Summary
A newDoom: The Dark Agesupdate has nerfed the Ravager and Pulverizer, the game’s two “skull-crusher” guns.Doom: The Dark Agesis one of the biggest new first-person shooters of the year. This third entry in theDoomreboot series takes the Slayer to medieval times before the events of 2016’sDoom, and gives players an arsenal of brutal, torturous weaponry, including a shield saw that serves as the Slayer’s main tool of destruction.
WhenDoom: The Dark Ageswas first revealed almost a year ago at Xbox’s June showcase, one weapon in particular stood out and became the source of much hype: the Pulverizer. This weapon visibly grinds up skulls and fires the shards at enemies in a wide pattern, perfect for clearing out a room filled with fodder demons. Like with most otherweapons inDoom: The Dark Ages, the Pulverizer has a variant called the Ravager. Similar to the Pulverizer, the Ravager also lets players watch as it chews up skulls in real time. The difference with this weapon, though, is that it fires shards in a much tighter spread with a slower fire rate that gradually speeds up with continuous fire. This makes the Ravager a better option than its counterpart when facing some ofDoom: The Dark Ages' larger, more threatening demons.
Developer id Software has recently rolled out a small “Tunable"update forDoom: The Dark Agesthat nerfs both the Pulverizer and the Ravager. It seems the arms ofThe Dark Ages' Hell Knight demonshave been popping off too easily when hit with Pulverizer fire, so id Software has made them more durable against the weapon. As for the Ravager, id Software has tuned down its overall damage output against Komodo demons, as well as the game’s bosses.
The Ravager nerf is quite a bummer, as it feels like a weapon designed to be used against Komodo-sized demons andDoom: The Dark Ages' bosses. However, the nerf to the Pulverizer isn’t as bad comparatively, as using it against Hell Knights in the first place is a recipe for disaster, unless they’re mixed in with a large crowd of fodder. As for the rest of the update, id Software tweaked how long health and armor drops remain on the ground, specifically during Atlan mech levels and certain boss battles.
Thankfully, there’s not much in the way of bugs for id Software to fix, asDoom: The Dark Ageswas released in a super-polished state. There may still be some small tweaks to demons, armor or other elements of the game to come in future Tunable updates, soDoom: The Dark Agesplayersshould keep an eye out for any changes that may affect their favorite weapons.
