DOOM Eternal Guide – The Arsenal Of DOOM

The Doomslayer gets a pretty interesting arsenal in DOOM Eternal. So let’s take a closer look at the weapons, the weapon mods and the upgrades.

Most weapons have two weapon mod slots, which can be further upgraded, though which weapon mods you unlock is up to you. We will also look at what enemies each weapon is the most effective against.

Combat Shotgun

The Combat Shotgun is your starting weapon, replacing the pistol in a subtle nod to Quake’s starting weapon. And I mean, while the pistol has remained a very iconic part of the series arsenal, it was never that useful once you got the other weapons. And one could argue the shotgun is the more iconic weapon.

Aesthetically, it seems to be modeled heavily after the original shotgun in DOOM. Especially when you have the Classic Weapon Pose option enabled. In this pose, the shotgun looks unmistakably classic, and even retains the same cocking animation from classic DOOM.

Sticky Bombs: This adds a grenade launcher to the shotgun that launches, you guessed it, sticky bombs on your enemies. It’s very useful for taking out enemy weak spots if you manage to land a successful hit on them.

As an example, they are particularly useful against Cacodemons who are more than happy to eat them, so make sure you keep them well fed. And they are great for taking out the Arachnotron’s cannon, and the Mancubi’s arm cannons.

Mastery Upgrade: Allows you to launch 5 of them before having to reload.

Full Auto: It gives you a rapid-firing shotgun capable of delivering some fast death to most enemies. The downside is it chews through ammo quickly, so better keep your chainsaw handy.

Mastery Upgrade: Demons killed with the full auto mod will drop shells.

Heavy Cannon

The Heavy Cannon is basically the Assault Rifle from DOOM 2016. It retains the same mods, though overall feels more powerful and useful than its 2016 counterpart. In its basic state, it’s a full-auto rifle that can deal tremendous damage to weaker enemies and is useful for weakening enemies for glory kills.

Precision Bolt: This mod attaches a scope to your rifle and turns your ammo into powerful sniper rounds, capable of taking out enemy weakpoints in a single shot. It’s also really useful for getting headshots.

Like the Combat Shotgun’s Sticky Bombs, it’s really useful against Mancubi and Arachnotrons and most enemies with obvious weakpoints.

Mastery Upgrade: The headshot blast mastery upgrade sets off a secondary blast on headshots that damages all nearby demons.

Micro Missiles: This attaches a load of homing micro missiles to your rifle that can deal pretty decent explosive damage to your enemies. And with the full mastery upgrade, you can fire these micro missiles constantly without having to reload.

Plasma Rifle

When it comes to dealing damage, the Plasma Rifle is pretty reliable. It’s a full-auto rifle that delivers a constant stream of plasma projectiles at your enemies. Most effective against any enemies using shields. It bears a strong resemblance to its counterpart from classic DOOM.

Heat Blast: With this mod your rifle will build up heat as you fire it. Once enough heat has been stored, you can release a powerful blast of plasma heat on your enemies. As much as I wish this would put enemies on fire, it doesn’t, which is a bit of a disappointment and a missed opportunity for some additional tactical use for this mod.

Microwave Beam: Allows you to lock on a target and fire a beam of constant energy into them, until they either explode or you run out of ammo. It’s a pretty good finisher for damaged demons. Also, keep in mind the bigger the demon, the bigger the explosion.

Rocket Launcher

The Rocket Launcher has been a staple part of the DOOM arsenal since the original. And for a good reason. Delivering reliable splash damage and with its ability to efficiently deal with large groups of weaker enemies, it’s become a pretty fun weapon to use.

Remote Detonate: Allows you to detonate rockets mid-flight. Very useful for certain enemies, like the Pinky who has his weak point in the back, or enemies hiding behind shields.

Lock-On Burst: Allows you to lock onto enemies and firing a salvo of 3 homing rockets at them. Deals pretty good damage against most enemies, especially heavy demons.

Super Shotgun

The Super Shotgun is arguably one of the most iconic weapons in the DOOM franchise, next to its Combat counterpart. When this weapon arrived with DOOM II back in 1994, it quickly overshadowed the regular shotgun. Mostly cause of its increased damage output.

The double-barreled boomstick feels taken straight out of Army of Darkness. No coincidence given said the movie’s influence on the original games. And the version in DOOM Eternal bears a striking resemblance to its DOOM II predecessor, with some notable additions.

The standout feature of Eternal’s Super Shotgun is the meathook. This alternate fire allows you to lock onto enemies and pull yourself towards them. Given the Super Shotgun’s extreme point-blank damage, this is a very useful addition.

When fully mastered, the meathook can be upgraded to be on fire, which sets any enemies you lock onto with it on fire. Which is useful considering enemies on fire drop armor, which is always in short supply.

Ballista

The Ballista is one of the new additions in DOOM Eternal. It pretty much acts as a replacement for the Gauss Cannon from 2016. Though it feels substantially different from that weapon in my opinion. Its main feature is that its projectile can penetrate multiple weaker demons, and deals bonus damage to shields.

Arbalest: This charges up an energy projectile that embeds into enemies and explodes after a while. It’s pretty useful against Cacodemons, which you have to kill a certain number of with this upgrade to get the Mastery upgrade for it.

