Doom The Dark Ages A Beginner's Essential Guide

Master Doom The Dark Ages with this comprehensive guide covering settings gameplay mechanics pro tips and key missable collectibles.

With a storied 30-year history, the Doom franchise is a pillar of the FPS genre. "The Dark Ages," while the sixth main installment, is part of the rebooted series. The original Doom saga concluded with "Doom 3" in 2004. The series was rebooted in 2016 with "DOOM," followed by "Doom Eternal," and now "The Dark Ages."

Unlike many single-player shooters, Doom emphasizes exhilarating personal skill and gameplay over intricate narrative. Cutscenes primarily serve to provide motivation and set the mood. If you're seeking the deep, character-driven immersion of Titanfall 2's BT-7274 or Call of Duty's Task Force 141, Doom might feel more like a superhero simulator. The game also includes some light puzzle-solving, leading to moments where you switch from intense combat to needing a bit of thought. Don't worry, these puzzles are generally not difficult and shouldn't cause major roadblocks. Players with very high expectations for story presentation or a strong aversion to any puzzles might want to consider this before diving in.

Of course, Doom's enduring appeal over three decades is well-earned. If you can embrace these aspects, the game offers the purest form of FPS charm. "The Dark Ages" is a prequel to "DOOM (2016)," so playing it first won't spoil the other new titles, and you can enjoy them fully afterward.

I. Recommended Basic Settings

Difficulty: Six preset options are available. You can change the difficulty for any chapter at any time before starting it, regardless of your initial choice. "Ultra-Nightmare" and "Nightmare" difficulties offer exclusive character skins upon completion but feature a "permadeath" mechanic (save file deleted on death) that cannot be disabled, though in-game damage parameters can still be adjusted. There are no difficulty-related trophies, so feel free to adjust as you see fit.
Interface: In "Game Settings" under "Interface," it's highly recommended to fully enable "Threat Detection." This displays icons for all incoming off-screen attacks, which is very helpful for new players.
Keybinds (Keyboard & Mouse): Default keybinds might feel unintuitive. Here's a personal setup for consideration:
- Shield Throw: R
- Melee Weapon: V
- Ballistic Crossbow: G
- Use/Interact: E (Originally, shield throw and melee had two trigger keys each; this simplifies them to one.)

II. Core Gameplay Mechanics

Weapon System:
- No Manual Reload: Most weapons have a single "magazine." Combat is about relentless fire and agile movement to dodge attacks.
- Acquisition: 12 weapons in total, all obtained as mandatory rewards during main story progression. No need to pick and choose; once acquired, they're always available.
- Ammo-Type Switching: Mid to late-game weapons often feel like modified versions of earlier ones and share ammo types. You can quickly switch between weapons using the same ammo by pressing 'F' (default). Weapon hotkeys are customizable in settings.
Combat Style & Movement:
- Emphasizes heavy, impactful ground combat with basic jumping and dashing.
- Many combat animations (like glory kills) are unskippable and have wind-up/recovery times.
Shield System (Crucial):
- Block: Hold the button to maintain a shield stance, blocking all frontal attacks. Consumes shield durability (bottom left). Depletion causes a stagger; durability must fully recharge to block again.
- Parry: Raise the shield just as an attack is about to hit. Only parries green enemy attacks (both ranged and melee; melee attacks will have a green glint during wind-up). The timing window is generous. No range or directional limits; a vital mid-to-late game skill.
- Shield Bash: While blocking, if an enemy is in front, press the bash button to charge. It's an AoE attack with clear range, speed, and damage, also usable for executions.
- Shield Saw (Shield Throw): Unlocked in Chapter 2. Allows remote shield throws to control or kill enemies and can break/detonate enemy armor (e.g., attack a Shield Soldier's shield until it glows, then throw to shatter). This is the only attack that can cancel its own recovery animation.
Melee Weapons:
- Three types, each with unique cooldowns and damage profiles.
- Ammo Supply: Hitting demons with any melee weapon drops ammo for all your guns.
- Risk Factor: All melee attacks have unskippable wind-up and recovery animations. You are not invincible during the wind-up (before the hit lands) and can be interrupted.
Enemy States:
- Stagger: Caused by melee attacks or a burst of high damage. Demons will falter, creating a brief opening. High-tier demons have very short stagger windows; parrying is more reliable for triggering this.
- Stun (Purple Aura): Elite demons display this when their health drops to a certain threshold. Allows for an instant melee execution (Glory Kill). You are invincible during the execution animation, and the demon will drop health. Most stuns are timed; if not executed, the demon recovers. Boss-type demons, however, remain stunned indefinitely, which can be exploited for weapon mastery farming.

