Find the perfect difficulty setting for your DOOM: The Dark Ages experience. From casual-friendly options to brutal permadeath modes, we’ve got the full breakdown here.
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DOOM: The Dark Ages – All Difficulty Settings
DOOM has always been about earning your victories. The series is known for its intensity, pushing players to learn, improve, and overcome. That said, recent entries have done a great job of making the demon-slaying action more accessible to casual players—and DOOM: The Dark Ages keeps that momentum going.
With a range of difficulty settings and customizable modifiers, the game can be tuned to suit just about any kind of player, whether you’re looking for a chill hack-and-blast or a ruthless no-mistakes-allowed gauntlet.
Let’s break it all down. We have also updated a list of full chapter and challenges guide
💀 All DOOM: The Dark Ages Difficulty Settings
There are six difficulty modes, and the good news is they’re all available right from the start. Even better, you can change the difficulty anytime during your playthrough—so no pressure to commit upfront.
Here’s a quick look at each one:
| Difficulty Setting | What to Expect |
| Aspiring Slayer | Easiest mode. Huge parry window, Enhanced Targeting, Empowered Attacks, and less aggressive enemies. 50% damage taken and longer daze times. Great for beginners or relaxed play. |
| Hurt Me Plenty | Default experience. Smaller parry window than Aspiring Slayer, no aiming assists, moderate enemy aggression, and normal damage. Balanced for most players. |
| Ultra-Violence | Enemies are tougher, more aggressive, and deal 2x damage. Parry window shrinks, daze time is shorter. Classic DOOM challenge. |
| Nightmare | Max aggression. Enemies hit for 2.5x damage. Fewer resources drop. Not for the faint of heart. |
| Pandemonium | Same as Nightmare, but with limited Life Sigils. Lose them all and your run is over. No respawns. |
| Ultra-Nightmare | Nightmare rules with permadeath. Die once and it’s game over. The ultimate challenge. |
🎯 Which Difficulty Should You Choose?
There are no achievements or trophies tied to difficulty, so pick what feels right for your skill level and goals.
- New to DOOM or just want to chill? Go with Aspiring Slayer.
- Casual FPS fans? Try Hurt Me Plenty or Ultra-Violence.
- DOOM veterans or masochists? Nightmare will test your skills.
- Craving a challenge run? Tackle Pandemonium or Ultra-Nightmare—but maybe not on your first playthrough.
🛠️ Difficulty Modifiers: Customize Your Chaos
If none of the preset difficulties feel quite right, DOOM: The Dark Ages also gives you access to Difficulty Modifiers—a suite of customizable tweaks to fine-tune your experience.
Here’s what you can adjust:
- Incoming and outgoing damage
- Parry window size
- Game speed
- Enemy projectile speed
- And more…
These modifiers even work with Pandemonium and Ultra-Nightmare, but once you start one of those modes, you can’t revert to a standard run. Same goes the other way—you can’t start on a regular difficulty and switch into a permadeath mode later.
Whether you’re brand new to DOOM or a seasoned demon slayer, The Dark Ages has a difficulty mode that’ll suit your style. Thanks to adjustable settings and deep modifiers, it’s never been easier—or harder—to rip and tear exactly how you want.
Related Article:
- DOOM: The Dark Ages – Standard vs Premium Edition: Which One Should You Buy?
- DOOM: The Dark Ages – Full Release Schedule & Early Access Guide (All Platforms)
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