The 10 BEST Weapons in DOOM: The Dark Ages
Super Shotgun
During our time with “DOOM: The Dark Ages”, we were unphased to learn that the Super Shotgun is incredibly powerful. Under normal difficulty settings, one blast of shells can almost instantly kill beefy enemies such as the Mancubus and the Hell Knight. It especially comes in handy when you’re going against more annoying foes like the Revenants and the new Acolytes. Unfortunately, the low ammo count caused us to use the Super Shotgun rather sparingly, more so than most of the other “DOOM” games. But hey - this is a game that wants you to utilize melee attacks a lot more than usual.
Combat Shotgun
In all honesty, we wound up preferring the Combat Shotgun over its more aggressive counterpart. The main reason for this is because of some of the upgrades you can get later down the line. One upgrade can cause enemies to drop armor from a simple blast while another upgrade allows you to fire three blasts from one pull of the trigger. Bounce between firing and meleeing, and you can wind up becoming a nearly unstoppable force on the battlefield. Just don’t expect it to be too efficient once Leaders and Valgaries start getting thrown into the mix.
Flail
We’ve mentioned how “DOOM: The Dark Ages” places a heavy focus on melee, so let’s talk about the better option for melee attacks. As you progress, you’ll unlock three melee weapons to use: the power gauntlet, the flail, and the Dreadmace. The flail was our top choice due to how it could heat up and shatter armor off of demons. It was also a much quicker attack compared to the power gauntlet and Dreadmace, both of which have heftier charge-up animations. Besides, it was fun seeing a chained ball of spikes make demons explode into viscera.
Grenade Launcher
The grenade launcher is perhaps the best way to cause havoc on the battlefield, and the upgrades for this can make fights seem even more chaotic. At the very start, one will notice that the grenades do not explode upon contact. Instead, these ones will bounce around and only explode when an enemy touches them. Upgrades can make them much more volatile by spawning additional grenades after the first big boom. Just make sure you’re still at a comfortable distance from the fodder you’re aiming at.
Cycler
While the Plasma Rifle does prove useful early on as the Accelerator, we found ourselves using the Cycler way more. This is because the Cycler strikes a better balance between fire rate and damage output compared to the Accelerator. Plus, the Cycler boasts a unique upgrade that can quickly erase Hell’s forces. You can outfit the Cycler with an ability that shocks enemies and causes them to electrocute their allies upon death. Load up one, and the second it explodes, you can start quickly erasing demons with reckless abandon.
Rocket Launcher
Ever since the very first “DOOM”, the rocket launcher has more or less been a “use with caution” kind of weapon. You can easily put yourself on the brink of death if you are firing at close targets. However, “DOOM: The Dark Ages” offers an upgrade that encourages complete lack of control; the “Cannibalism” upgrade grants a temporary self-healing ability from explosions after parrying an attack. Play it smart, and you can use this as an incredibly effective method in cheating death.
Shield Saw
Given it's a rather key mechanic in the game, it seems a bit unfair to name the Shield Saw one of the most powerful weapons in “DOOM: The Dark Ages”. However, even without the ability to block incoming damage and parry attacks, the Shield Saw truly is immensely strong. At first, it seems like a simple novelty mechanic, but upgrades can wind up turning you into a bloodthirsty Captain America with abilities that can make the shield ricochet off enemies and even extend its blades out to chop more fodder enemies.
Impaler
The Shredder can easily make mincemeat out of most demons, but the Impaler, despite its limited ammo, can drop fights down to “I’m Too Young to Die” difficulty. A single shot from the Impaler can inflict an insane amount of damage against any demon, and upgrades can turn it into something unbelievably broken. While one upgrade causes demons to drop Impaler ammo after being shot, another upgrade can recharge your melee attacks upon landing a headshot. In other words, what you have is a theoretically endless sniper rifle that allows you to bully even the Cyberdemon.
BFC
It's really no surprise that “Dark Ages’s” own BFG is among the “best” weapons in the game. Unfortunately, it may also be the weakest rendition of the BFG in the entire franchise. Don’t get it twisted - the BFC can delete entire hordes in a single shot. It is an absolute beast of a gun. The reason why it isn’t the best weapon of the game is because there are no available upgrades. Although, does the BFC really need any? Besides, our final entry can turn you into an immortal.
Ravager
Even though the Pulverizer comes in handy when trying to inflict damage on multiple enemies, the second you get the Ravager is the second you drop every other weapon you’ve obtained so far. Sure, the fire rate is slow at the start, but the longer you fire, the faster it gets. Plus, there is one upgrade where your shots will cause demons to drop health orbs. Yes, you can become virtually unstoppable with this upgrade as you can almost ignore any other demon while you just pepper the biggest cow in the herd and harvest health from them. Broken? Absolutely, and you’d be remiss to completely ignore the Ravager.
Which weapon are you using the most in “DOOM: The Dark Ages”? Let us know down in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great videos everyday!
