Summary
Recent tweaks to difficulty values acrossDoom: The Dark Agesmake the game’s experience that much more challenging. These changes don’t detract from the considerable level of difficulty customization thatDoom: The Dark Agesoffers, though, and fans remain free to fine-tune their game difficulties however they like.
It has always been the case that no twoDoomgames are the same, andDoom: The Dark Agesis particularly prominent in its differences when compared to its predecessor,Doom Eternal. It’s no surprise that the new gamehas been met with all sorts of opinions from the gaming community since its official launch earlier in May, but fans both new and old have had to learn the samedistinguished combat loop thatThe Dark Agesintroduces. Not everyone is a big fan of the game’s slower pace and parry mechanics, but there’s no denying thatDoom: The Dark Agesplays quite unlike any game in the series that came before.
Different players have picked up the game’s combat rhythm at different paces, though, with some even managing to beatDoom: The Dark Ageson Ultra Nightmare difficultyless than a week after launch. In arecent Slayer’s Club livestream eventhosted by Game Director Hugo Martin and Senior Community Lead Joshua Boyle, Martin discusses a recent shadow update made to the game’s difficulty, and confirms that the game’s challenge level has been adjusted upward in response to player data collected since launch. Interestingly, these difficulty changes were brought without the need for an official patch, and seem to focus on tweaking certain variables and enemy attacks. These changes have sparked some discussion among the community, and a clip posted by the player LuizFelipe1906 demonstrates how the game is now more punishing in certain areas.
A Lot Of Doom: The Dark Ages Fans Are Confused About The Sudden Difficulty Update
This developer livestream event is the first of many, and gives the Game Director a chance to directly discuss with fans and reveal some of the upcoming features and additions planned to come toDoom: The Dark Ageslater down the line. Not only do these events help bridge the gap between players and the game’s creators, it also gives fans the chance to follow along on Martin’s Nightmare-difficulty playthrough of the game in real time. This isn’t the first time the developer has hosted these kinds of livestream events, with the Game Director previously streaming his Nightmare runs ofpreviousDoomgamesas well.
Still, with news of these difficulty changes only being revealed via this livestream event, it’s understandable that a lot ofDoom: The Dark Agesfans have been confused about suddenly finding the game a lot harder.Doom: The Dark Ages' many difficulty slidersstill allow players to customize their experience however they like, and fans unhappy about the sudden difficulty changes can tune the challenge up or down at any point during the game.
