Updated at: 29-05-2023 - By: Leo Hall
The weapons in DOOM Eternal are not all the same. To learn more about the best weapons in DOOM Eternal, check out our comprehensive tier list.

Doom 2036 is id Software’s follow-up to 2016’s spectacular gore fest, and it introduces a number of changes to the gameplay formula of its predecessor, some of which are improvements and some of which are not.

Doom Eternal’s new combat system is tighter and more focused than its predecessor’s, making for a more intense and focused gameplay experience.

This article will primarily focus on the weapons in Doom Eternal, so if you’re interested in reading about the game’s story or other aspects, you should check out our full review of the game here.

Specifically, we’ll be putting all of Doom Eternal’s primary weapons in order from worst to best based on a variety of criteria, most notably their versatility, damage output, and overall usefulness.

Combat Shotgun

Here we have the Combat Shotgun, a standard issue weapon in the Doom universe. The default firing mode of the gun you start the game with does very little damage, making it the weakest weapon in the game. You can use it to regain health or charge your Blood Punch by killing off single fodder demons, or to set them up for a Glory Kill.

Weapon (and) Mod Tier List (Campaign) Tier List - TierLists.com

But its accessories—the Sticky Bomb and Full Auto mode—are what really make it useful all over the game.

The Sticky Bomb, which is capable of sticking to surfaces or demons before detonating, greatly improves the Combat Shotgun’s effectiveness against hordes of low-level demons. It’s also useful for targeting and destroying weak points on tougher foes like Arachnotrons, Mancubi, and Revenants from close range.

Instead, switching to Full Auto makes the shotgun fire at a rapid rate, making it useful for quickly dispatching multiple weaker foes or dealing heavy damage to a single strong one. When you reach Mastery, every foe you kill with a Full Auto blast will drop shells, making this ability invaluable. This makes up for the fact that the attachment uses up shotgun ammunition so quickly (between 16 and 24, depending on upgrades).

While it will remain a useful tool throughout the entirety of the game, in the middle and late game, it will be overshadowed by more potent alternatives.

Rocket Launcher

The Rocket Launcher follows, and it serves the same purpose in Doom Eternal as it has in first-person shooters since the 1990s: launching rockets.

It shoots rockets that do a lot of damage, but its rate of fire is slow, its ammunition is limited, and the rockets it fires move at a slow pace. It’s hard to hit moving targets, and the high splash damage makes close range use impractical, so it’s best used at medium range.

Lock-On Burst and Remote Detonation are its two add-ons.

We think the Lock-On Burst is the best accessory for the Rocket Launcher. It enables the weapon to zero in on a specific threat and unleash a salvo of three rockets that will actively seek out and destroy that threat. Obviously, this enables the player to deal a great deal of damage and greatly improves the player’s chances of hitting faraway, moving enemies.

The ability to manually detonate a rocket that has missed its target thanks to a remote detonator makes it much simpler to hit moving foe. It’s also preferable if you want to deal damage to multiple targets at once or if you’re going after weaker enemies that you don’t think are worth wasting three rockets on with the lock-on burst.

We had to give the Rocket Launcher a low score because its damage wasn’t enough to make up for the weapon’s slow projectiles and low ammo count. The lock-on burst makes short work of some troublesome demons like the Pain Elemental and the Doom Hunter, so it is still a useful weapon despite its limited utility.

Heavy Cannon

The Heavy Cannon is one of the first weapons you find and one of the most useful in the game. Due to its fast rate of fire, high damage output, and relatively low ammo consumption (for a full-auto weapon), it is the best choice for dealing with fodder demons at range.

The Heavy Cannon can be outfitted with either the Precision Bolt or the Micro Missiles.

The Heavy Cannon’s long range is improved by the precision bolt, making it more like a sniper rifle. In this setting, the weapon fires more slowly and uses six bullets per shot, but its projectiles cover greater distances, do more damage, and can even pass through solid objects. It is the most effective tool for neutralizing distant enemy weak points.

Meanwhile, the Heavy Cannon’s Micro Missile attachment makes it more effective in medium-range combat by allowing it to fire a salvo of small homing missiles that embed themselves in demons or surfaces and explode after a short period of time. You can quickly clear out a horde of fodder demons by pelting a large area with projectiles that use two bullets per shot, making this weapon a good choice in situations where time is of the essence.

