Step into the brutal, demon-infested world of Doom: The Dark Ages, where survival hinges on mastering more than just firepower. From wielding your shield not only as a defense but as a weapon to learning when to parry and charge into the fray, these six essential beginner’s tips will transform you from a cautious newcomer into a relentless demon slayer ready to conquer the chaos of this dark medieval battleground.
Doom: The Dark Ages is a fast-paced, first-person action game where the golden rule is to shoot, punch, or explode anything that moves. Otherwise, you will probably die. Traversing the infernal maps to complete the campaign requires not only good reflexes – you also need to use everything at your disposal to survive the battlefield.
Whether you’re a longtime Doom fan or this is your first time slashing hellspawns to the thrum of metal riffs, there’s plenty to learn. But we can help! Below, see our beginner’s tips for Doom: The Dark Ages.
Your shield is more than just protection
Your shield in Doom: The Dark Ages is far more than just a defensive tool. Beyond blocking enemy attacks and environmental hazards, it serves as a versatile weapon and mobility enhancer. You can use the shield to propel yourself toward enemies with a powerful charge, closing gaps quickly for melee strikes or shotgun blasts. Additionally, the shield can parry and reflect attacks, stun foes when thrown, and even help you escape dangerous situations. Mastering these offensive and tactical uses of the shield transforms it into your most valuable asset on the battlefield, allowing you to dominate hordes of demons with agility and precision.
At first glance, your shield might not look like much in comparison to, say, a rocket launcher. It is, however, your strongest tool in Doom: The Dark Ages – and by mastering it, you can face legions of hellspawns without too much trouble.
First, besides protecting yourself from incoming damage, you can use the shield to propel yourself toward a target. While this is initially introduced as an offensive maneuver, you can adapt it to quickly escape from a tight situation. When in danger, look for a faraway enemy and use your dash!
You can also interrupt enemies with the shield by dashing at them as they charge their attack. Another option is to throw your shield once this option becomes available. When it hits large demons, the shield sticks to them, stunning them for a few seconds. Use this time to run or finish them.
Parry everything
Parrying is a crucial skill in Doom: The Dark Ages that can turn the tide of battle in your favor. To parry effectively, you need to block enemy attacks at the precise moment they are about to hit you, specifically targeting attacks imbued with Hell Surge, which glow green. Successfully timed parries not only prevent damage but also stagger enemies, opening them up for powerful counterattacks. Some ranged Hell Surge attacks can be reflected back to their source, damaging multiple foes if timed and positioned correctly. As you progress, unlocking shield upgrades enhances your parrying abilities, making it an essential tactic for surviving and dominating even the toughest encounters.
You can do more with your shield than just dash and stun. Parrying is an important mechanic in Doom: The Dark Ages, which you should always do when you see attacks highlighted in green – called Hell Surge attacks – coming. A shockwave. A giant arrow of demonic energy. It doesn’t matter. If it’s green, you can parry and deflect it back to its source.
The potential of parry Hell Surge attacks comes especially when you’re facing multiple enemies at the same time because the deflected Hell Surge projectile won’t hit only the source – it can kill whatever else is close to the source. And once you unlock some shield upgrades, this feature becomes stronger. (Although there is some timing to worry about when parrying, it’s nothing that you can’t tweak to your preferences in the settings.)
Weak enemies make you stronger
In Doom: The Dark Ages, weaker enemies play a crucial role in strengthening your character during battles. Since health can only be replenished by defeating foes, taking down these smaller, less threatening enemies allows you to regain health and sustain yourself in prolonged fights, especially when facing tougher bosses. Using weaker enemies strategically not only helps maintain your survivability but also provides opportunities to practice combat maneuvers like parrying and shield dashing, ultimately making you stronger and better prepared for more formidable adversaries.
If you’re new to the Doom universe, some fights might feel overwhelming, especially when facing big bad demon boys who are followed by small minions that’ll annoy you throughout the whole fight. You must learn that these little fellows are there to actually help you, though.
In Doom: The Dark Ages, you can only recover health by killing enemies. Brutal, right? But when fighting a boss, you need to stay alive long enough to put them down. That’s when the weak minions come in. You must use them to restore your health. Whenever you’re low on health, run around the arena and find some weakling to kill before getting back to the real target.
Always check your map
In Doom: The Dark Ages, regularly checking your map is crucial for successful navigation and combat. The maps are straightforward but frequently consulting them helps you locate objectives, collectibles, and secret areas that might otherwise be missed. Collectibles only appear on the map once you explore nearby, so keeping an eye on your automap ensures you don’t overlook valuable items like Life Sigils and gold, which are scarce. A good habit is to check your map after major fights and before passing points of no return to maximize your exploration and resource gathering.
