Isolde's Ultra-Nightmare Guide

1. Introduction.

Hello, slayers. Ready to rip and tear on the hardest difficulty?

Lots of people have written these, and I disagree with a lot of the advice given, so here's my take on this.

I've made a few attempts at Ultra-Nightmare, and finished the game on my fifth attempt that made it out of the Foundry.

This is going to be as much a description of what I did as it is a guide on what to do. So here we go.

First, some general tips:

Hell devours the indolent. Never stop moving. If you have a big arena, run circles around the periphery and fire towards the centre. Drop holograms constantly, and you should be able to clean the whole place out without taking a scratch.

Glory Kills aren't worth it. Just don't. Shoot the demon again. This isn't Eternal - the rewards are tiny (if you aren't at critical health, only 5hp), and you don't get many invincibility frames, leading to many a death after a poorly timed glory kill. You have alternatives to get health back - namely the Siphon Grenade and the Vacuum Rune.

Take a break. After finishing a level, resist all temptation to click continue, save for blazing through the first few levels. Get some rest. Stretch a little. Let the adrenaline high burn off. Practice the next level if you think you need it.

Take your time: We're not speedrunning here. We're just plebs looking to join the ranks of elite slayers; we're not running for Doomguy. If you can pick off a few demons before triggering an arena, do it. If you can set up a shot that lets you take out a demon safely, do it. If you have to spend 5 minutes spamming something to upgrade a rune, do it. If it's stupid and it works, it's not stupid.

Save upgrade points: When you upgrade the most powerful guns, you want to have enough points banked to immediately buy their upgrades so you can work on your mastery. I suggest not spending any points until you get the Rocket Launcher.

Secrets (usually) aren't worth it: Save for in the early levels when every point counts, it's not worth risking your bacon to get some secret. The classic map secret in Resource Ops has many a skull next to it. Don't be that skull.


Maneaters Like Tight Spots: Close quarters is your enemy. Don't go there. If you can lock down an open area and let the demons come to you, do it.

Platforms Kill: If you fall off, you're dead. Don't screw them up. Take your time, and do platforming deliberately and decisively. In-Flight Mobility can help with some of the tougher platforming segments.

Embrace failure: You won't do this on the first try. That's okay. Come back later and try again :)

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: If you don't know everything that will happen in a level, don't attempt it. Play through it on Nightmare a few times, trying to replicate your current setup in UN. If you die, try again until you can confidently clear the level with your eyes closed. The Ultra-Nightmare file is a live performance, and replaying levels on a lower difficulty is a dress rehearsal. This goes triple for bosses. I didn't attempt a stage that had a boss until I'd consecutively beaten the boss 4 times without any major mistakes. If you actually get to Lazarus, your run is likely to be a winner - don't blow it by being hasty.

2. Weapons.

In Ultra-Nightmare, your playstyle is going to differ by necessity - you're in this to win, not to look flashy. My recordings from my ultra-nightmare run look so mechanical compared to when I can let my hair down a bit. Accept this. So here's my advice on each of the weapons.

Pistol: Never use it. You have no reason to.
Shotgun: The old standby, but it'll rarely see any use past Resource Ops. It just doesn't do enough damage to be worth it. Charged Burst sucks (the SSG exists) and Explosive Shot pales in comparison to every other source of Boom. Recommended Mod: Explosive Shot all the way. It's your only long-range option until you get the Assault Rifle and Plasma Rifle, and the lack of range is what makes the first two levels needlessly painful in UN.

Plasma Rifle: A handy companion you should always be willing to fast swap to. The primary fire's DPS lacks compared to heavier options, but that's not why we're here. Both of its mods are viable: either for a quick instant stun (what I recommend) or to purge tight rooms of crap. Recommended Mod: Both, but keep Stun Bomb equipped. If some demon wants a hug and is getting in your special area, a quick press of 3 and a right click will tell them to buzz off, setting them up for something nastier.

Heavy Assault Rifle: This is your imp buster. Use it for taking care of trash at long range. No other weapon fills this niche, so it'll always be in your back pocket for when some imp is pestering you. Recommended Mod: Scope. I know I'm in a minority here, but the scope is just better than the missiles. If you're in range to use the missiles, you likely have another weapon that hits harder.

