An FPS game isn’t necessarily defined by its weapons, but they can help. DOOM: The Dark Ages is the type of shooter you go into with expectations, and Bethesda’s weapons certainly don’t disappoint.
DOOM: The Dark Ages is a new entry from the minds at Bethesda. It’s a prequel, from a lore perspective, but it still boasts one of the most impressive rosters of weapons the franchise has seen. How else are you going to devastate demons and implode Imps without brute-force guns?
We’ve rounded up details of every weapon in DOOM: The Dark Ages and a rundown of each one.
How Many Weapons Are in DOOM: The Dark Ages?
DOOM: The Dark Ages has a total of 16 weapons for you to use: This number consists of Shotguns, automatic weapons, and big guns that do big damage!
There are surprises thrown in here. Each weapon is tailor-made for specific situations and can cater to many playstyles. For the majority of the game, I enjoyed the combination of the Super Shotgun and Cycler to accommodate close-range and medium-long range skirmishes, and regular melee hits ensured my ammo was stocked up.
Also, when it comes to mini-bosses or main bosses, you can’t go wrong with the Grenade Launcher or Rocket Launcher in DOOM: The Dark Ages.
Every Weapon in DOOM: The Dark Ages
I’ve tried to bunch up weapons to make this easier for you. For example, you get the Combat Shotgun first, and the Super Shotgun later. The table has the first incarnation of a class, and the ‘better’ version you encounter later during the campaign.
Check out the full table for each weapon and our description of what it does in The Dark Ages.
| Weapon Name | Type of Weapon |
|---|---|
| Power Gauntlet | The Power Gauntlet is your first melee weapon. It has several charges and can be used in quick succession to deliver combos. Using the Gauntlet drops pick-ups from enemies. |
| Flail | The Flail is a different melee weapon that does the same attacks on the face of things. The main difference lies in weapon upgrades, as each melee weapon has different abilities. |
| Dreadmace | Copy and paste everything I’ve said for the Power Gauntlet and Flail. |
| Shield Saw | Doomguy’s multi-purpose, protective Swiss Army knife in The Dark Ages. It’s used to parry enemy projectiles and attacks, but it’s also a weapon that can be thrown to stunlock demons, and can trigger special environmental effects with Runes later on. |
| Combat Shotgun | A semi-auto Shotgun that pulverizes at close range and is effective up to moderate distances. |
| Super Shotgun | Like all DOOM games, the Super Shotgun is ludicrously powerful at close range and can bring down even the game’s toughest enemies in a handful of hits—if that. |
| Shredder | A fast-firing automatic weapon that fires bolts. Solid at any range. |
| Impaler | Fires single-shot bolts with a slow firing rate. Deals colossal damage if it hits heads or weak points. |
| Accelerator | The Accelerator is an automatic, energy-firing machine gun. It’s super effective against enemies with energy shields, but its accuracy waned at distance. |
| Cycler | An upgraded version of the Accelerator. Its spread is tighter, it’s more effective in longer firefights, and is generally better. |
| Pulverizer | An automatic, cloud-clearing weapon capable of chewing up skulls and firing bone shards. Loses effectiveness the further away you are. |
| Ravager | Like the Pulverizer, but its spread is tighter, and its fire rate increases with continuous use in one go. |
| Chainshot | Fires a single-shot steel ball attached to a chain. It can be charged for more powerful attacks. |
| Rocket Launcher | The Rocket Launcher has a slow fire rate, and only fires a single rocket at a time, but deals huge damage and has great splash damage and AoE potential. |
| Grenade Launcher | The Grenade Launcher fires a bit quicker than the Rocket Launcher, and ammo can detonate on direct contact with enemies. Also deals massive damage. |
| BFC (Big ******* Crossbow) | That’s right, there’s no BFG, we’re in medieval times. The BFC fires a huge arrow loaded with concentrated energy and devastates anything in the area. It can also take large chunks out of boss health bars. |
Be sure to let me know what your favorite weapon or combination os firearms you enjoy best. DOOM: The Dark Ages spares no expense in the armory department. Also, start a DOOM weapon conversation in the Insider Gaming forum.
More DOOM: The Dark Ages guides await you: How to find all Secret Landing spots, how to earn Twitch Drops, and which difficulty settings to pick.
Andy is Insider Gaming's Senior Evergreen Editor and has been in the games journalism sphere in one way or another for over 7 years. His video game taste is as…
More from Andrew Highton
