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Tips for Nightmare Mode


TheCrazyHand

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Okay so I killed the CyberDemon earlier today. Figured I'd post what I've learned here.

 

Temporary Health

 

Health above 25 is temporary, but it ticks down slowly enough to help you in a pinch. You get it either from Health Stations or the Soul Cube. With the Soul Cube, you must be advised that enemies like Trites and Lost Souls will heal you very little.

 

With Health Stations, the only concern is your inability to reuse them later if needed.

 

Armor

 

Keep it at 125, and don't let yourself get damaged unless either armor doesn't go down, or it does, but armor powerups are nearby.

 

Fortunately, there's plenty of armor power ups around, but there are dry zones, and you must be advised that backtracking often leads to enemies spawning that previously weren't there. Sometimes it's an Imp or two, but sometimes it's something significantly more threatening like a ZSec.

 

Saving

 

Ah yes saving. It is true that saving often is well advised, but saving blindly after every kill is a good way to end up with a save where you die right after loading.

 

Basically, make sure any enemies who were aggro-ed to you are behind significant cover, and certainly make sure they don't have Line of Sight on you. I also recommend, because of the Soul Cube, that you rotate between 6 or 7 saves, saving over the oldest save each time, but only save after 1 or more kills. This accounts for both the kills required for the Soul Cube, and the possibility of a save being accidentally deleted or corrupted.

 

Soul Cube

 

I recommend using it every time it recharges early on, though as you progress you'll want to be more careful. You can kill non-enemies to recharge it too, it's cruel, but the ending hints that they all died anyway for what it's worth. Enemies I recommend saving it for:

 

ZSecs - Hitscan enemies, nuff said. Okay so you obviously can't hit them all with it, but target them with the cube as often as possible.

 

Demons (sometimes) - The first one in Administration attacks too close, with no room to back out. And a single bite kills you on Nightmare, even with 125 armor. So you need the Soul Cube for the first one, I also recommend you use it in the tri-Demon Ambush in Alpha Labs 3. Also use it for every single one of them you encounter in Delta Labs 1. The rest you should be able to handle, though for the one after the first Revenants in Monorail Skybridge, you'll want to stay in the doorway so that it can't lack behind you, and toss grenades into its alcove to lure it out, giving you more room to back away from it as you fire.

 

Chaingun Commandos - Well, he's less accurate than ZSecs, but can't be stunlocked, and has much higher health. You can't always get them with the cube, but should do so when you can.

 

Arch Viles (sometimes) - The ones that summon Cherubs or Commandos specifically, and the one near the end of Caverns Area 1.

 

Hell Knight - You usually don't need it for them, but it can still be useful to conserve ammo or when there are a bunch of other things attacking you at the same time.

 

Revenants - You can use the plasma gun and aim for about where their missles are coming from, but in certain areas, particularly Recycling, there's not any better targets to save it for. Also, there's the encounter outside, where using it will save you time, and thus oxygen.

 

Problem Spots

 

These are the places where you are most likely to have Trouble:

 

Alpha Labs - Tons of ZSecs, the worst Trite Swarm in the game, the tri-Demon Ambush, and the Vagary Boss. The latter is easily handled using the Soul Cube, and the second is heavily mitigated by it at least, the Chaingun should help you in finishing either off. The Trite Swarm, I've been told you can bypass it. If that's true, do it:

 

you can skip the first trite fight by jumping on the pipes, then on top of the health station, then to the rail and finally over it

 

Actually, that part with the trites, where you have to raise the ladder is pretty easy using a nice trick. If you are facing the ladder, on the left side of the room, there are 2 pipes coming out of the wall next to each other. You can immediately jump on these and crawl into the hole and face the room. From there it's very easy to shoot the enemies who are lining up at the hole entrance. Without this trick, that part is near impossible for me.

 

If you can't do that, then try this:

 

-Have 25 health and 125 armor going in.

 

-Use the Heath station for a temp health boost.

 

-Hit the switch, kill the first Trite, reload, and save hiding behind the column (you can do this safely if you do it fast).

 

-After killing a few more Trites, you have room to switch weapons, the Soul Cube should enable you to survive another hit, at least temporarily.

