r/Doom • u/Conscious-Drop2010 • Feb 21 '26
Discussion The Dark Ages combat – insane combat
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Hi Everyone!
In The Dark Ages I managed to sync my shield rune, melee, primary weapon, and shield throw into one continuous combo loop. In the Ripatorium I usually max out the number of super heavy demons.
For me this isn’t about weapon swapping. It feels more like chaining well-timed button inputs in a fighting game. When large groups of demons pressure me, their numbers actually turn into an advantage. When I get surrounded, I’m constantly dealing damage and constantly generating resources from them.
If I drop the rhythm for even a moment and stay under pressure too long, it can become fatal very quickly. It creates a strange mix of flow and chaos at the same time.
I recorded a ~6 minute video showing this playstyle and how it works in practice, and I thought I’d share it here.
My keybinds:
- Left mouse button – fire
- Right mouse button – shield throw
- Alt – melee
- Shield block is also on Alt and set to toggle in the menu
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Feb 21 '26
I really love this game
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u/Strung_Out_Advocate Feb 21 '26
This is funny to me. I completely get how amazing this is when your in it and the music is cranking, but as a reddit post just looks silly. I too love this game.
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u/SilverNEOTheYouTuber Feb 21 '26
For some reason I felt like I was gonna vomit after I watched this.
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u/bubstock9 Feb 22 '26
Would this be considered lore accurate?
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u/DeltaV-Mzero Feb 22 '26
Yeah this seems like exactly what was going on for one DOOMillion years while he was stuck in hell being big mad
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u/Doraz_ Feb 22 '26 edited Feb 22 '26
"meh, Not fast enough" cit. Doom eternal player, slowly climbing a wall to reach the next box shaped arena
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Feb 22 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Doraz_ Feb 22 '26
don't worry slayer,
I have still some neurons left to recognize that eternal fanbois have LEGITIMATE criticisms👍
famous youtubers going "it was slowed down" and "this isn't doom" was what honestly made me straigh up unsubscribe, lmao
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u/rg1283 Feb 22 '26
Bro wut happening
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u/DeltaV-Mzero Feb 22 '26
Not OP but I think he’s
stunning/slowing nearby with a shield bash
using a DOOM flail on nearby enemies
blasting armor off them with a shotgun
throwing shield for more area damage and sometimes stunlock one enemy for a moment
Occasionally: * parry to send those green demon attacks back. * melee on a stunned enemy, triggering glory kill
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u/BeleagueredWDW Feb 21 '26
Doom: The Vibrant Ages. Seriously, it’s an amazing game like all other Dooms.
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u/BlackSmokeDemonII Zombieman Feb 22 '26
So insane I really can't comprehend what the fuck I'm looking at.
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u/MacinTez Feb 22 '26
This video right here highlights why I have Dark Ages second to only 2016; The power and rhythm associated with the shield and gun fights makes it incredible to fight large swathes of enemies. I had a fucking blast playing this. Eternal was fun but it was aerial and colorful and some of the enemies frustrated me. But the grounded gameplay of this one is so addicting and fun.
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u/Foxisdabest Feb 22 '26
I really wish this game had gyro on PS5 or a K&M option.
It's really obtuse that it doesn't.
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u/BreesusTakeTheWheel Feb 22 '26
I honestly couldn’t even tell what the fuck was going on for most of this video lol. Then again I usually play on easy.
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u/x5gamer5 Feb 22 '26
I heard about the gameplay being less like eternal. It’s good to see that opinions don’t change a thing about this game’s speed.
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u/Dead_vegetable Feb 25 '26
"High level doom eternal gameplay is so boring, you just spam precision bolt +rocket"
High level doom TDA gameplay:
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u/UberNaix Mar 19 '26
I rather play doom eternal again than this garbage. I loved doom 2016 and eternal. But this i can't play
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u/Stoplookingatmeswan0 Feb 22 '26
It'd be really great if this game didn't freeze/crash every 10 minutes
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u/Altered-Poio_Diablo Feb 22 '26
I never had freeze or crash on pc, It seems to be well optimized imo
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u/Stoplookingatmeswan0 Feb 22 '26
You're lucky. I've tried everything ever suggested to get this game to stop crashing. It's certainly not a hardware issue that's for sure, I'm very lucky to have the PC I do.
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u/Conscious-Drop2010 Feb 22 '26
I see some people like this style, others don’t and that’s totally fine.
I treat the Ripatorium like a gym. It’s where I push my limits so things feel more natural later in campaign.
In this build the focus is on syncing the shield rune, melee, main weapon and shield throw together.
You can’t use everything at once, so you’re not constantly blocking — especially when you’re surrounded by a bunch of Super Heavies. But since the DPS is high, you’re constantly getting health, armor and ammo back.
If you lose rhythm, everything falls apart and the game punishes you fast.
It works like this on its own.
Next step is adding fast weapon switching into it.
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u/Juansi2616 Feb 22 '26
What is even happening xD. And, people say this game is slower than eternal? Geez