DOOM Eternal’s melee attack was somewhat controversial among players when the game first came out. It was a lot less effective than the melee attack inDOOM 2016, and in general it felt strange that such a strong character like the Doom Slayer would be delivering such ineffective blows. Thankfully, the id Software team seems to have been paying attention to this criticism becauseDOOM: The Dark Ageshas completely reworked melee into something that feels much more fitting for the series' protagonist.
One major difference is thatDOOM: The Dark Agesaddsthree new melee weapons, each of which has distinct abilities and strategic applications. Another difference is in just how affective melee attacks actually feel when you perform them. Anyone who felt short-changed by the Doom Slayer’s strength inDOOM Eternalwill likely be very happy to see how melee works now. Although it will definitely take some adjusting to, especially if players were expecting something closer toDOOM2016, I have no doubt that mostfans who were displeased withDOOM Eternalwill feel much happier about the new mechanics.
The Major Complaints With DOOM Eternal’s Melee Explained
DOOM Eternal’s Melee Attacks Were Weak And Ineffective
InDOOM Eternal, the melee attack isn’t too dissimilar from a typical first-person shooter. You can do it at-will, and you don’t have to switch off your primary weapon to do it like you did in old schoolDOOMgames. However, unlikeCall of DutyorHalo,the melee attack inDOOM Eternalis largely ineffective. The most it does is cause an enemy to falter the first time you hit them with it, and it does very little damage. This makes melee a much less effective option inDOOM Eternalthan it is in other FPS games.
To make matters worse,DOOM2016had a much more effective melee attack thanDOOM Eternal. Not only did it falter enemies each time you hit them with it, but it also did more damage. Weaker enemies were ready to be glory-killed after just a few melee hits. Now, I think this was an intentional choice on the part of the designers. I think the idea was to incentivize players not rely too heavily on melee, and explore the many optionsDOOM Eternalgives you for dispatching demons.
That said, players who based their expectations for the melee inDOOM Eternalon the previous game were consequently let down that it felt far less impactful. AlthoughDOOM Eternalis by no means ruined by its weaker melee attack, the hope was thatDOOM: The Dark Agescould fix its meleeissue.Luckily, the latest entry in theDOOMfranchise did just that.
How DOOM: The Dark Ages Fixed DOOM Eternal’s Melee Problem
DOOM: The Dark Ages Introduces Powerful New Melee Weapons
It seems clear that, when designingDOOM: The Dark Ages, id Software wanted to address the concerns about melee fromDOOM Eternalwithout simply reverting to theDOOM2016style. The designers found an elegant solution to keep melee strong while also stopping it from taking over too much of your strategy.They did this by significantly increasing the power of melee attacks, making them stronger than both previous games, while also limiting the number of times you can use a melee attack in short succession.
Two of the melee weapons, the Power Gauntlet and the Flail, can only be used three times in a row before you have to either find a melee refill on the map or wait for your uses to charge back up. The most powerful melee weapon, the Dreadmace, unleashes a devastating blow and with splash damage, but only gets one charge.This successfully makes melee more powerful while also preventing it from overshadowing your other weapons.
In another clever bit of design, you’re able to also get upgrades that help recharge your melee weapons more quickly when you parry attacks with your shield saw. This incentivizes you to use theDOOM: The Dark Ages’new shield mechanics,which will help you realize just how effective they can be. The game does also occasionally treat players who love to dispatch large numbers of enemies with melee by creating areas where there are a lot of melee refills. These areas are a lot of fun because you can tear through enemies with melee attacks in ways you normally can’t.
DOOM: The Dark Ages' Approach To Melee Is The Best In The Series
Melee Is Typically Weak In DOOM
Melee has historically been one of the worst options for taking out enemies in theDOOMfranchise. In the older games, to perform a melee attack you would have to switch off your guns to your fists. Melee was so weak, that you would only really resort to it when you had no other options left. This often results in your death if you hadn’t already significantly weakened the enemies in the room before running out of ammo.
AlthoughDOOM2016’s melee was stronger than anything that came before it, and it could be used with your gun equipped,it was still not terribly effective against anything but smaller enemies. You couldn’t cause larger demons to falter in the same way as the smaller ones, and it took far too many hits to defeat them with just melee. And, as discussed before,DOOM Eternal’s melee was far too weak to be effective in most situations. It wasn’t necessarily unusable, and its falter could buy you a few extra seconds, but it wasn’t deadly by any means.
DOOM: The Dark Ageshas completely redefined what melee means forDOOM, and I am really happy with the results. Melee feels like a viable option against every enemy, and having different weapons that allow you to change the style of your melee attacks is a big improvement. Now, you can match your melee style to your preferred strategy, or swap between them as regularly as you do your other weapons inDOOM: The Dark Ages. Just be aware that melee charges don’t transfer when you switch weapons.
Whether you’re delivering devastating combos with the Power Gauntlet, bashing through enemy armor with the Flail, or just disintegrating enemies on contact with the Dreadmace,DOOM: The Dark Agesoffers a lot of fun options for including melee in your rotation of attacks. I hope that this is a new trend for the series, as I would love to see what future melee weapons id Software can come up with. I’m also eager to see if the planned campaign DLC forDOOM: The Dark Agesadds any more weapons to its arsenal.
