I completed UV a while back. To me the biggest skill checks were Super Gorenest, Sentinel Prime, and Nekravol – Part II. It took me a while to figure out my positioning for Gorenest, I had trouble getting overrun in a couple of the kill rooms that early on without upgrades. I used the battle rifle + scope quite a bit in UV, and to circle the outside walls of kill rooms, find choke points, or get snipe positions depending on the room. I skipped all challenge gates because I found them way too difficult on UV to bother with trying to complete. I could write a more in depth guide if anyone is interested, I found certain upgrades completely useless in UV. I also watched quite a few of the high level UV runs on youtube that I shared earlier to help me complete my run. I’m OK at quick switching but some of the speedrunners are GODLIKE and I had to play more conservatively because I wasn’t nearly as good at it.
What upgrades you recommend skipping over? And are you on PC or console? I feel a little held back with the quick switching using a controller on PS4.
Yeah, there’s quite a few upgrades that aren’t needed. I don’t bother with Auto Fire (Combat Shotgun), Energy Shield (Chaingun), Microwave Beam (Plasma), destroyer Blade (Ballista), or Remote Detonation (Rocket Launcher) at all.
I wish i could use the Precision Bolt better, but I struggle with fine aiming on controller and I always seem to take a few seconds too long, so just just heavy fire and run like a mad man.
Speaking of which, I just tried out the Blood Fueled rune in place of Chrono Strike, and it’s amazing. I cant see me going back (except for during the Kahn Maykr fight).
I’m now trying to do a Extra Lives run on Nightmare, in hopes of getting the phobos skin (beating extra lives mode with 10+ lives), but have died 12 times by the end of Cultist base with 8 lives left, so it likely ain’t happening this time, lol… Also, you can do it on any difficulty, but I do want to eventually beat this on UN so it’s good practice.
I love this game though. I finished my UV campaign last night at 1am, and then started the extra lives run right after. I cant think of any other single player game that takes hours/days to complete, that I’d do that with.
Here’s my upgrade path on PS4. I don’t do any Slayer Gates, and secret encounters are detailed below. Some of the weapon point upgrades are done after the level in the Fortress of Doom (usually after bosses). These are tailor suited for me and what i found works best for my play-style (movement focussed), and I try to prioritize upgrades so I have them when I need them based on strategies I’ve come up with for certain enemies/areas:
Weapon Upgrade Summary
Hell on Earth:
- Combat Shotgun - Sticky Bombs
- Skip the 2nd modbot (for now)
- At 3rd modbot (in subway area), equip Heavy Cannon - Micro Missiles
- At end of level, fast travel back to 2nd modbot and equip Heavy Cannon - Precision Bolt
Exultia:
- Secret Encounters: do both
- modbot: Plasma Rifle - Heat Blast
- don’t spend any weapon upgrade points here
Cultist Base:
- Secret Encounters: do first (before getting SSG), ignore second (after jumping up two round columns before last arena)
- modbot: Rocket Launcher: locked-on burst
- Rocket Launcher / Lock-on Burst: Fast Reload (3 points)
- Rocket Launcher - Locked-on Burst: Quick Lock (6 points)
- SSG: Fast Hands (6 points)
- SSG: 3 point upgrade
Doom Hunter Base:
- don’t spend any weapon points, but get mastery over SSG meathook (if not done by Doom Hunter, run around and kill fodder after he’s knocked off base in first section).
Super Gore Nest:
- Secret Encounters: ignore first (at first buff totem area), do second (at toxin pit)
- Modbots: get Ballista’s Arbalest first, then Chaingun’s Mobile Turret
- Ballista - Arbalest: Full Speed (3 points)
- Ballista - Arbalest: Stronger Explosion (6 points)
- Plasma Rifle - Heat Blast: 6 point upgrade
ARC Complex:
- Secret Encounter: do first (across gap in airplane crash tower), ignore second (on way to 2nd turret)
- Plasma Rifle - Heat Blast: Quick Fire (3 points)
Mars Core:
- Secret Encounter: ignore both
- Chaingun / Mobile Turret: Fast Gunner (6 points)
- Chaingun / Mobile Turret: Rapid Deploy (3 points)
Sentinel Prime:
- Heavy Cannon / Precision Bolt: Mobility (3 points)
- Heavy Cannon / Precision Bolt: Fast Loader (6 points)
Taras Nabad:
- Secret Encounters: ignore both
- Weapon Mastery Coins: Chaingun - Mobile Turret, then Ballista - Arbalest
- Heavy Cannon / Micro Missiles: Quick Recharger (1 point)
- Heavy Cannon / Micro Missiles: Instant Loader (3 points)
Nekroval pt1
- Secret Encounters: ignore both
- Weapon Mastery Coins: Plasma Rifle: Heat Blast, then Heavy Cannon: Precision Bolt
- Heavy Cannon / Micro Missiles: Primary Charger (5 points)
Nekroval pt2:
- Secret Encounters: ignore
- Weapon Mastery coin: ignore
Urdak:
- Secret Encounters: ignore
- Weapon Mastery Coin: Heavy Cannon: Micro Missiles
My runes (in order of unlocking are): Air Control, Blood Fueled, Equipment Fiend, Chrono Strike. As of now, I’ll only swap out Blood Fueled with Chrono Strike during Kahn Maykr fight
My praetor points are pretty much Hot Swapper, Thicker Skin, Grappler, Faster Dasher, then I get all Ice Bomb upgrades, then Hit and Run, then get all frag grenade upgrades. Because these are for a UN prep for me (and staying alive is critical), I get Thicker Skin earlier than if it’s a more casual play-though, which I would normally save for after max upgrading Ice Bomb.
