Arrange all Doom(2) monsters and weapons from best to worst

[scifista42]

We've had countless "best enemy", "worst enemy", "favorite weapon", "least favorite weapon" threads. Now let's go deeper. I challenge you to express your opinion about all of them, by listing them in a specific order, from your most favorite to least favorite ones.

Let's agree on the monsters and weapons to choose from:

There are 17 monsters in the official Doom(2) games. They are the following ones: Zombieman, Shotgunguy, Chaingunner, Imp, Demon, Spectre, Lost Soul, Cacodemon, Pain Elemental, Hell Knight, Baron of Hell, Mancubus, Revenant, Arachnotron, Archvile, Spider Mastermind, Cyberdemon.

There are 9 weapons in the official Doom(2) games: Fist, Chainsaw, Pistol, Shotgun, SSG, Chaingun, Rocket Launcher, Plasmagun, BFG9000.

Here are my lists:

---

Monsters:

1. Archvile --- Interesting attack mechanic, adding a very specific dynamic to the game, unique to Doom. Menacing enemy.
2. Mancubus --- Dodging their fast spread fireballs makes the best projectile dodging challenge of all enemies.
3. Revenant --- Homing fireballs are good challenge, too. Revenant has medium health and can be used versatilely. However, I dislike Revenant's screaming sounds.
4. Shotgunguy --- Low HP enemy with relatively high damage, an efficient challenger.
5. Imp --- Basic projectile enemy, fun to fight against, OK to overuse in maps.
6. Chaingunner --- Despite his relatively low HP, he can be challenging and make fights tenseful. But sometimes he can be pretty annoying, too.
7. Cacodemon --- Flying projectile-spitting enemy, easy to manipulate, suitable both as an individual and in swarms.
8. Hell Knight --- Standard brawler with a lot of health and simple yet damaging attack.
9. Cyberdemon --- He has too easily avoidable attack to be a boss, and too much health to be a normal enemy. But he still has a potential to make an interesting challenge with the threat of his exploding rockets.
10. Zombieman --- Weakling, low damage, luck-based bad aim, often infights without the player even trying to make him infight. Too inefficient enemy.
11. Lost Soul --- Its charge attack often gets annoying, and it has too much HP for its little threat and slow reactions.
12. Demon --- Easy to outsmart and avoid its attack, slightly too much health.
13. Spectre --- Sometimes interesting to use, but more often just annoying, generally worse than normal pinky demon.
14. Arachnotron --- Large radius and bad maneuverability, he is only efficient as a distant turret, but that's an annoying usage.
15. Pain Elemental --- Summons swarms of annoying minions and has to be outsmarted by gimmicky ways that go against logic.
16. Baron of Hell --- Way too much HP for his simple attack.
17. Spider Mastermind --- Cheap overpowered oversized hitscanner, she practically cannot be used well.

Weapons:

1. SSG - Best close range weapon, best default weapon for combat in general. Overpowered, but fun to use.
2. Rocket Launcher - Fast, devastating ranged weapon. Satisfying to use, but ammo is usually infrequent, which makes its balance. The only downside is the annoying possibility to blow up yourself with your own rocket.
3. Chaingun - Rapid fire hitscan weapon for all ranges (including long range sniping), although not enough powerful for fighting high HP enemies.
4. Shotgun - Satisfying to use against low-tier enemies at close/medium ranges. Run-and-gun or shot-and-pop style, it doesn't matter.
5. Plasmagun - Powerful, rapid fire, efficient, but usually isn't balanced well in maps. Using it makes you too strong for most normal fights, not using it might make you too weak.
6. BFG9000 - Balance breaking weapon, except in slaughtermaps, but I don't like slaughter gameplay. Admittedly, it's satisfying to use.
7. Fist - Berserk-fisting enemies is an efficient ammo conservation strategy and also a fun exercise.
8. Chainsaw - Cool weapon, but not enough efficient, I'd say.
9. Pistol - Just too weak, obsoleted by chaingun.

---

Now I'd like to see your lists! Feel free to elaborate why you like/dislike the monsters (weapons) and/or how exactly did you choose your order.

[yakfak]

1. Imp - found on E2M2
2. Demon - found on E2M2
3. Lost Soul - found on E2M2

4-17. a fourteen-way tie between enemies unfortunate enough not to appear on E2M2

More seriously I'd put the Imp at the top of the list, for its flexibility, believability in huge groups, the fact it drops no ammo and the way they're always a slight threat whether you face them head on or try to run past them; follow them with the Shotgun guy and the Chaingunner because I like their "it's time to play slooowly" manifesto, then both boss monsters mostly for the bizarre situations they create when you DON'T have the ammo to fight them (people complain that the Mastermind is just a big dumb chaingun turret, but an unkillable chaingun turret in a blocking position is actually a total nightmare!) then it's time for all the mid-tier Doom 2 enemies, probably with the Pain Elemental and Vile being the most crucial of these enemies (skeletons create great fights too but players are so jaded to them that current mappers spam them like crazy which both looks and sounds ridiculous... plus it leaves so-so players like me in the dust when trying out new map sets =P), then the list would be shored up by the SS dude (who is in dire need of an "Eat me" mushroom ) the Cacodemon, pinkies and finally the hell royalty who are boring as sin - I still think the major flaw with Doom 1 is that they didn't make the Baron truly special. The guy should be able to create a big anime push-back wave or something.

