Doom Eternal is full of deadly demons, but none is as worrisome as the Marauder. A former Sentinel soldier, the Maurader has a lot of the same moves as the Doom Slayer, including a short-range dash to avoid attacks and a powerful shotgun to dish out a ton of close-range damage. You’ll face the Marauder as a boss in the game’s sixth mission, Arc Complex, but later in the game, it’ll become a regular enemy you’ll have to fight more than once.
The trouble with the Marauder is that it’s the most defensively minded enemy in the game. Where other demons rush at your face, soaking up all the lead you can dump into them, the Marauder actively avoids attacks with a big shield, while dishing out a ton of punishment along the way. Fighting one Marauder can be tough, but mix it in with other demons and it can seem insurmountable.
There are ways to take Marauders down, though. It usually requires sustained damage and a lot of effort, and you’ll want to make sure to keep lots of smaller fodder demons handy for health, armor, and ammo recharges. But if you know what you’re doing when you see a Marauder, you can prioritize the target and take it out before things get too tough. The key is positioning yourself appropriately to win the fight, and to quickly disengage when you get into trouble.
Pick Your Range
The Marauder sports a big shield that protects it from bullets, and it carries three major attacks: a close-range shotgun that does a ton of damage, a long-range axe it throws at a distance, and a spectral wolf it can summon to run you down. Each of these attacks can be dealt with if you’re quick and careful, but all three can whittle you down in a hurry if you’re not on your game.
The key to dealing with the Marauder is to fight it at the correct range: not too close, not too far, but around 10-15 feet. Above all, you want to avoid the Marauder’s shotgun, its most powerful attack, which means staying back from its attacks. At longer ranges, the Marauder throws its axe, but this is an attack you can dodge if you’re paying attention; it’s tough, but better than the close-up spray of a shotgun. Whenever possible, stay at mid- to long-range on the Marauder and do your best to avoid its axes until he gets in close to take a melee swing at you. Watch out for its quick dodges, which it’ll use to get around the side of you, so it can close the gap and attack.
When you’re farther away, the Marauder will also summon a spectral wolf that’ll run you down and attack you incessantly. While it seems spooky, the wolf is actually pretty easy to take out with any weapon. Like the Marauder itself, try not to let it get too close. Blast away at it as soon as it appears to kill it quickly and save yourself some pain.
Execute A Stagger
You can’t damage the Marauder under normal circumstances because of its shield. Instead, you have to wait for the enemy to make itself vulnerable when it goes for a close-range melee attack. You’ll see the Marauder flash green when it’s coming in, which indicates that this is your moment to attack. Shoot the Marauder at this moment and you’ll briefly stagger it, leaving it open for you to do more damage before it collects itself and attacks you again.
You can stagger the Marauder with any gun, but the Super Shotgun is often your best bet. It does a lot of damage and fires in a big spread, making it tough to miss your shot when you get your very brief opening. The Super Shotgun is also handy for dishing out a lot more damage while you’ve got an opening. That means you’ll need to keep an eye out for opportunities to use your chainsaw to keep your shells stocked, though.
Don’t Forget Grenades
The Marauder will block most incoming fire with the shield when it’s not staggered, but you can still get hits on it with splash damage attacks. Your grenade is handy for these situations, especially if the Marauder is backed up by a lot of other enemies. Try to fire it to the side of the Marauder to avoid its shield and you’ll usually manage to put some extra hurt on the demon, or at least force him to dash away and maybe break up his attack. The grenade is also great for catching the wolf right after the Marauder summons it, so don’t sleep on blowing some stuff up while you’re fighting.
Disengage!
The first fight with the Marauder is in a tight arena, but you’ll also see a lot of fodder zombies wandering around, offering you opportunities for glory kills and other chances to restock yourself. In bigger arenas where you see a Marauder backed up by lots of other demons, try to avoid getting tunnel vision dealing with just the Marauder. It’s the biggest threat, sure, but it also will distract you while other things close in from the sides and rip you apart when you’re not looking. Don’t be afraid to run from the Marauder, find some fodder demons, and juice yourself back up. The Marauder will give chase, but even the quickest demons in Doom Eternal aren’t as mobile as you are. Use monkey bars, jump pads, and teleporters to give yourself some space.
Clear The Horde With The BFG
Late in the game, you’ll add the BFG to your arsenal. This extremely large and potent gun has the capability to clear out whole arenas if used correctly–it spits off tentacles of energy that find and rip apart demons, giving you a lot of breathing room, especially when you have big enemies like the Marauder to deal with.
Unfortunately, you can’t kill the Marauder with the BFG. You can however, kill everything else with the BFG, and that’s not a bad strategy when you see a Marauder gunning for you with a lot of other enemies hanging around too. Often you’ll find BFG ammo in the same general vicinity as a Marauder fight, as if the game is encouraging you to go nuts and use the massive weapon to tear apart your foes. It’s tempting to hoard your BFG ammo for emergency situations, but trust us when we say that fighting Marauders with other enemies in the mix is usually just such an emergency.
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