Word. I’ll keep all that in mind when I get to my UV run. I’m getting close to beating FF7R so it should be soon.
I am playing on PC, so precision sniping is much easier. I ended up using every single pushbutton on the mouse + clickwheel + clickwheel push + most of the keys surrounding WSAD. It’s bananas keeping track of that many button presses.
RECOMMENDED SUIT UPGRADES:
· DUAL FRAG + FROZEN BOMB DURATION ARE HUUUUUUUGGGEEEE EARY GAME
· I got ice bomb + dual frag + regen barrels + ammo barrels + tough skin as my first few upgrades. I would farm barrels for ammo as early game I was constantly running out of ammo.
- Weapon Upgrades:
Shotgun - STICKY BOMB ALL DAY, though I found out about an auto shotgun trick at the end of my UN run, and I used it some on the last 2 levels. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFosnBAWbWQ
Heavy Cannon - PRESCISON BOLT - the amount of damage that headshots from the heavy cannon give you vs micro missles isn’t even comparible. Micromissles also burn way too much ammo for the damage that they give, and I found them completely useless in most situations in UN.
Plasma Cannon - I found the microwave ray to be more useful than the heat blast, but I abused the stun lock glitch with the microwave ray. I also liked it because it was a great way to check the health bar on heavies and super heavies to know how close they were to being down.
- RUNE CHOICES
A. Chrono Strike - Really good early on with precision bolt, I swapped this for punch and reave after I had more upgrades.
B. DAZED AND CONFUSED - Really useful for crowd control because of the mob size in ultranightmare it is VERY hard to get downed heavies at certain points in the game. This gives you a LOOONG time to work back to them and saves you having to risk your life.
C. EQUIPMENT FIEND - I use grenades+ice bombs A TON and this perk makes it so that I almost always have them refreshed and ready to go.
C. PUNCH AND REAVE - I didn’t find this one particularly useful until after sentinel prime (when you get the second blood punch stack), it’s a nice to have another way of getting health while avoiding mobs. Especially Ice bomb + flame belch + punch and reave = SO MUCH HEALTH AND ARMOR. I could also see the argument for BLOOD FUELED but as I played defensive it wasn’t very useful for my playstyle.
I still won’t do an Ultra Nightmare run.
That shit is insane.
Nice!
The auto shotgun and microwave beam stun-lock tricks are nice, but because i play on controller, I hate switching between mods on a weapon in a fight. Its enough work to switch between more than two weapons as it is, so I personally like picking one mod per each gun (other than the heavy cannon, where I use Micro Missiles until I get the Plasma Rifle and then keep Precision Bolt for the rest of the game).
I suppose I could upgrade Auto Shotgun as opposed to Micro Missiles (because i don’t use sticky bombs after I get the Rocket Launcher and Micro Missiles is more of a contingency against Kahn Maykr), but I also use the chainsaw very often, especially now with Blood Fueled as it works after a chainsaw cinematic as well, so pulling up the weapon wheel twice (to change to and change back) for a few shells isn’t worth it for me (also, unrelated, but regarding blood fueled, the movement speed is faster than a dash, so i have to stop my habit of dashing after a GK/chainsaw because it’s slowing me down and wasting dashes).
Also I love the Plasma Rifle Heat Blast. Definitely not the strongest weapon in the game by any means, but it’s nice crowd control and the powered up shots after a max-powered blast tear through enemies.
It is. I’m trying because i love this campaign. It’s my favourite single player game in a very long time, perhaps ever. So this gives me a good reason to keep coming back and honing my skills, and improving my knowledge of the maps.
I need to watch how some of these people run though the campaign in like 6 hours. I’ve been doing this extra lives run for like 8 hours today and am only on Mars Core.
Doom speedrunning old classic DOOM or new Eternal one is nothing short of magic. I have mad respect for the guys who make it look so easy. I suggest looking at the tactics that speedrunners do to see what you’re missing in your attempt to have a more faster pass through the campaign.
