DOOM Eternal Difficulty Levels Explained - Choosing the Best Difficulty for You

Updated:

01 Nov 2023

This is a review of all difficulties.

1. I’m Too Young to Die

In the blood-soaked realms of Doom Eternal, where the forces of Hell collide with the last bastions of humanity, chaos reigns supreme. However, there exists a sanctuary for those seeking a less punishing experience – the easiest difficulty setting.

In a game known for its brutal and frantic combat, taking a stroll through the world of Doom Eternal on the gentlest setting may seem like an unexpected choice, yet some gamers may find that their own pace best suits a less relenting challenge.

Some of the differences you can expect from the easiest difficulty of Doom Eternal are:

Less aggressive enemies who will give the player breathing room not afforded to those playing on higher difficulties.
Reduced damage from enemy attacks, mistakes will not be punished as harshly on this difficulty.
Wider variety of acceptable play-styles, as enemies will punish you less for not using certain equipment that will be necessary on higher difficulties.

Choose this difficulty if…

You are a gamer who wants to focus on the narrative and lore of the game but you aren’t as interested in a soul-crushing challenge.
You are not deeply familiar with other high-difficulty old-school shooters like Quake, Dusk, Blood, or Doom (2016)
Or if you just want to have a relaxed experience and not feel rushed to get to the next combat arena, go with the flow and take in the sights of the demonic (and angelic) landscapes.

2. Hurt Me Plenty

Doom Eternal is a game which thrives on pushing the player up to and beyond their perceived limits. For those seeking a harmonious middle ground between the unforgiving brutality of Nightmare mode and the more forgiving escapades of lower difficulties, Hurt Me Plenty stands as the battleground of choice.

As the gateway to the pulse-pounding chaos, this medium difficulty setting introduces a delicate balance, room is given for mistakes to be made but the game will let you know when there’s no other choice but to rise to the occasion.

So, what awaits you in Hurt Me Plenty?

Enemies will be noticeably more aggressive than in I’m Too Young, you will have to demonstrate a greater understanding of the game's movement, equipment, and aiming systems.
Memorization of enemies’ weak spots becomes very important and in general you will be expected to determine what order of importance enemies will take while you are in the middle of combat.
You will not be expected to understand or utilize your equipment as well as will be required for higher difficulties, but some players may still find themselves in a pinch on this difficulty if they forget to use their flamethrower.
At this difficulty the enemy spawns are not as dense as they are in higher difficulties, so players will have less to focus on and less overall split-second heart pumping choices to be made when facing the hordes of hell.

Choose this difficulty if…

It is your first time playing either Doom Eternal , even if you have experience with other Doom games or boomer shooters in general, Doom Eternal is a challenge unlike anything else and you should get the hang of the basics before jumping into the deep end.
You want a challenge but you don’t want to die a whole lot of times. On this difficulty you will feel like your reflexes and executive function skills are being tested but you probably won’t get totally stuck at any point in the game.
You are a player who primarily likes the lore and aesthetics of the game but wants just a bit more danger than I’m too young to die.

3. Ultra Violence

Ultra Violence will be a true test of your gaming prowess, this is the difficulty that will separate those looking for a challenge from those who might have some masochistic tendencies. Be prepared to strap into the iconic Praetor suit and plunge headfirst into the abyss, where every fight is a brutal challenge that will require you to push your skills to the absolute limits

Now, the step up in difficulty from Hurt Me Plenty to Ultra Violence is considerable, and at this difficulty we start to ramp up into a challenge that not even an experienced fps player will be ready for. Regardless, the only thing that could reasonably prepare you for this task is going to be completing the game on Hurt Me Plenty. Once you’ve done that then you should be ready to hop into an experience more fitting of the Doomslayer.