Destroyer Blade: This is an energy blade that can be charged up and unleashed, cleaving enemies in front of you. In my experience, getting this to work was a bit tricky and it seems to be most efficient against weaker demons. So my personal preference for this weapon became the Arbalest.

Chaingun

This iconic devastating dealer of death has been in the games since the beginning. Though its iteration in DOOM 2016 and DOOM Eternal remains largely unchanged. And while it was a workhorse weapon in the classic games, pretty much acting as an assault rifle, it’s considerably more powerful in DOOM Eternal.

It shares the same ammo as the Heavy Cannon, so often it became my replacement for it once I obtained it. Though the Heavy Cannon is great at doing precision shots, which this isn’t for obvious reasons. So it’s more of a crowd control weapon or for confronting heavy demons.

Mobile Turret: Ever thought your chaingun didn’t have enough power? This turns your chaingun into a mobile turret. Though the added firepower comes at the expense of mobility. It also stalls when it eventually overheats, which you can fix with its mastery upgrade.

Energy Shield: If you’re feeling a bit unprotected, this energy shield might help you out. It creates a barrier in front of you that absorbs all incoming damage for a short time. With the mastery upgrade you can even send the shield flying towards enemies once it’s spent, dealing immense damage.

BFG-9000

The BFG-9000 is the little brother of the BFG 10,000. Unlike its big brother it’s not capable of drilling a hole into a planet’s core, but it can still deal with immense damage. The BFG has been a mainstay in the series since the first game and has remained the most destructive weapon in your arsenal.

Delivering a massive ball of plasma, it spreads tendrils that pretty much instantly kill anything but the most powerful of enemies. Ammunition is pretty scarce though, so just make sure you don’t run out for when you need it.

It doesn’t have any upgrades, cause it’s pretty much already the perfect weapon. And it’s still a big freakin’ gun.

Unmaykr

The Unmaykr is a weapon that can only be obtained by completing all six Slayer gates in the game. It uses the same ammunition as the BFG-9000 though functions more like the Unmaker from DOOM 64, which it shares its name with. It fires 3 rapid-fire lasers simultaneously and can deal tremendous damage.

Like the BFG-9000 the Unmaykr cannot be further modified or upgraded. Though given its somewhat mystic nature, that’s to be forgiven.

Crucible

The Crucible is an energy sword that you obtain fairly late in the game. Though it adorns a lot of the artwork for the game, becoming very much Eternal’s signature weapon.

It’s capable of slaying even the most powerful enemies in a single swipe. The caveat is that it only has 3 slots for ammunition before it can no longer be used. So it’s a weapon you have to use wisely, particularly in cases where ammunition is not available.

It doesn’t occupy any of the regular weapon slots. Instead, it’s a quick access weapon, with its ammo count displayed on your HUD.

Chainsaw

The Super Shotgun is not the only weapon that feels distinctly influenced by Army Of Darkness. The Chainsaw is yet another staple in the DOOM franchise, though while in earlier games it became a melee replacer for your firsts, in DOOM 2016 and DOOM Eternal it serves a more strategic purpose.

Killing enemies with the chainsaw grants you ammo for all your weapons (minus superweapons like the BFG-9000 and Unmaykr). So coupled with the other abilities, it’s more of a tactical tool than a weapon. It does instantly kill anything you point it at, provided you have enough fuel.

The Doomslayer’s Abilities

Of course, the Doomslayer has more than just his weapons. His Praetor Suit in Eternal gets a significant upgrade from its counterpart in DOOM 2016. For starters, the Doomslayer has an arm blade that can easily chop up enemies, giving the glory kills some variety. But let’s take a look at what other abilities you get.

Grenade Launcher

The Grenade Launcher is an extremely handy ability. Especially when you get frost grenades. Frost grenades can be set to have enemies drop health, which makes it very useful. Especially considering it also gives you some breathing room while the enemies are frozen.

The frag grenades it comes with are also useful. Fire one at a Cacodemon and there’s a high likelihood the stupid thing will eat the grenade. Big mouth, small brains, am I right?

Flame Belch

The Flame Belch is probably the sweetest addition to the Doomslayer’s suit abilities. It’s a shoulder-mounted flamethrower, which is a good thing considering any enemy on fire will drop armor shards for you. And considering how armor tends to burn away very quickly in this game, you’re going to need it.

Dash

Dash allows you to rapidly speed forward for a bit. It almost feels like you’re basically teleporting forward a short distance, though in my headcanon I just imagine the Doomguy running really fast.

You have two charges of Dash that you can use before it needs to cool down. Though there are suit upgrades you can get that shorten the Dash cooldown period.

Blood Punch

While there are no berzerk packs in the game, the Blood Punch feels like an attempt to make up for this. This ability, which is fueled by glory kills, deals tremendous damage to enemies and sends out a wave of kinetic energy that can turn weaker demons into taco filling.

Other Abilities

In addition to these abilities, there are also new ways of traversal in the game. Wall climbing is a thing in the game and it works pretty smoothly. You basically attach to the wall like a spider and can freely look around while attached before choosing where to jump next.

There are also bars to swing from, giving the movement in the game a very Mirror’s Edge type feel to it. It’s not full on parkour, but you definitely feel very agile in this game. Especially combined with the dash.

So that sums up the arsenal of DOOM Eternal. Make sure to check out my full review if you want more information about the game!