All enemies are cool, though, it's just that some enemies are less engaging to go back and clean up once a big fight has dissolved into wandering monsters. I still say the Mastermind is seriously underrated although I understand why people are reluctant to add a clumsy size 384 enemy to their maps. Don't create arenas around them - let them block tunnels just big enough to permit their passage, and have the tunnels end at sniper points looking down on other map locations!

oh yeah weapons
1. Berserk Fist

(power gap)

2. Chainsaw

(power gap)

3. Pistol

that's all the weapons, right?

[Looper]

I think chaingun is a bit underrated weapon because:
DPS is better than shotguns, and you can aim all of the bullets which means DPS is actually quite close to SSG (even when both weapons have perfect aim + RNG). Possibility to stun multiple enemies in short time, or one monster permanently. Tapping the chaingun gives you sniper mode. Only weak side is that it has no burst damage.

[Memfis]

worst is spectre

[Hoodie]

That's weird, I never thought of the Spider Mastermind as a girl.

Monsters:
17. Zombiemen / Just pure fodder.
16. Demon / Fodder that takes more shots.
15. Spectre / Invisible fodder, sometimes useful in the dark.
14. Spider Mastermind / pretty useless unless it has backup, and a boss shouldn't need backup.
13. Archvile / Way too much damage, sure it has a charge up, but combine that with the ability to resurrect tough monsters that can trap you makes it's attack just too strong.
12. Chaingunner / An unarmored player who turns around a corner the wrong way is about to be filled with bullets.
11. Pain Elemental / Annoying, but can be useful in a big room.
10. Baron of Hell / Same idea as you, too much health. I do like them as an early boss though.
9. Imp / So basic and average it belongs in the middle.
8. Cyberdemon / A boss that feels like a boss.
7. Arachnotron / Scary in numbers.
6. Lost Soul / Good in big rooms.
5. Hell Knight / Scary in CQC
4. Mancubus / Requires you to be quick and reflexive, but is useless if you have cover.
3. Cacodemon / Good all around enemy.
2. Shotgun Guy / He can ambush the fuck out of you and is useful at long range as well.
1. Reverent / Should be used sparingly, but is the most balanced monster with the player. Most of the monsters will need to attack in groups, but a reverent can do the job alone.


Weapons:
9. Pistol / Useless as soon as you get berserk or any other weapon.
8. Fist / Only good with berserk.
7. BFG / I have only ever used this on slaughter maps, and I hate slaughter maps.
6. Chainsaw / Good for taking out weak monsters without wasting ammo.
5. Rocket Launcher / Great as long as you're not in CQC.
4. Super Shotgun / The bane of CQC.
3. Shotgun / Practically the rifle of the game.
2. Chaingun / Can render a single monster useless while you unload on it, and kill a large group after a while. Not as accurate long range however.
1. Plasma Gun / Fast and deadly, can be used for long range with little ammo usage.

[Snakes]

Interesting thing about demon's and spectre's - they both seem to have completely different uses in spite of their identical attack behavior. Demon's are a great choice for overwhelming a player in a closed space because of their somewhat wide hitbox, speed, and need to get up close and personal. Spectres are much more useful for a stealthy appearance in a dark room or, of course everyone' favorite trope, nukage... Also pissing people off by being a close-range rocket victim. My goodness is that frustrating.

They're both solid low tier enemies.

[joe-ilya]

Monsters:
1.Imp : Fits everywhere and at any amount, pure balance!
2.Hell Knight : Same as imp, only it should be used a little less.
3.Shotgunner : Fits almost everywhere and drops a good weapon!
4.Cacodemon : Same as Hell Knight.
5.Nazi : Same as shotgunner, only it doesn't drop weapons, clips are good enough.
6.Mancubus : Same as cacodemon, only it shoots more projectiles at once.
7.Arachnotron : Amazing shooting, hard to dodge in plain sight.
8.Zombieman : Cool starter enemies, fun to plow through hordes of them.
9.Spectre : Nice demon enhancement, scary in the dark or maps that have monochromic texturing.
10.Revenant : I like the missles and to fight them in any amount(unless it's nuts.wad or literally nuts)
11.Pain Elemental : It's cool how you have to kill it really quick with the chaingun and dodge other enemy attack while doing that. It works really well when placed between other monsters.
12.Chaingunner : This is supposed to be a downgrade from the SpiderMasterMind, but it's not how it actually is, Stand 2 seconds in it's sight and you go down, when in hordes it's super fun!
13.SpiderMasterMind : Same as chaingunners only they should be used less.
14.Demon : Nice melee monster, works very well when in hordes.
15.Lost soul : Another melee monster, only it's less threatning and it can fly.
16.Arch vile : It's an interesting enemy, but it doesn't work really well, If you put more than 3 arch-viles in one area, things can get very very messy.
But it's awesome when put in couples or a single.
17.Baron of hell : Great boss, good in hordes only when you have BFG, but other then that, it's useless and is just a sponge.
18.Cyberdemon : Same as Baron of hell, only it should be used less.
19.Commander keen : It's really useful when you want a player to push several switches that will kill one Commander keen each to later when all are push, will open a door, once per map though.
20.Icon of sin(romero head) : A hilarious enemy that once dead finishes the level, can be useful for certain mapping tricks just like commander keen.
21.Monster spawner : It's barely got any use, just whip this into an empty of monsters MAP30, and it's really slow when only one is used, but is way too quick when more than 1 are put.

