You can easily kill a few demons in Doom: The Dark Ages with your hands, but as the Doom Slayer, you need all the firepower you can have. That’s where your weapons come in.
Doom: The Dark Ages offers a considerable number of weapons to use, from the classic shotgun to a flail that gives this game its characteristic medieval flavor. You will find your favorites among them, but you should learn that each weapon responds to specific enemies’ weaknesses. Acquiring them and taking advantage of their strength is key to surviving in the fight against the demons.
In this in-progress Doom: The Dark Ages guide, we’ll show you all the weapons in the game we’ve found so far — even the ones your giant robot uses — and how to make the best of them.
Doom: The Dark Ages weapons list
In Doom: The Dark Ages, there are two types of weapons you can use when playing as the Doom Slayer. The main arsenal is composed of guns and your shield, but also have your melee weapons, which are great for recovering ammo and finishing off enemies. And some weapons you only have access to when piloting Atlan, the demon-killer mecha.
You can only acquire a weapon by progressing in the main campaign. Below, you find a list of all the weapons in Doom: The Dark Ages we’ve found so far. Note that this guide is organized by the order in which you unlock them, with the chapter you gain each weapon in parentheses.
- Combat Shotgun (Chapter 1)
- Power Gauntlet (Chapter 1)
- Shredder (Chapter 1)
- Shield Saw (Chapter 2)
- Accelerator (Chapter 2)
- Machine Gun, for Atlan (Chapter 3)
- Pulverizer (Chapter 4)
- Impaler (Chapter 4)
- Cycler (Chapter 5)
- Super Shotgun (Chapter 5)
- Flail (Chapter 6)
- Chainshot (Chapter 6)
With some exceptions, to get any of the guns in the game, you need to reach the chapter they are given and collect them from special pods that fall from the sky. Below, read on for details about how to get each weapon and how to best use it.
Combat Shotgun
You start the game with the Combat Shotgun as your only gun. By default, it can carry 20 bullets and is great in mid to close-range fights. Even in later chapters of the game, once you start upgrading it, the Combat Shotgun remains extremely useful.
Consider using the Combat Shotgun when you have to land massive damage on enemies due to having only short windows to attack them (as happens when you’re fighting shielded leaders, for example).
Power Gauntlet
As you advance to Chapter 1 “Village of Khalim,” you’ll acquire the Power Gauntlet, the first melee weapon in Doom: The Dark Ages. Once you have it, you can start punching enemies, who will drop ammo when hit for as long as you have melee stacks to spend.
Although you can — and should — use the Power Gauntlet as much as you can, it works best if you perform the three-combo attack. To do so, you will need to hold three stacks, but it’s worth it!
Shredder
The Shredder is a machine gun-like weapon — a fully automatic gun that shoots spikes. You get the Shredder in Chapter 1 “Village of Khalim” while you’re looking for the Demonic Portals to destroy them.
Its shots aren’t as potent as the Combat Shotgun’s when taken individually, but since you can shoot lots of them quickly, you can shred enemies pretty fast whether they are close or far from you. Consider popping the Shredder when you want to daze them.
Shield Saw
Even though your shield is basically a weapon from the first minute in Doom: The Dark Ages, it is only when you get the Shield Saw right at the beginning of Chapter 2 “Hebeth” that you unlock its full potential.
The Shield Saw works as a long-range single shot, great for wiping stacks of weak enemies and exploding the superheated metal shields held by certain enemies. If you throw it at larger demons, it stuns them for a while and gives you the window to use all the other powerful weapons in your arsenal. It has great offensive potential and should take advantage of it.
Accelerator
The Accelerator is the second gun you get in Chapter 2 “Hebeth.” You find its pod while looking for the source of the demonic corruption in the “Defend Hebeth” mission. This quite futuristic-looking weapon stands out in the Medieval-inspired setting of Doom: The Dark Ages, but it is a strong tool to make your way through the armies from hell.