The Heavy Cannon is a powerful and versatile weapon, though the Chaingun will eventually eclipse it in terms of its usefulness. Its standard fire mode is effective at medium and long ranges, the Precision Bolt improves its accuracy against distant foes, and the Micro Missiles speed up the process of eliminating fodder and deal some area damage in the process.

Ballista

The Ballista is the successor to the Gauss Cannon introduced in 2016. It’s basically a railgun, but it shoots lightning-fast bolts of energy that can stop moving targets in their tracks. Because of its high damage per shot, pinpoint accuracy, and the absence of projectile travel time, the sniper rifle is the best long-range weapon in the game.

However, the Ballista’s ammo capacity is limited to a maximum of 10 shots when fully upgraded because it shares its ammo supply with the Plasma Rifle and consumes 25 cells per shot. This makes its ammo capacity second lowest in the game, behind only the BFG-9000’s two shots. This means that you should always aim carefully and use the attachments to their full potential.

Both the Arbalest and the Destroyer Blade can be attached to the Ballista.

A demon’s flesh will be pierced by the Arbalest’s shot, which then explodes after a short delay. Though slower than a regular shot, this deals significant damage to the demon and additional area damage to those in its vicinity. The mastery allows it to quickly recover from direct hits, increasing its damage. As a result, the Ballista’s versatility as a weapon at medium range is enhanced.

However, it takes an absurd amount of time to charge the Destroyer Blade. Still, when it does, it cuts through most demons with a single shot, dealing massive damage in a wide horizontal arc in front of you. The charge time can be reduced with upgrades, and the blade can be fired before it’s fully charged thanks to mastery.

The Ballista is a vital weapon, but there are better options for dealing area damage, so you should save it for long-range attacks against moving foes and airborne demons. Although its two attachments are fun to use, they are difficult to effectively employ due to their lengthy charging times and movement restrictions, especially on harder difficulties.

Doom Eternal Weapon Tier List - Imgur

Plasma Rifle

Here comes the tried-and-true Plasma Rifle. Its primary function is, like the Combat Shotgun’s, to slash through fodder, but its high rate of fire and larger ammo capacity make it a more suitable tool for the task. The relatively slow projectiles make it a poor choice for long-range combat, but at medium range, it can quickly shower an enormous area with projectiles.

Shots from the Plasma Rifle can overcharge energy shields, causing them to explode and deal area damage, but they aren’t very effective against heavy and superheavy foes. This makes it invaluable when facing Carcasses and Doom Hunters, and it also allows you to effectively use Soldiers with energy shields as walking bombs.

Both a Heat Blast and a Microwave Beam are available as accessories for the Plasma Rifle.

As the weapon is fired, the Heat Blast builds up charge and unleashes a wave of damage in front of you. One charge is enough to destroy most fodder demons instantly and can do significant damage to stronger foes.

The Microwave Beam, meanwhile, can paralyze a single foe and, if you keep microwaving them long enough, cause them to explode, dealing damage to nearby demons. The main drawbacks of this attachment are its high ammo consumption and the fact that you have to focus on a single enemy while using it; however, it is also great for dealing damage to groups or for nailing down fast-moving targets.

You’ll use the Plasma Rifle throughout the game, and it’s a good weapon to have around because of how useful it is against groups of weaker enemies and energy shields.

Unmaykr

The Unmaykr, absent from Doom games since their 64-bit incarnation, is up next. It’s one of the most lethal weapons due to its high rate of fire and high damage output.

However, the Unmaykr uses the same ammunition as the BFG-9000, making this type of ammunition extremely hard to come by. However, it is more economical with its ammunition than the BFG, as it can unleash three energy blasts from a single Argent round, as opposed to the BFG’s thirty. Although the Unmaykr’s damage is inferior to that of the BFG, sixty shots from the weapon can deal more damage than two from the BFG if used correctly.

You’ll need to go off the beaten path if you want the Unmaykr, as it can only be obtained by completing the six optional Slayer Gate challenges that are dispersed throughout the campaign.

Although this is undeniably a very potent weapon, able to quickly dispatch even the most formidable of demons like Barons and Tyrants, its limited ammo means it’s usually more efficient to use the BFG-9000, which can wipe out an entire arena with a single blast.

BFG-9000

The BFG-9000, Doom’s one-of-a-kind signature weapon, is up next. If you’re low on health and can’t risk ripping and tearing your way through the enemies with your regular-sized guns, then this is your “kill everything” button, just like in Doom 2016.

