your favorite method of getting rid of the assholes

[Jello]

Learn straffing, then the SSG will take care of everything below a cyber and a spidermastermind. For them, use a BFG, failing that a plasma rifle.

[Ismaele]

Oh, yes... learning how to strafe is very important! I remember that at the beginning I was a little reluctant to learn how to strafe... but then I understood that strafing is important, because it helps to avoid homing missiles and CyberDemon's rockets, to save ammo and health and to be a faster killer! ;)

[ssfsx17]

My favorite method:

Doom 1: Plasma

Doom 2: SSG

That is all.

[invictius]

Ismaele said:

Oh, yes... learning how to strafe is very important! I remember that at the beginning I was a little reluctant to learn how to strafe... but then I understood that strafing is important, because it helps to avoid homing missiles and CyberDemon's rockets, to save ammo and health and to be a faster killer! ;)

The beauty of ports with mlook - you *have* to strafe, if you play it like a new-skool FPS. Cheating? Not IMO, you don't have asissted aiming like in vanilla doom.

[ssfsx17]

IIRC, even the original Doom had mlook. Although, it was also mouse movement, which can be pretty disorienting to someone who's not used to it. It makes me wonder just how long it took before people realized they could use the WASD or ESDF setup.

[myk]

ssfsx17 said:
IIRC, even the original Doom had mlook.

I gather the 17 at the end of your usename is your age.

But anyway, I don't see why you have to strafe any more (or less) with mouselook, which is back/forth movement of the mouse and changes nothing in regard to the rest of your movement. You can play Quake without strafing just as much as you can play DOOM without it, and either way you'll get hurt much more if you don't use it. Actually, it's totally essential in DOOM if you're going to want to move fast by "straferunning", as essential as jumping is for "bunnyhopping", thus perhaps more important than in games with mouselook.

[Ismaele]

Using ports, you'd better use mouse look (mlook), because monsters can aim and fire at you from any angle shot!

[myk]

Ismaele said:
Using ports, you'd better use mouse look (mlook), because monsters can aim and fire at you from any angle shot!

You mean where they can be high above and shoot right down? That's about the only difference in engines that have height clipping on things. I've played on Toke's coop wad without mouse look (that wad was made for classic settings and the servers are set thus) and it played just fine; you just had to be careful with the fireball rain and wait till the monsters were low enough to shoot them, when they'd come into sight.

[Ismaele]

myk said:

You mean where they can be high above and shoot right down?

Yes, but also the contrary: when they are below and shoot right up. ;)

Other figthing technique: when killing Demons and Spectres with the Chainsaw, move around them while attacking, otherwise they will bite you! ;)

[JadedLexi]

Zombieman: Pistol, Chaingun
Shotgun Guy: Shotgun, chaingun
Chaingun Guy: Chaingun, Super Shotgun
Imp: shotgun
Demon: shotgun, super shotgun
spectre: *see demon*
Cacodemon: Super Shotgun
Hell Knight: Rocket Launcher, Super Shotgun
Baron: Rocket Launcher, Plasma Gun, Super Shotgun
Mancubus: Plasma Gun, Super Shotgun
Archvile: Super Shotgun(horray for rushing Archies)
Revenant: Rocket Launcher, Plasma Gun
Spider Mastermind: Rocket Launcher, Plasma Gun, Super Shotgun
Cyberdemon: BFG, Plasma Gun

[Slink]

Former Private: Pistol (if you've only encountered one or two), fists (with or without the berzerk pack), minigun (to take care of hordes), and perhaps a whole shotgun shell, if that's what you happen to have in your hands. Anything else, and you're wasting ammo.

Former Sergeant: Shotgun (either type, but it's best to conserve ammo with the pump-action model), minigun, and perhaps something heavier if you're facing hordes of them.

Former Commando: Chaingun, Shotgun (try using two barrels just to be on the safe side if your aim sucks), or even the plasma rifle if you're facing more than a few, and perhaps a rocket (if you can afford to spare one) to rid yourself of chaingun snipers. And, of course, take cover if you haven't dropped them by the time they start firing.

Imp:Shotgun (try for a well-aimed blast with the single-barrel to conserve ammo), Chaingun (against moderate to large groups of weak monsters), berzerk pack, chainsaw (possibly in close quarters), and perhaps a rocket to eliminate a group on a ledge.

