id Software is just about ready to unleash the second half of DOOM Eternal'sThe Ancient Gods DLC campaign onto unsuspecting shooter fans. Beyond the hints game director Hugo Martin has left during his weekly DOOM live streams, there have been leaks aplenty in the lead-up to its trailer reveal later this month. One of the more exciting aspects of the DLC is a confirmed new weapon that will replace the Crucible blade seen in the main campaign. While some fans assumed that the Soul Cube from DOOM 3 would fit perfectly into that slot, its true identity was included in one of thelatest DOOM Eternal leaks alongside several other juicy bits of prerelease information.
Hugo Martin has already teased out several bits of information regarding The Ancient Gods, Part 2, including several new enemies Doomguy will come up against in the campaign. This includes a demon that may be called the Screecher. Similar to the Witch in Left 4 Dead, the Screecher is an enemy players want to avoid as much as possible. Killing it amidst the carnage will buff other enemies in the area, making an unquestionably tough combat scenario that much more difficult.
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Some variants of classic enemies are also coming in the DLC. Theconfirmed cover art for The Ancient Gods, Part 2 already revealed a mighty armored foe wielding the Crucible against Doomguy. Another confirmed enemy is the Stone Imp, a beefed-up version of the classic fireball-slinging baddie that is little more than fodder near the end of the main campaign. Finally, the long-awaited return of the Chaingunner comes in the new DOOM Eternal DLC, this time sporting a UAC energy shield. Players seemingly won't be able to wield their version of the chaingun, but it's still nice to see an enemy from the 1993 original work its way back into the franchise.
What DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods, Part 2's New Weapon Is
The revealed cover art for The Ancient Gods, Part 2 does more than show off a brand-new big bad. In the art, Doomguy wields a massive sledgehammer with the same demonic glow as the Crucible. Thanks to the leaked Steam achievements for the DLC, this is confirmed to be the Sentinel Hammer, an upgradable superweapon new to the campaign. The "Sentinel" in the name refers to the former people of Argent D'Nur. This is the realm that Doomguy ended up in after his indefinite stay in hell at the end of the classic series, and he trained with the group of knights known as the Sentinels in the timebefore 2016's DOOM.
There are few Sentinels that remain alive as of the events of DOOM and DOOM Eternal, but that may change over the course of The Ancient Gods. The cover art depicts Doomguy leading an army of warriors decked out in armor that resembles the medieval style of the ancient race. Considering the name "Sentinel Hammer," it's possible that Doomguy revives his fellow warriors from their demise and rallies them using an ancient weapon of their people. He already came into contact with the demonic equivalent now held by a new hellish threat, so it makes sense that he would hold onto the hammer as he refocuses on his eternal mission to slay demons.
As the leaks spread across the DOOM fanbase, players are understandably excited about this last bit ofsingle-player content for DOOM Eternal. id Software is also said to be working on several new modes for the game, including a more hardcore variant of the campaign and the long-awaited debut of the promised Invasion mode.With high sales figures and a devoted fan base, DOOM looks to be one of the biggest franchises acquired by Xbox in their Bethesda deal, so there is undoubtedly more demon-slaying to do in the future even after The Ancient Gods wraps up.
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DOOM Eternal is available now on PlayStation 4, PC, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Stadia. The Ancient Gods, Part 1 is available as a DLC add-on for DOOM Eternal or as a standalone purchase, withPart 2 coming in the near future.