Guns:
1.Super shotgun : Powerful close encounter weapon, most used weapon in doom 2 Iwads and Pwads.
2.BFG9000 : POWER! FUN! GIBS! ALL YOU NEED! *unless it's not slaughterfest.
3.Chaingun : Quick weapon that can be used anytime.
4.Shotgun : Same as chaingun, only it spends your SSG ammo! Damn!
5.Rocket Launcher : Slow, not rapid weapon, but has power whenever you use it, the only minus is that you can eat it yourself, when shot on wall, or because of autoaim.
6.Fist : It's definetly a sucker, good thing theres the "berserk!" that can make it 20% cooler!
7.Plasma rifle : Only useful in close encounters.
8.Chainsaw : Worse than a berserked up fist, better than a regular one, looks cool too.
9.Pistol : Everyone will place this gun in the bottom of the list, no doubt. As it's only a starting weapon, nothing less. Pistol = Internet Explorer.

Hazards:
1.Damaging floors : A useful floor that you don't want the player to stand too long on, even with the radiation suit.
2.Crushers : A ceiling you don't want players to stand under too long, even with the invulnerability.

[Hoodie]

Man, fuck crushers.

[AD_79]

Here's the short version:

Monsters:

1. Revenant (for being all around excellent monsters)
2. Everything else

Weapons:

1. Rocket Launcher (for being the most fun to use)
2. Everything else

[Jaws In Space]

1 Revenant
2 Cacodemon
3 Arch-Vile
4 Shotgun Guy
5 Spectre
6 Chaingun Guy
7 Mancubus
8 Hell Knight
9 Arachnotron
10 Imp
11 Zombieguy
12 Lost Soul
13 Cyberdemon
14 Demon
15 Pain Elemental
16 Spider Mastermind
17 Baron Of Hell

1 Plasma Rifle
2 SSG
3 Chaingun
4 Shotgun
5 Rocket Launcher
6 BFG
7 Chainsaw
8 Fist
9 Pistol

[Archi]

Enemies, groups share the same place:
1. Cyber. Revenant. Archvile.
2. Mancubus. Arachnotron. Hellknight.
3. Cacodemon. Chaingunner. Pain Elemental.

The worst is Baron of Hell. Too many healthpoints, annoying if not used against cyber.


Weapons:
1. Rocket Launcher.
2. BFG9000.
3. SSG.

Worst:
Pistol.


Worst hazard is deathtrap.

[RUSH]

Only thing I dislike about the Plasma Rifle is that it's TOO LOUD. Argh, when you're shooting that thing it's just "BOP-BOP-BOP-BOP-BOP" and the noise for some reason is like double that of the music and monsters on screen. As for monsters, I really don't dislike any of them. I'm surprised to hear OP claim the Spider Mastermind is overpowered when it only takes a few quick BFG shots to take down. I think it's a great enemy so long as the map supplies the appropriate weapons and ammunition.

[MajorRawne]

Funnily enough, my list is similar to Joe's, except Spectres and Demons would be at the bottom, Wolfenstein monsters don't exist in my world and I'd put the Arachno in 3rd place, bumping everyone else down one, and bring the Pain Elemental further up the list.

Ah, Pain Elementals and Arachnotrons. I love the underdogs.

[scifista42]

RUSH said:

I'm surprised to hear OP claim the Spider Mastermind is overpowered when it only takes a few quick BFG shots to take down.

I was talking about his attack damage. It's very powerful for being a hitscan attack, and aim is heavily randomized. You either take cover, or your fate will rely on the mercy of RNG - sudden quick death, no damage at all, or anything between.