Rocket Launcher: Your best friend. This will be the source of about a third of your damage output, for good reason. There's nothing it sucks against. Just don't blow yourself up - this ended one of my runs. Recommended Mod: Remote Detonation. The ability to airburst explosives wherever you want is amazing, and makes all other explosive weapons obsolete.

There is also a technique with the upgrade that I make a lot of use of - detonating the rocket a fraction of a second before the impact on a big target. This tears down bosses faster than anything else I've tried. Much like a tandem charge on a real-life anti-tank warhead, the overlapping blasts of the primary and secondary explosion punch through the big ones. This makes obtaining the mastery here a high priority, and fortunately there is lots of food for it in Argent Facility and Argent Tower - you should have this before you get to Hell. The technique I described does require close attention and can't handle multiple enemies, so use wisely. Unlike in Eternal, Lock-On Burst sucks; don't bother.

Super Shotgun: Ahh, who can't love the click click boom boom of the right hand of the Doom Slayer? Me, that's who. Yes, it does a lot of damage, and yes it is powerful. Here's the problem - you have to get close to use it, and close is not where we want to be. You will be safer airbursting rockets beside an enemy than getting in their face with the SSG. Its mastery is nice, but it's dangerous to get. I never got around to unlocking it, since I used all the fodder for upgrading the other guns.

Gauss Cannon: Your other best friend. Pop on Rich Get Richer with Siege Mode, and delete waves of enemies without breaking a sweat. Ordinarily I'd call this cheesy, but we're on ultra-nightmare, we don't have the luxury of style. Can also delete crappy enemies with a single left-click, but this isn't Mr. Gauss's main job. Recommended Mod: If you're not using Siege Mode, you're not Gaussing right. Get it ASAP and rush its upgrade - make sure you have 9 points ready to go as soon as you upgrade it.

Chaingun: Hard pass. This was my mainstay when I did my first play of the game, but it just doesn't have the it factor that Gauss and Rocket have. Yes, Turret has a high DPS. But siege mode does a similar job and only leaves you exposed while charging. Recommended Mod: If you must, I recommend Gatling Rotator over Turret. Heresy, I know, but hell devours the indolent, and the turret chews on ammo faster than Eric Cartman in a KFC. It looks cool but it's not worth it. Sorry, buddy. You did better in Eternal.

BFG: Most players use the Big <redacted> Gun as a get out of jail free card. Don't. It's a gun. Shove it in enemies' faces. If an arena is full of enemies, BFG. If a boss is looking at you funny, BFG. There's more than enough ammo in the game before we even get into Ammo Boost to warrant its use. id Software has bestowed upon us manna from heaven, and we are obliged to take it.

Frag Grenade: Boring. If I could remove this from my inventory I would. It would make switching between the two actually good equipment items a lot easier. Airburst rockets are just more precise, hurt more, and are there when you need them. Hit the books and come back in Eternal as something useful, Grenade.

Hologram: Sleeper MVP. The Hologram gives the demons something else to shoot at, and with Equipment Power, can actually hurt demons. Use this on cooldown. If you have equipment available, you have nothing to lose by dropping a hologram. They will take the bait (most of them), and you have a few seconds of breathing room.

Siphon Grenade: Health in a handy package. With Equipment Power, regenerates Armor, giving us a nice equivalent to Flame Belch in Eternal. Handy tip: Leave the last demon standing and refill to max armor before you leave the arena. You look like an idiot, but having 150 points of armor between you and being booted back to the start of the game helps a lot.

Chainsaw: Honestly, I forgot this existed. It's good for making a lot of ammo pickups for leveling up Ammo Boost. But if you have to get close to an enemy to kill them, you are in far more danger in 2016 than you are in Eternal. This is also why I recommend avoiding Glory Kills.

3. The Demons.

Before I start here, allow me to say that the most dangerous demon is always the one you're not careful of. You don't want to leave a tombstone saying you died to the possessed (I saw one such tombstone in The Necropolis and felt so much sympathy). Respect your enemy. But here's my rundown of them and how to beat them.

