How would you shake up the combat chess?

[Duke of Pathoris]

Grew up playing Heretic then HeXen then later Doom in the early 2000s so the whole "combat chess" of Classic Doom is imprinted in my mind as second nature. It wasn't until playing Doom Eternal that I really started thinking about how the combat chess could be shaken up when I ever get around to committing to mod making (as if). I myself have a few ideas for how it could be shaken up but I would like to hear what you have to think.

 

Some of my ideas are:

• Shielded enemies. It would be nice if the Hell Knight functioned like a knight and had a sword and shield. The sword could be melee or a ranged sword, the shield should deflect projectiles like the Centaur in HeXen.
• More melee enemies that rush you. The pinky is nice but he is rather weak. It would be nice if the Hell Knight decked out in armour would charge the player from time to time.
• Teleporting enemies to keep you on your toes.
• A strong melee weapon like a sword that makes close range combat more rewarding. 
• A final boss with buddha mode that can be damaged with any weapon but only killed with the sword (which tbh would be like the crucible blade from Eternal).

 

Can anyone think of anything else? Or are there some of my ideas you disagree with? Obviously all the maps were tightly crafted along the original combat chess so imagine new maps that accommodate these changes.

[Simomarchi]

Just some random thoughts on your ideas:

 

At least to me the concept of doom is a really fast placed gameplay, so it's probably better to avoid shielded enemies that can slow your game experience. Think about the baron of hell. It is a fantastic boss in E1, but other than that it is pointless to use it, specially after the release of DOOM2 with its hell knight that it's a far better enemy. The main problem of the baron is his incredibly high health compared to its threat level (he is basically a mid tier monster with too much health). It is just boring to fight him.

There's a monster on realm 667 called "cyberbaron" that gives to the baron the ability to shoot a powerful cyberdemon rocket. I think that that monster can change at least a bit the way that you use to approach a fight. It is not as powerful as a cyberdemon, nor as threatening but you should keep an eye on him because a rocket deals incredible damage if hits.

So, first of all, I would replace the baron with a slightly modified version of the cyberbaron.

 

Regarding the melee aspects of the game Eviternity gives a good twist to the thing by introducing the nightmare demon (and has also a cyberbaron-like enemy) that is basically a faster demon with double health. It's fun to see how a melee monster that survives a SSG blast can change your game experience entirely.

 

A monster with the ability to teleport can be interesting, but has to be used really carefully to avoid any problems. Just imagine if you put him in the middle of other enemies. You can say goodbye to his teleport ability because there is no space for him to use it, and the same applies for small hallways or cramped space in general.

 

The stronger melee attack point is fulfilled perfectly by the berserk pack, maybe the only thing to change is a better balancing of its damage output, since as of today you can both one-shot demons or 5-shot them.

 

The final boss is probably the point where the entire doom community agrees with you. Basically anything is better than that wall.

 

So yeah, in the end I would just like to see a modified version of the baron, another type of demon and a reliable berserkpack-style item.  Other than that I find basically any other modification of the gameplay forced (the afrit, for example, is overpowered and I hate the fact that a single rocket pushes him/her miles away).

[Duke of Pathoris]

1 hour ago, Simomarchi said:

At least to me the concept of doom is a really fast placed gameplay, so it's probably better to avoid shielded enemies that can slow your game experience. Think about the baron of hell. It is a fantastic boss in E1, but other than that it is pointless to use it, specially after the release of DOOM2 with its hell knight that it's a far better enemy. The main problem of the baron is his incredibly high health compared to its threat level (he is basically a mid tier monster with too much health). It is just boring to fight him.

I like the shielded Centaurs in HeXen. I think a shield and sword Baron would be fun, especially with the possibility of causing infighting if a deflected projectile hits another monster.