The BFG-9000’s shot will travel across the arena, and its “tendrils” will do significant damage to everything in their path. You won’t be firing the BFG-9000 very often, what with only two shots and ammo that can be obtained only at specific points in the second half of the campaign.

However, few guns are as satisfying to fire as this one, and it will save your skin multiple times in the late game, especially on a high difficulty setting.

Chaingun

Doom Eternal’s Chaingun is an improvement over the one in Doom 2016, dealing comparable damage while being more accurate and having a higher maximum rate of fire without the need to spin up first.

The Chaingun is effective at close to medium range against a wide variety of foes. Though its primary benefit is in dealing damage and stunning heavy demons that charge you in melee, such as Hell Knights, Dread Knights, and Barons, its secondary benefit is in being able to deal damage to light demons.

The Energy Shield and the Mobile Turret are optional extras.

Considering that most of the tougher enemies you’ll be targeting with the Chaingun will require some sustained fire to kill, the Energy Shield is a useful tool for protecting the Doom Slayer from frontal attacks.

The Mobile Turret, on the other hand, shortens the amount of time you need to devote to a single demon by turning the Chaingun into a turret with a faster rate of fire and thereby increasing its damage output. It consumes ammunition even more quickly and can stall if the user is not skilled enough.

In the end, the Chaingun is a crucial weapon for taking on heavy and super heavy enemies. It can stop an enemy’s charge, deal a lot of damage quickly, and cut through fodder like tissue paper, but you’ll need to keep an eye on your ammo supply because it shares with the Heavy Cannon.

Super Shotgun

At long last, we have the Super Shotgun, a staple of every Doom player’s arsenal since its introduction in 1994.

The beast’s short range and meager ammunition supply mitigate its otherwise devastating attack power. Its ammunition is shared with the Combat Shotgun, so you can only fire off 12 shots with the Super Shotgun before you need to reload or resort to the chainsaw.

The Meat Hook is the only accessory for the gun, and it allows the player to quickly close in on enemies and deal heavy damage. It’s a great way to get close to enemies before unleashing a Blood Punch, even if you don’t have any intention of blasting them with the Super Shotgun. To further mitigate the danger of close combat while still recovering some armor, mastering the Hook will set enemies on fire.

The Super Shotgun is, needless to say, more potent than ever. You can close in quickly and then dash away from the enemy’s close-range attacks with the Meat Hook because a point-blank blast will kill or stagger all but the strongest of enemies. The Super Shotgun’s limited ammunition means you’ll need to get close to your target and hit it repeatedly.

Heavy Canon

It’s like having an assault rifle with the heavy cannon. It deals respectable damage in its base form, but it’s in its mods where it truly shines. Micromissiles and the precision bolt have proven to be invaluable.

If you need to do a lot of damage quickly, micro missiles are your best bet. The range of these miniature missiles is similarly limited. However, it’s likely that players will rely more on the precision bolt to strike at demons’ weak points.

Chainsaw

The chainsaw is a staple weapon in the Doom series. Its roar is satisfying as it rips through the bodies of hideous monsters. The chainsaw is an old favorite, and it serves many more purposes than just looking cool while slaying demons.

Doom Eternal features an abundance of chainsaw gas, which can be used as a source of ammunition. In a boss fight or a large-scale firefight, chainsawing an enemy will cause them to spit out all of their ammunition.

BFG 9000

The Big Fat Gun 9000 is an apt moniker for a weapon capable of instantaneous destruction of demons. The BFG 9000 is a smaller version of the BFG 10,000, a massive canon located on Phobos. However, the diminutive model retains all the power of the original.

One blast from a BFG 9000 can wipe out an entire mob of monsters or deal significant damage to a boss. The shot’s energy can travel to foes from a range, so it doesn’t have to land on them directly. Big f***ing gun doesn’t even begin to describe this weapon. ”

The Crucible

The crucible debuted in Doom 2016, but it was never actually implemented into the game. The Doom Slayer is equipped with a powerful sword in Doom Eternal, his personal crucible weapon. It’s a plot point in the original game, but Doom Eternal takes it to a whole new level.

This weapon has been hinted at in Doom Eternal trailers, but its capabilities have not even been scratched on the surface. Players will need to acquire red sword pickups before they can use it. Three maximum can be held at once. The sword is so powerful that it can dispatch every normal foe in the game save for the game’s most challenging foe, the marauder.