Possessed (all varieties incl. Unwilling): Food for your upgrades. These guys always show up in groups, and as such are clustered for upgrading Remote Detonation, Siege Mode, or Super Shotgun. Don't get close though, they hit for over 50 damage. That hurts early game. Threat Level: LOW

Imps: F$$k these guys. These guys will wreck your run, sniping you with lobbed fireballs that seem to home in on you. They will hide, they will climb walls, they will flank you, and they will do everything possible to be as annoying as possible. And there'll be a lot of them. So here's what you do: Breathe, try to keep them all on one side of you, and pick them off with the Assault Rifle. Don't feel ashamed to blow one up with a rocket or Gauss if you have to. Their fireballs hit for 45 damage. That's half your heath early game. Threat level: HIGH

Lost Souls: Another unassuming run-wrecker, however, they tend to be far more obvious than imps. Just shoot them. Memorize where they spawn and avoid them. Feel lucky that there are no pain elementals in 2016, because then there'd be a problem with how much damage these guys do when they connect. Threat level: MODERATE

Soldiers: These guys are either really nasty or a joke. Early in the game, their area of effect attack can wreck your day before you can retaliate. Don't get close to them, and if you do, don't let them charge their area attack. They will spam it until you're a puddle of goo. That said, later in the game they seem to enjoy infighting more than fighting you, so pull out your assault rifle and headshot them. Threat level: MODERATE

Hell Razers: If they didn't telegraph their attacks so much, they'd be much worse. They're the only hitscan enemy in the game, but their charge time is so long. Otherwise they're just soldiers. Be careful of them at range, which is where you want to be. But as long as you stay out of their way, they won't be a problem. Threat level: LOW

Revenants: This poor little dooty boi has fallen so far from in Doom 2. He's a joke. He can never hit you, and spends his time hovering around shooting little rockets that barely even hurt. Did someone at id misplace a decimal point somewhere? Put him out of his misery - if you read the Codex on these guys, you'll feel sorry for them. Threat level: LOW

Hell Knights: Very, very dangerous. They can and will do a ton of damage that will instantly kill you in early levels. They move quickly. The only thing they lack is a ranged option. Before you get access to bigger guns, your best bet is to stun them with plasma and keep your distance. Once you get Siege Mode, they are prime targets for it. Threat level: HIGH

Cacodemons: Dangerous if they get close, but a joke at a distance. Aside from a few locations where they spawn in your face, they'll never get close enough for that hug they want. Siege Mode deletes them in one shot. That said, if they do shoot at you, be sure to avoid it - it hurts a lot. And their bite does 95 damage. I don't need to tell you that that's bad. Threat level: MODERATE

Pinkies: Never, ever turn your back on them. They're fast, and they hit hard - similar category to Hell Knights. They are especially problematic late game because they are highly resistant to siege mode to the face. Stun bomb works wonders, then you can pump a super shotgun blast into their tail. Threat level: HIGH

Spectres: Pinkies without the armor. If you know where they spawn, they're not tough. If you're getting surprised by them, you shouldn't be in ultra-nightmare. Threat level: LOW

Summoners: The Archvile's underachieving little sister. She can summon, she can shoot, and she can teleport. The problem is she's not that good at it. Her teleports mark the way obviously, and her summons are usually low-tier enemies. There are two exceptions however: Kadingir Sanctum contains two Summoners who summon exclusively Hell Knights, as does the Advanced Research Facility. These particular Summoners are run-enders, and need to be priority number one. Maybe they were taking lessons from the Archvile. Be careful of the Argent Wave too, since it hurts a ton. As such, Summoners have two threat levels: MODERATE (normal) and EXTREME ( particular examples)

Mancubi: These fat bastards are a common nuisance. Remember what I said about airbursting a rocket a second before impact? That's for these guys. Two applications turn a Mancubus into a shower of guts. They are tanky, they hurt a ton, and you really really don't want to get close. But they are always obvious, and you should be able to keep your distance. Threat level: MODERATE

Cyber-Mancubi: Fat Bastard after he joined Virtucon (late 90s references for the win?). More dangerous than the common Mancubus, because they can put ooze on the ground that restricts your movement. Since you want to move, this is annoying. They also hit hard and can take three siege mode shots to kill. Priority targets. Threat level: HIGH

Baron of Hell: Beware. If this guy is on the field, he is now your number one priority. His ranged attacks can one hit kill you if you're low health, and if he gets in melee range, you're toast. Keep your distance and use the biggest guns you have. There's no shame in solo BFGing a Baron. If you have to, do it. But the stun bomb is your friend too. Threat level: EXTREME

4. Runes and Upgrades

I'm not going to list every rune and suit upgrade and its benefits and drawbacks. Frankly, a few excellent ones outshine the rest.

