How to beat Doom Eternal on Nightmare, without really trying.

[Frag Maniac]

This is going to be a video/discussion thread on how to beat Doom Eternal on Nightmare without a lot of acrobatics and super fast multiple quick switching of weapons. I'm sure a lot of you may have seen such feats by expert players, but I am here to show and tell you that it can be done without them. I happen to be 62, and lack the reflexes and dexterity to do such things. At most you'll see me use a tap of the weapon wheel button to swap back and forth between the last 2 equipped weapons for enemies like the Marauder, but I can't do it nearly as fast as some.

 

This game is as much about what weapons to use, timing use of the equipment launcher, and knowing when to duck and run to find or make health, armor, and ammo via caches, glory kills, belch, and chainsaw. Knowing how to use the terrain, monkey bars,  jump pads, and portals is key as well. I'll be posting the vids in sets of 4 videos, each covering a whole mission. The last post will be just the final 13th mission, which may even be posted as 2 or 3 videos since the final boss fight can take a while for us average players whom lack the aforementioned elite skills.

 

1. Hell on Earth was a bit frustrating as I couldn't come anywhere near my hopeful (but a bit unrealistic I found) goal of making the milestone for doing it in under 11 min.

 

2. Exultia is a level I love just for the awesome look of it and great ambient music that accompanies it, though it's Slayer Gate is to be taken seriously.

 

3. Cultist Base is one of the longest and hardest missions on Nightmare because it covers a lot of ground and comes before you have very many suit or weapon upgrades, or heavy weapons. It also has an extremely tough Slayer Gate.

 

4. Doom Hunter Base I used to feel was fairly hard just due to the boss fight at the end where you have to tackle not just 1, but 3 Doom Hunters, the last two being active simultaneously in the same battle. That said, it's become one of my favorite missions. It has some nice steampunk elements to it, offers many places to do some great aerial platforming shortcuts that I found are not in fact too hard, has no Secret Encounter or Slayer Gate battles to worry about, and  if you have the plasma rifle fully upgraded, or better yet mastered, it can take Doom Hunters off their sleds pretty fast.

 

If anyone has any comments, wants to share notes on tactics, or questions, especially on things like platforming shortcuts, as I feel many mistakenly think the aerial platforming is too hard, feel free to participate. You may be surprised how just a little bit of timing makes a world of difference.

 

Play these on the 1440p setting (not Auto), for best results.

 

 

 

 

 

OK, the new set of vids.

 

1. Super Gore Nest as usual felt disorienting getting my bearings. You can also add probably 30 sec to the time because I forgot to grab the 1st Praetor suit point after getting the 2nd style of GK on the Pinky, which caused me to go grab it from the next checkpoint/capture seam I stopped at, but I forgot to capture it. Us old farts invented Alzheimer's I think. I DID however get in some quick kills on the Arachnos and Mancs in the first battle in the big center area, and a nice little yeethook on the Rev where the rotating fire traps are.

 

2. ARC Complex seemed to take forever in the first half, but I managed the 2nd half pretty quickly, and dropped the smarty pants Bruto Mars boss in under 30 sec again. Annoyingly I had to fast travel back to get the very first collectible though, but thankfully with a bottom of the elevator spawn point, it was pretty quick. Apologies for the brief 1 sec or so graphical glitch at the 8:13 point. It was in the original raw capture clip though, so I couldn't do anything about it, and I seriously don't know what caused it.

 

3. Mars Core I fell in love with for the first time. I have to give partial credit for that to the amazing DraQu in his latest speedrun video for his method to kill Mr Mars in the Slayer Gate, his incredible Ballista boost jump after exiting the gate area, and his yeethook to get immediately to the platform the Praetor suit point is on in the room with the big cylinders moving up and down. Because of that I got my quickest Mars kill ever in about 11 sec, and even though I didn't manage a Ballista boost, I got there pretty quickly by other means, which is nearly as fast, and anyone can do easily. I also didn't manage that direct yeethook, but found a good alternative that is very easy. Lastly, I have to also give credit to Under The Mayo for his meathook shortcuts video, particularly how to bypass the first room full of tentacles. The Gargoyle that spawns there has very unpredictable spawn placement, but as long as he's anywhere in the half of the room nearest the jump pad, it's doable. I managed the Mars Core Slayer Gate and final battles both in under 1:30 each, and finished with my fastest overall time by far.

