How to actually play DOOM Eternal the way it's designed: the resource loop, weapon mods and weak points, upgrade priorities, the campaign's collectibles, The Ancient Gods DLC, difficulty and Ultra-Nightmare advice, plus official mods.
Researched September 2026 — current as of Update 6.66 Rev 3 plus the August 2025 PC Mods Update (official mod support and launcher). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.
Status: DOOM Eternal (March 2020) is content-complete. Its last content was The Ancient Gods Part One (October 20, 2020), Part Two (March 18, 2021) and Horde Mode (October 2021). In September 2023, Update 6.66 Rev 2.2 removed Denuvo Anti-Tamper and the Boosters feature. In August 2024, Update 6.66 Rev 3 opened an opt-in PC Mod Preview and the idStudio beta, and on August 7, 2025 the PC Mods Update made mods officially supported, with a new launcher and more than 650 community mods at the time. id's next game is DOOM: The Dark Ages (May 15, 2025), a medieval prequel.
Each weapon has two mods (found at Field Drones), and each mod has upgrades bought with Weapon Points and a Mastery challenge.
| Weapon | Mod 1 | Mod 2 | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Combat Shotgun | Sticky Bombs | Full Auto | Sticky Bombs strip Cacodemon mouths and armored weak points |
| Heavy Cannon | Precision Bolt | Micro Missiles | Precision Bolt headshots and weak points (Revenant shoulders, Mancubus cannons) |
| Plasma Rifle | Heat Blast | Microwave Beam | Carcass shields, Doom Hunter shield, Heat Blast crowd damage |
| Rocket Launcher | Lock-On Burst | Remote Detonation | Heavy demons, crowds, and Marauder dog cleanup |
| Super Shotgun | Meat Hook (built-in) | none | Point-blank burst plus mobility via the hook |
| Ballista | Arbalest | Destroyer Blade | Long-range burst and the classic SSG-to-Ballista combo |
| Chaingun | Mobile Turret | Energy Shield | Sustained DPS on big targets |
| BFG 9000 | none | none | Room-clear panic button, with rare ammo |
| Crucible | none | none | One-shots almost anything, with limited charges |
| Unmaykr | none | none | Unlocked via the Slayer Gates' Empyrean Keys |
Equipment: Frag Grenade (or Ice Bomb) on the equipment launcher, plus Flame Belch and the Blood Punch (charged by Glory Kills).
| Demon | Weak point / trick |
|---|---|
| Cacodemon | Grenade or Sticky Bomb in the mouth, then an instant Glory Kill |
| Arachnotron | Shoot the turret on its back (Precision Bolt) |
| Mancubus | Arm cannons (Precision Bolt, Sticky Bombs) |
| Revenant | Shoulder rocket launchers |
| Pinky | Its armored front is tough, so dash around and hit its tail/back |
| Spectre | Hard to see. Use explosives |
| Carcass | Shoot its shields with the Plasma Rifle |
| Whiplash | Keep moving and use explosives. It dodges well |
| Doom Hunter | Plasma to pop its shield, then rockets on the sled |
| Marauder | Only shoot it when its eyes flash green (it's about to attack). Super Shotgun or Ballista in that window. Kill its dog with explosives |
| Blood Maykr | Headshot it right after it fires its projectile |
| Tyrant | Big damage target. Keep your distance and use the Chaingun, Rockets or BFG |
| System | Where it comes from | Priorities |
|---|---|---|
| Praetor Suit tokens | Hidden pickups in each mission | Environmental Resistance (hazards and barrels) and Equipment upgrades (faster grenade/Flame Belch recharge) first; the map-scanning upgrades make secret hunting much easier |
| Sentinel Crystals | Hidden per level | Health, Armor and Ammo capacity, plus bonus perks. Take the armor/health perks first |
| Runes | Rune trials found in several campaign missions | Air Control, Blood Fueled, Chrono Strike, Savagery, Seek and Destroy and Punch and Reload are common picks. You equip three at a time |
| Weapon Points | Combat and challenges | Max your favorite mod first (Sticky Bombs, Precision Bolt, Meat Hook) |
| Mastery Tokens | Secret Encounters and the Fortress of Doom | Skip grindy masteries (for example, the Chaingun shield) and use tokens there |
Rune picks for first-timers: Air Control, Blood Fueled (speed after Glory Kills), and Seek and Destroy (launch-to-Glory-Kill).
Missions:
Collectibles per mission: Toys, Codex pages, Cheat Codes, Album records, Praetor Tokens, Sentinel Crystals, Rune trials, Secret Encounters, Slayer Gates and Sentinel Batteries.
Slayer Gates: optional hard arenas that require a Slayer Key. Completing all six awards Empyrean Keys, which unlock the Unmaykr in the Fortress of Doom.
Mission Select: you can revisit completed missions to finish collectibles. Automap stations reveal every secret on a level.
Master Levels: remixed, harder versions of missions. They're good practice for Nightmare.
The DLC is a good challenge after you finish the campaign. Play Part One first, and don't start it on a difficulty you haven't beaten.
Is DOOM Eternal still updated? No new content. The last updates were minor (Update 6.66 Rev 3 in August 2024), plus the August 2025 PC Mods Update.
Does DOOM Eternal still have Denuvo? No. It was removed in Update 6.66 Rev 2.2 (September 2023).
What order should I play in? The base campaign, then The Ancient Gods Part One, then Part Two.
How do I beat the Marauder? Keep mid-range distance, wait for his eyes to flash green, then hit him with the Super Shotgun or Ballista. Kill his wolf fast with explosives.
How do I unlock the Unmaykr? Complete all six Slayer Gates to get the Empyrean Keys, then use them in the Fortress of Doom.
Is BATTLEMODE still playable? It's still in the game, but player counts are low, so it's easiest with friends.