The first suit upgrades you get should be the environmental ones. Barrels are deadly, and DO NOT TRUST YOURSELF TO NOT BLOW YOURSELF UP. Barrel immunity is a godsend. Powerup upgrades come second - getting a full heal off a powerup can be a lifesaver. After that, equipment upgrades. Two equipment charges is a lifesaver, especially with Holograms.

Argent cells are simple - first Health, then Armor. Maybe mix in one point of Ammo during the Armor chain, but there's so much ammo in this game that you don't need the help (Unlike in Eternal, where Ammo has priority over Armor)

Runes can be mixed and matched to some degree, but here are the only ones I recommend:

Vacuum: If this isn't on, you're risking yourself. Always have it on during bosses. Whenever a boss is stunned, it will drop tons of health, which is an instant heal with this rune. For the first rune you get, this really is an MVP.

Ammo Boost: Ammo's never a problem, but getting BFG ammo from regular enemies is worth it. If you get a BFG drop and you already have 3 shots, just shoot one in the air. It will help regardless. With Vacuum, your BFG pool can refill before you know it.

Rich Get Richer: Only use above 75 armor. Upgrade this ASAP if you want to use it - a little bit of self damage combined with equipment power siphons can get it fast. With it, you can delete waves of enemies with endless Siege. Take the rune off when you drop below 75 however; swapping with Equipment Power is what I did.

Equipment Power: Easiest to upgrade (just hit ctrl 30 times), and very good payoff with Siphons. Use it to regain armor. A little buffer zone between you and death never hurt anyone.

In-Flight Mobility: While easily an S-tier pick on normal difficulties, I find it hard to justify on UN. It doesn't help survivability like my other picks do. It's not that it's bad or anything, it's that letting go of Ammo Boost or Vacuum hurts too much. It can help with platforming however, so I do recommend it for those bits.

Saving Throw: It calms the nerves. It's life insurance. Do note however that it only works once for the entire run, hence I advise only using it on bosses - using up a rune slot on this may compromise your effectiveness against normal enemies (My normal loadout is Rich Get Richer - Vacuum - Ammo Boost). I swapped Rich Get Richer for this during boss fights, since bosses drop ammo and Vacuum gets them. That said, I completed my run without triggering it, so it was never necessary to begin with. But it helped my nerves a lot. Maybe that improved performance on its own?

5. The Levels (1)

This won't be a walkthrough, simply a rundown of points to note about each level as well as details on the bosses when they show up.

Strap yourself in. Take note of the popup when you start UN - are you really sure you want to put yourself through this? You are? Good. Let's get started.

The UAC

You'll see this level a lot, and you'll (paradoxically) die a lot here. About half of my deaths are in the first arena of this stage. You are weak, very weak. Worse, you don't have a ranged option, and soldiers are at their most dangerous at short range. If you've taken a scratch from anything, two hits from an imp will kill you, and those little bastards will only come into shotgun range if they want to swipe you.

Because of the chaos of imps and soldiers, I can't walk you through this. Just do it by feel and you'll be fine. And relax. You'll be back here in no time. Grab Explosive Shot at the bot, and abuse it. It's better to thin the herd from range than dive in with the shotgun - if you don't one hit kill an enemy you could get a nasty swipe.

Resource Ops

This stage is annoying. Your shotgun has been your friend so far, and soon he will be leaving you. You just need to get through one of the most <expletive deleted> <expletive deleted> arenas in the game first. When you get to the gore nest on the way to the yellow key, be sure you've cleared out all the Possessed - you don't want one of those bastards hitting you for 55 just as an imp lobs a fireball at you. Expect a lot of imps and soldiers. Explosive shot is your friend. Barrels are not - the explosion radius on them is HUGE.

After you get the Assault and Plasma rifles, the stage gets a bit easier. Now you can pick them off from range. I advise taking the Stun Bomb upgrade from the bot (but scope is fine too). For the final big outdoor arena, grab the berserk when it fills up and go ham. You have a bit of damage resistance when zerked, so you can breathe a little. If you have a spare praetor token, you can immediately upgrade it as soon as you pick up the Berserk to make your life a little easier when the powerup ends.