Sentinel Hammer

You wouldn’t think anything could beat the melee monster that is The Crucible, but this new addition does just that. With its incredible raw power and stunning shockwaves, this divine weapon (specifically, The Ancient Gods – Part Two DLC) would make even Thor quake in his boots. Those who aren’t instantly deleted when near it are usually slowed or crippled to the point of near certain death.

This warhammer is not only powerful, but it can also be used in a variety of ways. It incapacitates foes, covers a lot of ground, and gets its energy from scoring glory kills or hitting weak spots.

DOOM Eternal Tips Guide – 10 Things the Game Doesn’t Tell You

Let Your Jump and Dash Run Their Course

DOOM Eternal features a large number of jumping puzzles. Fortunately, it equips you with a wealth of resources to deal with these difficulties. The ability to double jump and double dash become available early on. These are crucial for advancing the plot and are required for discovering some of the many secrets hidden throughout each stage.

The actual puzzles are usually very easy to solve. It takes some practice to get through them, though. DOOM In Eternal, you’re supposed to make the most of your moves by letting your dashes and jumps finish on the longest chasms possible. Jumping or juking too early is likely to blame if you keep falling short of a platform. Instead, you should focus on maximizing the distance you cover with each step. When you realize how far a single click can take you, everything changes.

Know Your Splash Damage

DOOM Eternal is full of explosions. I know it will shock you, but the truth is a little more nuanced than that. This is due to the fact that not everything will explode in the same way, including the bombs you make yourself. For example, if you or your enemies are caught in the blast of an exploding barrel or mine, everyone takes damage. However, this problem can be solved by upgrading them so that they only affect demons. It’s not a terrible enhancement, really.

Then there are rockets and fragmentation grenades. One of your earliest weapons is the grenade, which has no effect on you. If you happen to be caught in the blast of an ice bomb, don’t worry; you won’t feel a thing. When they are no longer on cooldown, feel free to use them at will. Careful handling of the rocket launcher is required. If you’re in the blast radius of this classic weapon, it will explode right in your green, partially obscured face. That makes it an unusually challenging weapon to employ in many contexts.

Save Your Dashes

Using the dash button isn’t limited to puzzles. In combat, you rely heavily on it as well. In fact, if you’re anything like me, you’ll probably start mashing buttons immediately to gain as much freedom of movement as possible from your walking tank. Like many of my bad habits, that’s not the best course of action. Fast sprints are best put on hold for the next time it really pours. This is your best chance to escape from melee range and avoid large attacks, especially during boss fights or when facing Revenants. Once you face the Doom Hunter boss, you’ll understand what I’m talking about.

Here’s How the Chainsaw Works

Good chainsaw work! Bad gas mileage… The melee mulcher is an essential weapon for the Doomguy army, but it devours fuel like it’s nothing. Once you obtain this, the game will explain it to you. However, the specifics are unclear. If you’ve ever tried to saw a Hell Knight and gotten an error message, this is why.

The DOOM Eternal chainsaw uses the same system to categorize demons as the 2016 game. You can use the one refilling pip you almost always have on “light” demons like Imps and Zombies. The tank must be at maximum capacity to take on medium and heavy demons like Pinkies and Arachnotrons. Something like that doesn’t appear very often. Rather than saving the saw for a one-hit-kill on big guys, you’ll probably need to drain it on a weaker enemy just to get bullets back due to the rapid depletion of your ammo supply. Don’t get caught off guard trying to rip and tear a major villain with a mostly empty weapon; instead, think things through and prepare accordingly.

Mighty DOOM Weapon Tier List for April 2023 - GamingonPhone

Some Weapons Share Ammo

Even though the numbers appear different, many types of firearms can be fed the same gun food. For example, both the shotgun and the Super Shotgun use regular shotgun ammunition, though the latter consumes more of it with each discharge. The same holds true for the Ballista and the Plasma Rifle. Checking the weapon wheel’s colors will tell you immediately which guns use which ammunition. The digits won’t add up, but the purples, oranges, and similar hues will. This is crucial when facing enemies like the Doom Hunter, who can only reliably attack with certain kinds of weapons.

Get Ready to Grab Ledges

DOOM Eternal can be incredibly frustrating at times. If you’re running along a ribbed surface, the game promises that you’ll automatically claw into it. This section of the platforming seems to be the least stable, but it can be easily bypassed. If you’re close enough that you feel like you should have automatically latched onto a wall, then you’re usually close enough to manually do so by pressing the action button. A prompt will appear on screen, but it may not appear quickly enough. In the event of an emergency, you should be prepared to cling to something. You’ll avoid taking a significant amount of damage.

