Should I beat Thy Flesh consumed on Hurt me Plenty?

[Stopwatch]

Hi, I am new to this comunity so please be gentle with what are you going to say.

I know this post is silly...
 

I was into boomer shooters since 2020 but just now I started playing them seriously, with such I decided to start with Doom instead of Wolfenstein 3D since it did not caught my eye.

I had beat episode 1 through 3 on ultra-violence with no problem although it's the 4th episode that is making me rage quit. I was playing on Ultra-Violence all the way up to the secret level (E4M9) but since then I thought it was useless to keep going since I knew what was going on. I even used the IDDQD to get through E4M2.

 

So, considering that I am a begginer, should I lower the difficulty from Ultra-Violence to Hurt me Plenty? I want to know what do you think...

[dasho]

Honest question, what would you do if somebody answered "no"?

[Klear]

If it's frustrating for you, hell yeah! That's what difficulty levels are for. Now, there are some people who are too dumb to ever select a difficulty other than UB - I should know, I'm one of them - but when the game stop being fun, it's better to swallow your pride rather than forcing yourself into something you don't enjoy.

 

No.

 

Spoiler

Just kidding, I stand by what I originally wrote.

 

[Stopwatch]

Just now, dasho said:

Honest question, what would you do if somebody answered "no"?

I would humbly accept the challenge and get my ass kicked for as long as it has to.

[dasho]

Just now, Stopwatch said:

I would humbly accept the challenge get my ass kicked for as long as it has to.

 

Why? What do you have to prove, and to who?

[Stopwatch]

Just now, dasho said:

 

Why? What do you have to prove, and to who?

Nothing. Something like pride? I don't know many people IRL who are into boomer/arena shooters.

 

Spoiler

Like I am new here in both Doom and Quake, I am just searching for a way to do things on how it should be done. I want to get better but I also don't wish to rage quit.

 

[BoxY]

Just spend a couple hours grinding it on Nightmare instead and then go back to UV and everything will feel so easy and relaxing.

[Biodegradable]

Difficulty settings, much like saving, are literal mechanics built into the game. Use them if you want to or set weird arbitrary rules for yourself if you must, but literally nobody cares about how you play Doom except that you have fun.

[Lucius Wooding]

E4M1 might be the toughest map in Ultimate Doom to 100%, since there's no health except a few bonuses and it's full of hitscan. You really need to get a bit lucky with saving health and move quickly since it's pretty punishing. Best way to get through is really to rush and not kill stuff. I can probably beat the rest of the episode fairly consistently but map 1 can still kill you with a couple bad shotgun hits even if you're a good player. Be aware of that and don't let it scare you too much.

 

The other 2 obstacles are really map 2 and map 6 of E4. Map 2 is all about planning your route and knowing where resources are, it's a pretty fun map but there's a lot of deadly stuff roaming as well as having a bunch of platforming. I recommend learning the route and moving fairly quick there as well, there's a lot of plasma. Map 6 is mainly tough because of the turret cyberdemon which can pulverize you in an instant (and needing to figure out how the level works). Nothing in Doom 1 so far would prepare you for dealing with one in that style of fight so it'll be a learning experience and possibly frustrating. For maps 2 and 6, I'd recommend saving and practicing sections to figure them out, which never would be required much up to that point in E1-3.

 

The rest of E4 is really not that bad, I'm sure if you beat E1-3 on UV you only need to worry over those 3 maps. Looking at E4M1, it looks like 4 medikits get added on HMP which is massive, so if your goal is to complete the episode then that should help immensely. However the monster count doesn't tend to drop that much so it may still require some care. 

 

[Stopwatch]

4 minutes ago, Lucius Wooding said:

E4M1 might be the toughest map in Ultimate Doom to 100%, since there's no health except a few bonuses and it's full of hitscan. You really need to get a bit lucky with saving health and move quickly since it's pretty punishing. Best way to get through is really to rush and not kill stuff. I can probably beat the rest of the episode fairly consistently but map 1 can still kill you with a couple bad shotgun hits even if you're a good player. Be aware of that and don't let it scare you too much.

 

The other 2 obstacles are really map 2 and map 6 of E4. Map 2 is all about planning your route and knowing where resources are, it's a pretty fun map but there's a lot of deadly stuff roaming as well as having a bunch of platforming. I recommend learning the route and moving fairly quick there as well, there's a lot of plasma. Map 6 is mainly tough because of the turret cyberdemon which can pulverize you in an instant (and needing to figure out how the level works). Nothing in Doom 1 so far would prepare you for dealing with one in that style of fight so it'll be a learning experience and possibly frustrating. For maps 2 and 6, I'd recommend saving and practicing sections to figure them out, which never would be required much up to that point in E1-3.