This guy is WAAAAAAYYY better than me at this game, but it is interesting to watch someone with high level execution:
Here is a guy playing on PS4 pro, but IIRC he is using a pad with paddles on the back:
The first runner is insane. Dude wiped out an arena in Urdak I died at 4 times last night in like 10 seconds without a BFG or crucible. He also skipped quite a few fights and platforming sections. I’ll definitely take some notes from him.
The second runner (SMVR) is nuts too. He plays a bit more like i do, though he’s obviously much better and has absolutely mastered the timing of the weapon wheel to pop-up and allow from control of your right stick (if you do it too early, you wildly throw off your aim). His accuracy (especially with precision bolt on a controller is crazy). I also want that back button attachment too. I hate that i cant press flame belch or GK/melee and move my aim at the same time, or take my fingers off my movement stick to switch weapons mode or equip the crucible. Putting flame belch and GK/melee on the back buttons would free up the face buttons so I could at least move while switching weapons mods or to crucible.
Thanks for posting those though. I have some arenas i always struggle with and these will give me more insight into better options for me.
This is the guy I imitated on my UN run and is the closest to my style of play. I finally found his vid!
Draqu is crazy good, but i can’t begin to understand how he gets so many BFG shots… He should leave Mars Core with one, but uses 2, maybe 3 against the Gladiator. He definitely shouldn’t have any in Taras Nabad but fires a shot before any pickup. In that level’s Gate (which he does at the end), he fires two shots, then in the Fortress of Doom after getting the Unmaykr, you see he has full ammo again. Unlocking the Unmaykr may replenish your ammo, but I don’t know how he has so much during the gladiator and has any to start Taras Nabad with.
Edit: I re-watched the video and there’s a couple things I didn’t realize:
-
He saves three (out of the four) ammo Sentinel Crystals until he gets a BFG (which refills your BFG ammo completely). Personally, I don’t think I could make it this far in the run using the crystals the way he does, but he’s much better than me, and is basically just trying to get as many BFG shots as he can to shave time off arenas
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It seems that when you enter the 2nd stage against the Gladiator, it refills your BFG ammo, even if you’re empty. Additionally, even if you use these two shots during this second stage, you will start Taras Nabad with two shots… I need to test this, because if this is true, it would definitely alter my strategy on Mars Core and against the Gladiator
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When you get the Unmaykr, it does seem to refill your BFG ammo completely
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When he picks up the Haste power-up in Nekravol Pt2, he unloads the Unmaykr for the whole time without losing ammo. It never occurred to me that while Haste gives infinite ammo temporarily, it would work with the BFG ammo as well (or maybe it’s just the Unmaykr? I need to test this). I don’t really struggle in this arena, but what the hell? Anything to reduce the odds of dying is worth a try.
I just discovered this TOO OP Doom Mod
You can download it here.
https://forum.zdoom.org/viewtopic.php?t=29915&
I’m curious what your guys thoughts are on skipping fights?
I understand it in speed runs and I don’t knock anyone for doing it, but it’s something that I struggle with. I doubt myself a lot and feel like if I did a successful UN run while skipping a fight, that I’d say something to myself like “yeah, but you probably couldn’t do it without skipping that fight on that stage”, etc.
Casual play sure, in Competitive Speed Runs, CHEAT, CHEAT, CHEAT !!!
I know in some speed runs, not skipping key parts of the game grants you a better outcome than the person you are competing against even if they get a better time than you, even if the part you skipped or not is completely optional. Like releasing the friendly aliens in the end of Super Metroid, it cost you like a extra 2 seconds but it a major sticking point in competitive Super Metroid Speed Runs.
Isn’t it fairly normal though? I used to watch a lot of Megaman speed runs, and they’d often run past random level enemies.
In the context of Doom Eternal, I don’t mind seeing Draqu skip fights in a 100% run, because he completes the arenas so the demonic corruption bar is still 10/10. He’s also amazing and doesn’t need to skip fights to beat UN, he’s only skipping fights where strategic to get the best times.
Also, regarding the BFG Ammo for the Gladiator, I tested it, and the good news is that your two BFG shots refill automatically on the second Gladiator stage, so you can leave Mars Core with zero shots (which allows me two extra shots than i typically use, so I’ll use one in the buff totem arena, and one in the last arena).
Also, if you fire those two shots in the second Gladiator stage, when you return to the Fortress of Doom (which is filled with fodder demons), your BFG ammo is refilled again!
The not-so great news is the BFG shot seems to do very little to the Gladiator to the point where I think there are better weapons to use (it seems like locked on rockets may even do more damage than a direct hit), but at least you can make Mars Core easier on yourself.