[Urthar]

Monsters:

1. Mancubus - Master of infighting, The Mancubus is both your ally and your foe. Will punish overconfidence and encourage player movement.
2. Arachnotron - It's shots are fast enough to make it dangerous in open spaces, while slow enough to be dodged. Another enemy that encourages fluid combat.
3. Zombieman - The humblest of enemies, makes the pistol useful, and the chaingun powerful, providing both fodder and ammo for it. The Zombieman exists to make the player feel powerful, and does it well.
4. Shotgun Guy - A more dangerous zombieman, who provides the player with a free weapon and ammo. A perfect foil to his lesser brethren.
5. Revenant - Threatening whether alone or in groups, at range or at close quarters, The Revenant spices combats, and commands attention. However, like all spices he can be over used.
6. Cyberdemon - A single rocket might kill, two rockets surely will, the Cyberdemon fires salvos of three. Like all Boss monsters, he perhaps has more hitpoints than is good for him, and the game space must be tailored to his needs.
7. Imp - Whether he's lying in wait in a closet, throwing fireballs from a far, or swarming forward in a pack, The Imp is a low-tier veteran who can always be relied on.
8. Demon - A blocker and tackler, provides meat for chainsaws and berserk packs, soaks damage. A demon's role is not a glamorous one, but his presence in the ensemble will always be felt.
9. Hell Knight - A better Baron, an more intimidating Imp. His fireball packs a punch, and his punch sends you packing. If he catches you in a dead end, it will be.
10. Spectre - Jump shock specialist, who's not there to threaten the player so much as to throw them off balance.
11. Spider Mastermind - A giant brain on mechanical legs, a big dumb B-Movie monster that fits Doom so well. Sadly a little too vulnerable to the BFG.
12. Arch Vile - The combination of high moblity and damage can provoke fluid encounters, while resurrection ability may demand target priorization. However poor usage can bring combat to a grinding halt.
13. Pain Elemental - A good candiate for target priorization, that can fly to boot. Unfortunately launches Lost Souls which are straight up annoying.
14. Cacodemon - Flies, shoots and chomps, unfortunately a bit bloated and slow.
15. Chaingunner - High damage hitscanner, who can bring otherwise fluid encounters to an abrupt halt. I remove or replace this guy in my maps more often than any other monster.
16. Baron of Hell - Cursed from birth with having to play the role of Boss monster in KDITD. Can almost always be replaced by a Hell Knight to better effect.
17. Lost Soul - Too many hitpoints, too eager to fight other lost souls. Hard to use well, and straight up annoying.

Weapons:

1. Plasma Gun - Oh, yeah.
2. Rocket Launcher - I fought the wall, and the wall won.
3. Chaingun - Wild and indiscriminate fire has been authorized.
4. SSG - Eat this!
5. Chainsaw - Groovy.
6. Shotgun - Not bad.
7. BFG - Oh crap, how do I balance this?
8. Fist - Pray for a berserk pack.
9. Pistol - We could be here a long time.

[NuMetalManiak]

Monsters:

1. arachnotron: love it's footsteps, it's plasma attack, and general difficulty to kill. even dodging through a plasma stream is fun.
2. lost soul: I'm weird, I always found these skulls endearing, especially when they infight. plus they generally don't count towards the kill ratio.
3. cyber: although it really depends on placement and how each fight is held. I don't like getting sniped by one for instance. still, iconic.
4. imp: fodder enemy that is always fun to kill in groups
5. archie: again depends on how they're placed and the general concept of how they are used.
6. mancubus: they have a pattern.
7. chaingunner: nasty enemy, almost always placed strategically when they are always annoying.
8. shotgun guy: see above
9. zombiemen: a general fodder hitscan monster (the biggest problem I have with hitscan zombies is apart from how they can dwindle your HP, they can cut through their own ranks)
10. spectre: lurks in the darkness
11. cacodemon: eh, after playing a large number of sets, I did not find them to be "best to fight with" as I thought.
12. pain elemental: always top priority monster because of of things getting shit out of hand. but I hate them for that.
13. demon: like a spectre except easier to see, making them not as good.
14. spiderdemon: he's too easy to kill, even without a BFG. I can use rockets on him since he's large and doesn't move much. really disappointing. love his wake-up sound though.
15. hell knight: general SSG stuff, gets boring when killing them with it, frustrating when you misfire and have to shoot four times.
16. baron of hell: a beefed-up knight, always a slog to fight with any weapon that isn't a BFG.
17. revenant: fuck these guys, I always misjudge their fireball speed and even run into the non-homing ones. trying to melee one requires good trickery and LUCK. I'm not joking when I say luck. it's also the most overused mid-tier monster and it's the most overused sniper, and it's small width makes it hard to hit with projectile weapons.