Demon/Spectre: Always keep your distance while firing with almost any weapon. Shotguns (both types) work very well, as do chainguns, plasma guns, and rockets when there is enough room. Never let them back you into a corner unless you have a chainsaw. A BFG blast is only reccomended if you're facing an impossibly huge swarm.

Lost Soul: Shotguns, Chainguns, Plasma guns, and even the chainsaw can make short work of them. Dodge the initial charge (which they can't change direction) and shoot them while they are vulnerable.

Cacodemon: The chaingun and plasma gun generally work best as they can prevent the beast from belching ball-lightning, as can the chainsaw at close quarters. Two rockets at range can also do the trick, and around corners two blasts from the super shotgun will work especially well. Fire, take cover, repeat. Make use of the BFG only if you're facing three or more at once.

Hell Knight/Baron of Hell: Rocket launcher (when you have enough room to manuver), plasma rifle (can be used to overwhelm at close range or in tight areas), BFG (when you need a quick solution), and the Super Shotgun (fire, strafe, repeat). Anything else is suicide.

Pain Elemental: Ignore the Lost souls it regurgitates if need be, and switch your priority to destorying it as soon as possible. I caution against using the rocket launcher, as newly generated Lost Souls can quickly get in the way of your rockets and subject you to splash damage.

Revenant: Try to kill it as soon as possible, preferably by sniping and/or overwhelming the bastard with a rapid-fire weapon before it has a chance to attack. Otherwise, try using the super shotgun while ducking around corners.

Mancubus: Use his slowness against him. The plasma rifle, BFG, and rocket launcher are all good choices. The super shotgun can be useful too, if there are spaces to hide.

Arachnotron: Try to overwhelm and/or kill it before it had a good opportunity to fire at you, and take cover once it gets a few shots off. Use the plasma gun, super shotgun, rocket launcher, or BFG. The chaingun sometimes works too.

Arch-Vile: Don't let it live long enough to witness it's power. Use the BFG if you can (though it may be risky, as the Arch-Vile's attack takes about the same time), or the plasma gun or super shotgun if you have to. Always run if you see the Arch-Vile put it's hands into the air, ducking out of sight once you see the flames engulf your screen. If it can't see you, it can't hurt you. The same rule is true for the BFG. It is also sometimes vulnerable for a few seconds when it stops to resurrect dead enemies.

Spider Mastermind: Never engage it directly unless you have a BFG and/or the thing is distracted. Fortunately, it's easy to get them to fight other creatures, even each other.

Cyber-Demon: The BFG would be useful, but there is rarely ample opportunity to get a good enough shot before he unloads his volley of rockets. He fires his rockets in threes, so shoot at him accordingly. The rocket launcher is probably the best choice, followed by the plasma rifle (because it fires much faster than he does), and sometimes even the shotgun (if you can shoot at him through a narrow opening, as in E2M8).

Of course, if there are multiple species of monsters present, always try to get them to fight each other. It can only do you good. And it also goes without saying that if two monsters are caught up in a duel, let them kill each other and finish off the ones that are still trying to kill you.

All pretty basic stuff, but there you go.

[invictius]

Slink: very good, comprehensive advice, I think I can tackle UV now...

[Ismaele]

@Slink: good suggestions! :) But I don't think that "the rocket launcher is probably the best choice", because it requires too many rockets! :P I think the best weapon against the CyberDemon is the Plasma Gun, but also the BFG is good enough... but you must be quite fast to avoid its rockest, so that you can turn round it while firing, even when room isn't much! ;)

[Belial]

SSG > RL against cybers. Most of the time :P

[myk]

Belial said:
SSG > RL against cybers. Always.

I'm not sure; the Rocket launcher has a better fire rate, and in cases where you can't close in the Super shotgun loses a good deal of potential. The main thing with the Rocket launcher against Cyberdemons and Spiderdemons, though, is that it's a waste of firepower. Might as well spend the Rockets on other monsters, that take more damage; either mid-sized ones or masses of smaller ones (optimally masses of mid-sized ones).

[Dr. Zin]

Rockets do reduced damage against Masterminds and Cybers.

[invictius]

Dr. Zin said:

Rockets do reduced damage against Masterminds and Cybers.

Because they don't take splash damage?

[myk]

invictius said:
Because they don't take splash damage?

Right. The Rocket's normal impact damage is about the same as the damage of an SSG blast, though.

