Imagine trying to play through Doom Eternal without mods on any guns. While it might have been done before, it's guaranteed to be an ugly sight. The guns excite fans, sure, but without some tinkering, they're really nothing special. What makes them special are the mods.
So special, in fact, that it's much easier to imagine a playthrough using mods exclusively, due to them being extremely powerful variants of regular weapons. Successful streamers and ultra-nightmare champions know exactly which mods to use at which time. This guide will break down each mod and give tips on how to use each one to its greatest ability.
Combat Shotgun - Sticky Bombs
- Mod: Sticky Bombs - Turns the Combat Shotgun into a grenade launcher that can fire sticky bombs.
- Upgrade: Quick Rack - Sticky Bombs reload speed is increased by 20%.
- Upgrade: Bigger Boom - Sticky Bomb explosion size is increased by 45%.
- Mastery: Five Spot - Launch five Sticky Bombs before having to reload the mod.
Cacodemons can be primed for a glory kill with a single sticky bomb. The alternative is using rockets, which are far more valuable against more powerful enemies.
For the cost of a single shell, players can get a grenade out of their Combat Shotgun. This makes it the cheapest way to dispatch smaller units. Perhaps its greatest value is exposing weak points on demons like Mancubus or Revenant.
Combat Shotgun - Full Auto
- Mod: Full Auto - Transforms the Combat Shotgun into a fully automatic weapon.
- Upgrade: Quick Recovery - Full Auto mode recovery speed is increased by 50%.
- Upgrade: Faster Transform - Full Auto mode transform speed is increased by 50%.
- Upgrade: Fast Feet - Movement speed when in Full Auto mode increased by 20%.
- Mastery: Slavo Extender - Killing a demon with the Full Auto mod will drop shell ammo.
The biggest strike against this mod is that it chews through ammo. With the mastery, killing enemies yields ammunition, making it a cinch to use when enemies are close and ammo is sparse.
It can be tempting to use this mod against large targets because of the rate of fire and high damage, but don't do this unless it's immediately followed up by a Chainsaw. Otherwise, the Slayer will be without their Combat Shotgun for the fight.
Heavy Cannon - Precision Bolt
- Mod: Precision Bolt - Brings up a semi-automatic loader that fires high-precision, high-powered rounds.
- Upgrade: Mobility - Movement Speed while using Precision Bolt is increased by 15%.
- Upgrade: Fast Loader - Precision Boly reload speed is increased by 20%.
- Mastery: Headshot Blast - A headshot kill will set off a powerful, secondary blast that deals damage to nearby demons.
Though sniping might not seem to have a home in Doom Eternal with the quick combat, some bosses essentially require the Precision Bolt to defeat. As a tip from somebody who completed Ultra-Nightmare, the shots can fire before the zoom is fully activated, so players never have to slow down or have their viewing area reduced before getting a shot off.
It's always best to kill as many demons as possible for getting mixed up in the fray. Amateurs will be surprised at how many popular streamers start every fight with the Precision Bolt so they can kill a dozen or so demons before it's time to run around the battlefield.
Heavy Cannon - Micro Missiles
- Mod: Micro Missiles - Activate a twin rack of missiles that can be fired and seek toward targets.
- Upgrade: Quick Recharger - Micro Missiles reload time is decreased by 35%.
- Upgrade: Instant Loader - Micro Missile load time is decreased by 75%.
- Upgrade: Primary Charger - Kills with the Heavy Cannon will boost Micro Missiles by 30% for 5 seconds.
- Mastery: Bottomless Missiles: Fire Micro Missiles indefinitely without requiring a reload.
While the Micro Missiles are notoriously despised by Ultra-Nightmare players, they still have a place. When the Rocket Launcher is out of ammo, don't forget to fall back to this option against groups of demons.
Plasma Rifle - Heat Blast
- Mod: Heat Blast - Firing the Plasma Rifle builds up excess heat that can be released as a powerful blast.
- Upgrade: Quick Fire - Firing delay after using Heat Blast is reduced by 25%.
- Upgrade: Super Heated Rounds - Heat Blast charge per shot is increased by 25%.
- Mastery: Power Surge - After triggering a fully charged Heat Blast, plasma projectiles will have a damage boost for a short time.
There are better weapons against clusters of enemies, but there is no better selection against demons with shields. One burst and all nearby demons will have their shields knocked out.
It's best used against ranged targets when melee targets are closing in. During these fights, fire on the ranged targets until the Heat Blast meter is full, then allow enemies to get close, vent the heat, and resume firing on the ranged demons.
Plasma Rifle - Microwave Beam
- Mod: Microwave Beam - Fire a concentrated beam that will lock down an enemy and cause them to explode on death.
- Upgrade: Faster Beam Charge - Microwave Beam charge time reduced by 66%.
- Upgrade: Increased Range - Microwave Beam targeting range is increased by 50%.
- Mastery: Concussive Blast - Demons that are targeted by the Microwave Beam will trigger a concussive blast that falters nearby enemies.
This is another mod that players hate to use because of how it slows them down, but it's required to defeat certain demons as well as the boss in Ancient Gods Part 1.
The nice part about the Microwave Beam mod is that dropping the charge early does not make the damage go away. If a player runs out of ammo or gets blocked by another target, they can run away, refill, come back, and the demon will retain the damage done by the beam.