 

4. Sentinel Prime went kinda sloppy the first capture, losing a whopping 4 extra lifes, but I was going to upload it anyway. Then I decided screw it, I had the checkpoint save still from the start of the battle, so I went at it again, this time using only 1 of the 2 extra lifes I picked up in the level, and cutting over 30 sec off my kill time. I'm also pretty sure the one life I lost was due to a silly short range rocket shot I did on a fodder, so I chock it up to dumb old farts can't think on their feet sometimes syndrome. LOL

 

So I'm very happy overall with the result of this vid set, and have 4 extra lifes going into Taras Nabad. I also saved 1 BFG shot that I didn't use on Mars Core's final battle.

 

Enjoy, any and all comments or questions welcome. I mean, what else ya gonna do in a damn pandemic quarantine, except talk about excellent games like Doom Eternal? Excluding those of course whom have their handles full running this place, but I hope you find time to watch.  

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 13, 2020 by Frag Maniac

[Frag Maniac]

Mistake, sorry

 

 

[thewormofautumn]

62, MAD PROPS 

[Frag Maniac]

3 minutes ago, thewormofautumn said:

62, MAD PROPS 

Thanks bro.

[StevenC21]

This is amazing! Seriously, good job. And at 62? That just makes it all the more impressive. 

[Frag Maniac]

On 6/13/2020 at 8:40 PM, StevenC21 said:

This is amazing! Seriously, good job. And at 62? That just makes it all the more impressive. 

 

Much thanks friend, I often struggle at first on this Nightmare run with each new challenge, like the Marauder on the bridge at the start of the Taras Nabad mission that I'm now on. He is much harder there with conventional methods because there's no good choke points to keep him from dodging/flanking.  There is a trick to take him out in about 5 sec though. He is a sucker for a freeze bomb tossed over his head and turns his back to look at it when it goes past him, leaving him open to RL barrages. Basically he walks and talks intimidatingly, but is a bit thick in the skull.

Edited July 8, 2020 by Frag Maniac

[Foebane72]

How come you're so good at 62? Are you a silver surfer and silver gamer? OK, so you've cracked the formula for beating the game, but I honestly can't be bothered, as I haven't really liked the game at all. It has its moments, but I really don't feel like playing it again.

 

Come to think of it, you remind me of those hardcore gamers who play, say, a sideways-scrolling shooter so much that you've learned all of the enemy motions by heart.

 

[Frag Maniac]

51 minutes ago, Foebane72 said:

How come you're so good at 62? Are you a silver surfer and silver gamer? OK, so you've cracked the formula for beating the game, but I honestly can't be bothered, as I haven't really liked the game at all. It has its moments, but I really don't feel like playing it again.

 

Come to think of it, you remind me of those hardcore gamers who play, say, a sideways-scrolling shooter so much that you've learned all of the enemy motions by heart.

 

 

LOL, don't know if serious. I got a late start at gaming, stepping into PC gaming only and starting with games like Deus Ex, RTCW, etc. I've never actually played or taken an interest in 2D side scrollers, or top down view games.

 

Also, being "good" at this game is a very relative term, as there's quite a wide spread of skill level from expert to complete noob. I started out below average and struggled even on Hurt Me Plenty difficulty mode. At best on Nightmare I only consider myself average among those whom have learned the nuances of the game.

 

If you have no patience or desire to play it though, I really don't get why you're spending time here, other than maybe a bit of disgruntled trolling, which is not constructive at all.

[Foebane72]

17 minutes ago, Frag Maniac said:

If you have no patience or desire to play it though, I really don't get why you're spending time here, other than maybe a bit of disgruntled trolling, which is not constructive at all.

 

That's really quite rude. I come to Doomworld for every other Doom game, that's why. It's just that Doom Eternal is one of 'em.

 

[Frag Maniac]

21 minutes ago, Foebane72 said:

 

That's really quite rude. I come to Doomworld for every other Doom game, that's why. It's just that Doom Eternal is one of 'em.

 

 

Sorry if I misread your meaning. It sounded like you were saying I made the guide under false pretenses. It's just that I've heard that elsewhere, including from mods on a couple forums that actually deleted the thread claiming I was only interested in YT channel spamming, which was not at all my intention. I'm only trying to show that the game is beatable on Nightmare without requiring elite skills, because it seems to be a common misconception. I'm no expert at playing it, and the whole purpose of the guide is to show you don't need to be to beat it on Nightmare.

 

Also, apologies for asking why you're here. I meant just the Eternal forum, but whether you like the game or not, it's your prerogative to say what you feel about it, especially if you spent enough time playing it to beat it.