Weapons

1. plasma gun: fast, deadly, efficient, great for every monster as well as DM
2. SSG: instantaneous pain delivered from this weapon, practically an essential D2 weapon. brilliant for DM
3. BFG: crowd-clearer, that's its purpose. not that great for DM though, either it's cheap or it's not as effective as I hope.
4. chaingun: small monsters get broken by these things, kinda unfair in DM when people snipe with it though.
5. rocket launcher: big monster clearer, but the blast damage can kill you. I suicide often on DM because of this weapon.
6. shotgun: D1 good gun, okay DM weapon.
7. chainsaw: great for demons/spectres, imps, and hitscanners under some circumstances. I find it better than a berserk fist for killing single cacos/PEs too. sucks for DM though, a lot of DM maps seem to have this on a level exit.
8. berserk fist: but in the berserk fist's defence, it works better for single HK's/barons, and even revenants. plus it's fun splattering other monsters. like the chainsaw it's difficult to melee attack someone in DM though.
9. pistol: for what it's worth, you can tap the key to snipe with. but it's a slow-firing, low-damaging weapon that shouldn't have much use once you find something bigger.
10. fist: without a berserk, this one is fucking useless.

[Deleted_Account]

These are my favorite monsters;

1) Imp: They're ubiquitous and the foot soldiers of the dark forces. Though not overly powerful, if a few of them get up in your grill you're gonna have a lousy day.

2) Cyberdemon: Part demon, part machine, 100% iconic.

3) Baron of Hell/Hell Knight: Doors with health? Sure. When Beelzebub closes a door he opens a window or something. I'm really just on top of it today.

4) Cacodemon: I hate their stupid smiling faces that I look forward to spoiling their day. Spit lightning at me? I'll spit rockets at you.

5) Arch Vile: Shoots fires, resurrects dead monsters what's not to love? Reminds me of Pumpkinhead actually, oh I wish they made a proper Doom movie with demons and not Resident Evil monsters.

6) Mancubus: Sure, this fat pile of fuck can ruin your day in a heartbeat but I love combating them. Defeating them is so satisfying, that's what you get for stuffing your face with some much Taco Bell.

7) Spectre: Sorry to their visible siblings, but I like ghost-like monsters. Especially when they're properly used in low light conditions.

8) Former Human/ Shotgunner: These guys are must-have fodder, it's fun wiping out entire troops with the overpowered Super Shotgun.

9) Revenant, Pain Elemental, Lost Soul, Arachnotron, Spider Mastermind, Chaingunner: They're okay, but they can go fuck themselves, especially Lost Souls. Bunch of assholes.

-Favorite Weapons-

1) Shotgun: The original pump action shotgun will always be the best. This is my workhorse weapon.

2) Plasma Gun: Once I acquire this weapon and have enough ammunition, it becomes my primary weapon.

3) BFG 9000: Another of Doom's icons, I generally save it for those "special" moments.

4) Chaingun: Another workhorse weapon I like to use, though I wish it sounded better when firing rather then pew pew pew lol omfg!

5) Rocket Launcher: Need something to explode immediately at a relatively safe distance? Than this is it.

6) Super Shotgun, Chainsaw, Pistol, Fists: I make use of all weapons to the best I can, but these are the ones I don't use that often surprisingly.

[nxGangrel]

1. Arachnotron - Krang with legs and a plasma rifle. I love the death sound.
2. Revenant - A skeleton with a missle launcher. Genius.
3. Arch-Vile - Just something about it.
4. Baron of Hell - One of the few who are intimidating.
5. Cacodemon - It's fun to smash pumpkins into small piles of putrid debris.
6. Hell Knight - A pale version of the Baron.
7. Mancubus - The obese population from hell. I sometimes see them at fast food joints. (just kidding)
8. Chaingunner - The best of the zombies. Tough, and challenging.
9. Demon - I used to be scared sh*tless cause of this guy. Still scary in tight corners.
10. Spectre - see above.
11. Imp - I see this guy every where, on every turn, in almost every level.
12. Shotgun guy - Somewhat decent for cannon fodder.
13. Cyberdemon - A baron with a rocket launcher. Lost its authenticity in DooM 2.
14. Spider Mastermind - Not scary, never was, never will be.
15. Zombieman - Serves no purpose but to be there. I guess.
16. Lost soul - Dear satan, why do you exist?
17. Pain Elemental - see above.

1. SSG - The most satisfying gun in the game in my opinion.
2. Rocket Launcher - Because gibs.
3. Fists(berserk) - There's just something about being Trent Reznor and giving a demon a fist fu- Never mind. Rip and tear.
4. Chainsaw - self explanatory.
5. BFG 9k - Unsatisfying but fun to use.
6. Shotgun - Not really satisfying for a shotgun.
7. Pistol - Sadly underrated - for a reason. To bad it couldn't be used more.
8. Chaingun - I don't find it fun to use.
9. Plasma rifle - Unsatisfying, and I never use it because I want to save ammo (for some reason).

[fveitsi]

1. shotgun guy
2. imp
3. demon
4. cyberdemon
5. revenant
6. cacodemon
7. hell knight
8. archvile
9. spider mastermind
10. chaingunner
11. mancubus
12. arachnotron
13. lost soul
14. spectre
15. pain elemental
16. zombieman
17. baron of hell - why can't you just die? die, die, die!!!

