Gaming

10 DOOM Eternal survival tips for this demon-infested hellscape

Doom Slayer makes a gory and glorious return.

by Danny Paez

Doom Eternal will release for the PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Google Stadia on March 20. The first few levels of this trek through hell will teach you how to finesse your way through mobs of monsters. Here are ten survival tips I learned in the first three hours of the game.

10. Choose your difficulty wisely

There are five difficulties. Each one dictates how much damage demons deal and how many resources they drop upon death. "Ultra Nightmare" is the game’s most punishing difficulty and will start over if you die. RIP.

9. Low on health?

Glory Kill demons and they’ll drop health tokens. You’ll need to weaken enemies until they flash orange, signaling that you can run up and hit R3 on PS4 and Xbox (E on PC) to execute them.

8. Low on ammo?

If you have enough fuel, you can mutilate enemies with your trusty chainsaw to make them drop ammo. Weak demons take only one fuel to kill, but more powerful monsters can take as many as five. Walk up and press ▢ on PS4, X on Xbox, and C on PC.

7. Armor up by belching flames.

If your health meter is full, blast enemies with your Flame Belcher to deal damage over time and get armor tokens. Executive Producer Marty Stratton told me that DOOM Eternal aims to keep combat lively by keeping players on their toes.

6. “Mario Meets DOOM.”

Director Hugo Martin wanted DOOM Eternal to be a “Mario meets DOOM” experience. Expertly swinging off monkey bars, dashing past flaming chains, and skipping from falling platforms are key to progressing through the game and pulling off epic, mid-fight acrobatics.

“The platforming has injected a grandness to some of the levels that we thought coming out of DOOM (2016) could feel more epic,” said Martin. “What was challenging in the first level will become second nature, almost like a Tony Hawk game.”

5. Beware the purple goo.

All that mobility is cut short when you need to wade through a pool of purple goo, which often hides tentacled creatures beneath the surface waiting to ambush you. There’s no running away once you’re inside one of these evil ponds, so make sure you’re stocked up on health.

4. Sticky bomb Cacodemons for an instant kill

Ammo is a precious resource so you need to make sure you’re killing each demon as effectively as possible. The floating, blob-like Cacodemons can eat a lot of bullets, but launching a sticky grenade into its mouth will let you immediately Glory Kill it.

Look for these openings so you don’t burn all of your ammo at once.

3. Precision shot is a must-have skill

Much like the sticky grenade weapon mod, precision shot is key to disabling demons’ most powerful weapons before they get a chance to use them.

Snipe the turret off the Arachnotron’s head to make it easier to approach. Blast the two rocket launchers off Revenants’ backs to keep them from blowing you up. And destroy Mancubus’ massive hand cannons as soon as you see one.

2. Explore every corner for secrets and easter eggs

Between battles, make sure to explore to find secrets, collectibles, and Easter eggs Bethesda has sprinkled across all of the maps.

I found a hidden Dopefish from the early 90s platformer Commander Keen in Goodbye, Galaxy during the first three hours of the game. Martin promised there are a lot more where that came from.

1. Two types of skills to upgrade your arsenal

Sentinel Crystals require you to level up two base stats (health, ammo, armor) before unlocking a perk, like adding damage to your Flame Belcher.

Runes let you unlock more powerful abilities, like slowing down time when you’re ambushing an enemy from above. You can only use three runes at a time, so choose your combinations wisely.

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