All that's left to note is that there is an ambush waiting for you when you get back inside. But you already know this, because it's probably the 25th time you've played this level. Samuel will blab on, so go and take a drink when he's talking - unskippable dialogue in my doom game? Unacceptable. Upgrade HP and we're off to the Foundry. As for future Argent Cells, HP first, then Armor, then Ammo.

Foundry

You're about an hour in now, so your adrenaline will start to peak up. You actually have something to lose if you die, and there are some new friends to play with here. I'll say this for people in the back: BE CAREFUL OF RAILINGS. You can get trapped on one, and get your head caved in by a hell knight.

Grab the rocket launcher secret ASAP. Upgrade to Remote Detonation at the bot and start work on that mastery (if you've been banking tokens you should have enough by the end of this level).

The only arena of note is the turbine room - there are four hell knights, a ton of imps, and a few other trash enemies. Just keep running, and use your Rocket Launcher on the hell knights at range. If you've upgraded it, airburst does more damage than direct impact, so take note. Listen to Olivia blabber on, and go onwards. Careful of the possessed in the end, I saw some poor sod's skull there.

Argent Facility

An easy level. Take a breather. Aside from a few hell knights, there are few actual dangers here. We also get our first Runes! Equip Vacuum ASAP, and never let it go. This is your primary heal source. If you are low HP and you burst some demon like a pinata, this will let you heal without getting too close to his buddies.

Grab the SSG, but don't be too tempted by it. For Hell Knights, use your plasma stun. There are two bots here, so you should be able to have Remote Detonate, Stun Bomb, Scope, and Heat Blast pretty quickly - all the tools an aspiring young slayer needs.

Plenty of food here for upgrading Remote Detonate too. The final arena is a joke - just berserk and prioritize the summoner.

Argent Tower

Okay, it's getting serious now. There is a lot of platforming. This is the first level where a practice run was mandatory for me, and the same for all subsequent levels. Fail at platforming and it's over. (a mercy in Eternal to make it not so). New friends arrive in the form of Revenants (doot doot) and Mancubi. The former are a joke, and the latter are always found near powerups. Once you get to the top of the tower, just run circles until you're zapped off to Hell. No point making a deal of it.

There is a secret Gauss Cannon at the end of the level, but it's in a dangerous spot. Don't risk it; you'll get one soon.

You should have enough rune slots to equip Ammo Boost: Start upgrading this NOW. If you come across an ammo pickup, get it, even if you have to shoot at nothing to have enough space in your ammo pool to get it. Synergizes well with upgrading Vacuum. You pick up Equipment Power here but we don't have the tools needed to make that shine. Don't miss the Holograms at the top of the tower before the broken elevator - you may need them for the level coming up.


Kadingir Sanctum

Welcome to Hell. Nice place, isn't it? The danger level just picked up a lot here as well. Pick up the Gauss Cannon at the start of the level, and upgrade it to Siege Mode as soon as you find the bot. Immediately get to work on upgrading it - there is plenty of fodder around the place. You can grab a chaingun as well, shortly after opening the blue door.

This level is where many runs end, for good reason. It's long, and there are many arenas with dangerous enemies. Of particular note is the arena after the yellow door. There are multiple Imps, Soldiers, and Summoners, and these Summoners must have been apprenticed to the Archvile himself. They will rapidly summon Hell Knights. Take them out as soon as they appear. Practice the level, memorize when and where they spawn, and act fast. Airburst rockets should blow them up fast, but if you neglect them you can end up in a close quarters mess with six Hell Knights. Not a fun way to go.

Barons start appearing later on, but you have Siege Mode. Keep them at arm's length and gun them down. Two or three hits will deal with them.

In the final arena, save the quad until after the Mancubi spawn, then go ham with your rocket launcher. The Barons should fall quickly.

Then, get your ass to Mars. Samuel Hayden wants to talk at you again.

Argent Facility (Destroyed)

Another easy level. Finish upgrading Siege Mode, and use it on the first arena fight to cut down all of the crap that spawns. After that fight, hang a right and jump across the gap, bypassing the fights in the pit below. No time for that; not worth it.

The next room has Pinkies; stun bomb and super shotgun will make mincemeat of them. From that point it's a straight shot to the exit. Just keep your cool, grab the upgrades, and kill every demon in your path.

