing you a moment of breathing room in a tight spot even if it doesn’t kill the intended target. Use it if you get backed into a corner and find you have nowhere to run, as it very well may save your life. Though it only takes two glory kills to recharge, you don’t want to get caught with your pants down and no Blood Punch, so be aware of when to use it.

Upgrades:

• Stronger shockwave
• Heavy/Super Heavy demons will instantly refill the Blood Punch meter.
• You can store two Blood Punch charges.

The Blood Punch is not upgraded like anything else in the game. The Blood Punch is only upgraded at predetermined points in the story, following certain missions. The game will notify you when these upgrades are acquired in the summary screen. While there is no way to get them any earlier, you will be able to (like anything else you unlock) keep these upgrades when you replay levels. Note that glory killing a Super Heavy demon will still only refill one Blood Punch charge.

BFG-9000

 

Unlocked: About halfway through the seventh level

The big you looked gun itself. Returning from its glory in 2016, the BFG is back and ready to see some more action. It is functionally identical to how it was in the last game, firing a huge, green ball of plasma out that automatically lashes tendrils of energy out at anything it passes by, stunning them and dealing massive, often fatal damage. It now features a counter under its reticle of how many enemies it has hit with its current shot, allowing you to know just how much carnage you’ve wrecked with it.

Sadly, the BFG has a couple of downsides in this game. Its ammo pool has been reduced, now only able to carry two shots instead of the three it could carry last time, with no way to expand storage. Additionally, it is not guaranteed to kill the game’s larger enemies, and Super Heavy demons like the Tyrant and Doom Hunter are often able to shake off a blast from full health. However, it will briefly stun them, allowing you to move in and deal some extra damage before they recover.

You will also find the ammo is, like before, scarce and scattered, with the only way to replenish ammo being through predetermined pickup points around the map as glowing green boxes. The Chainsaw will not replenish ammo for you, so use it wisely. Fortunately, the BFG is acquired much earlier on in this game, so you will have several more opportunities to use it. You may notice that the BFG does not carry 2 shots but instead carries 60 and consumes 30; this is because it shares its ammo supply with the Unmaykr, discussed in the next section.

The BFG is best utilized by not firing directly for an enemy but rather firing outwards and into an open, enemy-filled space. The ball will continue to damage all enemies in sight until it impacts against something, so the longer it goes before it impacts against something, the more damage it will do. However, it will deal significant damage to whatever it does hit, so it can be useful for killing those heftier, Super Heavy enemies that would otherwise shake it off.

VS. the Unmaykr

• The BFG is a fire-and-forget weapon; simply blast it off in the middle of the room and watch the sparks and guts fly.
• It is instrumental if you are dealing with a large number of demons spread apart in a large arena, as the BFG’s range is quite long, including the length of its damaging tendrils.
• The Unmaykr is terribly ineffective at the range in general due to its widespread, so the BFG is useful if you’re looking to get rid of enemies who are further away.
• Let’s be honest; the BFG looks way cooler.

 

Unmaykr

 

Unlocked: Following the completion of the ninth level, IF you have completed all Slayer Gates and collected the Empyrean Keys from them

So, you did it! You pushed through all six of those brutal Slayer Gates and collected your keys! Time for your well-earned reward. Locked away in the Fortress of Doom, your prize awaits to be claimed. The Unmaykr is the other “superweapon” of the Slayer’s arsenal, sharing an ammo pool with the BFG. Though it only consumes one point of ammo per shot, it fires a triple-shot laser burst with every shot, like an amped-up version of the plasma rifle.

Wait a minute? That’s it? After claiming the room-cleaning BFG yourself, after pushing through six difficult Slayer Gates, all you get is this dinky laser rifle? I’ll admit, I was a little underwhelmed at first myself. Though it is certainly still a big gun, it felt rather lame than the massive green ball of death. And while I still admit it may lack a certain quality of dramatic flair, the Unmaykr makes up for this in sheer, brutal efficiency.