[LexiMax]

F10

Y

[TheDarkArchon]

myk said:

Right. The Rocket's normal impact damage is about the same as the damage of an SSG blast, though.

An SSG can wax a pinky in one blast most of the time: Theoretically, there is a 1 in 8 chance of the Rocket Launcher doing a similar feat without its splash damage.

[myk]

TheDarkArchon said:
An SSG can wax a pinky in one blast most of the time: Theoretically, there is a 1 in 8 chance of the Rocket Launcher doing a similar feat without its splash damage.

Yep, could be, I was wrong above because for some reason I was thinking 1 HD = 1 pellet, but a HD is 1-8 and a Player's firearm (hitscan) pellet is 5-15.

[ducon]

Slink said:

Pain Elemental: Ignore the Lost souls it regurgitates if need be, and switch your priority to destorying it as soon as possible. I caution against using the rocket launcher, as newly generated Lost Souls can quickly get in the way of your rockets and subject you to splash damage.

SSG or whatever except RL at point blank.

Arch-Vile: Don't let it live long enough to witness it's power. Use the BFG if you can (though it may be risky, as the Arch-Vile's attack takes about the same time), or the plasma gun or super shotgun if you have to. Always run if you see the Arch-Vile put it's hands into the air, ducking out of sight once you see the flames engulf your screen. If it can't see you, it can't hurt you. The same rule is true for the BFG. It is also sometimes vulnerable for a few seconds when it stops to resurrect dead enemies.

SSG at point blank but it’s hard to avoid its attack. There is a moment when if you hurt it, it will stop its on going attack.

Spider Mastermind: Never engage it directly unless you have a BFG and/or the thing is distracted. Fortunately, it's easy to get them to fight other creatures, even each other.

SSG with the jack in the box method: see you, blam, hide.

[Jodwin]

The "what is a best gun" really depends on a number of factors, mainly distance, your ammo situation, the space you have for maneuvering and the number of enemies/your health.

In low ammo situations and the beginnings of wads (sometimes even the first few levels in some megawads) you should always conserve as much ammo as possible. It is also very important to realise when you are in a situation that it's more preferable to spend a few extra shells than to possibly take a bit more damage. In the low ammo situations you specifically don't want to get hit, because you are going to need to maneuvre more around the enemies, which gives them more time to fight back resulting in that once you are in a fight in which you can't avoid taking damage, you'll definetly need all the health you got.

When conserving ammo, you need to prioritize the different ammo types: Generally, cells and rockets are more valuable than shells and shells are more valuable than bullets, so always try to use bullets if possible. Against certain monsters it is possible to take ammo conservation to the extreme and beat them with fists and chainsaw.

On long distances, you need to know something about the monsters to know the best gun: How well they can move left and right to dodge incoming projectiles. If the monsters can't dodge your projectiles, plasma and rockets are generally good on long distances. However, if they can dodge well, chaingun is the best choice at all times.

If you have a lot of space to maneuvre, it is always best to use a gun which wastes the least ammo. If you can maneuvre well, you certainly won't get hit (unless they are hitscan monsters), and you can use the weaker guns. Generally spoken, SSG is the star of situations where you can maneuvre well.

In situations where you are being confronted by lots of enemies at once, or if you are in cramped rooms or low on health, it is always best to switch to the gun which can take out the monsters with the least casualties on your side. This is also why it is important to conserve as much ammo as possible at all times: When you end up in a tough situation, you don't want to be short on good ammo.


So, here's my list on what gun is the best:
Zombie private and sergeant:
These guys are hitscan, and it is the only thing that makes them different from most other guys. Usually this wouldn't matter, but it does when you need to conserve ammo and/or health. Don't try tysoning or chainsawing, because you'll probably take hits. Taking out a few isn't hard with pistol on short distances, but against bigger mobs don't be afraid to waste a shell or two. On long distances, even the pistol is good.

Chaingunner:
Unfortunately, these are rather deadly. What even worse, it IS possible to kill one chaingunner with a single shotgun blast, but it is completely up to your luck. On short distances, shoot them with shotgun, and if they are alive after the first shot and you are sure that most shells did hit, finish him with the pistol or chaingun. On long distances, chaingun is your best friend. However, generally be careful with chaingunners, as even a few can be very deadly.

