DOOM The Dark Ages tips and tricks to survive the war against the forces of Hell

Fancy yourself a slayer, do you? Whether you’re a series veteran, a greying fan of the original games, or brand new to DOOM’s unique brand of twitchy demon slaying, a lot has changed in the latest entry in the iconic series. Not to mention that DOOM plays rather uniquely when sized up to other FPS games.

To help steer you in the right direction and give you a fighting chance in the war against the forces of Hell, we’ve pulled together a few top DOOM The Dark Ages tips and tricks. We have advice covering basic combat mechanics, the brand new shield, resources management, and exploration in this unrelenting rampage through techno-medieval Hell.

Keep moving

If you take anything away from these DOOM The Dark Ages tips and tricks, let it be this. Though The Dark Ages swaps out the speedy, acrobatic combat of its predecessor for a more grounded, strategic experience, the best advice for a successful playthrough is to keep moving, constantly, without interruption, always. Never stop moving.

Movement is second only to your shield for defending against the lava-spewing hordes of hell. It’s a day-one learning for DOOM veterans but it’s something new players often fail to grasp early on. Stand still and the forces of Hell will overwhelm you with both numbers and a steady onslaught of health-sapping projectiles, guaranteeing death. DOOM is all about adaptability. Nothing makes you more adaptable than constant movement and repositioning to grab pickups, get a better firing angle, and, most importantly, avoid damage.

Learn and master the shield

One of the biggest changes in DOOM The Dark Ages is the introduction of a shield. It changes the make-up of the moment-to-moment loop, mainly by making our slayer less mobile, but mitigates this with a set of new moves – blocking, parrying, and even attacking with the shield. Alongside movement, mastering and using the shield to your advantage is key to survival. Here’s a quick primer:

• Blocking – allows you to block incoming frontal attacks to avoid damage, up to a point. Blocking too many attacks will disable the shield for a short time.
• Parrying – allows you to parry and ping back green Hell Surge attacks to dish out big damage and even falter or daze enemies.
• Shield Saw – flings the shield at an enemy and embeds it in stronger demons, momentarily stunning them. It can also cut through Superheated shield enemies and make them explode.
• Shield Charge – lock onto a target and charge at an enemy, dealing damage on impact.

Use and abuse melee combos

DOOM is all about balancing guns and melee weapons to maximize the weaknesses of the enemy type you’re facing at any given time. New players often overlook the utility of melee attacks but you’re doing yourself a disservice by doing that. One of the best ways to deal with larger enemies is to use melee combos. In most cases, pulling off a three-hit melee combo will falter them and even daze them (they’ll glow purple), allowing you to go in for a devastating execution finishing move or Glory Strikes. Note that melee attacks work as a consumable resource that recharges over time or by picking up Melee Ammo out in the world and parrying green attacks.

Spawn the pick-ups you need

Fixed map ammo, health, and armor drops and pick-ups are never enough unless you’re playing on the lowest difficulty settings. There’s just never quite enough to meet your needs. To mitigate this, you’ll want to quickly learn how specific actions and moves spawn different types of resources to top up when you need to, as follows:

• Melee attacks spawn ammo
• Executions and Glory Strikes drop health
• Shield Charge drops armor
• Shield Saw on Superheated shield enemies drops armor

Explore and hunt for secrets when the fight is over

Though moments of calm are few and far between in DOOM The Dark Ages, the game does give you the odd moment of reprieve after most big fights. Forget the flesh carving mayhem for a minute and use this quiet time to explore. Look in the nooks and crannies of every level for Gold, Demon Toys, Codex Lore pages, Rubies, and other secrets. The map is very good at marking not just where you haven’t explored yet but also the location of secrets. You’ll even get a green tick mark next to the ones you’ve found already. Many secrets are styled as mini environmental puzzles that push you to move forward to then backtrack through hidden passage ways, vents, and the like. If a secret isn’t immediately accessible, check the map for alternative paths.

Constantly swap weapons

DOOM The Dark Ages isn’t an FPS that rewards you for prioritizing a single weapon and upgrading it into the lead-pummeler of your dreams. With the first few chapters, you’ll amass an arsenal of weapons. They aren’t just for show or to give you options: they are there to be swapped and juggled constantly to make the most of their unique attributes and tactical benefits. Learn to use the right gun for the situation you’re facing. They are tactical options. Need to mow through a horde of zombies and soldiers? Use the Pulverizer for its wide attack arc. Want to snipe at a far-off enemy? Equip the Impaler.

Complete optional Mission Challenges for extra Gold

DOOM The Dark Ages features a meaty upgrade tree for your shield and all your weapons, but to unlock these you’re going to need a ton of Gold. While you can hoover up good quantities by exploring levels for secrets, another reliable way to get Gold is to complete the Mission Challenges for each chapter. You can access these by tapping Tab and going to Challenges. These range from killing a certain number of demons to dismantling canons or hitting 10 demons with a fully charged Chainshot. You can even pin them to your UI as a reminder. Most of them reward 50 Gold and sometimes a weapon skin.

You can unlock and upgrade everything in a single playthrough

Eyeing up the Gold and Ruby costs for all the upgrades, you might think multiple playthroughs are required to get everything. But, that’s not the case. With some thorough exploration of each of the 22 chapters, you can find enough resources to fully upgrade all weapons and your shield in a single playthrough. It does add to the total playtime. It’s well worth it though if you’re hoping to tick off all the trophies and achievements, not to mention the feeling of being a demon-slaying powerhouse by the time the credits roll.

Don’t hesitate to bump down the difficulty

If all the demon slaying is proving too challenging, lower the difficulty. DOOM The Dark Ages is designed to be tough to cater for FPS veterans with years of experience under their belt. There’s no shame in bumping down the challenge if it’s sapping your enjoyment of the game. Games are supposed to be fun. Once you’ve had a bit more time to master the DOOM loop, bump it up again and you’ll feel a lot better equipped to handle the forces of hell.

That’s it for our DOOM The Dark Ages tips and tricks. Now off you go. id Software has a cooked up a feast.