 

Hopefully, all of that is enough to get you through. And by all means SAVE AFTER THE LAST TRITE!!! DO NOT CLIMB THE LADDER!!!!. You can easily handle the Trites that attack you when you get to the top of the ladder, but you don't want to risk losing your progress. As for the ZSecs, just use the Soul Cube and Grenades as often as possible.

 

Enpro Plant - The Lost Soul introduction is easy to survive, the 6 that attack you afterwards however can get you if you stay in the room to fight them before going outside. So go back by the ladder you just climbed to fight them instead.

 

Recycling - The red level toxins thing = 15 damage per 1-2 secs on Nightmare. You absolutely HAVE to use the Health Station for a temp Health boost to survive. And move, fast. Luckily, the cherubs' presence allow for the Soul Cube to be powered up at this point so that you can kill the Revenant the spawns afterward with it.

 

Delta Labs 1 - The Lost Soul Swarm in the warehouse area is a serious bitch to deal with. It's not so much the Souls themselves as it is the fact that you have to reload at some point. You can get some cover and save, but be careful not to trigger the Revenant until after they're all dead. It's crazy enough without fighting that thing at the same time.

 

Delta Complex - Use the Soul Cube on Archviles when you can, when you can't, Rocket Launcher Ahoy. You want to kill the Viles and their spawn ASAP. Any Health Stations you find, use them for Temp Health Boosts when you can't use the Soul Cube. Early on, there's a Chainsaw, I recommend you find and get it. The Tick Swarm isn't so bad because you can ambush them all around the corner. May want to use the Soul Cube periodically to conserve ammo though.

 

Central Processing - Use the code 627 for the door to bypass part of the level. Other than that, take it slow, very slow, watch for Cherubs, and make sure to have the Soul Cube Powered up for every single Arch Vile. The Trite Swarm should initially be dealt with using grenades after retreating to the hallway. After the imp and Cherubs die in the explosions, the Enforcer works fine. Just don't retreat too far or you'll aggro some Cherubs.

 

Site 3 - When you get to the room that eventually becomes the exit, try looking around to pick off the Cacodemon and Maggot before triggering the enemy spawns and you should be fine for the rest of the level. But be careful not to run too far into that room and trigger the Hell Knight until the fight is over.

 

Caverns Area 1 - Getting off the Big Elevator, Shoot rockets into the Commando. Then, when the Arch Vile Spawns, BFG him, and Soul Cube the Hell Knight. For the part where you go down to get the Keycard, you must fall without jumping, or you'll take 10 damage, and there's too many jumps for that. When you get to the part with the weak walkway, use the Rocket Launcher, and watch for imps to come from behind. You should use the Rocket Launcher liberally throughout the remainder of the level. The part near the small elevator, I hit the imp near the barrel with the rocket launcher, bfg(uncharged) the room to clear the enemies (you may have a Wraith survive this), bfg(uncharged both commandos, and if a Wraith does survive, dispose of it as you wish. Make sure to have the Soul Cube for the Arch Vile at the Bottom. If you have to finish the level with less than optimal armor, just go for it, the next level will have more than enough.

 

Tough one, I know. Hopefully, the practice you had throughout will get you through.

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I agree with almost everything you said, but the 7 saves part still bothers me ^_^ lol anyways, for the chain gunning guys you should also include its wise to take them out with either grenades or rockets as well. They were no doubt the most irritating enemies after the guys who run up to you with their whip thing D:< and that stupid crane thing in the caverns 1 or what ever got annoying also lol kept jumping off at the wrong spots then die. And if you haven't done RoE yet on nightmare, you should later include that when battling the final boss, when he does his little rock slide attack, you should stand at the very edge of the tiny platform thing you're on, because it's literally impossible to dodge if you don't do that and aren't using the artifact to gain invulnerability.

Edited by Dark-Soldier2123
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In caverns area 1 if you have full health (there's a health station near you) you can skip the part where you get the keycard and call the lift, simply by sliding down. You do take damage but with full health you will survive if done right. However like you mentioned be prepared to take out the chaingun commando asap. The bfg works well for this.

 

Great guide by the way.

