Doom: The Dark Ages: Beginning Tips

Doom: The Dark Ages puts players back in the role of the Doom Slayer once more; but things look quite a bit different than they did in previous outings. Serving as a prequel to 2016’s Doom, this newest entry in the franchise features a heavy medieval flavor, so you’ll need to master using a shield and flail alongside the usual bevy of deadly guns you’ve come to expect. If you’re diving into the game and want a few tips on how to approach this fresh take on the series, we’ve got you covered below.

1. Customize the experience
2. Explore your environments (it’s worth it!)
3. Master your shield
5. Take on every mission challenge

You can customize your gameplay to suit your preferences

Doom: The Dark Ages doesn’t gatekeep. While you’re free to tackle the game on a pre-set difficulty, you can also customize your gameplay experience with a variety of sliders. These give you control over things like the difficulty and aggression of enemies, how much damage you do to demons, your parry window, and even the overall game speed.

And remember: There is no wrong answer here. Gaming is meant to be fun, so adjust these settings to wherever they need to be for you to have a hell of a good time. Besides, if you decide you want to increase or decrease the challenge, you can hop into the menu and change the sliders at any time.

Exploration is more important than ever

Exploration has always led to useful things in the Doom franchise, but you’re really going to want to seek out every nook and cranny in Doom: The Dark Ages. By thoroughly exploring each mission, you’ll uncover vital upgrade materials that are necessary for improving your weapons and abilities. Without these killer upgrades, you’ll be leaving a lot of damage and utility on the table, so keep a close eye on any icons on your map and hunt those materials down!

In addition to upgrade materials, you’ll also find plenty of collectibles and skins for your weapons scattered about missions. So if you’re a fan of looking stylish while you mow down Hell’s hordes, then you have even more reasons to chase down every question mark on the map.

Sometimes, the best offense is a good defense

Doom: The Dark Ages differs from previous Doom titles in that you’ll spend a lot of time parrying with a shield, which deflects damage back at whatever demon thought it was a good idea to mess with you. While this might initially feel a bit at odds with the franchise’s fast-paced first-person shooting, you’ll soon find that parrying flows effortlessly into the rest of your kit to become one of your most useful strategies for making quick work of baddies.

If you see demons coming at you with a green attack or firing green projectiles your way, that’s your cue to deflect and then lay into them. Once you master this thrilling dance between offense and defense, you’ll finally be the Doom Slayer we always knew you could be.

Missing mission challenges would be a mistake

Early in Doom: The Dark Ages, you’ll be introduced to mission challenges, which provide you with three optional tasks in a level. Completing these tasks earns you rewards like weapon skins or extra gold to be used toward all-important upgrades, so it’s a smart idea to always check them in your menu at the beginning of a level so that you can be sure to work on them as you explore.

Moreover, mission challenges can sometimes give you vague hints as to where you may find some well-hidden secrets. For instance, one level has a mission challenge that specifically asks you to land at two secret spots while exploring an open-ended area with your dragon. If you didn’t know those existed, you may have been left frustrated about why you could never find the final secrets in the level. Thanks for all you do, mission challenges. We love you.

Doom: The Dark Ages is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows PCs.