DOOM Eternal is packed with demons — there are more than 24 entities stalking the burnt remains of Earth. Only the Doomguy has huge enough guts to rip and tear his way through the endless denizens of Hell — and every demon has a particular weakness you can exploit. Many of the weaknesses are shared in the codex, but some strategies you’ll have to figure out for yourself.
Here, I’ll list all the weaknesses I’ve found so far for each enemy type. What weapons work best on them, and what weapons can easily smear some of the most annoying creatures before they permanently end your Doom Marine’s military career. Get my tips below each entry. Some enemies are so easy, they don’t need much explanation. Others? They need a whole lot more.
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Zombies / Mecha Zombies
- Weak fodder that exists to farm resources. Use the Chainsaw for ammo, Glory Kill for health, and Flame Belch for armor.
- Double dash into a standard zombie to put them in a Glory Kill state.
- Mecha Zombies are much tougher. They’re a good target for the Chainsaw.
Imp
- Bullet Weapons are especially good. Heavy Cannon will stunlock an Imp and put them into Glory Kill state faster.
Blaster Soldier / Shield Soldier
- The Shotgun can instantly stagger a Blaster Soldier.
- Shield Blasters are weak to the Plasma Rifle. Overloading their shield will kill them instantly and stun nearby enemies.
- Blood Punch will instantly shatter a Shield Soldier.
Gargoyle
- Like Imps, bullet weapons will stagger Gargoyles. Knock them out of the air while they’re flying to instantly put them in a Glory Kill state.
Lost Soul
- Ice Bomb instantly kills Lost Souls.
- Shotgun blasts will launch Lost Souls backwards and set them off like a grenade — like a Cueball.
Maykr Drones
- Use the Precision Heavy Cannon mod to instantly kill Maykr Drones with a headshot. Use the Rune to give you slo-mo in mid-air!
- Their heads are their only weakness. Their bodies absorb an absurd amount of damage.
- Headshots will cause them to spawn ammo, health, and armor.
Arachnotron
- Use the Precision Heavy Cannon to easily destroy the turret on the Arachnotron’s back.
Cacodemon
- The charged Ballista can instantly kill a Cacodemon from long range.
- Frag Grenades can be used to instantly put them in a Glory Kill state. Use this to avoid spending any ammo at mid-range. You can also use Sticky Grenades with the Shotgun.
Carcass
- The Plasma Rifle can overload the shields the Carcass spawns, killing nearby enemies.
- Blood Punch will also instantly destroy their shields.
- The Carcass will only attack if you get close. Otherwise, it harmlessly generates shields from far away.
Cyber Mancubus
- Blood Punch shatters the Cyber Mancubus’s armor, leaving them exposed. Normal attacks will work on them.
- Combine Blood Punch and a charged Heat Blast with the Plasma Rifle to quickly wreck a Cyber Mancubus.
- You can’t destroy Cyber Mancubus arm cannons.
- Chest Glory Kills cause the Cyber Mancubus to explode.
- Very easy targets for double Frag Grenades.
Dread Knight / Hell Knight
- Use the Chaingun to stun the Dread Knight faster.
Mancubus
- Use the Precision Heavy Cannon to destroy the arm cannons. This disables flamethrowers and makes the blasters weaker.
- Like Cyber Mancubus, a chest Glory Kill will cause the Mancubus to explode.
- An easy target for Frag Grenades. Even better if you have the double Frag Grenade upgrade.
Pain Elemental
- Use Ice Bombs to instantly kill the Lost Souls it spawns.
- The Ballista Arbalest Mod can quickly kill Pain Elemental with three charged shots.
- They’re weak to the standard Ballista as well.
Pinky
- Save your Blood Punch for Pinky demons. It kills them instantly every time.
- The Super Shotgun can insta-kill a Pinky by shooting the back at point-blanc range.
- Use Ice Bomb to easily stop and maneuver behind it for a simple kill.
Prowler
- Ice Bomb will stop its teleportation ability.
- Lock-On Burst is the easiest way to insta-kill a Prowler.
Revenant
- Revenant will stagger faster when shot while in mid-air.
- Use the Precision Heavy Cannon to destroy the shoulder launchers to disable lock-on rockets.
- You can break rocket lock-on by dashing or double jumping.
Spectre
- Ice Bomb will disable cloaking. When stealth is broken, lock-on weapons will work on it.
- Again, the Super Shotgun can kill a Spectre with one shot at close-range.
Whiplash
- Ice Bomb will stop it from slithering.
- Lock-On Burst is a great way to quickly kill them and beat their unpredictable movement.
Archvile
- Use the Super Shotgun at close-range to cause them to falter while summoning. This will kill the incoming demons.
- Use Blood Punch to break their fire shield.
- Save the BFG / Crucible Sword to kill them as quickly as possible.
Baron of Hell
- They’re fast. Use Ice Bombs to slow them down and unlock the weaken upgrade.
- Use Mobile Turret — Chaingun will put them in a Glory Kill state faster.
- Otherwise, use the Crucible Sword.
Doom Hunter
- Aim for the Sled first — use the Ballista to accurately shoot the sled. When it is destroyed, you will permanently disable its rockets / shield.
- Blood Punch does extra damage to the Sled. Save your Blood Punch for the Sled.
- Use Plasma Rifle to disable the Shield, then use the Lock-On Burst Rocket Launcher to damage him extremely quickly.
Marauder
- Extremely deadly enemies. Use the Super Shotgun and wait in medium-range — shoot when their eyes glow green.
- While they’re faltered, quickswap to the BFG or Unmaykr to rapidly kill them. While faltered, one BFG shot will kill them instantly. The Unmaykr kills them in two falters.
- Kill the dog they spawn ASAP.
- Keep moving until all other enemies are taken care of, they face off against the Marauder 1-on-1. They can’t touch you at long-range.
Tyrant
- Tyrants are very slow, and turn slowly. Use double Frag Grenades, Ice Bomb, and Lock-On Burst to rapidly kill them. The Ballista also helps.
- Stay back and use double-dashes to avoid his attacks. If you keep moving, the Tyrant isn’t a very challenging enemy.