If you’re diligent about fully clearing each mission in Doom: The Dark Ages, you’ll eventually have enough gold and rubies to purchase every upgrade in the game to become the ultimate version of the Doom Slayer. In the long run, which upgrade paths you prioritize will be based on which guns and abilities you vibe with the most. But the game’s opening hours throw a lot of options at you with limited upgrade resources, so I figured I’d fill you in on the upgrade paths that I found offered the most value as I acclimated to the game’s pacing and expectations.
1. Combat Shotgun upgrades
2. Pulverizer upgrades
3. Flail upgrades
Combat Shotgun: Incendiary, Smelt, and Tune Up
The Combat Shotgun upgrade path will be one of your first available options, so you’ll probably be eyeing it either way. But just in case you considered holding off on pumping gold into this gun in favor of seeing what future armaments have to offer, I’d recommend you don’t because this upgrade path can help with survivability and damage in equal measure.
Read More: Doom: The Dark Ages: The Kotaku Review
Once you buy the Incendiary upgrade, which sets enemies ablaze when shot with the Combat Shotgun, you’ll be able to purchase the Smelt upgrade so that those foes will also drop additional armor. This will keep you in the fight longer.
But it’s really the Tune Up upgrade you’re aiming for, as it turns your Combat Shotgun into a tri-burst weapon. You’ll eventually get even more powerful weapons, but those three-round bursts from the Combat Shotgun can make very quick work of mid-tier demons you’ll encounter during the game’s first few hours.
Pulverizer: Runic Skull and Runic Strike
You’ll obtain the Pulverizer relatively early in the game, and it’s a hell of a gun to keep around. It’s designed to function as a crowd control weapon that can clear out groups of smaller enemies due to its wide spread, but you’d be shocked at how much damage it can do to large demons when you get close enough to unload all of those shots into them.
With its high damage potential and versatility, you’ll want to grab upgrades for the Pulverizer as soon as possible. The two you’ll have available early on include Runic Skull and Runic Strike. The former makes it so that your gun’s Charge increases after killing an enemy with the Pulverizer or melee, which in turn provides you with faster movement and a higher rate of fire so that you can mow through foes even quicker. The latter makes it so that melee attacks build and maintain your Charge, making you an unstoppable force with this powerful gun.
Flail: Conditioning, Ignite, and Resonant
The Flail makes an appearance a few hours into the game, and it’s a very strong melee option to keep equipped. While it charges slower than your Power Gauntlet, it makes up for it with increased utility. As soon as possible, go ahead and grab its first three upgrades: Conditioning, Ignite, and Resonant.
Conditioning reduces the charge time of the Flail, while Ignite scorches enemies and causes them to drop ever-important armor to increase your survivability. But the Resonant upgrade is the star of the show, increasing the damage your Flail attacks do to metal shields and armor, which both stand in your way of dealing flesh damage to demons. Oh, yeah, and it also drops armor for you with each hit. If you can’t tell, I’m all about that survivability, baby!
Doom: The Dark Ages is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows PCs.