You want to use the Accelerator especially when fighting armored enemies or those with shields, because plasma shots can superheat them faster than the other guns. It is the best tool to set up a shield throw to break the enemies’ defenses.
Atlan’s Machine Gun
The normal attack mode of Atlan is based on using the robot’s massive hands to punch the big bad demons attacking you. However, in Chapter 3 “Barrier Core,” it’s when you get your hands on a double-cannon machine gun for your robot.
When using this weapon, you want to perform Perfect Dodges so you supercharge your gun. The barrels will turn blazing red and it will cause more damage. Unfortunately, it can be only used during specific moments in the campaign.
Pulverizer
You get the Pulverizer, one of the coolest and grimest guns in Doom: The Dark Ages, in Chapter 4 “Sentinel Barracks.” Right at the beginning of the chapter, it will be waiting for you in its pod.
The Pulverizer is a quite unique gun, since it crushes the skulls of demons to use as ammo. Because it shoots shards of bones in a wide arc, Pulverizer is the best gun to face groups of enemies. Just wait for the wave of demons to appear and start grinding skulls.
Impaler
As you get further into Chapter 4 “Sentinel Barracks,” looking for the Dragons Den, you receive the Impaler. This is your one-hand sniper. Aim well and take the shot to quickly finish off your target. It has less ammo than the other weapons, but each shot deals a lot of damage.
Since the Impaler is considered a Rail Spike type of weapon, it shares a slot with the Shredder. But when you use this gun, you want to go for headshots. During fights, it’s difficult to find the right moment to aim, but you can create that moment by stunning enemies. Then, all you need is one shot.
Cycler
The Cycler is the second Plasma weapon you get in the game. Like the Impaler, it shares the same slot with another gun. In this case, you change between the Accelerator and the Cycler. You will find it during Chapter 5 “The Holy City of Aratum” in one of the ships you need to destroy in the initial segment of the level.
Like the Accelerator, the Cycler is great to use against shielded enemies and is perfect to explore the Energy Shields held by some enemies. This gun has a strong upgrade that applies Shock to enemies, a negative effect which makes enemies take more damage.
Super Shotgun
After you have faced the first Enforcer, you can get the Super Shotgun in Chapter 5 “The Holy City of Aratum.” The Super Shotgun is a short double barrel shotgun in the best The Terminator style capable of wiping whatever is in front of it.
You want to swap from the Combat Shotgun to the Super Shotgun when you’re extremely close to enemies and want to maximize damage. Don’t even try to shoot enemies who are even a little bit far from you, because it will lose potency. The reload is excruciatingly slow so you want to be sure you’re going to hit the enemies.
Flail
A flail might be the least expected weapon in Doom: The Dark Ages. However, behind its simple concept of being a heavy ball to hit enemies, the Flail is an extremely powerful melee weapon. For you to get the Flail, you need to play the beginning of Chapter 6 “Siege – Part 1.” Its pod will be waiting for you in front of a massive gate separating you from an army of demons.
Different from the Power Gauntlet, the Flail is a one-hit weapon. It recharges melee stacks slower than the other weapon, so you want to be mindful and take the most out of each swing. Flail is the go-to option when facing enemies with metal shields and against a group of enemies since it generates a small blast where it hits.
Chainshot
Unlike the other weapons you have so far, the Chainshot is not in a pod or just waiting for you to be picked from a table. You need to complete a small puzzle in Chapter 6 “Siege – Part 1” as you go through the main mission of destroying the Gore Portals.
In one of the portals you enter — it is part of the main mission so you can’t miss it — you end up in a room with a pillar surrounded by an energy shield. Solve the puzzle to deactivate it and grab the Chainshot. This gun shoots its spheric core, which you can charge up to cause more damage. It’s a slow type of gun but works amazingly when trying to keep a safe distance from enemies.
Check back soon for more weapons in Doom: The Dark Ages!
The post All weapons in Doom: The Dark Ages and how to get them appeared first on Polygon.