 

The rest of E4 is really not that bad, I'm sure if you beat E1-3 on UV you only need to worry over those 3 maps. Looking at E4M1, it looks like 4 medikits get added on HMP which is massive, so if your goal is to complete the episode then that should help immensely. However the monster count doesn't tend to drop that much so it may still require some care. 

 

You seem to be forgetting about the imps guarding the blue key on E4M1. XD

[Faceman2000]

I echo what was said above - if you’ve already beat E4M1 and E4M2 then the worst of it is already behind you. I’d just keep pushing forward on UV.

 

If you plan to follow it up with Sigil, however, you should definitely drop down to HMP then.

[TheDanMarine]

if you want to improve your skill at dooming, beat it on HMP then go back and try UV again. if it's still too tough, learn where all the (useful, non-murderous) secrets are back on HMP then try UV again. 

E4M1 is difficult no matter how good you get though. especially since there's a grand total of like, what, 10 health total? for healing items on UV. side note: if you're interested in skill progression, might want to check this thread after you finish E4:

 

 

 

[Dweller Dark]

From my experience, Hurt Me Plenty is much more fair when playing through at least Doom or Doom 2, and sometimes on community WADs like Double Impact or Sigil. It's my default difficulty setting at this point, hard enough to be challenged but not too easy either. However, it's up to you on how you want to play, and at what difficulty you're personally comfortable/experienced with. I used to have the mindset that playing on UV was the best way to play, but I found HMP was way more enjoyable, and that picking difficulty based on my own FPS-playing skills works better than going with what the community standard difficulty might be. 

[xScavengerWolfx]

Your best bet is to do it on HMP first then go into it on UV. When i played it on the Xbox 360 version it was a nightmare in a half on UV. To me they made it so people could stop whining about "Oh, the first three ep. are too easy" type of stuff.

 

When i did it first time on HMP i got my ass kicked so hard and i raged quit a few times because of the bullshit in it. But after beating Doom 2 and going back to ep. 4 it was easier for me because i learned to use the shotgun as a sniper, the chaingun on the flying meatballs, the plasma rifle on the pink imps and the rage medkit on the pinkies. I mean yes it's hard but once you've played it a few times it get's easier on UV......

 

Unless your playing a John Romero level then good luck and god speed.

[baja blast rd.]

My tip with e4m1 would be to use cover against the shotgunners between your shotgun blasts. Shoot, strafe into cover, pop back out and shoot. I try to do it a bunch here: 

 

 

This is a basic-sounding thing but I've seen people fighting hitscanners who will just stand in front of them the whole time. Which is not a good idea in low-health situations. 

 

If you read that a certain way it might also sound like I am joking -- "wait you mean use cover while fighting hitscanners???" -- but the exact maneuver of shoot, strafe quickly into cover, strafe out and shoot, etc. is what I mean, which is less basic and worthwhile to learn and practice. 

This map is actually really tricky for a beginner to 100% in that it requires luring barons into one group to be rocketed. But you might already be able to comfortably beat it without 100%-ing. And yes I mean comfortably.

 

I would suggest playing e4m2 and e4m6 on HMP. Those maps are notoriously difficult. (e4m1 is technically in that bundle but imo it can be "one tricked.") Thy Flesh Consumed is known for having a weird difficulty curve where e4m1-e4m2 and e4m6 are some of the hardest maps in all of Ultimate Doom by far, but a few others in the episode are anemic. The strategies for beating (maxing) e4m2 and e4m6 easily are non-trivial conceptually for a beginner, and a lot of the gains anyway are to be had by knowing how they play and then strategizing, rather than trying to piece together something bit by bit through brute force. So learn where everything is and if you want you can try again on UV (some other time). 

[Gothic]

DON'T!! Selecting a lower difficulty setting will make your computer EXPLODE!!

[Not Jabba]

1 hour ago, Stopwatch said:

 

I was into boomer shooters since 2020

 

It's great to hear stuff like this. I think us Doom people all kinda hate the term "boomer shooter," but it's awesome to see people getting into these older games through the indie scene.