Falls Don’t Kill you… at First

The moment you tumble down a deep pit, you’ll learn this lesson for yourself. But use this as a guide, or to prevent you from being overly cautious at first. Just so you know, in DOOM Eternal, falling doesn’t instantly kill you. But they’re still harmful. It’ll weaken your armor just as much! If you find you simply cannot make the required leap, you still have some leeway. But if you take enough damage, falling to the ground will be just as fatal as being hit in the face with a fireball. Don’t let yourself get too cozy.

Reload and Flame Belch

It’s a shoulder gun called a Flame Belch. That seems self-evident. Once you get DOOM Eternal, it will confirm your suspicions. But stop and consider the implications for a moment… While in combat, you can activate the gadget without using your hands. To string together combos, such as stunning an opponent for a Glory Kill, torching them with Flame Belch for the extra armor, and reloading a slow weapon (like the Super Shotgun), this is helpful. This is one of the smallest pieces of advice I’ve given for DOOM Eternal, but it helps a lot when things start to get hectic.

Keep Moving While You Switch Things Up

When you activate the weapon wheel, time stops moving very slowly. That’s not the same as putting a complete halt to it. The attacks from your enemies will proceed as usual. However, you also have the ability to switch weapons while in motion. Obviously, there isn’t much you can do while caught in the no-man’s-land between firing lines. However, the left analog stick or WASD keys can be held down continuously. This will confuse your enemies’ aim just enough to give you an advantage once regular time has resumed.

You’re Going to Take Damage

It’s easy to feel like you’re playing DOOM Eternal “wrong” because of how fast you move and how many options you have. That’s it! It’s not very pleasant to be the target of relentless Imp attacks. But that’s just how the game is, especially when you crank up the difficulty. You can’t really expect to avoid every blow by dodging and weaving. Moving around helps reduce the amount of damage you take, but it can’t eliminate it entirely.

To survive enemy encounters, you must alternate between using Glory Kills and the Flame Belch. Infinite fodder enemies will be thrown at you during boss fights to ensure that you never run out of health (or chainsaw bullets). Don’t overlook this opportunity. After you’ve refilled your supplies, it’s time to start taking out the bigger enemies.

How many Doom Eternal Weapons?

Doom Eternal has 14 different spots where you can find weapons. It is unnecessary to list the locations of the Shotgun, Doom Blade, and Chainsaw because you begin the game with them. Most weapon locations can be found in missions by searching for green holograms depicting their outlines.

The BFG-9000 and Crucible weapons are not represented by green holograms because they are not available until the Mars Core and Taras Nabad levels, respectively. The Unmakyr weapon can also be obtained in a covert fashion.

Be sure to find every Doom Eternal Weapon hidden throughout the game, as some levels hide two. The 14 different spots where weapons can be found are listed below, along with instructions on how to get there.

Are there Doom Eternal Weapon Skins?

Doom Eternal does include skins that can be used on nearly every weapon in the game. There are currently three skin texture models available in the game, with a fourth available upon reaching a certain milestone. In addition, you can customize your character’s appearance by applying a skin to the game’s player model.

What is the Best Weapon in Doom Eternal?

The best weapons in the game are the BFG, Unmaykr, and Crucible, all of which can one-shot the enemies. BFG is famous for its one-hit-kill explosions that can decimate an entire crowd. Unmaykr is a deadly secret weapon that can eliminate any threat. Crucible is like a sword that can slay a horde of foes in one fell swoop.

Which is the Secret Weapon in Doom Eternal?

The game’s ultimate secret weapon, Unmaykr, can only be unlocked with the help of six Empyrean Keys. There are a lot of enemies around these keys, making them difficult to obtain. Once amassed, Unmaykr can be used to instantly wipe out any foe in your way.

Conclusion

And that sums up our thoughts on the weapons in Doom Eternal. To truly master this game, you must become familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of every weapon available to you, so keep in mind that there is no “best” or “worst” weapon.

We considered a variety of factors when determining their order, including their adaptability and overall usefulness, as we believe this to be the most trustworthy method for ranking weapons in a game where each one is crucial.

Please note that this list is based on our personal experience with the game and that your mileage may vary depending on your preferred play style and the difficulty setting.