Does the chainsaw make the game too easy?

I think I saw some posts here about people criticizing the chainsaw gameplay for becoming too easy, as you could just go berserk and saw anyone in the way. Quite indeed, it does something like 50 damage per unit, but I'm also noticing that it's a bit counterbalanced by the fact that monster melee attacks push your view direction, making you miss (it's a bit harder to chainsaw imps or demons without pain).

I'm wondering: is it technically prohibitive to use the chainsaw sometimes? Or can you finish the whole game on Veteran just by using the chainsaw (and guns only on remote enemies) and suffering minor damage from some monsters?

I easily blew my way through the Xbox port on Veteran using (almost) nothing but the chainsaw and the shotgun occasionally, so I'd say that it makes the game much less challenging. There's usually enough health to replenish what you'll lose when charging in to saw stuff to death, and even the bigger monsters will succumb to it pretty quickly.

I've more recently played the PC version though, and the hit detection or autoaim must be different, because it's a lot harder to hit with the chainsaw, as well as the flashlight.

I usually go several levels using the chainsaw exclusively so that I can stock up on enough shotgun ammo to last me for the rest of the game.

Last couple times I played, I just used a Chainsaw on a Hell Knight just to I could progress faster. If it can take down an HK easily, I guess it may be a tad overpowered.

Overpowered or not you gotta love that thing. Especially crouching down in a corner with it revving and letting Cherubs come up to you to get sawed into little bloody demon-baby chunks.

I almost never used the thing. Powerful or not, it's generally less dangerous to just shotgun an Imp and call it a day. The saw was so useful in the old DOOM games because it could lock certain enemies in their pain state, making them immobile; no such luck in this game.

Quasar said:

Cherubs come up to you to get sawed into little bloody demon-baby chunks.

If only they actually did fly into chunks... Sigh... Someone needs to make a Mod to do that.

Anyways, the Chainsaw is a bit overpowered maybe in Doom 3. However the damned thing really does come in handy especially with Trites and like Quasar said, Cherubs.

Mithran Denizen said:

I've more recently played the PC version though, and the hit detection or autoaim must be different, because it's a lot harder to hit with the chainsaw, as well as the flashlight.

I wouldn't think the PC version would have autoaim.

I can't recall if the Xbox port did either, actually, but I know that it's harder for me to use the chainsaw, and to melee with the flashlight in the PC version.

I vaguely recall something about how they disabled locational damage on enemies when porting it though, as it was too hard to score headshots with the controller thumbsticks, or something. I imagine that they probably put in autoaim at the same time, or changed the hit detection in some other way.

Xbox port definitely has auto aim. Shots that I know I missed show up with a red hit indicator and damage the targeted enemy.

Lol consoles.

Quasar said:

Overpowered or not you gotta love that thing. Especially crouching down in a corner with it revving and letting Cherubs come up to you to get sawed into little bloody demon-baby chunks.

This. It's the one weapon which is faithful to it's equivalent in the original games. Even the super shotgun in RoE lacked a certain "character", for me.

I never use the chainsaw, but I can see how it can be overpowered if you use it to shield yourself from all the pesky smaller enemies.

The chainsaw is definitely an easy way out in melee combat, but what made the chainsaw most important to me was that it's REALLY FUN to use. When I picked it up for the first time I was like 'AAAAWWW YEAH!I'm gonna saw EVERYTHING now' and I d-padded it almost immediately.

I use it on imps, pinkies, wraiths, maggots, cherubs and zombies; anything that comes upclose or that I can otherwise lure to me or run up to without suffering too much damage.
For the harder monsters like revenants, mancubus, and hellknights, though, where getting upclose would mean getting blasted in the face with some heavy artillery I usually go for the trusty chaingun, my old friend from Quake2. :)

On the Doom Wiki I remember seeing that the chainsaw does 50 damage per "round", at 10 rounds per second. So it does 500 damage per second. By that logic, you can kill a mancubus in 2 seconds. I suppose it's good that he has the little smash thing, then.