Home Features DOOM Eternal’s bastard Marauder can go back to hell and stay there

DOOM Eternal’s bastard Marauder can go back to hell and stay there

4 min read
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Marauder (1) (2)

There’s a lot that DOOM Eternal gets right, whether it be chunky guns, showering players in an ocean of demon blood or providing a proper challenge within Battle Mode. Where DOOM Eternal truly shines though, is in how it lays out a golden path of violence for players to partake in. Any ordinary mortal facing a legion of the damned would instantly cower and repent to their deity of choice, but not the Doom Slayer.

When presented with the hordes of Hell, the Doom Slayer doesn’t shy away from battle. He faces it head-on, oils up his chainsaw and prepares to unleash a level of firepower so obscene that any Russian within range of your home will be convinced that Stalingrad is once again under siege. The beauty of all this, is the flow of that action. DOOM Eternal is a first-person Bloodborne, rewarding players who engage in push-forward action.

Slayers who never retreat, never surrender, will always come out on top even when they’re facing floating grenade-hungry Cacodemons, Barons of Hell and even the almighty Cyberdemon. And then there’s the Marauder. The mother-loving Marauder who’ll demolish your advance with absolute ease.

Let me paint a picture for you, in case you’ve yet to play DOOM Eternal. You’ve fought your way into the ARC Complex, retrieved a damaged Samuel Hayden from his stasis and you’re ready to head back to the Fortress of Doom. Another portal opens and out steps the Marauder. Half demon and half pissed off with you for daring to survive the Night Sentinel trials of Argent D’Nur, the pale rider has a bone to pick with you and he’s come kitted out to party.

Think you’ll shove a few rockets down his windpipe and be done with the challenge? Nope! The Marauder has a shield that he pops quicker than you can pull the trigger, nullifying all ammo thrown his way. Think you can get in close and rip him a new one with your chainsaw? The Marauder may hate your guts but he has studied you, adopting your Super Shotgun techniques for his own evil ends and is happy to shred your shields should you get too close. At this point, you may consider pulling back and sniping the bastard BUT GUESS WHAT?

Move too far away, and he’ll unleash a spirit wolf that’ll chase you down and debuff your speed, leaving you ripe for a spectral axe to the face. WHAT A BASTARD! The only way to take down the Marauder is from an optimum distance, a mid-range point where you don’t have to worry about shotguns and can react to a swing of his axe with a counter of your own.

Marauder (2)

It’s all well and good, but gauging that distance, keeping up with the Marauder and juggling the demons around you makes for an exercise that’ll leave your clothing damp with rage and desperation sweat. On his own, the Marauder is enough of a challenge and one that feels custom-made for PC players and their ability to quickly move through arenas via the ol’ mouse and keyboard method.

On console, I absolutely dread facing the nasty chap. Things get even more hectic in DOOM Eternal when the difficulty options are increased, more demons are thrown at you and the Marauder rocks up like an uninvited guest at your birthday, presenting a challenge harder than a woodpecker’s lips. I hate the demonic enforcer of the Maykrs, I hate how he takes an absurd amount of ammo to put down and how he quickly dashes behind to deliver an axe-slap to the face.

Marauder (1)

I hate how the Marauder forces you to actually fight with your brains instead of revelling in unrestrained violence, but I get the reasoning behind him! He’s a mid-boss designed to make players curse like a sailor whenever he shows up, but that doesn’t mean that I have to like the fiend. I’ve got strategies for dealing with him, but it’s safe to say that I think this is one demonic foe who’s a little too damn good for his own good. At the very least, the frustration of facing a Marauder did result in the birth of this magnificent joke:

Saddle up and slap some BFG iron to your hand, because I sure as heck would play that game!

Last Updated: April 1, 2020

7 Comments

  1. SagatatiaRZA

    April 1, 2020 at 15:16

    This asshole drove me insane until I realized there’s enough time to lay TWO super shotgun shots into him at a time, with enough time to dash right into his stupid face for the second shot. Became much easier after that. Also how crazy is it that this dude is a mini-boss/epic minion and is undoubtedly more difficult than the much later Gladiator?

    Reply

    • Furious Fap

      January 3, 2021 at 23:26

      if you swap to the ballista and back to the super shotgun again you can get 3 hits that way (or ballista>ssg>ballista)

      also if you throw frag grenades when you’re shooting him they will do additional damage and extend the falter

      Reply

  2. OK Doomer

    April 1, 2020 at 15:32

    I hate marauders so much – I think it needs to be nerfed, honestly: way too tough and OP. Every time one appears I rage quit, knowing it will take at least an hour and maybe 8 attempts to progress. It’s not even about “gittin’ gud”, I usually cruise through the rest of the challenging gameplay. As mentioned below, super shotgun is best and you can sometimes get two shots in. The rune that slows time when you would die has allowed me to get the vital last shot in. Then I need to go and change my sweat drenched shirt. Feel this particular foe should have been balanced more, give it 60% of current HP.

    Reply

    • Furious Fap

      January 3, 2021 at 23:24

      its possible to kill a marauder in literally under 10 seconds

      Reply

      • I Forget Myself

        January 4, 2021 at 02:05

        Yes I wrote this 9 months ago, I’ve since become way better.

        Reply

        • Furious Fap

          January 4, 2021 at 23:59

          fair enough

          Reply

  3. Furious Fap

    January 3, 2021 at 12:31

    1 marauder killed in seconds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7Bi5DdOUlY
    2 killed in a poison tunnel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt_LybXcnRw

    both on nightmare. Marauders are hard at first but once you get used to them you can absolutely body them

    Reply

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