6. The Levels (2)

Advanced Research Facility

This level is deceptively hard. There are only two major encounters, but the first one is a run ender. After popping the Gore Nest, you will be flanked by two Mancubi followed by shield soldiers and Hell Knights. There's a Berserk to help, but the priority target here is the Summoner: She has a penchant for Hell Knights too. Fortunately she's the last one of her kind in the game, and the rest of the summoners only spawn crap enemies.

Samuel will talk at you again, and you can't skip it. Sigh. Fight a few Cyber-Mancubi with the help of Haste (no problem for us!) and cross the chasm.

When crossing the chasm, take note of the four lost souls in the gap. Snipe them before proceeding. If one of them attacks you during a jump you WILL die. Take the platforming nice and easy, and you're on your way to the BFG room.

In the BFG room itself, immediately jump to one of the yellow platforms on the sides of the roof. You don't want to die here, on the edge of greatness. When you have your prize, hold it - no need to blow your wad on a bunch of Possessed. That's for first timers. Save it for the end fight.

If you've been upgrading Ammo Boost, prepare to taste the power. With Ammo Boost and Vacuum, you will randomly get free BFG ammo during fights. Use it aggressively.

The end fight is trivial. There are four BFG shots in the corners and a quad. Kill them all. Take care of the two Barons at the end: In my successful run, one of them got in my face because I got cocky with siege mode. Lucky I had a ton of health. Might as well BFG them.

Lazarus

Lazarus is a graveyard. I never saw more skulls anywhere else than in this level. Take a deep breath, we're going in. First, some good news: Siphon Grenade! If you've upgraded equipment power, it's now your armor restorer. And more good news! Rich Get Richer is here! With that and Siege Mode, you can ez-mode many fights.

Now, some bad news: This level is all tight rooms. This means that high threat demons like Hell Knights and Mancubi will be in your face.

The first fight is easy. There's a free BFG refill in the room, and Haste. Nothing really bad except for a couple of Hell Knights and a Mancubus.

The second big arena is very bad news. My other run that made it past Kadingir ended here, when I shot a rocket into a Hell Knight point blank. Much disappoint. Heat Blast shines here, since with the quad in the room you can purge huge groups. Just be extremely careful of the multiple Mancubi and Hell Knights. Be liberal with your BFG if you must.

Then we have the other graveyard, right after that nightmare: The pinky room. I'm presuming you're practicing by now, but this is very difficult to prepare for. Stun bomb with chain stun will help a lot here. If you panic, BFG. Keep your cool, watch your back, and don't get cornered.

Still with me? Good. Saving Throw is coming up soon, which can help ease the nerves of some harder fights. Word of warning: It will only work ONCE for your whole run. It won't refresh on new levels. Still, great to have. After Saving Throw, there's a big arena fight, which is helped by Haste, Quad, and a BFG refill. If you have at least one shot leaving this room, you'll be full up for the Cyberdemon. So be liberal with it.

Here we go. Grit your teeth. Practice, practice, practice. Here comes

Boss 1: Cyberdemon.

Lots of runs end here, from the amount of skulls on the ground. Getting past him on UN puts you in the company of the few and the proud.

The first phase is easy. Kite him, use your airburst rockets, and wear him down. There's a BFG shot in the room, so give him one to make it over a little faster.

The real trouble is the second phase. And my advice here is: Don't let him.

As soon as the phase begins, BFG his face while you avoid the first attack. Then quick swap to the rocket launcher, and pump damage into him (quick swap to Gauss and alternate if you really want to put a lot of hurt on fast and are sweating too much for the airburst trick). As soon as he starts moving again, BFG him again, and repeat. Three BFG shots should be enough to whittle him down before you can do anything.

It's still important to practice against his patterns, however, just in case you whiff a BFG shot.

Titan's Realm

Pat yourself on the back. You're past the Cyberdemon. You are the few and the proud. But we still have a fight to finish.

Titan's Realm is easy. There's not much here, but there are a lot of tight quarters, so be aware, and don't let the level being easy excuse you from a practice run. The second large arena is wide enough for ample use of Siege and BFG, and with upgraded Rich Get Richer, you can Siege to your heart's content.

Be careful of the crushing roof after the yellow key. I didn't see any skulls there. Do you want to be the first?

