Possessed Soldiers are former humans turned into zombies by the demon invasion that appear in Doom (2016). They are updated renditions of the Zombieman from the original Doom and the Z-Sec from Doom 3. Tactically adept enemies with powerful weaponry, the Possessed Soldiers are a massive step up from the lowly Possessed. They first appear in The UAC.
In-Game Description[]
UAC REPORT FILE: 600I4Q
While Lazarus Wave exposure does effectively wipe any vestige of human behavior from most of its victims, some subjects continue to display tactical cognizance posthumously. As with Possessed Engineers, this does not appear to be random. If an individual has training in combat (as part of the UAC Military) the Lazarus Wave event will transform them into more than mere slaves. This anomaly further supports the theory that there is some form of genetic coding embedded within the Lazarus Wave particles which governs the outcome of Lazarus Wave exposure on a per-case basis.
Appearance[]
The Possessed Soldier wears white armor with shoulder pads and knee pads, as well as a broken helmet and a chest plate which has become fused to the chest. Their helmets seem to be melted into their faces, leaving only one eye and the mouth visible. One of the most notable features of the Possessed Soldiers is the gun which has become fused to their right arm. Their leggings appear less damaged than the rest of their armor. Compared to standard Possessed, they do not constantly snarl, and seem to have deeper voices, with less random vocal output.
Combat Characteristics[]
The Possessed Soldier fires red plasma balls at the player which gives them a big advantage compared to their other Possessed brethren as they are capable of firing from a safe distance. They are also capable of charging up their weapon and firing several large plasma balls that deal great damage and can be difficult to dodge. Possessed Soldiers will try to stay at a safe distance from the player while shooting at them, however they will continue shooting even if the player gets close to them and will attempt to swipe at the player when close enough. They can move tactically, sprinting and strafing, and will use the environment, leaping over short gaps and trying to flank you, instead of mindlessly shambling in a straight line as the standard Possessed do.
Tactical Analysis[]
The Possessed Soldiers are stronger than the average Possessed, but a few shotgun blasts or a short barrage from the Heavy Assault Rifle are enough to kill them. Their projectiles are slow and the Soldiers themselves are not very fast either, so strafing around them and not in straight lines while shooting them will help to dispatch them quickly. They do sometimes lead their target, but poorly; strafing erratically is the best way to avoid their barrage.
They do have much more health than the regular Possessed; the Pistol is an inadequate weapon against them.
Trivia[]
- Possessed Soldiers appear to have a plasma rifle that may have been attached during the transformation process, the only difference being that the projectiles fired from the rifle are red instead of blue. It's possible that the plasma rifle uses an Argent filter, that has been damaged by the transformation.
- The Cyberdemon is capable of producing the same red energy blasts, so it's possible that it's some form of Hell energy channeled through a conventional plasma rifle.
- They replace former humans (both Zombiemen and Shotgun Guys) on a one-to-one basis in the unlockable classic Doom maps, which causes a noticeable jump in the difficulty of these maps, as Possessed Soldiers are much more of a threat to the player in DOOM 2016 than the former humans were in Doom '93.
- The armor of Possessed Soldiers is similar to that of the UAC armor set in Multiplayer, albeit missing multiple parts.
- Corpses of soldiers wearing armor are seen at various points throughout the game.
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