Imp:
Imps are fun. ;) Imps often fall to a single wellplaced shotgun shot, and they also fall to approx. seven bullets. When conserving ammo the ideal is to shoot an imp 5-6 times and finishing it off with your fists. Once you get better with tysoning, you can tyson them all the way. In bigger groups, don't be afraid to use the SSG.

Daemon and Spectre:
If you have plenty of ammo, SSG. Rockets and plasma are good in emergency situations. When conserving ammo, melee is the way to go.

Lost soul:
Chaingun and shotguns are your friends, just like strafing is.

Cacodemons, Hellknights and Barons:
These are actually rather similar. They are hardy enough to not care whether you use shotgun instead of SSG or not. The SSG can do pretty much all of the job, just be sure to maneuvre yourself to not take hits. Use chaingun only on long distances and when conserving ammo.

Revenant:
In my opinion people often worry bit too much about the revenant ammo. They aren't that hard to dodge in the end, and a lot of maps have good corners or other monsters to lure the missiles to once you've slain the revenants. Run in circles around the revenant if you can and blast away with SSG. Chaingun is very good on long distances and rockets are even better if you got extra rockets and the revenants can't dodge your shots.

Mancubus:
Manci can be rather tough to beat at times. Especially running around them is a bit more risky than with the other mid-level monster. As such strafing from cover and back is the safest way to deal with manci. Choose your gun based on the distance and how dire the situation is: Rockets are acceptable if you need to get rid of the manci asap. On longish distances you can snipe manci even with the shotgun thanks to their wide radius.

Arachnotron:
Basically, these as well are the best to be dealt with the SSG. However, just like manci, arachs can be very deadly. As such don't be afraid to use heavy weaponry if the situation is dire.

Pain ellie:
You want to drop these off as soon as possible, because extra lost souls don't make maneuvring any easier, and they take precious ammo. Use whatever you got as long as you both hit them and don't hurt yourself: SSG, rockets, plasma, chaingun... Melee is good if you can sacrifice the couple of seconds standing still in front of the ellie and attracting enemy fire.

Archvile:
Archies are teh fun. Generally, SSG is once again the gun of choice. The situation is bad with archies only if you can't find cover against their attacks, in which case you should use plasma and rockets if they are available. However, if you got good cover around, all you need to do is jump to the cover, wait for their attack animation to end, jump back, shoot, jump to cover, repeat and rinse. Timing is the key here, and practise makes nearly perfect.

Cyberdemon:
If you can run around in circles or maneuvre well, SSG. Otherwise use rockets and plasma. Cybies are a lot easier than what people often give them credit for because the rockets are easy to dodge. The only real problem comes in small rooms (OUCH) and when there are other monsters around (OUCH*2).

Mastermind:
In my opinion more deadly than cybies because you can't dodge the bullets. Take out with whatever you got, or hone your corner-strafing skills to the extreme.

[Ichor]

Zombies - Pistol when first starting out, shotgun or chaingun normally, or chainsaw or berserk if I'm conserving ammo or just for laughs
Chaingunners - Shotgun or chaingun. Sometimes I let them live and move around behind stronger enemies. Either they kill the stronger enemies or they will kill the chaingunner while they themselves are severely weakened.
Imp - Normally shotgun or chaingun, fire a shot or two with the super shotgun to thin out larger groups, and finish the rest off with the chaingun. When conserving ammo, I use the chainsaw or berserk. And if I'm in a hurry or just for fun, I launch a rocket or two.
Demons - Usually fist, berserk or not, when starting out, super shotgun later on.
Lost Soul - One super shotgun blast gets rid of these real quick. Other times I use the chaingun.
Cacodemon - Super shotgun up close, or chainsaw if I have it and there aren't very many. Chaingun or shotgun from far away
Hell Knight - Super shotgun, plasma gun, or maybe rocket launcher. If I have berserk, I may use that to save ammo.
Baron of Hell - Same as Hell Knight, except I tend to use the super shotgun more if there's only one or two. More than that, I might use the BFG. Berserk can really help save ammo here.
Revenant - Anything that kills them quick, but I tend to use the super shotgun more often than not.
Mancubus - Get up real close to them and blast them with the super shotgun. Three or four shots will kill them, and dodging their attacks isn't too hard.
Arachnotron - More or less the same thing, except it's a bit easier to dodge and it only takes two or three super shotgun shots. It tends to get a bit tricky if there's a few of them around. If there's another arachnotron trying to hit you but is blocked by the first one, you might want to get out of the way once you kill it or you'll have a really nice surprise heading your way.
Pain Elemental - Plasma gun or chaingun, maybe the rocket launcher if I'm feeling lucky
Arch Vile - Pray there's only one of them in the room. If there is, then I use the super shotgun once I get up close. Find some cover once he starts attacking, then finish it off. If there are dead monsters around, I use the plasma gun to kill not only the Arch Vile, but the other monsters it revives. From far away, I use the rocket launcher. Once it starts its attack, it will not move until it finishes, regardless of whether it has a target or not, so as it begins, fire a few rockets and then hide. You should be able to launch three rockets before it finishes the attack. Then you can finish it off with the chaingun or something.
Cyberdemon - Whatever kills it the quickest.
Spiderdemon - BFG right in the face. If it doesn't kill it, then a super shotgun blast or two will. Sometimes I let it live if there's a bunch of enemies around.

