Best WADs after the IWADs?

[Ant1]

Before I start, I didn't see anything about this when I searched. There are WAD lists, but my search didn't come up with answers to this specific question. If there's a thread that answers this that I should go to and this should be deleted, I am legitimately sorry. I don't wanna be that annoying forum poster who doesn't know how to use a search function, but when I tried I didn't see anything matching what I specifically am looking for.

With that out of the way, what are the best WADs to get for someone who has beaten Ultimate Doom and Doom II and is looking for something a little harder? Not too much (because I suck really bad at Doom), but harder nonetheless? I have beaten both games multiple times on Ultraviolence and wanna step things up a bit.

Thanks!

[El Juancho]

There you go

 

https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/109654-⬆️-doomworld-community-top-wads-of-all-time-resurrected/

[continuum.mid]

Final Doom (TNT Evilution and The Plutonia Experiment). It's an official id Software release, and it's also a pretty good bridge between Doom 2 and the much harder community WADs.

 

Alternatively there's John Romero's SIGIL, which is a fifth episode for Ultimate Doom and designed to be a step up from Thy Flesh Consumed.

[Ant1]

13 minutes ago, JuanchoES said:

There you go

 

https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/109654-⬆️-doomworld-community-top-wads-of-all-time-resurrected/

This is an awesome link that I've looked at a lot, and I appreciate you reminded me of it, but I don't see any type of standard on difficulty - is there something I'm missing?

[Ant1]

Just now, northivanastan said:

Final Doom (TNT Evilution and The Plutonia Experiment). It's an official id Software release, and it's also a pretty good bridge between Doom 2 and the much harder community WADs.

 

Alternatively there's John Romero's SIGIL, which is a fifth episode for Ultimate Doom and designed to be a step up from Thy Flesh Consumed.

I have purchased Final Doom! Working on it as I type ;)

[El Juancho]

1 minute ago, Ant1 said:

This is an awesome link that I've looked at a lot, and I appreciate you reminded me of it, but I don't see any type of standard on difficulty - is there something I'm missing?

https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/107015-wad-progression-for-skill-improvement/

[Ant1]

Just now, JuanchoES said:

https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/107015-wad-progression-for-skill-improvement/

Sorry for being dumb, and thank you!! I didn't actually see this one. Sorry again for being dumb - can't wait to get playing!

[PeterMoro]

I recommend:

 

DoomTheWayIDDid (DTWIDD) and Doom2TheWayIDDid (D2TWIDD)

[roadworx]

don't be so hard on yourself )):

[El Juancho]

7 minutes ago, PeterMoro said:

I recommend:

 

DoomTheWayIDDid (DTWIDD) and Doom2TheWayIDDid (D2TWIDD)

God, those wads were so fuckin boring for me, i get that it is supposed to be like the OG doom ID levels but god... So boring and simple.

[Ant1]

I just beat one of the WADs on that progression link, super easy. Maybe that means I don't suck...?

I've heard a lot about DTWIDD/D2TWIDD, but I've always assumed they'd be above my skill level. Guess it's worth a try!

[LadyMistDragon]

Requiem, Japanese Community Project

 

Edited April 1, 2021 by LadyMistDragon

[continuum.mid]

11 minutes ago, Ant1 said:

I just beat one of the WADs on that progression link, super easy. Maybe that means I don't suck...?

I've heard a lot about DTWIDD/D2TWIDD, but I've always assumed they'd be above my skill level. Guess it's worth a try!

It's supposed to be a list that goes from easiest to hardest, so playing the first things on there will be no problem.

[Ant1]

9 minutes ago, northivanastan said:

It's supposed to be a list that goes from easiest to hardest, so playing the first things on there will be no problem.

True, true.

 

8 minutes ago, roadworx said:

did you miss the part where they said "a little harder"

LOL, I'm glad she edited it.

[continuum.mid]

8 minutes ago, Ant1 said:

LOL, I'm glad she edited it.

By the way I'm going to second Japanese Community Project. It was my first PWAD after Plutonia, but it's about on par with TNT Evilution's difficulty. For a project made by mostly unknown mappers, it fits together really well and it's still one of my favorites.

[roadworx]

i'm personally gonna go ahead and recommend a few wads cuz i used to be AWFUL at the game not that i got much better and i had to start out with easier stuff as well

 

- demonfear. it's 32 short, easy maps. great for beginners, it was the first megawad i ever completed

- moonblood. i have yet to play it, but from what i understand it's not too bad. in the wad difficulty progression list that was linked

- revolution! similar to demonfear in that it's 32 short, easy maps. i just played through it recently, it was actually pretty good despite being easy

- operation: biowar. only 18 maps, so it won't take too long to finish

- requiem. a tad harder than the above, but still fun to play

- memento mori 2. this is the hardest on i'm gonna mention, but it's still not too bad difficulty-wise. one of my personal favorites

Edited April 1, 2021 by roadworx

[Valboom]

Doom 2 Reloaded

Whispers of Satan

Jenesis

Good Morning Phobos 

Requiem 

New Doom Community Project 

[xX_Lol6_Xx]

Scythe

Alien Vendeta

Memento mori

FreeDoom both phase 1 and 2

Sigil

Plutonia 2

 

[roadworx]

6 minutes ago, Lol 6 said:

Scythe

Alien Vendeta

Plutonia 2

i think the doom community has forgotten what easy means

[xX_Lol6_Xx]

1 minute ago, roadworx said:

i think the doom community has forgotten what easy means

If they are played in easy they are easier

[roadworx]

7 minutes ago, Lol 6 said:

If they are played in easy they are easier

alien vendetta and plutonia 2, yeah (even if they're still pretty hard for a beginner), but later scythe maps are still hard af on easier difficulties

[head_cannon]

When thinking about recommendations for people who've finished Doom 1 & 2 and want to take the next step to see what's out there, there are three options which come to mind.

