Summoner

"The Summoner, a cunning adversary, is primary a defensive summoning unit."

― Stat profile

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The Summoner is a demon that can summon other demons. It often teleports away from the player, attacks using Hell energy waves, and should be considered a priority target in battle. The Summoner is more likely to summon the most resilient enemies to assist in attacking the player. Summoners are thought to be a highly evolved form of the Imp. It first appears in Argent Facility

It has the same function as the Arch-Vile from previous games.

In-Game Description

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The Summoner, a cunning adversary, is primarily a defensive summoning unit. As the demon-horde swarms the enemy, the Summoner sustains the battle by opening a rift to Hell and calling forth reinforcements. To prevent being overrun by the relentless horde, the Summoner should become a primary target in any battle strategy.

When directly challenged in combat, the Summoner is capable of channelling Hell energy into an Argent wave. Although this wave kills most humans, an occasional victim will be transformed into The Possessed.

Surviving an Argent wave attack is extremely unlikely but does not appear to be random. There is evidence that the Summoner selects the most resilient of combatants for induction to the army of Hell.

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The Lazarus Project has managed to successfully capture several Summoner demons. The imprisonment process requires careful preparation, as a Summoner will immediately launch multiple Argent wave attacks when trapped. To prevent this, Hell energy must be continuously drained from the demon until it is sufficiently sedated. Anatomical study of the Summoner suggests that it is a highly evolved sub-genus of the Imp form.

Appearance

The Summoner is a very thin, slim built demon with a body type similar to that of an Imp or a Prowler. It has a light blue body that covers fleshy red skin. Its head is shaped similar to a Hell Knight's, albeit with a large, round bone structure that covers the back of its head. Two large, fleshy wing like appendages hang off the Summoner's back.

Combat Characteristics

The Summoner is a very fast enemy that can deliver a killing blow with ease. Coupled with this, he is able to summon lesser demons. The Summoner will spawn and immediately begin summoning demons such as; Imps, The Possessed and Possessed Soldiers. After this, the Summoner will instantly disappear and move at an extraordinary speed, appearing only as a red streak. They will then stop and begin summoning demons again. If they are within range of the player, they will send waves of Hell energy to deal great damage and will occasionally swipe at the player if close enough.

Tactical Analysis

The Summoner will typically spawn when demons appear in waves to attack the player. As a result of this, the player should eliminate it as fast as possible after spotting it. In order to do this, it is advisable to use the Rocket Launcher with the Lock-On-Burst mod. The player can also use the Gauss Cannon at long range or the Super Shotgun at close range. The Plasma rifle's Stun Bomb mod can stun a Summoner, allowing extra time to kill it, or deal with its summoned allies. If the Summoner is on the move, it is wise to follow the red streak that it leaves behind so as to track the Summoner's movements. If within range of the Summoner, it is wise to avoid the Summoner's Hell wave attack, which it will send in a straight line.

Trivia

• The Summoner bears many similarities to the Arch-Vile seen in previous Doom games. They are both among the fastest enemies in their respective games, they both have a tall, emaciated physique, they share the ability to bring demons into battle (the Arch-Vile can resurrect slain demons, while the Summoner can summon reinforcements), and they both have the devastating attack of sending a straight line of energy to attack the player (the Arch-Vile sends a wave of fire to attack the player, while the Summoner sends a wave of Hell energy).
• It can be assumed that the Arch-Vile was replaced with the Summoner due to the Arch-Vile's infamous reputation amongst players due to its ludicrously high damage attacks and ability to resurrect demons an infinite amount of times. Alternatively, the developers may have chosen to give the Summoner a different name due to its rather different design compared to the original Arch-Vile, fearing that such drastic changes to a monster's appearance wouldn't sit well with players.
• The name summoner could be a reference to the "summon" command in popular ZDoom and GZdoom sourceports of the original games.