Doom Eternal: Ancient Gods Part 2 - How To Beat The Dark Lord

Doom Eternal continues the tradition of absurd difficulty with this magnum opus of boss monsters found at the end of the “Ancient Gods Part 2” DLC. The Dark Lord might be one of the hardest bosses in video game history for one simple reason — it can heal itself. If you’re not playing carefully, this boss can literally last an eternity. Plenty of players are reporting battles that last over an hour. The Dark Lord can just keep healing, and even a small amount of damage can restore him to full health. It only takes 4~ bad hits to lose all your hard-fought progress.

The Dark Lord isn’t just any regular enemy. He’s the King of Hell — and he looks exactly like the Doomslayer. This is a true battle against a foe that’s equal to the hero, and he’s got some seriously devious tricks. He heals, he summons demons, and he just gets tougher every round. A BFG isn’t helpful here. You’re going to need a few extra tricks to take this boss of bosses down.

More Ancient Gods DLC guides:

UAC Atlantica Facility Collectibles Guide | The Blood Swamps Collectibles Guide | The Holt Collectibles Guide | How To Unlock Support Runes & Which To Pick First

How To Fight The Dark Lord | Final Boss Guide

Like a Marauder, you can only deal damage after countering the Dark Lord. When his eyes flash green, shoot him to daze him. Get close (but not too close) to increase the frequency of his sword attacks. He’ll only attack with his sword if you’re at medium range.

The Sentinel Hammer will extend the daze effect — but only while he is dazed. Counter him, then hit the Sentinel Hammer. The Dark Lord also summons wolves. Defeating the wolves drops Sentinel Hammer power-ups.

Dazing the Dark Lord drops ammo. Shooting the Dark Lord will drop health — but he can gain health from you. The Sentinel Hammer also kills all nearby demons instantly. Glory Killing zombies will also recharge the Sentinel Hammer.

Shooting the Dark Lord when he’s not Dazed, or taking damage from his sword or shield will spawn orange health pick-ups that will heal the Dark Lord.

That’s all the basics you need to know for the Dark Lord. But how do you actually fight him? Here’s a few tips.

How To Beat The Dark Lord | Tips & Tricks

The Dark Lord will only heal when you’re damage by his sword / shield. Ranged bullets and bombs will not heal him. Shooting his shield will also heal him. Avoid it!

When the Dark Lord summons a group of demons (Cacodemons, Tyrants, Hell Barons, etc) immediately rush and wipe them out with the Sentinel Hammer. Use it always and often.

The Dark Lord will constantly summon Wolves and an additional Hell Knight in his final waves. Use grenades or the Super Shotgun (can wipe out both dogs) and the Ballista (on the Hell Knight) to wipe them out very quickly. If you have it, immediately use your Sentinel Charge. Defeating them this way will instantly recharge your hammer.

Only attack after using the Sentinel Hammer. Don’t bother trying to do damage if you don’t have a Sentinel Hammer charge ready. Always hunt for new charges!
- It takes two Glory Kills to zombies to regain Sentinel Hammer. Keep it up!

The Heavy Rifle Rocket Mod is powerful against the Dark Lord when dazed. Very simple to use — you can use the regular Heavy Rifle to stagger zombies for more Sentinel Hammer ammo.

The Super Shotgun / Ballista combo is also very effective when the Dark Lord is dazed. Rapidly switch between them both after each shot.

Fire two grenades when the Dark Lord is stunned for free damage.

Double-dash when he brings up his shield to avoid his shield charge.

The only time you can counter the Dark Lord is when he turns his entire body left and swings with his sword. Any other tell will results in an un-counter-able attack.

This fight is about playing as defensively as possible. Clear enemies as they appear — use the zombies for Glory Kills to score Sentinel Hammer charges when you don’t have any, and chainsaw them for ammo.

More DOOM Eternal guides: