E1M9 (Heretic secret level) on skill5 from scratch

Hi

1. Select "Black Plague Possesses Thee" skill level - the highest.
2. Use a cheat to warp to E1M9. You should only get starting equipment.
3. No prisoners, no survivors.

Quite hard actually. I won't spoil things for you, there are unexpected complications. And 'invisible' undead warriors are perhaps the most brutal monsters in the game.

Does anyone else know levels which are similarly hard when played from scratch ? It could also be from DooM, DooM II, Hexen. Hexen is the least suited for this(some hubs are impossible to finish if you start in the wrong level), and it's a bit easy to predict the hardest combination. Almost invariably Cleric because he starts with a pathetic weapon.

E1M9 from Ultimate Doom on nightmare is way harder than the rest of the episode, due to the lack of cover and sheer numbers. Add a few obstructive spectres and it's a recipe for pain.

I always found MAP22 from Doom 2 to be really brutal on UV, it's usually the map I have the most trouble with.

I'm betting that E4M1 of DOOM on nightmare is REALLY tough. I don't have the guts to try it. Of course, Heretic's "skill 5" is easier than DOOM's "skill 5" simply because monsters don't respawn.

Vordakk said:

I'm betting that E4M1 of DOOM on nightmare is REALLY tough. I don't have the guts to try it. Of course, Heretic's "skill 5" is easier than DOOM's "skill 5" simply because monsters don't respawn.

There are secrets, and engine bugs which make the map a lot easier if used.

Marcaek said:

I always found MAP22 from Doom 2 to be really brutal on UV, it's usually the map I have the most trouble with.

You and me both.

This map is the reason I have never completed Doom2 on UV without any deaths. It seems to be a bit of a curse for me.

On topic, I have finished Heretic on Skill 5, but I have never really tried most of the maps from a 'pistol' start.

Vordakk said:

I'm betting that E4M1 of DOOM on nightmare is REALLY tough. I don't have the guts to try it. Of course, Heretic's "skill 5" is easier than DOOM's "skill 5" simply because monsters don't respawn.

Beating it is easy, making an exit with a comfortable health situation for the start of M2 is harder.

DooM2's map 09, 17 and 29 are quite challenging from scratch

b0rsuk said:

Hi

1. Select "Black Plague Possesses Thee" skill level - the highest.
2. Use a cheat to warp to E1M9. You should only get starting equipment.
3. No prisoners, no survivors.

Quite hard actually. I won't spoil things for you, there are unexpected complications. And 'invisible' undead warriors are perhaps the most brutal monsters in the game.

Try E4M9 and E5M4 ;)

The Ultimate DooMer said:

Try E4M9 and E5M4 ;)

I've just completed E5M4. Not particularly difficult. The swarm of nitrogolems at the start is inconvenient, of course, but you only need to push your way past them. The path is linear and soon you arrive at the comfy room with gargoyles and the crossbow. Then I backtrack to collect backpack and ammo, and kill undead warriors via secret. For killing nitrogolems the door is very useful. Aim a little down, open door and close after each shot.

E4M9 is another matter. It's not even that there are swarms and almost no weapons. The map itself is confusing as hell, no landmarks, everything looks the same basically. Secret doors required to progress. I had to use "killall" cheat on lower difficulty and still had problems finding the first door. Then I checked a speedrun on youtube.

The main difficulty seems to be orienting in the mausoleum while under fire. You have to memorize where the teleporter chamber is or you're dead within seconds.

that combo E4M1-M2 is horrible, always have had problems with those two.

Still talking about Heretic:

E4M6 is a lot harder. I mean try it on "skill5" with no weapons, using the warp cheat. In fact, it's almost impossible, especially if you don't use save/load.

I have the impression that E4M9 really looks like a mausoleum, at least by what I've seen on TV. Correct?

printz said:

I have the impression that E4M9 really looks like a mausoleum, at least by what I've seen on TV. Correct?

It does, at first. Then you realize there are no graves, no coffins, etc. Just a maze of tricky corridors.

Heretic levels in general seem closer to their names than DooM levels, and still play very well. River of Fire looks like a river of fire. So does Glacier, Cemetery, Docks...
They also have a few quirks:
- you find yellow key, then green key, then blue key. Always in this order. This makes navigation easier, you know where to go.
- there are very few traps where monsters teleport in. There are also no fast doors, so monster closets are a bit more forgiving.

b0rsuk said:

Does anyone else know levels which are similarly hard when played from scratch ?

Any of Heretic's E4/E5 levels.

And oddly enough, M1 is the hardest map to start from scratch for both those episodes.

Lüt said:
And oddly enough, M1 is the hardest map to start from scratch for both those episodes. [/B]

In E4M6:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzUVNlVExNI
Look where the crossbow is. Near the yellow door, in the room with Iron Lich and there are multiple saberclaws barring the way :-)

No, you don't have enough crystals to kill gargoyles before entering the room.

No, you don't have enough crystals to kill all the saberclaws, let alone the iron lich.