[Ismaele]

I read interesting suggestion from Jodwin's and Ichor's posts.
As for Mancubi and Arachnotrons, I prefer the former ones, because they are slower and have a lower fire rate than Arachnotrons. Anyway, I use the Rocket Launcher with both of them.
As for Revenants, they are very deadly, so I prefer "wasting" ammo than dying trying to save ammo! :P I often use Super Shotgun with them, since 4 shells are sufficient, if you are skilled enough; Rocket Launcher, when they are in groups or far away.
When dealing with Arch-Viles, the best thing is the "fire-hide-fire" strategy, if there's cover (in this case, you can use what weapon you prefer: I prefer SSG); otherwise, you'd better kill it quickly, maybe with Plasma Gun, if available. THe real problem is when fighting against groups of Arch-Viles!
But remember that infighting is very important, whatever strategy you use or prefer! It helps to save ammo and, if skilled enough, health too!

[Inferno]

I use a lot of the strategies you guys are posting, so I'll add to that with some ammo conservation.

1. If you have Demons/Spectres, use chainsaw or fists (yes, thats right, it doesent have to be berserk). Like what Ismaele said earlier, keep moving because your attacks wont always interrupt them. Just move back with tapping to get out of their reach.

2. Take advantage of barrels. Works wonders. Even if it doesent kill anything it still hurts them and can save you some precious SG shells on higher difficulties. Its equivilent to a rocket splash, I think, close to it.

3. Crossfiring owns. Really. For example, like if you run into a room with a lot of imps and a few hellknights, you can save your rounds by having them do the work for you. Both monsters are not very difficult, but the fact that it can take a big toll on your ammo count is what matters, especially when you dont have much. Crossfiring gets harder when the monsters get tougher, but it's better for you in the longrun.

[abysmal]

I like strafing in front of cyberdemons. They are usually at end of map so I use best gun I can. Standing a little to the left and I see a rocket coming, I strafe a little right, another rocket then strafe back. I stop shooting while cyberdemon shoots so I can see its rockets better.

I just figured out the Archvile and hellknight flinch with SSG. I noticed they stopped thier attack sometimes. So I tested it. It seems the Archvile will stop the fire if you shoot just as it lowers it hands. The hellnight I think will stop attacking if you shoot when it pulls its hand back. Im not sure on the hellnight though. I can always strafe them easy, so I never bothered to fully test this. ANd there is a fraction of a second to shoot too.

Lost souls I let dive, I do a quick strafe and chainsaw it. No wasted bullets. Unless I have plenty of ammo.

Rooms full of enemies with a revenant, I run around so its fireball follows me and I make manuevers so it hits another enemy. Easy for them to attack easy other.

A cyberdemon in a small room with other monsters, I run around outside edges of room. Usually other monsters cant even use melee attck if I am fast enough and I find the hole to run through. And thier bodies shield me from the cyberdemons rockets.

[Shadow Dweller]

I say let the monsters fight themselves if possible. if a monster of different type hits another, they'll fight to the death. if lost souls hit each other they'll fight. the lost souls will go after anything, even the pain elemental from which they came. although kind of difficult to make the monsters go into a free for all massacre against themselves, it is well worth the effort i think.

[impClaw]

Chainsaw, only Chainsaw

[abysmal]

impClaw said:

Chainsaw, only Chainsaw

Who needs a chainsaw when you can use your fist. It only takes 28 minutes to punch out a cyberdemon in episode 2.
ftp://competn.doom2.net:8002/pub/compet-n/doom/tyson/t2m82810.zip