How do you play MAP07 dead simple?

I just played it after a fairly long hyatus from Doom 2 and warped to the level. I found the rocket laancher to be the best weapon for taking out both species, supplemented with the SSG. I also find the blur spheres to be helpful against the mancubi but not the arachnatrons.
What's your strategy?

Is this going to be Doomworld's version of "There's no wrong way to eat a Reese's"?

Grab the berserk and punch all the ground level mancs in the gut. Deliver 3 SSG shots to all 4 raised mancs, then get in the corner and pistol snipe em all in the head. Grab that rocket launcher and run around all over the place to let the arachnatrons in, (staying in one spot will get the arachnatrons to stop and fire, obstructing the movement of the others) blow a hole through one group of arachnatrons and flank the rest from the outside.

40oz said:

Grab the berserk and punch all the ground level mancs in the gut. Deliver 3 SSG shots to all 4 raised mancs, then get in the corner and pistol snipe em all in the head. Grab that rocket launcher and run around all over the place to let the arachnatrons in, (staying in one spot will get the arachnatrons to stop and fire, obstructing the movement of the others) blow a hole through one group of arachnatrons and flank the rest from the outside.

that sounds dangerously over-complicated. :P

Btw, having the RL on level 9 sure is nice. So many imp-packs all clustered together on ledges.




EDIT ... and lost souls :(




EDIT: haha, I didn't want to face the chaingunners on ledges in the lost soul / soul sphere / rocket launcher secret and was able to hit the switch to open the door letting me out again without grabbing the soul sphere (I have more than 100 health).

KILL EVERYTHING

SeanWJF said:

KILL EVERYTHING

This. I don't think about a strategy, I just kill everything. It's much more satisfying that way.

Grab the berserk and punch all the ground level mancs in the gut.

Does not work in intended source port.

its not like map07 is hard at all, so theres no need to come up with complicated strategies to kill a few mancubi and arachnotrons just pump them full of rockets or failing that, use the SSG.

Not using the SSG for everything is for sissies.

indeed.

With the SSG and a lot of strafe, what else :)

iddqd, idkfa, BFG everything.

I play it with whatever controls happen to be mapped at the moment.

Kill the free roaming mancs than the ones on their pedestals. Mainly rockets.

Phml said:

Does not work in intended source port.

Heh.

Never stop moving or shooting. With the mancs I just circle around between the columns, they are barely fast enough to waddle into the outer loop before they're dead.

I really like when the arachnotrons are let out (in?) because it is usually pretty hectic. Despite its simplicity its one of the best set up fights in Doom2 IMO. I usually dart from entrance to entrance and just shoot wildly without trying to kill one and move on to the next. Keeps 'em flounderin' aroun'

Phml said:

Does not work in intended source port.

Well, it's hard as hell in "intended source port", but not impossible. Another source-port issue is that the main danger in the manc area is from their fireballs hitting you even when you're behind cover. Any port that "fixes" that "bug" will make it much easier.

Anyway, if you want a strategy for doing map07 safely, and you've no confidence in your movement skills and don't care about how long it takes:

Pick up all invisibilities before doing anything else. The idea is to waste them, so that they'll have worn off, and you won't need to tiptoe around them.

Then start taking out the walking mancs with the SSG. If you take damage, pick up the berserk.

Once the walking mancs are dead, start to kill the ones on platforms. Before killing the last one, lower the platforms, and collect all the goodies before the trons are released.

You'll then be non-invisible and fully armed and armoured to kill the trons.

This is a pretty much idiot-proof method, even for non-strafers.

Phml said:

Does not work in intended source port.

This. DOOM2.WAD and ZDoom magic extendo-fist required to run.

And I usually blast the Mancubi with the SSG, then use the rocket launcher to bust my way out into the outer ring when the Arachnotrons show up, and spend the rest of the level out there, running around and usually SSG-shooting the spiders that congregate in the central area.

bind k "kill monsters"

I just run forward, jump up onto the ledge and hit the switch. It really is that dead simple.

Patch File for DeHackEd v3.0

# Note: Use the pound sign ('#') to start comment lines.

Doom version = 19
Patch format = 6


Pointer 6 (Frame 10)
Codep Frame = 783

I forgot to post my strategy: I always make sure I don't kill the last Arachnotron before the second-to-last is finished its dying frames.

chopkinsca said:

I just run forward, jump up onto the ledge and hit the switch. It really is that dead simple.

u r doin it wrong

Dragonsbrethren said:

I forgot to post my strategy: I always make sure I don't kill the last Arachnotron before the second-to-last is finished its dying frames.

por que?

Hellbent said:

por que?

It's a bug that causes the floor to raise twice instead of once.

Edit: from the doom wiki:
"A possible bug or warning that occurs is that if the last 2 arachnotrons die at the same time, it may cause the stair step surrounding the exit in the center to rise twice, making the exit in the center become seemingly inaccessible, but if this happens, you can still access the exit by running across from the lowered northwest or northeast platforms. "

Actually, it's a trick that speedrunners deliberately exploit, as it also means the exit step rises faster. (Discussed here.)

It's no big deal if it raises twice before you have walked onto it, as you can still reach the exit by doing a strafejump from one of the lowered manc platforms. This actually happened in one of Henning's nm runs.

Phml said:

Does not work in intended source port.

Since when? I prBoom that shit. ya wanna see a demo? I can punch anything except Spider Masterminds, I haven't quite mastered that one yet.

Step 1: Pick up super shotgun and backpacks
Step 2: Hit switches
Step 3: Kill enemies
Step 4: Leave

Since when? I prBoom that shit. ya wanna see a demo?

I would indeed like to see a demo of you applying the above strategy you listed, ideally the whole thing, but I would settle for "grab the berserk and punch all the ground level mancs in the gut" and do whatever to kill the remaining monsters, as well as a completion of the map each time ; do this, say, ten times in a row within the same demo file (basically kill yourself rather than exit once every monster is dead), as to show you can do this reliably and not just spam attempts until you eventually manage it once.

If you die at all, I stand by my joke-slash-point : "does not work in intended source port". Yes, you can punch mancubuses, arachnotrons and such without the blockmap fix, I'm well aware of that. The point is that it's hard to do so, and if you can't pull off the strategy you listed reliably, then for all intents and purposes, as a strategy it doesn't work.

ahaha I have to do it ten times in a row in a demo without dying for you to retract what you said? Are you scared of being proven wrong or what? I mean I'd like to see anyone who posted their strategy to do it ten times in a row flawlessly too. I've played and replayed the IWADs many times and the thread title reads "How do you play MAP07" and that is precisely how I like to do it whether it's overly complicated or not. Just ask Essel about how I like to make my textures.