What you will need to know for Ultra Violence:

Enemy attacks will be consistently doing more damage, enemies will be more aggressive and they will be more intelligent, so expect danger from all directions.
Ultra Violence is less forgiving of mistakes than previous difficulties, even making a single bad decision can kill you before you even know what’s going on, multi-tasking is essential for survival.
And speaking of multi-tasking, having a deep and automatic understanding of the equipment system and the interaction of each piece of equipment with each different demon will be the difference between death or domination.
Demon spawns will become more intense as You will face more demons per arena, and combinations of demons will be more complex here. It is essential to understand the behaviors of each demon and their weaknesses in order to even first decide who you should be the most afraid of.

Choose this difficulty if…

You have already completed the story mode on Hurt Me Plenty, and you want to test your own skills and understanding of Doom Eternal’s game mechanics.
You are a fan of games like the Dark Souls series, and you are willing to get back up even after dying multiple times.
You have heard that the game is best played on Nightmare and you already have several hundred hours in Doom 2016 and other similar boomer shooters. Even if this is the case I think that this difficulty could be too much too fast, but if you really can’t wait then it won’t hurt to just switch to a lower difficulty.

4. Nightmare

Nightmare difficulty is a descent into gamer madness, where the line between exhilaration and desperation blurs.. Mistakes are completely unacceptable and the demons are about as aggressive as the human brain is capable of keeping up with. Your fingers will be fueled by pure heart pumping adrenaline while you desperately try to keep up mentally with a battlefield that evolves every second.

In order to complete the nightmare difficulty of Doom Eternal you will need equal parts skill and cunning. You will no longer be given any amount of lee-way to play the game on autopilot or not give the game your full attention. Some fights will require you to seriously think through a solution when you’ve tried a fight over and over again but cannot seem to win. Part of what makes this difficulty so satisfying is that knowledge of game mechanics and enemies is a major factor in the lethality of the player. This is where theory and practice combine in an inferno of pain and euphoria.

Things to consider before choosing Nightmare

Taking damage at all can in many cases kill you outright or start a chain of events which can kill you without much notice.
Failing to manage resources like health and ammo will often result in death.
Selection of runes and mods can be very important, some runes and mods are statistically better than others but I would recommend playing through the game on lower difficulties and experimenting with these options first.
Ultimately on this difficulty the game presents you with several points at which it’s possible to make an error. Not killing the highest priority demon, running out of ammo at a bad moment, not remembering the one specific spot where an invisible pinky demon will spawn after you killed this other demon.

Choose this difficulty if…

You have completed the game on Ultra Violence first. Doom Eternal requires so much of the player that in order to rip and tear here, you’re gonna first need to practice a whole lot.
You can handle a lot of stress, as the game will require extreme mental focus which can quickly burn you out.
You are ferociously set on earning an intimate understanding of all of the game mechanics present in Doom Eternal. Completing this mode will require you to have total understanding and control of all aspects of the game, as well as the ability to execute that knowledge and skill without making a single mistake in the process.
You want to eventually attempt the next even harder difficulty, Ultra Nightmare.

5. Ultra Nightmare

Even just attempting to beat Doom Eternal on Ultra Nightmare is a trial beyond even insanity. For anyone except the most exceptional of Doomslayers, there is no chance at beating this difficulty.

While there isn’t technically as much of a stat difference between this difficulty compared to the jump in challenge from previous difficulties, there is an evil detail thrown into this difficulty which puts off almost all players.

The thing that sets this difficulty apart is…

Dying will reset back to the very beginning of the game, with absolutely no exceptions.
Outside of this there are no other changes to the difficulty, it plays through like a typical new run through of Nightmare.
Even most players who have played through Nightmare lots of times may still not even want to attempt an Ultra Nightmare run.

Choose this difficulty if…

You have already beaten the game on Nightmare numerous times and are prepared, or if you already have experience with Doom 2016’s Ultra Nightmare and you understand the commitment required.
You’ve already completed all of the other game content and you want something else to do outside of the Master Levels. Trying to beat the story mode on Ultra Nightmare can act as good practice before attempting the Master Levels on Ultra Nightmare, as the story mode is easier than the Master Levels on this difficulty.
You want the right to honestly say that you have mastered Doom Eternal.