When players begin their DOOM: The Dark Ages playthrough, they'll find that their health and armor are limited to just 100 and 50, respectively. During the opening stages and when playing the game on lower difficulty settings, this shouldn't be too much of an issue. However, on higher difficulty settings where the amount of damage that players take is increased, having such limited defenses will likely prove problematic.
DOOM The Dark Ages Tips and Tricks
With these DOOM: The Dark Ages tips and tricks, beginners can ensure that they're getting the most out of their first playthrough.
Thankfully, it's possible to upgrade the Slayer's health and armor capacity to 200 and 150, which can make survival a whole lot easier. Players can also increase their maximum ammo capacity, and will receive several Trophies/Achievements for maxing out all three. This guide will explain how to upgrade ammo, armor, and health in DOOM: The Dark Ages, as well as the chapters in which each of the upgrades can be found.
How to Increase Max Health, Armor, and Ammo in DOOM: The Dark Ages
To upgrade the Slayer's health, armor, and ammo, players will need to find Demonic Essences, which are acquired by beating special demon variants known as Leaders. The vast majority of Leaders are unmissable, although there are a handful that are tied to optional objectives, so players hoping to fully upgrade everything should keep their eyes peeled for Gore Nests as they make their way through all of the DOOM: The Dark Ages chapters. Each Demonic Essence will increase the player's health or armor by ten.
Most of the optional Gore Nests are dotted along the critical path, although there are a couple in chapters where the Slayer uses his dragon that can be easily missed if players don't fully explore the area. Usually, though, there'll be challenges that alert them to optional encounters and hidden landing zones.
All Upgrade Locations in DOOM: The Dark Ages
|
Chapter |
Health |
Armor |
Ammo |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
— |
— |
— |
|
2 |
x1 |
— |
— |
|
3 |
— |
— |
— |
|
4 |
— |
x1 |
— |
|
5 |
x1 |
— |
x1 |
|
6 |
— |
x1 |
x1 |
|
7 |
x1 |
— |
— |
|
8 |
— |
x1 |
— |
|
9 |
x1 |
— |
x1 |
|
10 |
x1 |
x1 |
x1 |
|
11 |
— |
x1 |
— |
|
12 |
x1 |
— |
— |
|
13 |
— |
x1 |
x1 |
|
14 |
x1 |
— |
x1 |
|
15 |
x1 |
x1 |
— |
|
16 |
— |
x1 |
x1 |
|
17 |
— |
— |
x2 |
|
18 |
— |
x1 |
— |
|
19 |
x1 |
— |
x1 |
|
20 |
x1 |
x1 |
x1 |
|
21 |
— |
— |
— |
|
22 |
— |
— |
x1 |
All Health Upgrades in DOOM: The Dark Ages
There are ten Demonic Essences that increase the Slayer's health, which can be found in chapters 2, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 19, and 20. Finding all of them will unlock the Essential Health Trophy / Achievement.
All Armor Upgrades in DOOM: The Dark Ages
As with health, there are ten Demonic Essences that increase armor capacity. Players can find them in chapters 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, and 20, and will earn the Essential Armor Trophy / Achievement for getting them all.
All Ammo Upgrades in DOOM: The Dark Ages
There are twelve Demonic Essences tied to ammo, with each of the four main ammo types getting three a piece. They can be found in chapters 5, 6, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17 (x2), 19, 20, and 22, and finding them all will reward players with the Essential Ammo Trophy / Achievement.
If players acquire all of the Demonic Essence upgrades in DOOM: The Dark Ages, they'll be rewarded with the Essentially Unstoppable Trophy / Achievement.
DOOM: The Dark Ages
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 86 /100 Critics Rec: 95%
- Released
- May 15, 2025
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence
- Developer(s)
- id Software
- Publisher(s)
- Bethesda Softworks
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- id Tech
- Genre(s)
- FPS, Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