Edited by DougWayneKelley
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In caverns area 1 if you have full health (there's a health station near you) you can skip the part where you get the keycard and call the lift, simply by sliding down. You do take damage but with full health you will survive if done right. However like you mentioned be prepared to take out the chaingun commando asap. The bfg works well for this.

 

Great guide by the way.

 

The thing about using BFG to especially skip passed people is, there's a good shot you'll kill your self. Get's really annoying D:<

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I also want to provide some tips I found out on my own Nightmare run, that kept me living:

 

1. Have two different saves. When you used the cube, keep one save before you used it and write over only one of them until the cube is charged again. This will keep yourself from getting in a tight spot, where you want the cube and don´t have it. Also you can easily identify your saves. Even if everything goes wrong (never happened to me), you still have one Autosave

 

2. You are in the middle of an room and several enemies suddenly spawn from different directions (Z-Sec, Imps, Wraiths etc.). You have a problem if you stay in that room, as almost certainly one lone fireball or Z-Sec will kill you.

Instead, retreat the way you came. Let the enemies come to you and kill them in the doorway with grenades or the shotgun or some other way. I found that retreating is sometimes a great help. Especially if you know, that enemies will spawn behind you, after you dispatched the first wave. This way you can ambush the ambushers ;)

 

3. Don´t use the Cube too liberally. You never know what awaits you around the next corner. This is even more true in later levels, when Chaingun Commandos, Arch Viles and Hellknights seem to be everywhere. I always tried without the Cube first and only used it when I saw no other way.

 

4. Nevermind too much about your health and armor. Almost everything will kill you in one hit, even with 125 armor and 25 health. So it does not really matter if you have 1 health or 25.

 

5. I never had ammo issues, but don´t use your better weapons on small fries. You don´t want to run in a Revenant with no Plasma ammo. Believe me.

 

Tips for Enemies and Bosses

 

Imps

Nasty. And literally everwhere, at least every second room one Imp appears. Their fireballs can easily be strafed, but beware their lunge attack. It kills you. Best way to deal with them I found is: Dodge their Fireballs, then sprint in close and unload the shotgun at their chest before they can claw you. Kills them in one hit if done correct. However if there are two or more at the same time, whip out the machine gun or grenades and keep your distance.

 

Pinky

They don´t have much health and their habit of roaring before even thinking of attacking makes them vulnerable to the machine gun. If you are daring you can try two shotgun blasts from a relatively close distance, but i won´t recommend it.

 

Z-Sec (all types)

Very dangereous. Best corner camp them with the shotgun. If that does not work, for whatever reason, take the machine gun. They die fast and take a sec or two before they start shooting. Grenades are also a viable option in some cases.

 

Tentacle Commando

Take the Chainsaw, duck under their tentacle attack and begin sawing. They are dead, before they can kick you. However you will be killed if they jump attack. If there are more than one, take the Chaingun instead.

 

Chaingun Commando

Use the Cube when you can. If not, use any type of explosive or the BFG (uncharged) to kill these bastards quickly.

 

Arch Vile

If you can be close to it, when it spawns in, chainsaw it. It can spawn one enemy, but it will be dead. If you are far away, use the cube, the Rocket Launcher or the BFG.

 

Vagary

Soulcube plus Chaingun makes quick work of it. With the Health boost you can even survive a hit or two.

 

Guardian

This gave me some trouble. First of all: Move two the right or the left and fire one fully charged BFG Shot into its core. Then use the BFG to kill the Seekers and keep the wall between you and the Boss. When it spawns new Seekers, kill it with the BFG.

 

Sabaoth

Soulcube plus 6 Rockets will kill him. Just shoot the BFG shots fast or you will die from the radiation alone.

 

Cyberdemon

Incredibly easy even on Nightmare. The hellhole itself blocks his rockets and the minions can be killed liberally with the launcher. The Cube targets always the Cyberdemon, so just let it go.

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Tentacle Commando

Take the Chainsaw, duck under their tentacle attack and begin sawing. They are dead, before they can kick you. However you will be killed if they jump attack. If there are more than one, take the Chaingun instead.

 

Solid Gold tip - quite late in my nightmare playthrough but still helps me preserve ammo. Doesn't work 100% (position and angle of view can change hit chance) for me but still easier retreating and unloading!

