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Like so many of its predecessors before it,DOOM: The Dark Agesboasts an impressive selection of weapons. A lot of them are returning fan favorites, but there are also some brand-new additions to thehugely influential FPS franchise.
Some of these weapons are much better than others, either due to their superior upgrades or their higher damage potential. ThisDOOM: The Dark Agestier list will rank all of the game’s projectile-based weapons based on a combination of these two factors.
S-Tier Weapons in DOOM: The Dark Ages
Ballistic Force Crossbow
The Ballistic Force Crossbow serves asDOOM: The Dark Ages' BFG, albeit with a C instead of a G. It’s capable of dealing huge AoE damage to take out large waves of enemies in an instant, making it the perfect weapon for anyone who finds themselves getting overwhelmed. The fact that it can be pulled out with just a single button press is a nice bonus. Unfortunately, ammo for the BFC is somewhat scarce, so players will need to think carefully about how and when to use it.
Ravager
The Ravager is easily the best gun inDOOM: The Dark Ages. With the Vampirism, Ignition, and Supplier upgrades equipped, players can dish out a ridiculous amount of damage while also refilling their health and ammunition. Sadly,the Ravager is one of the last weapons that players will get their hands on, but once they do, they won’t want to put it back down.
Shield Saw
Although primarily used for defense, the Shield Saw is also one of the best weapons inDOOM: The Dark Ages. The way it interacts with different enemy shield types when thrown adds an additional layer to the game’s combat, as too does its ability totrigger secondary damage to enemiesthrough the Pincushion, Ricochet, and Rupture weapon upgrades. Then there are the four shield runes, which allow players to go from defense to offence in the blink of an eye and help to cement the Shield Saw’s spot in the S tier.
A-Tier Weapons in DOOM: The Dark Ages
Combat Shotgun
The Slayer’s trusty Combat Shotgun is the first weapon that players have access to, yet once it’s been fully upgraded, it can carry them well into the late game. By combining its Smelt and Flare-Up upgrades, players can ensure that they get a healthy supply of armor pickups, allowing them to focus more of their attention on gunning than running. They will need to keep an eye on their ammo, though, which holds the gun back a little.
Impaler
The Impaler is one of those weapons that you’re either going to love or hate, but when paired with a fully upgraded Flail, there can be no disputing the weapon’s potential to cause chaos and carnage among the demon ranks. To get the most out of the Impaler (ie, a ton of ammo and armor pickups and additional melee attacks), players will need to be good at parrying and landing headshots, both of which become a whole lot easier with the weapon’s Chronospike upgrade equipped.
Accelerator
The Accelerator is the better of the two plasma weapons thanks to its ability to generate its own ammo via the Heatblast upgrade. In crowded places, building up Charge and Supercharge can be an incredibly effective way to clear the area of demons. If and when players run out of ammo, the resulting Heatblast should get them back up and running again soon enough.
B-Tier Weapons in DOOM: The Dark Ages
Shredder
On paper, both Pincushion and Ricochet are really cool upgrades. Unfortunately, however, the secondary damage they dish out isn’t really worth the effort that it takes to trigger it. Some may find it to be a more fun option than the Impaler, but its damage potential is a lot lower, as too is its synergy with melee weapons.
Super Shotgun
The Super Shotgun makes you feel like just as much of a bad-ass as its combat counterpart, although its inability to generate any kind of pickups holds it back just a bit. It’s not a bad gun by any means, but the Combat Shotgun is arguably a much better use of one’s slugs.
Cycler
As far as secondary damage goes, Shock isn’t too bad, nor is the Charge damage that the Cycler starts to deal after being fully upgraded. Damage-wise, the Cycler is definitely in the same ballpark as the Accelerator, although the fact that the latter can generate ammo pickups gives it a rather sharp edge.
Rocket Launcher
Like inpreviousDOOMgames, the Rocket Launcher is a lot of fun to use. Cannibalism can be useful too, especially if players are using the weapon at close range and damaging themselves along with enemies. As one might expect, though, its relatively low ammo capacity makes the Rocket Launcher a special-occasions type of weapon, so players can’t really rely on it too much. Granted, the same could be said of the BFC, although that’s considerably more destructive than the Rocket Launcher.
C-Tier Weapons in DOOM: The Dark Ages
Grenade Launcher
To get the most out of the Grenade Launcher, players will need to land direct hits. This isn’t particularly difficult to do, provided they’re not too far away from their target, but then, if they’re going to be using the weapon up close and personal and taking the time to aim it a bit more precisely, there are arguably much better options available. Once everything’s been fully upgraded, there are four or fiveDOOM: The Dark Agesweapons that can deal secondary AoE damage, so it’s hard to imagine why anybody would want to settle for one that has such limited ammunition.
Pulverizer
Considering how good the Ravager is, the Pulverizer is a bit of a letdown. It’s unable to generate health, armor, or ammo, and although its high rate of fire and additional Charge damage can be useful in areas that are more densely populated with demons, the Ravager has it beat in just about every other area. And while the high rate of fire can be useful in certain situations, players will likely find themselves burning through their Skullcrusher ammo a lot more quickly than they would have liked.
Chainshot
Perhaps there are some people out there who really like the Chainshot, but this writer isn’t one of them. Sure, it can be useful against armored enemies, and the Eldritch Blessing upgrade can sometimes save a second or two for those hoping to trigger Gravitational Flux and Cosmic Breach damage. In all likelihood, though, most players will only ever use the Chainshot when all of their other guns have run out of ammo, which is somewhat ironic, really, given how prone it is to running out of ammo itself. This, when combined with its inability to generate more ammo, reaffirms the weapon’s place in the C tier.