[Foebane72]

I don't doubt your skills, Frag Maniac, since I've seen others who beat the game as well as you do, like someone called Decino on YouTube who's a Doom veteran. I have seen a couple of your videos above and lots of his, but I could never hope to be as good, I just can't be bothered practicing. There was a time recently that a Marauder was causing me a lot of grief (actually, a few of them) and I was crying and moaning about it here with frustration. I'm just no good at this game, at 47.

 

Quote

 

Also, apologies for asking why you're here. I meant just the Eternal forum, but whether you like the game or not, it's your prerogative to say what you feel about it, especially if you spent enough time playing it to beat it.

 

 

Thanks. However, I played the game, fairly and properly, on the easiest difficulty, up until around Nekravol, somewhere, when I got fed up and frustrated and cheated with Cheat Engine to finish the rest of the game with God Mode. I was just fed up with the game at that point.

 

[Frag Maniac]

58 minutes ago, Foebane72 said:

I don't doubt your skills, Frag Maniac, since I've seen others who beat the game as well as you do, like someone called Decino on YouTube who's a Doom veteran. I have seen a couple of your videos above and lots of his, but I could never hope to be as good...

 

Thanks. However, I played the game, fairly and properly, on the easiest difficulty, up until around Nekravol, somewhere, when I got fed up and frustrated and cheated with Cheat Engine to finish the rest of the game with God Mode. I was just fed up with the game at that point.

 

I am fairly familiar with Decino's videos and gameplay skill, and he is FAR better than I am. He can relatively easily get through on Nightmare without using ANY extra lifes. I'm also not sure he's even gotten to know the nuances of the game as much as I have, as I once commented on one of his videos asking why he wasn't using a certain grenade type after using the other, asking if he was aware they had separate cooldowns. He said he didn't even know that. So that means he can do it even without using all his arsenal, which is something that makes a big difference.

 

One thing that clearly separates him from me is his ability to easily do aerial acrobatics during combat, which helps him kill enemies and avoid as much damage as I take. The only level I recall beating him on time so far on Nightmare is Mars Core, but it looked like it was mostly due to him not remembering the level well and wondering where to go. It's also because I used some shortcuts I discovered.

 

Yeah the game can definitely get frustrating, at which point it tests your patience. One thing I feel has helped a bit is to conquer one mission at a time, then take a bit of time off to unwind from the stress. If you go at it non stop for too long, it can get to you.

Edited June 19, 2020 by Frag Maniac

[Frag Maniac]

Just a brief update. I'm still in the progress of making the guide and have finished Taras Nabad, and Nekravol parts 1 & 2. The Marauders have been giving me hell, but I'm managing to hold on to quite a few extra lifes I picked up along the way, having accumulated 8 so far. Took a break this Sun 6/21 to get some other stuff done, and I'll be busy 6/22 getting my truck repaired and taking care of some other stuff, but I should have the new set posted relatively soon.

Edited June 22, 2020 by Frag Maniac

[Frag Maniac]

OK, here's the next set of 4 vids.

 

1. Taras Nabad. I struggled against the Marauder right after pulling the Crucible out of the Titan, and lost 2 Extra Lifes because of it. Somehow I often fumble on the terrain in that battle when trying to evade him to setup another choke point attack. The rest of it went pretty well though, and I found an easy way to isolate a couple of Pain Elementals for their 3 Glory Kill types challenge.

 

2. Nekravol is probably the easiest of these 4 missions, and it offers some good meathook shortcuts and ways to recoup lost health/armor via traps. This time I aced the dual Doom Hunter battle at the end. The only clumsy moment was losing a ton of armor and health (after building it to near full preparing for the Marauder), on of all things the damn crusher door.

 

3. Nekravol 2 can be a pain, but I got through the battles OK, and even aced the rotating fire pillars platforming section first try unscathed. The battle at the end went well too. I lost one more Extra Life, again to a Marauder, but had accumulated 8 by the end of the level.

 

4. Urdak is beautiful, but some of it's battles can get out of control fast. I think I found my pace and strats though, and managed to work out ways to beat each one losing no Extra Lifes. I experimented a bit on the big aerial coffin platforming section (that comes just after the big fight following the Secret Encounter), which I managed to ace with one long jump from the launchpad/hoop last time. I found out it's a lot easier to replicate a jump to the final coffin instead, and it's still a pretty fast and easy shortcut. So for the purpose of this being a guide, I thought it more appropriate to show that than my two successful straight-to-door jumps. Finally, I finished with 10 Extra Lifes, and thanks to Decino, found that Mastered Micro Missiles is the fastest way I've used yet to beat Khan Maykr (under 2 min).

