My Experience
Recently, I completed the DOOM Eternal Ultra Nightmare challenge, which is available in the base campaign of the game. It is one of the hardest and most hardcore difficulty settings that will make your heart race and send your brain into a full adrenaline rush. The goal is simple: you play the game on Nightmare difficulty with one significant twist - you cannot die at all.
No Room for Mistake
The demons are just as deadly as in the normal Nightmare mode, but this time there is no room for mistakes or carelessness. If the player fails, they will be severely punished with permanent death and will need to restart the game from the beginning level, Hell On Earth. Most players who have completed this challenge have experienced countless deaths and suffered from the most painful or even embarrassing defeats.
Gameplay
To be honest, I have lost count of how many times I have died in the game, as you get used to it after playing for hundreds of hours. The game is truly beautiful and mesmerizing to watch when played at a high skill level. It is unlike any other FPS or shooting game before it, except for a few games that came after DOOM Eternal and tried to emulate its formula of fast-paced and push-forward combat.
Fortunately, I have developed a habit of recording my gameplay for future reference, so that other people who want to attempt a similar challenge may find it useful. There are already many guides available to help you succeed in Ultra Nightmare mode and obtain that coveted gold slayer skin to show off to your friends. I will provide links to all of them below, along with my current keybindings.
Strategy and Techniques
Setting comfortable keybindings is crucial because in order to excel at this game, players need to shoot and move simultaneously without having to stop during intense combat encounters until all the demons in an arena are eliminated. This is especially important in the DLC and master levels, which are more difficult and challenging. Some key considerations for keybindings include determining your preferred weapon combos.
- Ballista + SSG (good damage against Marauder, easiest combo)
- PB + Ballista (effective long range attack against flying demon (Caco & Pain))
- PB + SSG (close range high DPS combo, can take down frozen baron with 3/4 cycle)
- PB + Rocket (medium range, highest DPS for weapon combo due to splash damage of rocket)
- PB + Sticky Bomb (very difficult to pull off but can be very useful against Marauder)
Weapon Keybindings
| Weapon | Key assigned |
|---|---|
| Combat Shotgun | Scroll Down and 3 |
| Heavy Cannon | Mouse 4 |
| Plasma Rifle | Scroll Up |
| Rocket Launcher | Q |
| Super Shotgun | E |
| Ballista | R |
| Chaingun | C |
| BFG / Unmaykr | 4 |
| Crucible / Hammer | 2 |
| Utility | Key assigned |
|---|---|
| Equipment Launcher | Alt |
| Switch Equipment | G |
| Melee / Blood Punch | X |
| Chainsaw | Mouse 5 |
| Switch Weapon Mod | M (set to middle click of scroll whell) |
| Dash | Left Shift |
For me, ever since discovering the Heavy Cannon’s Precision Bolt mod capability, I have been able to quickly switch between weapons for fast weapon combos that can eliminate super heavy demons within a short period of time. Some players choose to use the default keybindings and assign the weapon keys to numbers close to the movement keys, as that is what they are comfortable with.
Guide
- Exhaustive step-by-step guide for Ultra Nightmare
- DOOM Eternal 100% Achievement Guide
- DOOM Eternal Written Guide/Walkthrough
Fastest Gameplay (speedrunners)
- Absolutemassive [WR] 1:41:46 - Doom Eternal 100% Ultra-Nightmare Restricted
- MuteD6 1:43:44 - Doom Eternal 100% Ultra-Nightmare Restricted
- Zero Master 2:22:11 - Doom Eternal - 100% Ultra-Nightmare
Insanely Difficult Challenge (modded content)
- DOOM Eternal - All Bosses (NO DAMAGE)
- This Encounter CBT/PTSD is WAY HARDER without the MOST POWERFUL Weapons
- Custom CBT Master Level on Ultra Nightmare!