1. ssg
2. plasma gun
3. rocket launcher
4. chaingun
5. shotgun
6. bfg
7. berserk
8. chainsaw
9. fist
10. pistol - this peashooter is useless!

[scifista42]

It's interesting to read everyone's different lists and insights. Getsu Fune, where would you put the Revenant on your monster list?

[Doomkid]

1 - BFG. I still stand by the sentiment that there is no gun in any FPS since Doom as badass as this. It's like a tiny plasma nuke, and despite what I've heard many times before, I don't feel it breaks the balance at all due to limited ammo and cone range.

2 - SSG. Massive damage, tons of ammo, and balanced by having a somewhat short range. What's not to love?

3 - Rocket Launcher. It's a risky gun to use, but man is it satisfying in both DM and single player.. One well timed blast will turn your enemy into mush.

4 - Plasma Gun. This can be used to send a wave of plasma balls at a horde of opponents, or it can be used tactically in bursts. This thing can put your HP from 100 to 0 in an instant if used properly in DM. (The sound effect from DWANGO5 is much better admittedly, as it's not annoyingly loud.)

5 - Chaingun. Better at taking down waves than the shotgun, and (generally) better as a sniper too. I just hate how it uses that wimpy pistol sound effect.

6 - Shotgun. It's good for "sniper bursts" and is generally good for taking down the weakest enemies in the game, but it lacks an interesting dynamic. I'm glad it's so accurate, that keeps it a somewhat viable weapon in a fast paced DM.

7 - Fist (with berserk). One-hit KO's on those pesky, meat-shield pinkies? Turning shotugnners into mush with one satisfying blow? Yes please.

8 - Chainsaw. Surprisingly good at mowing through weak hordes, a good weapon for those "oh fuck Im out of ammo" situations if you havent found a berserk pack. If you have enemies on both sides though, you're sorta fucked. (same goes with berserk fist)

9 - Pistol. "Pat Pat Pat"... Worst sound effect, but it represents the gun well, as it's piss weak. There's a reason it's called the pea shooter, but it makes sense to start the game with a little gun and have to earn your way up to the big ones.

10 - Fist (no berserk). Welp, if you're using this, you're basically screwed anyway. When you DO get a kill with it though, it's pretty damn funny.

---

As far as monsters go, they all have their strengths and weaknesses, and I feel the game wouldn't be complete without all of them. Yes, even lost souls and pain elementals. If you struggle against them, you need to learn to use your arsenal better and use cover better :) ... Or maybe play a different wad.

Long story short, every gun and every enemy come together to make an excellent package.

[Dime]

17. Baron Of Hell (Cool boss, but the type of monster that
becomes less interesting every time you fight it unless the
mapper is a god at placement.)

16. Hell Knight (More balanced monster than the baron but I
rarely enjoy killing knights/barons tbh. Glorified Imp)

15. Spectre (Used well 10% of the time, otherwise just kinda
there.)

14. Lost Soul (Cool for pressuring the player, but are
very unsatisfying to kill)

13. Spider Mastermind (11/10 death animation, higher than
other monsters solely due to that fact. Requires extreme
thought on placement to be useful.)

12. Demon (Can never hit you! but they're pink)

11. Zombieman (Fodder, but incredibly satisfying to kill,
allowing the player to mow down a group of 15-25 zombieman
can only serve to improve your map.)

10. Chaingunner (arguably the most lethal enemy on this list)

9. Arachnotron (Pressures heavily like the chaingunner, and
comes out ahead due to death animation.)

8. Cacodemon (They're cute)

7. Imp (All around great monster that can be used as turrets,
fodder, en masse or anything that you desire.)

6. Shotgun Guy (Lethal, high burst, low health, every players
worst enemy. Can chip you out or finish you off in a few blasts.
The bane of speedrunners.)

5. Pain Elemental (An annoying yet essential enemy that forces
a player to use offensive tactics or die).

4. Arch-vile (Often, i will mention that the arch-vile is my
favorite enemy, though I do admit here that too often a
single arch-vile fight is used to little purpose. 4 ssg
shots to kill a random arch-vile needs to be stopped. Exit
arch-viles ughhhhhh. Still, a god tier design.)

3. Revenant (The glass cannon of doom literally. Homing
rockets force an entirely new playstyle and creates a
form of pressure not replicated by anything else on this list.

2. Cyberdemon (STOMP STOMP STOMP, that alone raises the
cyberdemon to legend status. Sooooo satisfying to see a
well placed turret cybie. Yes, there are a lot of boring
cybie fights but the sprite, the stomp and the use of 3
splashing projectiles gets the cybie a number 2 spot.)

1. mancubus (That death animation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! a spread
of projectiles, can be deadly in small numbers and is useful
in a huge number of scenarios. My all-around winner.