III. Map and Collection Mechanics

Chapter Structure: 22 chapters in the base game, each lasting about 15-30 minutes. Roughly 18 hours for all achievements without 100% collection.
Holographic Map: Available in each chapter, clearly marking uncollected items.
Key Collectibles:
- Resources (Gold, Rubies, Void Stones): The only items for upgrading your character and weapons. Gold and Rubies might have a small surplus after all upgrades. There are exactly 12 Void Stones in the entire game, precisely enough for the highest-tier upgrade for each weapon. All Void Stones must be collected to fully upgrade all weapons.
- Weapon Mastery: Unlocks after a weapon is fully upgraded, presenting specific kill challenges. Completing these rewards a "Conqueror Gold Skin." Mastering all 12 weapons unlocks the "Firepower Supreme" achievement.
- Weapon Challenges: Unlocked in Chapter 4. These require specific kill methods or exploration tasks within that chapter. Max three per chapter, contributing to map completion. If you've collected all items but are at 99% completion, a challenge might be unfinished.
Collection Friendliness:
- Changing difficulty does not affect collections or challenges.
- When revisiting chapters for missed items, you don't need to play from start to finish. Collection progress is saved in real-time; you can exit immediately after picking something up.

IV. Essential Beginner Tips

Shield Saw Animation Cancel:
- How it Works: The Shield Saw (unlocked Chapter 2) throw sequence is: Press R to throw -> (shield controls enemy) -> (waits for control to end, auto-returns) -> recovery animation. You can press the Block button at any time during this to forcibly recall the shield, skipping the return animation and recovery.
- Applications:
  - Seamless Chain Throws: Use the recall for continuous enemy control.
  - Cancel Weapon "Reload": For example, with the Super Shotgun, there's a 1-second "reload" gap. Using the shield recall can quickly return you to a firing stance (note: the weapon's inherent fire rate cooldown still applies even if the animation is skipped).
  - Burst Combo: During this "invisible cooldown," you can follow up with a Shield Bash. Example: R (throw shield) -> Quick Shot -> Immediately hold Block (recall shield) -> Left Click (Shield Bash).
  - Offense & Defense: The shield recall an instant parry window, allowing you to block incoming projectiles from all directions while attacking.
Farming Weapon Mastery on Boss-Type Demons:
- Target Audience: Achievement hunters / completionists.
- Setup: Progress until you have the "Mace" melee weapon (hits drop lots of ammo) and the "Impaler" ranged weapon (headshots restore melee weapon charges). This combo allows for infinite ammo sustain.
- Settings: Before starting the chapter, set difficulty to "lowest damage to player, highest damage to demons," and set resource value to "highest."
- Method: Find a mission point that spawns a boss-type demon. Damage it until it's critically low and enters its infinite stun state. Then, you can repeatedly shoot it to complete weapon mastery challenges.

V. Easily Missed Key Collectibles (No Specific Map Markers)

Chapter 5: Sacred God Yala-Tarn (Flying Level)
- Hidden Landing Zone 1: From the chapter's starting point, fly forward. You'll see a Titan demon. Kill it with your flying mount to land at its location and explore.
- Hidden Landing Zone 2: After exploring the first zone, fly straight down from that position. You'll soon see two Titan demons. Defeat them, and the last hidden coordinate point will be revealed. (Other exploration points are clearly marked on the main map.)
Chapter 11: Hellbreaker
- Doll: After dismounting from the mech, do not leave. Turn around and look at the mech's head; there's a doll there. If missed, you'll have to replay the entire mech sequence to get it.
Chapter 14: Nilathur's Second Spire (Long Flying Level)
- Hidden Coordinate 1 (contains a Void Stone): Shortly after acquiring the flying mount, fly to the highest possible point. Look around to spot a Titan demon. Defeat it and proceed to the hidden area behind it. Clear out all enemies in this zone to get a Void Stone.
- Hidden Coordinate 2 (contains Weapon Skin & Void Stone): After getting the previous Void Stone and taking off, fly directly towards the lowest mission objective point. As you approach the coordinate, do not land. Look for a hidden passage. Fly straight into it to find a hidden landing zone. Enter the portal ahead, defeat all enemies, and claim your rewards.

This guide should provide a solid foundation for tackling Doom: The Dark Ages. Rip and tear, Slayer!