I’ll be honest; the BFG doesn’t feel like it’s got quite the same punch in this game that it had before. As previously mentioned, while it’s great for clearing out hordes and damaging bigger enemies like the Tyrants and Barons and what have you, most of those bigger enemies can still survive a blast. The fact that you are only allowed two shots for this only makes matters worse.

Fortunately, the Unmaykr can probably achieve just 30 of its 60 shots, which the BFG couldn’t in both if used correctly. Though they may not look imposing, the laser bolts deal incredible amounts of damage. They will stagger most enemies from just a single hit while also dealing massive amounts of damage to them. This conveniently keeps enemies locked down for you to continue blasting them into oblivion.

The real strength (and weakness) of the weapon, however, is in its spread. When used at mid-range, its triple-laser spread can allow you to deal with hordes of enemies at no additional ammo cost, while up close, when all three of its lasers hit an enemy, it can shred even the toughest baddies in nearly an instant. Unfortunately, this spread makes the weapon horribly ineffective at long range, for the fairly obvious reason for wasted ammo.

VS. the BFG

• The Unmaykr is far more efficient in ammo consumption than the BFG. Use it when you want to take down a troublesome group or bigger target without burning off half your precious ammo supply in one shot.
• The BFG can prove ineffective at close range; should you be swarmed and fire into a crowd, it may simply impact against an enemy up close, ending its carnage rather quickly. Meanwhile, the Unmaykr excels in close quarters, shredding through the hordes without mercy.
• Come on; you worked through six damn Slayer Gates to get this thing. Are you really going to let all that hard work go to waste?

 

The Crucible

 

Unlocked: Towards the very end of the ninth level

What’s cooler than the Slayer having a metaphorical sword? An actual, physical sword, and a huge one at that. The Crucible is the Slayer’s personal sword and the last of the game’s three “superweapons,” acquired fairly late into the game (though technically, it is actually acquired before the Unmaykr). Though it is only capable of acting within melee range, it can kill any non-boss enemy in the game instantly, excluding the Doom Hunter and Marauder (see my guide on DOOM Eternal’s enemies).

When active, the Crucible will display a visual ammo counter under the crosshair showing how many charges it has left, able to hold up to three at a time. When used against an enemy, it will consume one charge as the Slayer instantly slices through them. This is particularly useful for dealing with the tanker Super Heavy demons you want to get out of the way quickly, particularly Arch-Viles and Tyrants.

The catch? All demons will consume one charge, regardless of how big they are…or how small. Killing an Imp with this weapon will cost as much as it does to kill a Tyrant, so you must be extremely careful where you aim the Crucible before swinging it. Ammo is scarce, even more so than the BFG/Unmaykr ammo, so you must be extremely careful when to use it and what you are using it on.

When you find the Crucible pickups, they will be visible as glowing red swords, floating above the ground. Though a couple of specific encounters will give you an abundance of them, you must still be mindful of your ammo supply, only using the Crucible when you deem it necessary.

Concerning Upgrades

All weapon mods in the game possess two (or occasionally three) upgrades that can be purchased for 3 and 6 (or 1, 3, and 5) Weapon Points. These upgrades are crucial in increasing your weapon mods’ effectiveness, and once all upgrades for a mod have been purchased, you will unlock a Mastery challenge for the mod. This challenge will require you to use the mod in some way to unlock the final upgrade, often a mighty one that greatly increases the effectiveness of the mod.

You can unlock a total of 10 Weapon Points per level. Usually, you will be granted five for completing a level, one for each predetermined “combat encounter” you complete. It should be impossible to miss these; however, the game may sometimes glitch and not award you some. There is no fix for this besides replaying the entire level and hoping it works the next time. Three more points will be granted for completing the level’s Slayer Gate, if one is present, with all three being awarded when the Gate is finished. The last two are usually awarded for completing the two “secret encounters” in the level, one for each encounter.