1. BFG
2. Rocket Launcher
3. rocket launcher
4. Berserk
5. Plasma Gun
6. SSG
7. Shotgun
8. chaingun
9. chainsaw
10. pistol

[SleepyVelvet]

Favorite Monsters:
Tier1:
Archvile - they are cool. they gave me nightmares as a kid
Tier2:
Mancubus - I like these guys, i dunno why but i love fighting them.
Lost Soul - sneaky awesome assholes, if only they had half the health and doubled in number. they also fly, which is awesome.
Shotgun Guy - Keeps you on your feet; fun to pick off
Tier3: Revenant - engaging to fight
Tier4: Arachnotron - good roaming monsters. they roam around, find you, then mow you down.
Tier5: Stuff
Tier6: Baron of Hell - Better than the Hell Knight because it's pink.
Tier7: Hell Knight - They have their place, but they are meh.

Favorite Weapons:
BFG9000 - turns everything into pulp, which is awesome.
Rocket Launcher - requires thoughtfulness when used, or you will kill yourself.
SSG - it has a good rhythm to it: fire - dodge dodge dodge - fire...
Berserked Fist - fun; but would be so much better if the min damage was higher
Chaingun - from a practical standpoint, it's the best weapon to hold when you don't know what fight to next expect, but you rarely finish a fight with it.
Plasma Gun - i don't understand how so many other people can be offended by noises... oh well.
Chainsaw - it's kinda cool but i rarely use it if i have ammo for the chaingun.
Shotgun - i actually enjoy using this a lot against imps and shotgunners.
Pistol - i wish it was more accurate

Also, shoutouts to barrels and crushers.

[Alfonzo]

Getting this out of the way now so I can just link the post in future threads of a similar nature. Monsters:

1. Spoiler

   Red Keycard: Hard as nails, fast-moving asshole that unlocks monster closets without your consent. Better than Bluecard and especially better than Yellowcard. Man... fuck that guy.

2. Archvile: Because Doom is a game in which speed is the player's greatest defense, the archvile is a master-stroke in monster design. It forces aggressive play, provides area denial, has numerous quirks (instantly switching targets in infighting; arch-vile jumping; opening doors from the wrong side ala MAP27) and enforces a spatial awareness that few other monsters can provide. Great sounds and appearance to boot!
   
3. Revenant: The entirety of Doom 2's gameplay philosophy is bundled into the revenant; needing to use space intelligently and demanding the most out of the player's movement skills. It's fun to fight, versatile, and provides the game with a missing link in the middle tier, which was an area uncomfortably inhabited by the cacodemon and demon before it. If it didn't do so much damage, it might not guarantee an immediate shift in the player's priorities and it would lose a huge amount of functionality. Remember this, naysayers!
   
4. Cyberdemon: Placement is crucial; the alternative is a glorified baron. Good cyberdemon placement means constant, unmitigated pressure, and forcing the player to work around/fight against his environment as much as the monster. Plutonia MAP24: Final Frontier demonstrates this by having a nested cyber force the player to advance along the ledge on the other side of the chasm. They also have a great cinematic presence: players mightn't get scared at the sight of the monster these days, but they identify its appearance with what it's capable of, which is instantaneous murder. Placing one around sharp corners in a base-crawler or slower map can catch the unsuspecting player off-guard and really make him scramble in terror (MM MAP28!). It's also a great roaming monster for sandboxes and other open areas.
   
5. Arachnotron: Outstanding pressure and area denial monster when placed at distant vantage points. The nature of their attack means that, when they're placed accordingly, their projectiles remain a threat long after they've stopped firing. Awesome death and sounds, as others have noted.
   
6. Sergeant: Great low-tier priority target. Hard-hitting and keeps the action flowing nicely. Gib material.
   
7. Mancubus: Another great pressure monster, especially when positioned in flanking locations: every player knows the pattern of attack - probably capable of thinking his way past two or three or four salvos of fireball from different angles - but once the number exceeds five or six it becomes a game of dodging that's too hard to win on skill alone, and you find yourself accosted by a legitimate projectile hell. I find them a little boring to fight one-on-one, but when used in greater numbers they're one of the best.
   
8. Chaingunner: Versatile, low-tier pressuring monster that creates chaos better than anything else in the game. Thanks, hitscan! Placement of this monster in more complicated monster arrangements can be tricky to get right sometimes, but they're a pretty safe option for a lower-key base crawl setup. It's not a monster that often get touted as misused very often, but I do think this is case. Makes for very poor gib material - for shame.
   
9. Pain Elemental: Probably the only massive priority target in the game outside of the archvile, and they fulfil this role well. They are perhaps a little bit flawed for their inability to deal with an intimate Doomguy, and this is strange in a game where monster oddities tend only to enhance the gameplay, but it can be worked around simply by... well, providing more Pain Elementals!
   
10. Cacodemon: The ability to fly is all that makes this monster special, unless you're a sucker for big tomatoes and are easily won over by the sights and sounds. I mean, we aren't exactly swimming in choice when it comes to the Doom flight department, and these guys are typically what we're made to opt for given the more specific attributes of the lost soul and PE. Despite this, cacofleets are still a unique gameplay option and I like the freedom they provide the designer with regards to placement in outdoor areas. Fun to shoot down with the BFG, en mass!
    