 

Echoing what other people have said, if you're new to the game and have only beaten E1-E3 of Doom 1, then playing Thy Flesh Consumed on HMP makes sense for a first-time playthrough. It's a good habit to get into in general, since Plutonia and most community-made WADs are harder than Thy Flesh Consumed and there's no dishonor in playing on a lower setting if it's more fun.

[ShallowB]

2 hours ago, Stopwatch said:

considering that I am a begginer, should I lower the difficulty from Ultra-Violence to Hurt me Plenty? I want to know what do you think...

 

You should play whatever you want, how ever much you want, on whatever difficulty you want.  It's your game time, why should anyone else tell you how to spend it?

 

Doesn't matter if you're a beginner or you've been playing since '93, enjoy your video games the way that you like. 

[Murdoch]

Dude, it's a game. It is supposed to be fun. Play it in the way that makes you enjoy it. Stop overthinking it, and stop caring about what other people think.

[Doominator2]

If you want to improve at Doom or set your self a goal, then sure play E4 on HMP. But if it gets to a point where its no longer fun, there's no shame in lowering the difficulty.

[Barondante]

Did you mention if or how many saves you use? I think maybe playing levels without saves you could get quite a bit better by playing it on HMP.

But if you are struggling on UV with saves I would drop it down because there'd be certain things you're struggling with. It all depends on what kind of 

runs you're doing honestly. But sooner or later with Doom I think everyone reaches the point where they need to start adjusting the as some said

"arbitrary" sliders to suit their skill and everyone seems to do this in some way, there's no defined perfect run. I've been in the same boat with Plutonia wondering what the "accepted" way to play it is. But there is none.

 

Except of course pistol start UV all secrets 100 per cent and under par! ha

 

But seriously, Doom II and Final Doom just get harder, Thy Flesh Consumed acts as a sort of bridge to bring the skills up to speed I think.

By the time Doom II came out players had gotten pretty good. Having played probably only one game for an entire year.

 

[Jello]

I would say yes. I beat it using mouse and arrow keys for turning on UV in 1995, and I really didn't find it that difficult. I still think it's the best episode in Doom, because it's extremely difficult. But if you're not having fun with it, then turn the difficulty down.

[xman8245]

No, go all in. It's the pain that makes it great.

Eat the pain, YOU are great.

You can do it, champ.

[ApprihensivSoul]

Beat it on whatever you want, but I find Ambush Shotgunners to be one of the best highlights of the game, and those are best experienced in UV.

But I played E4M1 and E4M2 about fourty times over 10 years before finishing it for the first time, so bear that in mind.

[Misty]

Nothing wrong to play games on lower difficulties, games are supposed to be fun and relaxing. HMP is default skill on Doom games anyway.

[Stupid Bunny]

Definitely 1000% of the school that you should play in whatever mode is most fun for you.  There's certainly nothing wrong with challenging yourself through a UV and/or saveless run, of course, and there may be an argument for some maps that UV, once manageable, is the best or even "intended" way of playing, but there's not some kind of law that says you have to do it that way or else your Doom license will be revoked and you'll be drummed out of the community in disgrace

[hybridial]

It's doable on Ultraviolence, I've done it, but I will say I do not think either Doom or Doom 2 were improved as experiences on UV vs HMP. The exception is Knee Deep in the Dead, I think the added spice helped that but the rest, UV kinda sucks in my opinion. I'd suggest playing HMP first then try UV and see how you find it.

[Captain POLAND]

No, you have to beat it on Nightmare, and it doesn't count unless all the monsters are dead at once before any of them can respawn. Also you have to play keyboard only and only use the fist without berserk.

 

 

[TheDanMarine]

1 hour ago, hybridial said:

It's doable on Ultraviolence, I've done it, but I will say I do not think either Doom or Doom 2 were improved as experiences on UV vs HMP. The exception is Knee Deep in the Dead, I think the added spice helped that but the rest, UV kinda sucks in my opinion. I'd suggest playing HMP first then try UV and see how you find it.

 

what, you don't think killing two cacodemons with nothing but a pistol is more fun than one? but more is always better! /s

 

10 minutes ago, Captain POLAND said:

No, you have to beat it on Nightmare, and it doesn't count unless all the monsters are dead at once before any of them can respawn. Also you have to play keyboard only and only use the fist without berserk.

 

 

keyboard only's too easy, it's more appropriate to use a guitar hero controller using only your non-dominant foot while using the other to play DDR and if you fail a song it kills you in doom. 

 

[ShotGunGoBewm]

To quote Civvie "UV Only, the gentleman's way to play."