Doom The Dark Ages features exhilarating combat, especially with the additions of the new weapons and the incredible parrying mechanic. Still, certain combat scenarios can be pretty hectic, and you might often find yourself dying. This mainly happens because you are not fully utilizing the abilities of the Doom Slayer in the game. If you want to get better, get your shotgun out and read on as we tell you the best Doom The Dark Ages combat tips and tricks to get better.
1. Parrying is Crucial
With the addition of parrying in the Doom The Dark Ages, the combat is much more exhilarating. Attacks that are marked in green can be parried, and you should always look forward to abusing them in the game to deal the maximum damage.
Parrying stuns all enemies around the player and also returns the projectile attacks to enemies. Once Shield Runes are unlocked, parrying enemies can further damage them. However, remember that you can only parry attacks marked as green in Doom The Dark Ages.
2. Block Them All
Although a lot of focus is going to be on the parrying mechanic, many have forgotten the fundamental ability of the shield saw, blocking. Attacks that cannot be parried can be blocked by holding down the right mouse button.
This will completely negate the damage you were about to receive from the attack, making blocking very underrated in the game. However, blocking has a threshold, so remember not to continue blocking attacks once you are near hitting the threshold. Otherwise, your shield block will stop working for some time.
3. Melee Enemies to Get Ammo
Ammo is a crucial element in the game, and you will often find your guns running out of it if you don’t melee enemies. Like other Doom games, there is no reload button in The Dark Ages, meaning you will pick up ammo for your gun and continue shooting constantly, or run out of ammo and swap to other guns.
Hitting enemies with melee attacks will make them drop ammo for your current weapon, so always make sure to throw in a melee attack between shooting.
4. Use Your Shield Saw
The Shield Saw is one of the best weapons in Doom The Dark Ages, and players can still forget using it during combat. The Shield Saw can be used to parry and block and perform attacks like Shield Charge and Shield Throw.
These attacks deal a ton of damage to enemies and can help you win out of situations you previously lost. The Shield Throw attacks are also a must for quickly breaking shielded enemies. The Shield Throw can also be used to stun strong demons for a little while, perfect for stopping their assaults on you or holding them in place when they try to run away.
5. Save up on Rubies and Wraithstones
Upgrading your weapons in Doom: The Dark Ages is important, but making the correct upgrades is also crucial. As both Rubies and Wraithstones are limited resources, using them to upgrade weapons that are ineffective against most enemies or don’t fit your playstyle can be a massive issue. Check out the best weapons in Doom The Dark Ages first from our list and identify the weapons that best suit your playstyle. Now, upgrade these weapons first and foremost.
6. Slaughtering Enemies is the Best Way to Heal
When you are under enemy attacks, it is normal to start panicking and looking for healing items nearby. Sadly, panicking will cause mistakes in games like Doom: The Dark Ages, where enemies constantly throw themselves at you. Sometimes, the best way to heal is by simply slaughtering the enemy before you.
Enemies often drop armor or health items when defeated, and this is more true for elite demons in the game. Other than that, certain weapons in the game can make enemies drop health and armor fragments after getting hit by the attacks, so make sure to use these weapons actively in combat when you are low in health.
7. Look for Strong Healing and Armor Items
Although slaughtering enemies is a good way to get heals during combat, the best way to keep yourself alive is to identify the strong healing items in the area first and fight around them. Some of the healing items on the map often respawn every minute or so, which can be a great way to heal yourself when taking many hits constantly. If you see any complete heals around you, make sure to fight near them so that you can jump and pick them up when you are near death.
8. Pick up Life Sigils to Avoid Death
Life Sigils are one of the most important items in the game as they prevent you from dying. You will find Life Sigils in every chapter in the same location, and it is also a limited resource. Although you can only carry three Life Sigils at a time, the game doesn’t stop you from going to old chapters and picking up Life Sigils you failed to pick up before.
So, when you start running out of Life Sigils, quickly check the previous chapters you have completed and check the ones that still have active ones on the map.
9. Execute Whenever Possible
Glory Kills have been renamed in Doom The Dark Ages in Executions, but it has remained the same at its essence. Strong enemies can become dazed after taking a ton of damage, which will radiate a purple haze around the enemy, confirming that the enemy can be executed during this time.
While you can also shoot them down, that would be a big loss. Executing enemies actually makes them drop more items, like health shards and ammo, than killing them the normal way. So, execute enemies when given the choice to last longer in combat.
10. Break Armor
Most enemies in the later chapters will start appearing with armor. This can make the enemies very tanky, especially when multiple of them exist. Although shooting at armor will eventually break it, it will take a much longer time and waste bullets.
When facing an armored enemy, shoot at them until their armor starts glowing, and then use the Shield Throw to obliterate it entirely. Furthermore, certain weapons specialize in breaking enemy armor, like the Flail and the Shotgun, so don’t forget to use them too.
So, these are 10 best Doom The Dark Ages combat tips and tricks you should know. Did we miss out on a tip? Tell us in the comments below!
