DOOM The Dark Ages: All Difficulty Settings Explained

DOOM The Dark Ages has many difficulty settings that you can choose from based on your playstyle, and this article explores all of them.

If you are a fan of the DOOM franchise, hacking and slashing your way through hordes of demons might be your favorite pastime. There’s not a demon in hell that our Slayer cannot kill, and you will make short work of most enemies without breaking a lot of sweat. However, if you are up for a challenge that will test even the most seasoned veteran, DOOM The Dark Ages has a plethora of difficulty settings that can make the game more challenging for you. 

There are six primary difficulty levels in DOOM The Dark Ages, and they range from fairly easy story-focused combat to a near souls-like difficulty. In this article, we will explain all the difficulty settings in DOOM The Dark Ages and also look at which might be the best one for you.

All Difficulty Settings in DOOM The Dark Ages

There are six difficulty levels in DOOM The Dark Ages:

• Aspiring Slayer
• Hurt me Plenty
• Ultra-Violence
• Nightmare
• Pandemonium
• Ultra-Nightmare

Here is an explanation of each difficulty setting and the amount of challenge that the level offers:

Aspiring Slayer

Properties of “Aspiring Slayer” difficulty setting:

• Less damage from incoming attacks.
• Critical resources are more valuable.
• Enemies are less aggressive and attack less frequently.
• Very long window to parry attacks.

The bonafide “easy” mode, this setting mostly focuses on the story aspect of DOOM The Dark Ages. Enemies are fairly weak, and you will be able to tank a significant amount of their attacks before actually succumbing to them. If you are new to the series or looking to just enjoy the story of Doom and understand what led to the events of the DOOM 2016 game, then this is the ideal mode for you.

Hurt Me Plenty

Properties of “Hurt me Plenty” difficulty setting:

• Normal damage from incoming attacks
• Critical resources are at default values.
• Moderately aggressive enemies.
• Long window to parry attacks.

Enemies at this difficulty level are slightly more aggressive than the previous mode. While their attacks still do not do a lot of damage, you will sustain damage with consecutive hits. This is still not a challenge if you are looking for the authentic DOOM experience.

If you are looking for a mode that offers some amount of complexity while also retaining the story, Hurt me Plenty is the ideal difficulty mode for you in DOOM The Dark Ages.

Ultra-Violence

Properties of “Ultra-Violence” difficulty setting:

• Enemy attacks deal significant damage.
• Enemies are fairly aggressive.
• Moderate window to parry attacks.

Ultra-Violence is where the game starts offering a decent challenge. To the seasoned Slayer, this mode is still a walk in the park. That said, enemies hit hard, and they are aggressive. Without the use of proper parrying skills, you will easily succumb to the amount of damage that you take.

Boss fights in particular can be challenging here, and you will need to use proper strategy to actually hold your own. Rotating your weapons and properly utilizing each ammunition type for specific enemies becomes paramount from this difficulty mode onwards in DOOM The Dark Ages.

Nightmare

Properties of “Nightmare” difficulty setting:

• Enemy attacks deal massive damage.
• Enemies are very aggressive.
• Moderate window to parry attacks.

This is the hardest and most difficult mode in DOOM The Dark Ages in terms of enemy attacks and aggression. This mode offers a challenge even for the most seasoned Slayer, as enemies hit extremely hard while also being very aggressive. 

To properly win the arena skirmishes or boss fights, you will need to be very conservative and selective with your ammunition. If you want the authentic DOOM experience, this is the ideal difficulty mode for you as it embodies the Slayer’s hatred and prejudice against the demons.

Pandemonium

Properties of “Pandemonium” difficulty setting in DOOM The Dark Ages:

• All the properties of the Nightmare mode.
• Life Sigils allow you to restart a chapter if you die.
• If you run out of Life Sigils, your entire campaign run is lost.

Pandemonium is one of the two special difficulty modes in DOOM The Dark Ages. This level takes the Nightmare mode’s settings and adds special conditions to it. As a result, it completely changes the way you play the game, and significantly spikes up the overall difficulty.

The Pandemonium mode’s gameplay revolves around some special conditions involving Life Sigils. To put it in simple terms, you can find and collect Life Sigils during your gameplay. When you die during any chapter, you will have to use a Life Sigil to restart the entire chapter. There will be no checkpoints that you can use with this mode.

Finally, if you run out of Life Sigils, your entire campaign run ends, and you will have to start anew from Chapter 1. If you are a hardcore player and also a fan of the souls-like difficulty, Pandemonium mode’s challenge might be your preferred difficulty level for DOOM The Dark Ages.

Ultra-Nightmare

Properties of “Ultra-Nightmare” difficulty setting in DOOM The Dark Ages:

• All the properties of the Nightmare mode.
• Life Sigils only heal you.
• If you die even once, your campaign is lost.

Ultra-Nightmare is also a special difficulty setting and the hardest mode in DOOM The Dark Ages. This special mode also has the same properties as the Nightmare mode, except you have one life throughout the game. The moment you die, your entire campaign run is lost and you need to start again from the beginning at Chapter 1.

Although you will be able to collect Life Sigils in this mode, they will only heal you and not revive you at all. If you want to take up the challenge and complete the entirety of DOOM The Dark Ages without falling even once to the demons, then Ultra-Nightmare is definitely the right mode for you.

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