It won’t take you long to realize how straightforward Doom:The Dark Ages’ maps are. Even so, checking your map constantly is crucial in this game as it will highlight the location of objectives and collectibles. For collectibles to appear on the map, you must first open the area. Once you get close to them, their symbol will be shown on the automap.
Keeping track of what is around you by consistently checking the map is a good practice to not ignore secret rooms and weird corridors. (In general, the harder to reach, the worthier the prize.) In the worst-case scenario, you’ll grab a Life Sigil and some gold, which are still considerably rare in the game.
Swap guns constantly
In Doom: The Dark Ages, constantly swapping guns is crucial for adapting to the diverse enemy types you’ll face. Each weapon excels against specific foes-use the Accelerator to quickly overload energy shields, the Pulverizer for crowd control, and the Super Shotgun for close-range damage against tougher enemies. Sticking to a single weapon can leave you vulnerable, so switching weapons on the fly allows you to exploit enemy weaknesses and maintain the upper hand in combat. This dynamic weapon management is key to surviving and thriving in the game’s intense battles.
The Doom games have always been about shooting demons and, although you have a cool shield now, this remains the main idea in Doom: The Dark Ages. However, regardless of how pumped you might get from the soundtrack, you can’t run toward every encounter and hope to survive by relying on a single gun.
Dark Ages has a large arsenal of different weapons, and each one is meant to respond to a specific kind of enemy. Accelerator is the one you want to switch to when enemies with shields appear, while Pulverizer should be your go-to option when a wave of enemies approaches. If you don’t change to a better weapon for each enemy and situation, death is the most likely result.
Your fists are as powerful as your guns
In Doom: The Dark Ages, your fists are just as lethal as your guns, making melee combat a vital part of your arsenal. Mastering close-quarters combat with your shield and fists allows you to stagger enemies, open them up for brutal counterattacks, and conserve ammo for tougher foes. The shield charge move propels you into enemies, delivering powerful melee hits that can quickly dispatch weaker demons or set up devastating follow-ups with your firearms. Combining aggressive melee tactics with your ranged weapons ensures you can adapt to any combat situation and survive the relentless waves of hellish enemies.
This is a simple but powerful mindset to have while playing the game. While it is totally possible to simply shred enemies shooting thousands of bullets at them, this is not the best way to kill them. If you hit enemies with melee attacks, they will drop ammo, giving you the chance to stay in the fight longer – and kill enemies faster!
At the same time, if you can daze enemies, you can execute them. You just need to hit them hard enough to almost kill them for a purple circle to appear in front of the enemy. Then, use the execute command to gain more health than a regular kill, which can bring you back from near death. So, considering how much you gain from fighting with your bare hands, stop wasting bullets and go punch some demons!
How can mastering the shield turn the tide against tough enemies in Doom
Mastering the shield in Doom: The Dark Ages is pivotal to turning the tide against tough enemies by combining defense, offense, and tactical disruption. Raising your shield blocks incoming attacks, but its true power lies in parrying: timing your block just before a green-colored Hell Surge attack reflects it back to the attacker, stunning them and opening them up for heavy damage. Throwing the shield adds another layer of strategy-it can instantly kill weaker foes, stun larger demons, and destroy enemy armor once heated by energy weapons, creating crucial openings in battle. Upgrading the shield enhances these effects, increasing stun duration, throw distance, and durability, while unlocking abilities like shockwave parries that can devastate groups of enemies. Using the shield aggressively to interrupt attacks, close distance with a shield charge, or strategically throw it to stun or clear foes can decisively shift combat in your favor.
How does upgrading the shield enhance its combat effectiveness in Doom
Upgrading the shield in Doom: The Dark Ages significantly enhances its combat effectiveness through multiple improvements in damage, utility, and recovery. Key upgrades include:
-
Retaliation: Parrying Hell Surge attacks triggers a larger, more powerful shockwave that causes nearby demons to Heavy Falter, increasing crowd control potential.
-
Power Surge: When your shield throw hits enemies with energy shields, it bounces to nearby foes, allowing you to hit multiple targets.
-
Extended Surge: Increases the reach of your shield throw against weaker enemies, improving your ability to stun and damage from a safer distance.
-
Steadfast: Speeds up shield recovery after taking damage or breaking, reducing downtime and keeping you ready for the next encounter.
-
Harvester: Killing multiple fodder demons with shield throws buffs your next shield charge, enabling it to deal increased damage to the primary target.
-
Blade Master: Extends the stun duration of the shield saw embedded in enemies, giving you more time to capitalize on their vulnerability.
These upgrades, combined with strategic use of shield runes that trigger special abilities after successful parries, transform the shield into a versatile tool for offense, defense, and crowd control, making it indispensable for mastering combat in the game.