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A few problems:

 

1. Have two different saves. When you used the cube, keep one save before you used it and write over only one of them until the cube is charged again. This will keep yourself from getting in a tight spot, where you want the cube and don´t have it. Also you can easily identify your saves. Even if everything goes wrong (never happened to me), you still have one Autosave

 

You can do this, but the less saves you use, the greater risk you are taking.

 

 

4. Nevermind too much about your health and armor. Almost everything will kill you in one hit, even with 125 armor and 25 health. So it does not really matter if you have 1 health or 25.

 

A lot of stuff is OHK, but certainly not everything, machine gun fire and splash damage is usually NOT a OHK if you have 25 health and 125 armor. And going through the game without getting hit, while probably possible, is pretty unrealistic. So yes, you do want to mind about health.

 

You can also sometimes survive a direct hit from an imp or vulgar.

 

Pinky

They don´t have much health and their habit of roaring before even thinking of attacking makes them vulnerable to the machine gun. If you are daring you can try two shotgun blasts from a relatively close distance, but i won´t recommend it.

 

They also OHK you with their bites, so in some cases, you need the soul cube.

 

Tentacle Commando

Take the Chainsaw, duck under their tentacle attack and begin sawing. They are dead, before they can kick you. However you will be killed if they jump attack. If there are more than one, take the Chaingun instead.

 

This works well in some situations, but very poorly in others, and in Delta Complex, it's suicide. The strat for Tentacle commandos is entirely situational I'm afraid.

 

Chaingun Commando

Use the Cube when you can. If not, use any type of explosive or the BFG (uncharged) to kill these bastards quickly.

 

When using explosives ALWAYS make sure there is cover, as they can take 2 rockets or 3 grenades to kill. Firing at you all the while.

 

Sabaoth

Soulcube plus 6 Rockets will kill him. Just shoot the BFG shots fast or you will die from the radiation alone.

 

Soul Cube + Chaingun works better, as it allows you to more easily take out the BFG shots.

 

I agree with the rest though.

Edited by TheCrazyHand
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A few problems:

 

 

 

You can do this, but the less saves you use, the greater risk you are taking.

 

 

 

 

A lot of stuff is OHK, but certainly not everything, machine gun fire and splash damage is usually NOT a OHK if you have 25 health and 125 armor. And going through the game without getting hit, while probably possible, is pretty unrealistic. So yes, you do want to mind about health.

 

You can also sometimes survive a direct hit from an imp or vulgar.

 

 

 

They also OHK you with their bites, so in some cases, you need the soul cube.

 

 

 

This works well in some situations, but very poorly in others, and in Delta Complex, it's suicide. The strat for Tentacle commandos is entirely situational I'm afraid.

 

 

 

When using explosives ALWAYS make sure there is cover, as they can take 2 rockets or 3 grenades to kill. Firing at you all the while.

 

 

 

Soul Cube + Chaingun works better, as it allows you to more easily take out the BFG shots.

 

1) Actually I don´t quite see the risk of using only 2 saves plus autosave. But in general you are right.

 

2) Of course you do want to mind about health, but not too much. I didn´t relaoad, just because I had left a few HP for whatever reason. But I stocked up on Health Stations when I had the chance to. And especially in later chapters almost every enemy OHK´s you. Also I never survived a direct hit from an Imp or Vulgar on Nightmare.

 

3) Only time I really needed the Cube for a Pinkie was the first one you meet (the one that breaks through the glass). He is just too close. For no other is the Cube needed.

 

4) I always used the chainsaw on lone Tentacles, even in Delta. Sometimes even used it, when more than one was there. Worked out well every time, except for when they jumped.

 

5) Right. Should have mentioned that. Was a no-brainer for me, but might not for others.

 

6) Cube + Chaingun could be a good alternative, i didn´t try as i defeated him first time w/o problem.

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I'd like to give a tip for Commandos as well. I found that grenades are somewhat good against them if you can bounce them off walls around what you're hiding behind. Takes 2 - 3 grenades. Infact, I used grenades a lot when I faced Zsec and when I was ambushed from several angles. I think they pack the power of a rocket launcher, they can even take down a Reverant pretty fast to.

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