Doom's Playable Demons, Super Weapons Revealed

As the May 13th release of the new Doom draws near, developer Id Software continues to reveal more details on the game's modern multiplayer features. Last week we were given a brief tour of the modes and arenas where players will be gunning each other down, and now we're getting a look at some of the special weapons, as well as the much-touted ability to transform into a demon for a brief period during matches.

As has been revealed before in prior Doom announcements, multiplayer modes will feature a special power-up called a demon rune. Once players pick this up, their typical space marine character will be turned into one of four of the campaign mode's enemy demons, allowing them to wreak havoc on enemies with powerful attacks.

The first playable demon is the Revenant — the enemy that's often highlighted in trailers and marketing images — a meaty skeleton with dual rocket launchers on its shoulders and a jetpack. When transformed into this demon, players will be able to jump higher and longer with the jetpack, but only in short bursts. They won't be able to fly across the map, and on the flip-side, the jetpack is also their weak spot, as it causes extra damage when shot by opponents.

Next is the Baron of Hell, a tall, horned demon that has been given a much more menacing figure than how it appeared in the classic Doom games. When playing as this monster, players can grab nearby opponents and rip of their head for a rapid kill, in addition to other melee-based attacks that damage anyone within range, such as a ground stomp. If you come across an enemy player transformed into one of these, you'll want to target their head and spine for additional damage.

The Prowler, highlighted in the video above, appears to be a new enemy type for the series. This demon can stick to walls and leap between them over long distance, instantly killing any opponent that gets in their way. While they can see enemies through walls, opponents that can put direct fire on them will be at an advantage, as the Prowler has no ranged attacks and is best suited for stealth play.

Last is the Mancubus, the large, slow, blob-like demon that featured machine gun arms in the old Doom. Here, they've been upgraded with long-range rocket launchers, but they're still big and slow to play as. This immobility, combined with a chest opening, serves as its weakness, but it also has a close-range attack in the form of a heat blast from the rocket launchers.

Also revealed are three "power weapons" that players will need to fight over to get their hands on during matches, two of which any Doom veteran will instantly recognize — the chainsaw and the BFG 9000. The former allows instant, melee-based kill attacks, while the latter fires a large blast that basically vaporizes anything within sight. New to the game is a Gauss Cannon, which rapidly shoots one-hit slugs, but without the area damage from a rocket explosion.

These power weapons will spawn randomly, and once a player picks them up they'll last until they run out of ammo or they are killed, in which any opponent can swoop in and grab what usage remains.

VIA Eurogamer