Dodging Cyberdemons at point blank range

How did I do this?

I dodged him as soon as he shot. It would make sense if I tried to dodge him before he shot, however if you slow down the video I dodged his shot as soon as he fired.. whats going on?

I feel like submitting this topic would be a stupid decision , so please go easy on me

Looks like you moved so that he would be more in the center of your sight.

That looked pretty normal to me, good timing is all. Vanilla Cyberdemons don't lead shots, so if you have the perfect movement and perfect timing, you can dodge it perfectly as you just did. So pat yourself on the back, you rekt his ass.

pull the trigger of the bfg right when he fires his second rocket, and you'll catch him point blank after his third.

the rocket the cyberdemon shoots is emitted directly from the center of the cyberdemon, instead of where its gun should actually be, so it takes a little bit of time to actually leave the cyberdemon, which might give you a window to dodge it.

I still suck at this shit to this day. It almost seems with ZDoom ports, there's a bit of an "acceleration" effect when moving and I can never get out of the way of incoming rockets quick enough. It looks like in Boom, that same acceleration isn't there. But I don't know, I've never played with Boom. Been ZDoom since Skulltag first dropped. Before that - Doom 95.

14 hours ago, Pirx said:

pull the trigger of the bfg right when he fires his second rocket, and you'll catch him point blank after his third.

I hear people say this a lot, and I have experienced this not being optimal in many cases, so I'm against selling this as a rule of thumb, or as a small introductory piece on "how to 2-shot cybies".

The problem with 2 shotting cybies is that the release of tracers depends on when the "ball" hits. The moment when the ball hits depends on distance travelled, and that's where this advice falls apart.

2 shotting cybies is a valuable skill, and it can be comfortably practiced by creating a small training map, preferably with rooms of different sizes and shapes and maybe even some additional monsters to make it more of a "field experience".

Go watch some videos on YT, and you will notice that, in order to two-shot a cybie, there's either a specific distance involved, or a slightly altered timing for when the shot goes off.

5 minutes ago, Nine Inch Heels said:

2 shotting cybies is a valuable skill, and it can be comfortably practiced by creating a small training map, preferably with rooms of different sizes and shapes and maybe even some additional monsters to make it more of a "field experience".

I like practicing this on MAP31 of Plutonia actually.

22 minutes ago, stru said:

It almost seems with ZDoom ports, there's a bit of an "acceleration" effect when moving and I can never get out of the way of incoming rockets quick enough. It looks like in Boom, that same acceleration isn't there. But I don't know, I've never played with Boom.

I feel the same way in a sense. In my limited experience, PrBoom is smoother and the aiming is somehow a lot more precise and easier to manage. I find clearing rooms a lot easier in PrBoom compared to GZDoom. But... I like the overall smoothness and eye candy of GZDoom.

EDIT: Oops I didn't mean to double post.

Just adding a tidbit to what NIH said: It's true that the distance makes a difference, but I find that for a "comfortable" distance, you want to hit the trigger just a "fraction of a second" before the second rocket. Now, too much distance will mean that you have to rush forward too far at the end of his volley, and too little distance makes dodging a bit harder. Just get as close as you are comfortable. Also, shooting too early will mean you won't have time to rush in between dodging his last rocket and the hitscan blast, and shooting too late will give him time to walk away or start another volley before the hitscan blast.

Moral of the story: There's no substitute for practice!