11. Lost Soul: They're okay! They linger around in a battlefield a lot more efficiently than any other monster because of their ability to carry on into the sunset after missing their target, and that has interesting implications in certain maps/settings. They're also great for ambush setups because of the lack of a wake-up sound, and you can play Pinball Wizard with their charge attack provided you have a berserk pack (this is their greatest asset, frankly).
    
12. Zombieman: Gib material++. I like gibbing things.
    
13. Imp: They're imps. They don't have a very exciting design, which I guess is why I've put them down this low, but there's no denying they're a necessary inclusion in the game.
    
14. Spider Mastermind: Not a bad monster when they're used correctly, truth be told, but using them well is still somewhat demanding on the layout and item balance and this means they lack a lot of utility/versatility. Outside of some very inventive gameplay setups they're not as fun to place as they should be for the level designer. Easily the most misused monster, just quietly - providing any sort of static cover in a closed space is a bad idea unless there are additional pressuring monsters to force you out into open space.
    
15. Spectre: I admire the gimmick behind the spectre, and there's nothing that it can't do that the standard demon can... so here it is! A flavoursome way to pressure the player's movement in dark/monochrome environments.
    
16. Demon: As a stand-alone monster I don't find these guys at all fun to fight, lower-tier as they are. They're just no terribly exciting (this criticism flies out the window on -fast, though, hot damn!). However, in hordes they are a great way to shepherd the player's movement while other, more pressing engagements demand the player's focus.
    
17. Hell Knight: When placing a Hell Knight, ask yourself: "Am I certain that there isn't another monster I could place here to do the job just as well if not better? And wouldn't that be more fun?" If the answer is no, then it's either because you have a limited environment that validates its use... or because you're wrong. Not fun to fight, head-on, although obliterating hordes of them with the BFG/rocket launcher is okay.
    
18. Baron of Hell: Although I've placed this Door With Health™ at the bottom of the list - the worst monster in Doom - it still does perform a unique function if used correctly: hogging much-needed space (E4M2) or pressuring a cornered player in a closed environment. The problem is, this is a task that could be equally fulfilled by two hellknights or a smattering of mancubus, so the only real use you can get out of it is in cases where movement in the environment is delicate enough that overwhelming the player with too much opposing firepower rules out those options. Cool death sound, though! He doesn't scream for water at the last like his pathetic albino counterpart.

Weapons:

1. BFG: Fascianting mechanics that rewards smart movement and observation. Fun to use on single targets both great and small, and on hordes of hapless monsters... both great and small.
2. Berserk Fist: Ducking, weaving, thumping, gibbing. Anything and everything will do; chaingunners, imps, cacodemons. Punch their brains out. Along with the BFG and the SSG, which provides an additional avenue for the concept in Doom 2, the berserk epitomizes the idea of movement while attacking to create engaging gameplay.
   
3. Rocket Launcher: Transforms able-bodied monsters into gibs. Explosions. The Doppler Rocket Punch. The Guantanamo Heatwave.
   
4. Super Shotgun: Partly a balancing-out weapon to emerge alongside the heavyweight monsters of Doom 2, but the close-quarter mechanics ensure that it's also super fun to use while dancing around your opponents, just like the berserk and BFG.
   
5. Plasma Gun: Electric chainsaw. Loud and obnoxious, and fun to use against densely-packed opposition.
   
6. Shotgun: Plugs along with nice, steady metronome, and is quite fun to use against lower tier in bases filled with corners and vantage points. Throw it in against some tougher opposition, however (save maybe for the revenant), and it becomes quickly tiresome.
   
7. Chainsaw: Clearly it's there for fun and not to be useful, foremostly, although it does have its place. Problem is, is isn't quite as fun as it should be, given that this is the case. The screen shudders, Doomguy grits his teeth... but it's not all that viceral. Shame, really, as the idea behind it is great.
   
8. Chaingun: Piddly, but has its uses, especially as it's the only gun to make efficient use of the bullet stock.
   
9. Pistol: No jokes, I was going to place this one much higher precisely because it is so rubbish. It being terrible means that the designer has the option of making the player scramble forward for something bigger, and that fits right into Doom's philosophy. Sorry to have to put you this low, pistol, you deserve better. Thank you for everything.

[TheNerdTurtle2]

Favorite Monsters:
Imp-extremely flexible and can be overused without the map feeling stale.

Mancubus-fun dodging fireballs

Shotgun Guy-really high damage and low health, great for ambushes because you get rewarded with ammo

Demon-might be annoying but they are good at stopping the players progress by blocking the player

Revenant-med health, and high damage causes the player to switch strategies

Cacodemon-different from the others because it can fly and is fun in hordes.

Hell Knight-basically an OP imp....

All the others... they are only okay