Rocket Launcher - Remote Detonate
- Mod: Remote Detonate - Detonate rockets mid-flight.
- Upgrade: Proximity Flare - Rockets will trigger a flare when they are near targets that will be damaged by Remote Detonate.
- Upgrade: Remote Detonate now triggers a non-damaging concussive blast that interrupts nearby demons.
- Mastery: Explosive Array - If a rocket is detonated while the proximity flare is active, additional explosives will activate to create a larger area of effect.
The radius of the rockets is actually a lot smaller than players would think. Use the visual cue from the Proximity Flare to determine exactly when to detonate the rocket.
A regular rocket shot at the ground nearby does just as well as the Remote Detonate, but against aerial targets, this is impossible. For demons out of reach in the sky, this is the best mod to take them down.
Rocket Launcher - Lock-On Burst
- Mod: Lock-On Burst - Once locked, firing the weapon will launch three rockets at the target.
- Upgrade: Fast Reset - Lock-On Burst recharge time decreased by 37.5%.
- Upgrade: Quick Lock - Lock-On Burst speeds time to lock is decreased by 50%.
- Mastery: Dual Lock - A second target can be acquired before firing Lock-On Burst.
This is a great heavy-hitter against highly mobile targets. Or, when the Slayer has to be consistently on the move, it can target demons without limiting player mobility.
Ammo is always an issue when it comes to the Rocket Launcher and you can deplete the weapon's reserves in a matter of seconds, but it should always be running on empty when the next Chainsaw charge is available. This maximizes player damage by making sure all rockets are getting used on every cycle.
Super Shotgun - Improvements
- Mod: Improvements - General improvements to the Super Shotgun.
- Upgrade: Quick Hook - Meat Hook recharge time is decreased by 25%.
- Upgrade: Fast Hands - Super Shotgun reload speed is decreased by 33%.
- Mastery: Flaming Hook - The Meat Hook will set enemies on fire for a short time, causing them to drop armor from a Super Shotgun blast.
The "mod" for the Super Shotgun actually just improves the gun in general instead of providing a new feature. Always shoot demons with the Super Shotgun after using Meat Hook, even if there is a more ideal weapon; this shot will provide a bunch of armor for increased survivability.
Ballista - Arbalest
- Mod: Arbalest - Charge up an energy projectile that embeds in demons and then explodes.
- Upgrade: Full Speed - Movement speed in Arbalest mode is increased by 30%.
- Upgrade: Stronger Explosion - Increase the size of the explosion by 60%.
- Mastery: Instant Salvo - The Arbalest will recharge instantly after a direct hit.
The Arbalest is the go-to choice against enemies with the most health. Don't get fooled by the explosion talk, the single-target damage is even higher than a blast from the Rocket Launcher.
Additionally, the Instant Salvo allows the Slayer to fire a stream of these maxed-out projectiles, so long as each shot lands. This can effectively kill Cyberdemons and Titans as if they were mere zombies.
Ballista - Destroyer Blade
- Mod: Destroyer Blade - Charge up and launch an energy blade that cleaves enemies as it flies.
- Upgrade: Charging Blast - At maximum charge, the Destroyer Blade will emit a blast wave that falters demons.
- Upgrade: Rapid Chains - Destroyer Blade Charge Time decreased by 20%.
- Mastery: Incremental Blade - Fire Destroyer Blades before they have reached maximum width.
Players that need to clear out groups up close and find themselves unable to run away will be glad to have this in their back pocket. It's likely the best killer of trash mobs in the game.
The falter feature on Charging Blast shouldn't be underrated. Faltering a group allows the Slayer to burn groups and siphon back health and armor back to full before they snap out of it.
Chaingun - Mobile Turret
- Mod: Mobile Turret - Transform the weapon barrels into a Mobile Turret. It stalls if it overheats.
- Upgrade: Rapid Deploy - Mobile Turret mode transform speed increased by 50%.
- Upgrade: Fast Gunner - Increased movement speed while in Mobile Turret mode.
- Mastery: Ultimate Cooling - The Mobile Turret no longer stalls.
As far as damage-per-second goes, nothing beats the Mobile Turret. It goes through ammo and limits mobility (even with Fast Gunner), but for bosses or Arch-viles that have a moment of weakness, this is the best way to exploit that time.
In battles where ammunition isn't an issue, there's almost no reason to use any other weapon.
Chaingun - Energy Shield
- Mod: Energy Shield - Activate an Energy Shield that absorbs damage for a short time.
- Upgrade: Faster Recovery - Energy Shield recharge time reduced by 37.5%.
- Upgrade: Dash Smash - Dashing into heavy demons will cause them to falter.
- Mastery: Shield Launch - Dealing enough damage with the Chaingun while the Energy Shield is active will launch it forward on release. Any demons hit by the projectile will falter.
The best part about the Energy Shield isn't the mod itself, it's how it sets up other weapons. The falter feature can be activated by dashing with Dash Smash or by firing away with Shield Launch.
This falter sets up the Slayer to switch to a high-damage weapon with a free opportunity to land a shot on a weak point. This stun is underused by amateurs, but pro players understand the value.