After opening the yellow door, the floor will drop out and put you in front of a Mancubus. Anticipate this and Siege him.

The last major fight has a berserk. There's a mega sphere on the hallway leading to this fight - if you're like me, you'll come back for it just before finishing the level. Nothing like starting a level with 200 armor and Rich Get Richer.

The Necropolis

This one is another easy level, but the presence of the hardest boss in the game necessitates practice.

After you get both keys and twist both knobs, use extreme caution - many Pinkies and Spectres, and two Barons will appear, and it's tight quarters. BFG can help here, or Siege if you're well positioned when the Barons spawn.

The fight outside the Icon of Sin is trivial if you keep distance and Siege. If you get overwhelmed, BFG - more ammo coming soon; there is a shot at the top of this room and another behind the Icon.

The hallway after this fight contains two Barons, two Mancubi, and four Spectres. Be careful, take note of their spawn locations (remember I said practice) and you should be fine. With that, there's nothing between you and...

Boss 2: The Hell Guards

I consider this the hardest boss of the game. If you screw up once, they will punish you. The first phase is harder than the second.

Be sure to have Vacuum on, as it will save your ass during the second phase.

The first Hell Guard has a few attacks, and an annoying shield. Quick swapping between Gauss and Rocket helps here. When he jumps at you, jump to the side and Gauss him. The recoil will push you out of the way of the shockwave that occasionally emanates from where he lands (this shockwave does 40 or so damage, so watch it).

He also has a ranged attack, which can be interrupted. Don't try. Double jump when he fires, and Gauss to get a third kick in for more airtime.

If he ever becomes stunned or staggered, quick swap between rocket and Gauss to tear him down. This can finish the fight.

If not, he has three more attacks: He will throw his mace clockwise around the arena, shooting fire inwards. In this case, dodge anti-clockwise and jump over it. If you try to dodge clockwise, you will die. Do not underestimate this attack.

He can stand in place and shoot fire. Again, move anticlockwise to stay out of the way of the flamethrowers. When he finishes, quick swap between Gauss and rocket to finish the fight.

Finally, he has a fire wave attack. This is extremely lethal. Dodge the wrong way and you're done. Fortunately, anticlockwise movement usually works... 9 times out of 10 I guess. If you have enough health and armor you should be okay.

The second phase has two hell guards. One shoots stuff, one jumps at you. The shooty one is more dangerous, and he starts on the right. Start by BFGing the shooty one, and then BFG the jumpy one as he lands. Then dump everything into Mr. Shooty until he goes down. Be careful coming out of the glory kill however. His friend will go down fast after that.

7. The Levels (3)

Vega Central Processing

Can you feel it? We're almost there. Keep your heart rate down, take a break if you need to, practice, and come back.

There are three large arena fights in this level. The first one is stocked with BFG ammo, so is laughably easy. There's also a Berserk.

After finding the blue key, you can drop down a tube that a Revenant pops through to find a secret and skip past some close quarters nonsense.

The second major arena contains the cooling tubes. Resist the urge to pop them all.

The first one will summon a lot of soldiers, imps, a summoner, and a few cacodemons. Pull out your Assault Rifle and start sniping. Only when the stage is clear, move to pop the second cooling pod.

The second wave is more serious, and this time you will be joined by Mancubi, Lost Souls, and more soldiers. There are two BFG shots in this room... but only use a BFG if you know you will leave with three shots. Trust me on this.

The third wave contains Barons, Cyber-Mancubi, and another summoner. BFG this one. No point struggling.

After this, destroy the fourth cooling thingy, and we're on our way to the core.

The next room is nasty. Immediately BFG to clear out the stuff that's there. Constantly run circles around the room, and BFG whenever it fills. If Ammo Boost is on, you could get lucky and get more shots to make this easier. If you leave this room with at least one BFG shot, you'll be stocked for the finale.

Argent d'Nur

I can feel it. Your heart's pounding, your're full of adrenaline. Take a break. Get some dinner. Kiss your significant other. Practice. Be prepared.

All ready? Good. Put your big girl panties on, because it's time to finish the fight.

There are four major arenas in Argent d'Nur, connected by platforming segments with bottomless pit platforming.

The first one contains a Berserk. Pick it up when you're in there, and when Berserk ends, you should be able to splatter what's left with a BFG. Pick up the BFG in the secret room on your way out.

