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Doom: The Dark Ages
Best Upgrades: What Upgrade to Get First
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Every weapon in Doom: The Dark Ages can be upgraded to enhance combat effectiveness. Learn more about what the best upgrades are for each weapon in this guide!
Upgrades to Go For First
Recommended Weapons to Upgrade First
| Combat Shotgun | Shredder | Shield Saw |
| Power Gauntlet | Impaler |
By the first five chapters, you will already have quite a number of guns ready. We recommend focusing only on three first: the Combat Shotgun, Shredder, and Impaler. This isn't to say that you should neglect the Shield and your first melee weapon the Gauntlet.
Blast for Combat Shotgun
The Blast upgrade is the first decent power spike for the Combat Shotgun. This weapon is great to invest in overall since it is more than capable of carrying you to the end of the game.
Ricochet for Shredder
This is a substantial upgrade in the early game, especially since it combos well with the Shield Saw and the Shredder is a great weapon overall.
Retaliation for Shield Saw
The additional damage and AoE this upgrade provides is great as the Shield Saw's first notable power spike.
Finisher for Power Gauntlet
Straightforward and easy to obtain early on, this upgrade is a solid choice and a practical stopping point for the Power Gauntlet if you don't plan to use it in the late game.
Lobotomy for Impaler
The Impaler is a reliable weapon overall, and the Lobotomy upgrade helps sustain Melee Charges, though its effectiveness depends on your ability to consistently land headshots.
Best Upgrades for Each Weapon
Combat Shotgun
| Upgrade | Description |
|---|---|
| Smelt | Demons affected by Burn applied by the Combat Shotgun drop more armor pickups. |
| Tune Up | The Combat Shotgun fires in rapid, three-round bursts. |
These upgrades increases the Combat Shotgun's effectiveness by increasing general damage and improving survivability through additional armor pickups, especially in higher difficulty settings.
Super Shotgun
| Upgrade | Description |
|---|---|
| Shatter | The Super Shotgun deals increased damage to armor. |
With this upgrade, the Super Shotgun can be especially useful against tankier enemies.
Shredder
| Upgrade | Description |
|---|---|
| Ricochet | Shredder projectiles that hit a demon affected by the Shield Saw strike one additional demon. |
Significantly increase the Shredder's AoE damage with this upgrade and mow down enemies more easily.
Impaler
| Upgrade | Description |
|---|---|
| Chronospike | Impaler projectiles fired during slow time deal more damage. |
This upgrade provides additional utility for the Impaler, allowing the player to dodge incoming attacks much easier by slowing down time.
Accelerator
| Upgrade | Description |
|---|---|
| Mega Cell | The time it takes for the Accelerator to lose Charge is increased. |
This upgrade is overall a performance booster to make the Accelerator's damage much more consistent.
Cycler
| Upgrade | Description |
|---|---|
| Amplify | The Cycler deals increased damage to Shocked Demons. |
This upgrade would be a sufficient stopping point for the Cycler since it provides a decent damage boost. Past this upgrade, tt is recommended to focus upgrading other weapons instead.
Pulverizer
| Upgrade | Description |
|---|---|
| Flay | The Pulverizer fires an increased number of projectiles per shot over a wider area. |
Mow down all enemies with this massive AoE boost for the Pulverizer.
Ravager
| Upgrade | Description |
|---|---|
| Ignition | The Ravager takes less time to reach maximum fire rate and the movement penalty while firing is removed. |
This is mainly a quality of life upgrade, and is meant to make the weapon smoother to use while also making it a more viable option in combat.
Chainshot
| Upgrade | Description |
|---|---|
| Eldritch Blessing | Parrying a Hell Surge attack instantly charges your next shot. |
This upgrade adds a simple and straightforward mechanic that instantly improves the weapon, making it significantly more reliable to use.
Grenade Launcher
| Upgrade | Description |
|---|---|
| Rupture | Direct hits with the Grenade Launcher drop Cluster Grenades when hitting a demon affected by the Shield Saw. |
This upgrade pairs well with the Shield Saw, offering a solid boost to overall damage output.
Rocket Launcher
| Upgrade | Description |
|---|---|
| Cooked | Parrying a Hell Surge projectile empowers your next shot. |
This upgrade rewards players who parry often, and will let them benefit greatly by increasing overall damage.
Power Gauntlet
| Upgrade | Description |
|---|---|
| Duelist | Parrying Hell Surge attacks will speed up your melee charge regeneration. |
This upgrade is incredibly useful for maintaining melee charge regeneration, especially if you have a lot of opportunities to parry attacks.
Flail
| Upgrade | Description |
|---|---|
| Conditioning | Reduce the recovery time of a Flail charge by five seconds |
Conditioning is a solid upgrade to invest in, especially if you don't plan to rely on the Flail as your primary melee weapon through the later chapters.
Dreadmace
| Upgrade | Description |
|---|---|
| Riposte | Successfully parrying a Hell Surge attack when the Dreadmace is charged will grant you an additional Dreadmace attack. This bonus swing is available for a limited time. This effect cannot be triggered again for a short duration. |
Though it’s the final upgrade for the Dreadmace and requires significant investment, it’s also the most powerful, making it a highly valuable upgrade to have in the later chapters of the game.
Doom: The Dark Ages Related Guides
Beginner's Guide: All Tips and Tricks
All Tips and Tricks
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Best Upgrades: What Upgrade to Get First
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