The Cyberdemon returns in Doom 3 as the final boss. Dubbed as "Hell's Mightiest Warrior," this monster stands as the most powerful demon in the game.
Like its classic counterpart, the Cyberdemon is a semi-robotic, minotaur-like giant with a rocket launcher mounted on it's arm. However, there are some differences this new incarnation features. It has a long tail which extends from the machinery on its back, its legs are both mechanical, and the rocket launcher is now located on its right arm instead of its left.
By the time the Marine enters the Primary Excavation Site, he will discover the Hell Hole, only to become surprised on what he suddenly finds. Guarding the Hell Hole is the Cyberdemon, who stands almost 5 times taller than the Marine himself. The giant monster then roars at the Marine before proceeding to challenge him.
Combat characteristics[]
The Cyberdemon's primary attacks are similar from its classic version. The only difference is it fires one rocket at a time, instead of a salvo of 3 consecutive rockets. It also doesn't appear to be quite as aggressive, as it will start firing only if the player is within its line of sight. Unlike the original version, it now has a melee attack: the monster can stomp on the player, killing them instantly even at full health and armor.
The Cyberdemon in this iteration is also impervious to all of the player's weapons. Even a fully-charged shot from the BFG 9000 is not going to put a scratch on its hide. As it stated that it can destroy "Hell's Mightiest Warrior," only the Soul Cube will make the Cyberdemon fall.
Tactical analysis[]
As the battleground is circular with a giant Hell Hole on the center, the basic strategy is to always be on the move to maintain a far-enough distance away from the Cyberdemon. Having the Cyberdemon close in can make the player an easy target from the monster's rockets, or even worse, get trampled to death by its stomp. It is best to observe which direction the Cyberdemon is approaching. If it is moving towards the direction the player is facing, quickly turn back and move away to the opposite direction. Since the player's stamina does not decrease near the Hell Hole, it's best to take advantage of this by constantly sprinting.
While the Cyberdemon's rockets are fast, powerful, and travel at a long distance, the player can take advantage of the rocky spires around the Hell Hole to prevent the Cyberdemon from getting a direct shot. However, do not get too close to the ledges as the blasts from the rockets can knock the player into the Hell Hole to their death.
Throughout the battle, Imps and Maggots will be summoned in the arena, either teleporting in or crawling out of the Hell Hole. The player should quickly kill these lesser demons to get the Soul Cube operational before the Cyberdemon can close in. The Rocket Launcher is the best weapon to take them out from a range, as one rocket will instantly neutralize them. However, in worst cases, they can close in on the player if left unattended, so it is best to kill them the moment they are on sight when they spawn in. Alternatively, the Shotgun or the Chainsaw can also work wonders to take them out at close range. But players have to prioritize on the Cyberdemon as their main target; it can quickly close in if it takes more than enough time to kill one lesser demon. If situation permits, the BFG can kill multiple Imps and Maggots in the vicinity, allowing the Soul Cube to charge up quicker.
Unless in very critical health, the player should have no need to worry too much about picking up any med-kits on the ground, since the Soul Cube will heal the player. If health has to become a huge priority, the player can quickly gather any med-kits nearby to heal quickly. Make sure not to have multiple Imps, Maggots, or the Cyberdemon come after you if they are close. Alternatively, if you have a Cube charged, you can use it to any nearby enemy to instantly regain health.
Once the Cube is powered up, have the targeting reticle be focused on the Cyberdemon and make sure to maintain reasonable distance from it. If there's an Imp or a Maggot nearby, the Cube may end up going for it instead of the Cyberdemon, thus wasting the player's shot.
As soon as the Cube has been launched towards the Cyberdemon, quickly move out from its line of sight and start running again. The Soul Cube can briefly stun the Cyberdemon upon contact, which you can use to your advantage to put distance between it and yourself.
It takes four charges from the Soul Cube to completely subdue the Cyberdemon. However, to make the fight end quickly, you can have the Soul Cube become fully charged before starting the level. After the boss's intro cutscene, immediately use the Soul Cube, leaving you only the need to charge the Cube three times. After four charges, the Soul Cube will chop off one of the Cyberdemon's legs and then ram onto it's head, finally killing it. The Cube will emerge out from the demon's corpse and then proceeds to enter the Hell Hole, completely sealing the final gateway between Hell and our dimension.
Trivia[]
- The Cyberdemon is the only monster from the original games to be a boss.
- While the Cyberdemon does not make an appearance in the expansion pack Resurrection of Evil, it can be found in the game files of the Doom 3 expansion Resurrection of Evil. When it's spawned (for example by using a cheat code), the Cyberdemon appears to be vulnerable to regular weapon fire, requiring lots of rockets, BFG blasts, or Plasma gun cells to the head in order to fall.
- Although the Cyberdemon is referred to as "Hell's Mightiest Warrior" by the Soul Cube, the Maledict has nearly twice as much total health and more attacks.
- This may be because canon-wise, the Cyberdemon is an ancient entity that the beings in the Soul Cube have known for a long time, and thus knows its weakness as it is protected by a magical barrier that renders it immune from conventional weapons.
- The Maledict, on the other hand, who does not possess such immunity, is a very recent entity (seen at the end of the first game), as it's essentially Dr. Malcolm Betruger himself after his transformation.
- If noclip is used to get close and you punch the Cyberdemon, blood will come out of the robotic parts.
- The Tyrant's front and back glory kills in Doom Eternal could be a slight nod to the Doom 3 Cyberdemon's death, as both involve having a leg severed and being struck in the head by a supernatural bladed weapon.
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