Doom: The Dark Ages just got a new patch, Update 2.2, and the notes bring up some bug fixes and Steam Deck verification.
Released earlier this year, Doom: The Dark Ages brought the rip and tear of past titles to Medieval times. Reviews called the game a bloody good time, besting the previous Doom Eternal. While it wasn’t as popular as others, it remains one of 2025’s best shooters. Luckily, there’s more to enjoy thanks to Update 2.2, which releases today.
The patch, releasing on all platforms, aims to fix many bugs and Quality of Life (QoL) issues. Furthermore, Doom: The Dark Ages is now Steam Deck Verified, so the game can be played successfully on the portable console. More additions include adjustments to The Ripatorium and tuning of the Brink of Death system.
Doom: The Dark Ages Update 2.2 Full Patch Notes
The complete patch notes for Doom: The Dark Ages Update 2.2 can be found below. Further details about the Steam Deck and other information can be found on the game’s official blog post.
New Handheld PC Optimizations
Handheld Setting Autodetection
- On first launch using a handheld PC device, the game will autodetect the optimal settings. Players may further customize the settings based on personal preferences.
- Settings are stored per device, allowing players to customize their experience per individual device.
Handheld Performance
- Optimized general performance, VFX and SFX for handheld PC devices.
- Added advanced optimization settings and Benchmark Mode specifically for handheld PC users.
- Added quality-of-life input improvements when the device is docked, including external controller detection.
Handheld Device Specifications
- Steam Deck : 720p @ ~30FPS
- Z1 Devices : 720p @ ~30FPS (such as ASUS ROG Ally)
- Z1E Devices : 1080p @ ~30FPS (such as ASUS ROG Ally X, Lenovo Legion Go)
- Z2A Devices : 720p @ ~30FPS (such as XBOX ROG Ally)
- Z2E Devices : 1080p @ ~60FPS (such as XBOX ROG Ally X)
Bug Fixes & Improvements
Enemy AI:
- Resolved a rare crash if the player used the Shield Throw on Plasma Shield Soldiers with the “Power Surge” Shield upgrade.
Final Battle:
- Visuals for area denial from Prince Ahzrak’s Blood Pillars expiring now render correctly.
- Fixed a rare crash when using the BFC during the beginning of each phase of the enhanced Prince Ahzrak boss fight.
Gameplay:
- Fixed an issue where death and damage stats were not registering properly in cases of multiple damage instances occurring on the same frame as an entity death. (This change also addresses a bug where the Accelerator Mastery Challenge was not incrementing properly).
- Cycler Plasma Gun no longer glows white when fired with Berserker Power in Harbor of Souls and Resurrection.
- Using the Shield now correctly recovers from staggering during a melee strike while attempting to block or parry. This prevents a Shield lockout or cases where the Shield would briefly pop into a blocking state after the input was released.
Levels
- Hebeth
- Fixed an issue where reloading checkpoints after the Gold and Sentinel Shrine tutorial could cause objectives to vanish until level restart or transition.
- Sentinel Barracks
- Mancubus no longer respawns during the Vagary Champion boss fight.
- Removed Hell Knight and Stalker Imp reinforcements from Mancubus Leader spawn wave in the burning tree fight.
- Siege – Part 1
- Hell Knights, Stalker Imps and Imps no longer respawn during the Vagary fights throughout the battlefield.
- The wolf statue Ruby no longer gets stuck behind a red energy gate if it is not collected after breaking the wolf statues and reloading the south gore portal checkpoint.
- Siege – Part 2
- Fixed an issue where an errant Serf could appear in the courtyard when reloading the checkpoint.
- Ancestral Forge
- Arachnotron no longer respawns during Agaddon Hunter fight at the end of heart sandbox section.
- Fixed a potential crash when loading a checkpoint after dying in the Agaddon Hunter fight in the Ancestral Courtyard.
- Spire of Nerathul
- Chaingun Arachnotron no longer respawns during final encounter of the cathedral stasis emitter section.
- Temple of Lomarith
- Arachnotron and Cacodemon no longer respawn during the shipwreck morale fight.
- The melee pickups now appear correctly on the secret boat “Hell Knight rush” encounter.
- Resurrection
- The armored Arachnotron that spawns after the Acolyte dies no longer respawns during first morale fight.
- Reckoning
- Arachnotron no longer respawns during buffed Agaddon Hunter encounter.
The Ripatorium
All Platforms:
- Vagaries should now only spawn in open areas where they can move around.
Xbox Only:
- Fixed a crash to the Xbox home screen when changing profiles while suspended in an active Ripatorium match with full demon bar.
Audio
- Fixed an issue where the Shield Saw grinding SFX could stop if the player opens the Dossier while the Shield is in a Power Node and then returns to gameplay.
UI
- Fixed an issue with Codex entries not tracking progress properly after revisiting levels via Mission Select.
- Resolved an issue with the Ripatorium tutorial pop-up intended for first visit of the game mode occurring on subsequent visits.
- Fixed bug where opening the Dossier the frame after breaking a metal lock or using a switch could cause the trigger to fail and block progression.
- Addressed a potential crash when Alt-Tabbing away and returning to the game during a load screen.
VFX
- Corrected issue where picking up a toy collectible could trigger the Shield or an equipped weapon’s visual effects during the animation.
- Addressed stray purple lines appearing when overloading a Cacodemon with the Cycler.
- Addressed bug where first-person gore overlay flickers around screen edge during AI execute actions while resolution scaling is active.
New Active Tunables
- Reduced damage of certain attacks from the Agaddon Hunter, Cosmic Baron, Hell Knight and Komodo to reduce the number of attacks that break the Shield in one hit on Nightmare Difficulty.
- Adjusted the Brink of Death system on all difficulties to be more in line with the game at launch. This system protects the player from certain instances of lethal damage, creating the opportunity to fight back from a near-death state.
Did you play Doom: The Dark Ages? What did you think of it? Let us know in the comments, on the forums, and in the official Insider Gaming Discord!
For more Doom, check out our articles on being playable on a portable charger and Doom Slayer in Tony Hawk Pro Skater. Make sure to subscribe to our weekly newsletter!
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