On the way to the second arena, there will be cacodemons that spawn in close range. This is the only time I would see them as an extreme threat, since they require rapid reflexes to avoid taking 90 damage bites. Know where they'll spawn and deal with them. Respect the platforming. Don't want to die here.

There's a mega health on the way to the next arena. Get it, pop on Rich Get Richer, and pull out Siege. Time to party. For this one, I found a corner and defended it with Siege. Worked quite well and I didn't need to BFG. But there are two BFG shots immediately after this arena, so you should be fine if you need it. (plus Ammo Boost).

The third arena contains a Berserk, but it won't last long enough to get you through. Siege and BFG are your friends here, especially with the waves of cyber-mancubi and barons. There are two BFG shots before the next arena, one of them in a secret room with a mega health.

The final arena contains waves of hell knights, pinkies, barons, and Mancubi. Worse, there is only one BFG shot to reload with here. Save it until the Barons spawn - they come after the Mancubus wave. Unless you're comfortable going after the boss with less than a full load...

Boss 3: Spider Mastermind

Do not underestimate her. There are skulls here - runs have been ended here. Do not underestimate her. Practice.

If you haven't used it up already, equip saving throw. My rune combination was saving throw - vacuum - ammo boost.

Rocket launcher is your go-to, as is your BFG. Aim carefully - a good time to BFG is after she does a flip.

The most lethal attacks she has involve electricity. The first one, she will electrify the floor. If you don't move fast, you're dead. Don't Gauss on top of the pillars - the knockback will send you right into the lake of lightning.

If the lightning attack has beams of light that connect the pillars, GET OFF. The pillars will explode into spikes, which can instantly kill you. Not a pleasant way to go.

Once she's whittled down, she'll start squirming on the ground. Do not let off the pressure or let your guard down. She has an extremely deadly attack that involves throwing a spiky ball - this ball can be destroyed with a rocket or dodged. Once this is out of the way, you can kill her and finish the game.

Welcome to the winner's circle.

8. Closing Remarks

So, I actually did it, and hopefully my thoughts can help you do it too. If you're the type of crazy person to even try it. I guess I needed something to do while waiting for Doom Eternal DLC.

I doubt I'll try Eternal on Ultra-Nightmare, since the game is significantly harder than Doom 4. We'll see. Maybe I'll get crazy enough at some point. If I do, I'll make a similar guide.

If this helped you (even if you don't play on UN!) feel free to drop me a line and tell me what you think.

[Consort of Eternal Night, Lilith]

I like that you mentioned siege mode and rich get richer for a new player approach to the game, but rocket, gauss, and explosive shot / SSG combos will remove the need for the mod entirely. you are also fully allowed to be flashy on UNM, especially if you use DKSMS.

I do disagree with the assessment on the shotgun; explosive shot with mastery is straight up better than a rocket and in a 4 weapon cycle you can incorporate it without waiting on cool down.

I don't use vacuum unless it's UNM 100% tbh; drops aren't worth it outside of BFG drops from ammo boost.

as for suit upgrades just get faster weapon swaps and heal on powerup pickup as a safety net if you're bad.

I didn't read over the levels but if you can just use good weapon combos for demons no fight is an issue.

DOOM Eternal UNM is just as trivial of a joke as DOOM (2016) so I'd go for it.

all in all this is a solid guide for people new to the game and you hit on many good points.

[Countess Isolde]

The pistol is efficient, but the charge up makes it not quite as reliable. The HAR can one or two hit them.

I'm not saying it doesn't work, I'm saying it's not something I'd lean on for UN.

[[OLS]Fuminori]

Pistol is more efficient for eliminating faraway Imps than Heavy Assault Rifle. Once mastered, you can one-shot them at any range with a single bodyshot. You don't even need to aim for the head.

[Snake]

one headshot*

[Snake]

if you have semi decent accuracy the pistol is actually useful for the first half of it, most of the lower level enemies like all the possessed including soldiers and imps instantly go into stunned state in one shot. one shot and follow up charge shot and making use of explosive barrels really made a breeze of the first half of the game

[Squooshy]

While it may seem a little cheap UN is probably the best time to use the BFG+weapon wheel glitch on the bosses. Also use the Rune glitch to get three slots as soon as you have three runes.