Certain levels may lack Slayer Gates or Secret Encounters; usually, these levels contain a boss fight and award you the extra points at the end of the level once the boss fight is completed. Some late-game levels will simply not feature Slayer Gates because they have all been completed; the extra three points are simply assigned to the regular combat progress.

With 7 upgradeable weapons, each with two modes (except for the Super Shotgun, which only has one mod), it will cost you 117 Weapon Points to fully upgrade every mod in the game. Rest assured that, assuming you fully complete every level and acquire your weapon upgrade points, you will have enough points to unlock all of these upgrades, though you cannot refund these points once spent.

Later on in the game, you will find a special kind of collectible called Mastery Tokens. These are scarce finds that will allow you to bypass a Mastery challenge for free, allowing you to access the Mastery upgrade for that weapon immediately. There are seven of these in the game, though they are not available until the later levels. With thirteen mods in the game, this allows you to skip about half of your mastery challenges, particularly the more tedious challenges or the less useful upgrades that you simply don’t want to put effort into unlocking.

Tips and Tricks

Many of these are taken from my other guide but are still equally applicable nonetheless.

• NEVER stop moving. Many faster enemies will constantly be pursuing you across the battlefield, and standing still for even a moment can have potentially fatal consequences. Jump and dash regularly to avoid being pinned down.
• Manage your resources. Don’t wait until you’re out of ammo for all of your guns to chainsaw an enemy; you want to have all of your guns ready for use all the time, especially later in the game, or you’ll be overwhelmed.
• All guns do damage. Just because a weapon is not explicitly recommended for fighting an enemy does not (generally) mean that it is ineffective in a pinch. The most important skill in DOOM Eternal is knowing how to adapt to a situation on the fly and effectively use every weapon at your disposal.
• Use your equipment regularly. Your Flame Belch is an essential tool for staying alive longer, and the Frag Grenade and Ice Bomb are both very potent, and combining them in the right situations can make them even deadlier.
• Be careful of melee attacks. Though some are stronger than others, all enemies in the game possess rather damaging melee attacks (even the fodder enemies), so when you are closing in for a shotgun blast or a Blood Punch, be sure to damage them and move out of range before they retaliate…or kill them before they do.
• Learn how to combo your heavier weapons. The reload time on the Super Shotgun, Ballista, and Rocket Launcher are all quite lengthy, and learning how to swap your weapons quickly will minimize the downtime where you are not shooting. This is an essential tool for improving your damage output and can be especially useful against the dreaded Marauder.
• Most importantly of all, rip and tear until it is done. When you lose health and armor, don’t retreat, but keep pushing through the hordes to take back what is yours. Use the chainsaw regularly to keep your ammo full at all times.
• Some weapons and mods do more damage to weak points than others. Among these are the Sticky Bombs, the Precision Bolt, the Ballista shot, and even the Heat Blast. Use them when dealing with pesky enemies that you’d like to disable quickly.

 

The End

Thank you for reading my guide! Be sure to give it a good rating if you enjoyed it. If you are looking for a guide to what kind of baddies you’ll be using your impressive arsenal against, be sure to check out my other guide, which can be found below.

As stated before, these strategies are from both in-game/online guides and my own personal experience, so be sure to figure out what does and doesn’t work for you. If you have any particular suggestions for strategies to add, please let me know, and I will add them as soon as possible. Now get back to ripping and tearing!

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2056376398

Notes for DLC

The first DLC for Doom Eternal, The Ancient Gods: Part One, does not introduce any new weapons. However, as it is considered a “separate” campaign from the main one, starting a new game will start you off with a full arsenal: all weapons, mods, masteries, suit upgrades, and runes will be available to you from the start. Aside from the new (rather underwhelming) “support runes,” unlockable as collectibles in the DLC campaign, there are no new additions to your arsenal. Note, however, that your Crucible will no longer be available.

HI, I hope you enjoy the Guide about DOOM Eternal – The Slayer’s Arsenal; if you think we should add extra information or forget something, please let us know via comment below, and we will do our best to fix or update as soon as possible!