 

Enjoy, btw, I am on track for my goal of averaging less than 30 min a mission if I can beat Final Sin in under 44 min. I did it in just over 47 min last time on Ultra Violence though, so it's not going to be easy. It took me 11 min or so on phase 2 of the boss fight though, and I felt I could have done better.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 27, 2020 by Frag Maniac

[Frag Maniac]

OK, thought I'd update you on my progress. I finally had time to go full on into Final Sin the last couple days after dealing with some stuff I needed to take care of. It's going pretty well so far. I'm at the start of the Icon of Sin boss fight at about 22:40, so I should theoretically manage my less than 30 min per mission average goal, as anything under 44 min will accomplish that. I also have a whopping 13 extra lifes, not having lost any so far in this mission. I just gotta say it is a huge help to not waste BFG ammo on the Khan Maykr. Having an abundance of BFG ammo really makes a big difference in the bigger battles in Final Sin. I should have Final Sin posted soon, maybe within a few days.

[thewormofautumn]

good luck, brosefski!

[NoXion]

One thing I noticed while watching your videos is how infrequently you seemed to use the Glory Kills. Was it your intention to find a strategy that minimised usage of the Glory Kill system? 

I remember some people complaining about the frequency with which they were doing the Glory Kills, arguing that they break the flow of combat and so on. It doesn't bother me, but I can sort of understand why others might see it as some kind of crutch mechanic, since it gives you health, thinking time, and invincibility frames.

[Frag Maniac]

6 hours ago, NoXion said:

One thing I noticed while watching your videos is how infrequently you seemed to use the Glory Kills. Was it your intention to find a strategy that minimised usage of the Glory Kill system? 

I remember some people complaining about the frequency with which they were doing the Glory Kills, arguing that they break the flow of combat and so on. It doesn't bother me, but I can sort of understand why others might see it as some kind of crutch mechanic, since it gives you health, thinking time, and invincibility frames.

 

I generally do glory kills when I need health or to charge Blood Punch for a heavy. However you may be referring to just the first few vids. As I progressed through the game I think I used them a bit more. Keep in mind though as you upgrade yourself more, enemies will drop small amounts of health via killing them by any means. There's also Sentinel Crystals that make health loot charge Blood Punch. So GKs aren't needed as much at that point.

 

This concludes the guide with the final mission being completed in 32:24. This also meets my goal of less than 30 min per mission at just over 29 min per mission.

 

Final Sin

 

I lost track of the 2nd Marauder temporarily, but was able to defeat him before losing an extra life. I also managed to keep all my extra lifes and finish with 13. I have to say a big part of what made this mission very doable was not wasting any BFG ammo on the Khan Maykr, and carrying a fully loaded BFG over to this mission. It also helped immensely to use only 4 BFG shots on the 1st phase of the boss, to be able to use 4 in the 2nd phase as well. I jumped a bit too far off a jump pad when finishing off the boss, and fell over the edge, but lost 5 armor and 25 health because of it, so it certainly wasn't a freebie. I have to say I felt a bit clumsy toward the end of the 2nd phase of the boss fight. I managed to finish with 200 health and 30 armor after using the Supercharge to go up close to finish him though, and I'm pleased that I vastly improved my previous times on the boss, at just over 7 min of combat.

 

Thank you all for taking the time for viewing and commenting. This was at times very daunting, but time spent on tactics helped me find ways to manage, albeit a bit geriatrically at times. I hope any of you whom may go through the same worries find it to be useful encouragement. It's not just about reflexes and dexterity, but strats and tactics too.

 

 

Edited July 5, 2020 by Frag Maniac

[thewormofautumn]

(I haven’t watched that whole vid, just skipped to the first Icon of Sin fight) It’s so weird how you had so few enemies on that battle. On my nightmare run I had heavies swarming everywhere 

[Frag Maniac]

19 minutes ago, thewormofautumn said:

It’s so weird how you had so few enemies on that battle. On my nightmare run I had heavies swarming everywhere 

 

It's a combination of where you fire the BFG from (and how often), and how you relocate. They tend to spawn a lot in the open area of the bottom level, and the BFG projectile flying above them kills them, so it's best to fire it from one of the upper levels. I also have gotten familiar (via trial and error) with how long I can fire from a spot safely before needing to relocate.

 

In short, it's an optical illusion of sorts. It's not that they aren't spawning, it's that they die from the BFG, or haven't found me due to playing Houdini and escaping before they can find me. Trust me, I was overwhelmed by heavies numerous times until I got to the point of figuring out how to play it.