 

Final Doom - The classic choice, the old-school expansion pack. It might begin to tax a new player's patience for retrying fights (Plutonia) or solving labyrinths (Evilution), but it's a pretty smooth escalation from the Doom 2 baseline.

 

D2TWID - This mapset intentionally tries its best to stay at the level of the IWADs. It can't help but end up a little spicier, but it's still a comfortable experience and an easy recommendation to players who are new to the game. My personal favorite.

 

25 Years On Earth - Players of a certain age might get a warm, nostalgic feeling from all the cheesy midi covers of popular rock songs, but newcomers who weren't there in the 90s will still be able to enjoy their trip through these brisk, concise levels. It starts off gentle and gradually raises the bar - nothing too extreme, but it's got its fair share of frantic arena fights & tricky combat puzzles.

[pcorf]

2 hours ago, Valboom said:

Doom 2 Reloaded

Whispers of Satan

Jenesis

Good Morning Phobos 

Requiem 

New Doom Community Project 

 

Really? - Is that an April fools joke?

 

But anyway, thanks for the mention.

 

I think all the TWiD megawads including lost levels, plus 1990's megawads Icarus, Eternal Doom 3, Memento Mori series, Requiem if you want good vanilla megawads (PWAD, not IWAD) that focus on the classic design.

[P41R47]

1 hour ago, Ant1 said:

I've heard a lot about DTWIDD/D2TWIDD, but I've always assumed they'd be above my skill level. Guess it's worth a try!

they are a bit above the original games, but not that much. So you will be fine.

 

As for recommendations, here they are:

 

-Realm of Chaos awesome old style mapset.

 

-Memento Mori II, far better than the original.

 

-The Invasion, a great UD megawad with a great sense of adventure.

 

-Doom: Damnation, an UD megawad, a masterpiece of atmosphere with amazing music and awesome semi realistic maps.

 

-Doom Core Delta, Reverie, Eternally Yours... are a trilogy that plays just marvelously similar to the original maps.

 

-Doom Zero is an amazing megawad that was recently officialized as an add-on for the new Doomnity port.

 

-Mars War is one of the most underrated experiences ever. Amazing megawad with tons of personality and great maps the deeper you go into it.

 

-The Journey is a great mapset that gradually ramps up in difficulty, but nothing too hard. Last map may look like a slaughter map, but its a puzzle map, in fact, so the killing is just a side effect of solving it.

 

-Fragport this is an amazingly fugly mapset. It has a rawer look and the maps are pretty linear, but it offers an incredible challenge and real fun.

 

-Vile Flesh starts like a milder version of Eternal Doom with just stock assets, but it gets more challenging by the end, but nothing too drastic. One of the best megawad ever made for sure.

[Stupid Bunny]

2 hours ago, roadworx said:

i think the doom community has forgotten what easy means

 

Scythe is a pretty reasonable ride until the finishing stretch (and certainly until MAP30 I mean Jesus Christ)

 

I know because I suck at Doom and could still beat Scythe on UV without cheating, or excessive saves until the last map or so

[Michael Jensen]

Icarus: Alien Vanguard

[roadworx]

12 minutes ago, StupidBunny said:

 

Scythe is a pretty reasonable ride until the finishing stretch (and certainly until MAP30 I mean Jesus Christ)

 

I know because I suck at Doom and could still beat Scythe on UV without cheating, or excessive saves until the last map or so

yeah, most of it is fine, but the last episode - and especially map30 - would be like being beaten with a hockey stick for a new player. unless they're into that then i don't think it's a great wad to start with lol

Edited April 2, 2021 by roadworx

[baja blast rd.]

Right after the iwads, I would generally suggest playing a handful of mapsets (rather than full megawads) so that you can sample a bunch of different styles and authors. Here are some of my favorites, and they are not too much of a step-up from iwad difficulty. 

 

Lunatic by skillsaw

 

 

 

Violence by AD_79

 

 

Back to Basics by Espi

 

 

 

Suspended in Dusk by Espi

 

 

Also as a single map, I'll throw in Demonastery by Nootrac4571, which is medium-sized rather than a full epic. (I actually wish that was more common among ambitious standalone maps.) 

 

 

If you add a few other mapsets to that bundle, you'll still have only a megawad or two of content in total, which makes it a quick way of broadening your horizons. 

[Ant1]

Thank you all for your help! I was getting bored of the IWADs. The only difficulties I had were the later maps of Doom II just because I'm bad at remembering the layouts (looking at you, Factory and Downtown). The maps posted here that I've tried have been great to play, so thanks!

[dei_eldren]

Personally, for that difficulty level i'd recommend:

- Endless Torture

- Moonblood

- Realm of Chaos (not really harder than IWADs, i reckon)

- Lunar Outpost 359

- Zero Doom (not finished it yet, but seems very similar to Doom 2 in difficulty)

- Hell Revealed - first ten maps only

- Kama Sutra