Doom Eternal is a hard game even on the easiest settings. The first few missions might be a breeze, but after unleashing a few of their special monsters and demons, the metal music turns from an exciting skull-bashing tune into a fear-inducing festival of trauma and sweat. By the end of the game, even some of the best live streamers are running into generic mobs and dying four or five times in a row before calling it a night and trying again the next day.
This is not a newbie's guide to picking up and playing the game. There is absolutely no slight intended against anyone guilty of the faults that are on this list. In some games, even in some other Doom games, the gameplay is so much different and the path to victory will summarily change. This list was generated after a discussion amongst pros who watched other pros falter. So don't feel bad, just make some changes and that coveted victory screen will pop up in no time.
10 Hoarding Powerups
One common mistake among FPS gamers is that they come from other games in which they try out all of the great weapons, saving points for their favorite gun. This creates two problems that make the game way too hard.
The first reason is obvious; unspent points on upgrades mean weaker weapons. But the second problem is that spending all upgrade points on one or two weapons is a serious problem. Doom Eternal makes players use every weapon at their disposal, so spreading out the upgrades and mods is highly recommended.
9 Poor Weapon Rotation
There are very few FPS games harder than Doom Eternal, but one sure-fire way to make it the hardest of all time is by failing to rotate weapons. With eight guns and even more special weapons, players should be rotating guns constantly.
Every enemy is has a weakness and a gun they do not want to see. Ignore the urge to gravitate to only a few favorite weapons and switch between them. In an ideal fight, all guns should be used about the same amount. For example, being out of rockets but topped off on shotgun shells means something is off about the rotation.
8 Using The Wrong Weapons
One might get away with using a plasma rifle to take down a Cacodemon or two on easier difficulties, but that will absolutely result in defeat when trying to complete an ultra-nightmare run. Think of it as a big game of rock-paper-scissors.
The wrong weapon will kill an enemy eventually, after way too much time and ammo. Even if the ammo can be spared, health cannot. Every shot with lesser effectiveness increases the duration of the encounter and allows the enemies to flood the fight at an unstoppable pace.
7 Not Using Cooldowns
The Slayer limiting his ammo capacity to paltry portions is one of those things that makes no sense about Doom Eternal, but players have to either adjust for this self-imposed limitation or give up the game entirely.
Remember that not every kill requires ammo. The Blood Punch recharges after only a few melee kills and should be used often. Both kinds of grenades and the Flame Belch also only cost time. Do not "save" these moves until they are needed, use them often to stem the tide of demons.
6 Going Blow-For-Blow
Every gamer has done it; they feel like they're about to use their tips and tricks to take down a tough enemy like the Marauder when they decide to stop dancing around, shrug off some damage, and empty their last clip for the finishing blow.
Bad news for Doom Eternal players; health, ammo, and armor don't regenerate inside or outside of combat. Taking extra damage might work for a second or two, it might even work to take down the boss or beat the encounter. But the next encounter will be harder as a result. There is no healer, so don't be a tank.
5 Standing On Refills
With all of the action on the screen moving so quickly, it can be hard to tell exactly what the Slayer is walking or standing on. It's a forgivable mistake, but it is also a potentially fatal one; firing a single bullet on top of a crate of bullets refills only one bullet and then the crate goes away.
Pros are wise to look for the hidden details in order to vanquish their foes, yet the details in plain sight are even more important in the heat of battle. Only run on top of health, armor, and ammo refills if a refill is needed. Otherwise, save them.
4 Stagnating
There is a quasi-sniper rifle secondary fire setting in Doom Eternal, but no sniper rifle gun. Why? Because staying in one place and trying to line up the perfect shot is a recipe for instant death. Dodging incoming fire is a critical skill required to beat the game on nightmare.
That's not all there is to it. Victorious players don't just dash back and forth, they leave rooms, use teleportation devices and launchers, and run all over the place. This makes it so the smaller, weaker, faster enemies get ahead of their protectors. It's perfect fodder as a reward for those who master firing on the run.
3 Improper Chainsaw Usage
Chainsaw management is the single, most important tool for managing health and ammunition. Every amateur knows that it's a great way to fill up when running low on either one and they're not wrong about that.
The problem is that it only has so much gas and can only be used so many times. Players tend to use it reflexively when running face to face with one of the game's horrific demons instead of their Blood Punch, which recharges much quicker. The trick is to use the chainsaw when all weapons are about halfway down on ammo. A chainsaw kill drops ammo for all weapons and using it when only one or two types are running low is inefficient.
2 Tunnel Vision
Big, bad monsters in any video game hold the attention of the players, that's just part of great enemy design. Doom Eternal players will have to build up an immunity to this pressure, however compelling it might be.
Only a few monsters have shields, so any damage they take isn't going anywhere. It's totally fine to get off a few shots and leave a demon almost dead; the Slayer will be able to finish him off later. Go for the easy shots against any threatening enemy, don't try to finish the job before the time is right.
1 Plowing Through
Doom Eternal is a game of secrets. It's totally fine to not be a completionist, hunting down the game's many Easter Eggs, but not all secrets are soundtracks, cosmetics, and toys. Some are extra lives, power-ups, mods, and more.
Bludgeoning through the game might be a great way to get the plot over with, but the plot isn't going anywhere. And the game can easily take longer if the Slayer is constantly under-geared and losing every fight. Explore at least enough to be well-geared for the next encounter and the game will be plenty fast and fun.