Comparing Heretic to DOOM

[jefklak]

#9114

I just finished the first episode on the second easiest difficulty (I’m playing this on a laptop with the stupid trackpad in GZdoom with mouselook, you try aiming and shooting). Stepping into e2 with normal difficulty feels like a painful difficulty spike!

How do you folks compare Heretic to DOOM when it comes to weaponry and map/level design? I know most weapons map 1-to-1 to DOOM’s arsenal but IMO most of the weapons feel very underwhelming. The pistol staff is ridiculous (DOOM guy’s gun too), the crossbow is all right but the dragon’s claw WTF were they thinking? I miss the chain gun!
The gauntlets are cool though but half of the time I use them successfully I end up getting killed haha.

What do you think about the level design compared to DOOM’s? It’s been a while here so no clue.
The music is great though!

[dr_st]

#9115

The reason why Heretic weapons fear underwhelming is that their average damage is somewhat lower than comparable Doom weapons, e.g., compare
https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Doom/Weapons
to
https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Heretic/Weapons

The level design of the first three episodes (haven’t played the last two yet) I actually like better than Doom most of the time. It is less abstract, layouts are not as mazy and easier to navigate.

The enemy roster I feel is a mixed bag. Gargoyles are pure annoyance. Weredragons and Sabreclaws look like generic brown beasts (although they act very differently). Disciples of D’Sparil are dangerous in groups and are a force to be reckoned with. Iron Liches have a cool design, and tricky attack patterns compared to the Baron of Hell which is just a bullet sponge with a lame projectile. A Maulotaur is a wimp compared to a Cyberdemon (if you stay far enough from it).

[dr_st]

#9131

I’ve only just come to realize that the artifacts of Heretic serve to make it more different from Doom than is at first obvious.

Gauntlets of the Necromancer + Tome of Power!

I am almost embarrassed to admit that I had no clue that this combination not only makes them more damaging, but they actually suck the health from monster and replenish yours. I’ve played through the first 3 episodes without using this capability even once, but in E4 I’ve used it a couple of times and it can be a game changer.

A full run of the powered gauntlets is enough to immobilize and kill a whole Maulotaur, while keeping your health at 100% and at the cost of zero ammo.

It is probably enough to decimate 3-4 Iron Liches, except when facing the entire group at once, the whirlwind attach of the Liches will make it very hard to stay close enough to use the gauntlets. Against a group of liches, other weapons are probably better (powered Firemace or standard, non-powered Phoenix Rod, due to its splash damage).

Powered Gauntlets are also excellent against groups of Ophidians, as well as when being cornered by groups of weaker monsters (Sabreclaws, Golems, Gargoyles).

A weapon that restores your health when used is quite foreign to the original Doom. However, in some ways, it is a precursor to the Glory Kill mechanic of the new Dooms (2016, Eternal). Very cool.

[TigerQuoll]

#9132

Yeah, powered gauntlets are brutal!
I remember being at low health at one point with no quartz flasks, low on ammo and lots of enemies to fight. Almost as a joke, fully expecting to die horribly, I used a tome of power, got out the gauntlets, and went nuts. Next thing I remember, I was at full health and everything was dead.

As for the low damage on weapons – I think it’s just a matter of perspective. All numbers are completely arbitrary until they’re compared to another number. You’re not fighting Doom enemies with their stats – you’re fighting Heretic enemies with their stats. If you fiddled with the code you could just as easily rebalance the enemies as you could the weapons and get the same effect.

[jefklak]

#9146

Is there anyone actually preferrig the Firemace above the Hellstaff? For being a semi-secret weapon I was kind of disappointed after trying it out.

Actually, my most used weapons are the bow, the hellstaff/dragon’s claw depending on what/how much ammo I have left, and the bazooka-erm, the yellow thing that goes boom.

[dr_st]

#9148

A powered-up Firemace can kill non-boss enemies with a single hit, but it is tricky to actually get it to hit. All in all, it just like a short-range Hellstaff, and nice just to spice things up, or if you used up all your Hellstaff / Dragonclaw ammo.