Doom Weapons
Every weapon in Doom and Doom II with its engine stats — damage, rate of fire, ammo, range — read from the released source code, each number linked to its line; shots to kill for every monster live on the enemies database.
Weapons in the Doom series are the primary tools with which the player character engages the demonic opposition. Displayed on-screen as part of the player’s body to simulate a first-person viewpoint, they range from melee options requiring no ammunition — the fists and chainsaw — to the iconic BFG9000, which fires a devastating green projectile at a cost of 40 cells per shot. Each weapon has defined strengths and weaknesses against particular enemies, and the larger, more powerful options are consistently harder to find and more expensive to keep stocked. The classic Doom roster of eight weapons established conventions — ammo-sharing pools, weapon pick-ups granting bonus ammo, damage scaling with weapon size — that have persisted across every subsequent entry in the franchise.
Doom Weapons
// 9 weapons — every number read from the released Doom source (linuxdoom-1.10, GPL) at one pinned commit; the last column links the exact line. Click a column header to sort.
| Weapon | Slot | Damage per shot | Rate of fire | Ammo | Type / range | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fist | 1 | 2–20 (avg 10.8) | 123.5/min (17 tics) | None | Melee, 64 map units | Berserk multiplies every punch by 10 (20–200) for the rest of the level. | p_pspr.c:476 · p_pspr.c:479 · info.c:141 · p_local.h:57 |
| Chainsaw | 1 | 2–20 (avg 10.8) | 525.0/min (4 tics) | None | Melee, 64 map units | Same roll as the fist, 4.25× as often. Each hit turns you at most 4.5° toward the target and forces a step forward for one tic. Its reach is MELEERANGE plus one fixed-point unit (1/65536), which the trace truncates back to 64 — the +1 only keeps the hit puff from skipping a frame. | p_pspr.c:510 · p_pspr.c:516 · p_pspr.c:530 · p_user.c:249 · info.c:207 |
| Pistol | 2 | 5–15 (avg 10.4) | 150.0/min (14 tics) | Bullets, 1 per shot; max 200 (400 with backpack) | Hitscan, 2048 map units | The first shot of a burst is dead accurate; holding the trigger adds spread. | p_pspr.c:633 · p_pspr.c:661 · info.c:149 · p_inter.c:58 · p_local.h:58 · g_game.c:828 |
| Shotgun | 3 | 7 × 5–15 = 35–105 (avg 72.5) | 56.8/min (37 tics) | Shells, 1 per shot; max 50 (100 with backpack) | Hitscan, 2048 map units | Seven pellets, each with its own horizontal spread; no vertical spread. | p_pspr.c:686 · p_pspr.c:633 · info.c:157 · p_inter.c:203 |
| Super Shotgun | 3 | 20 × 5–15 = 100–300 (avg 207.0) | 41.2/min (51 tics) | Shells, 2 per shot; max 50 (100 with backpack) | Hitscan, 2048 map units | Twenty pellets with a wider horizontal spread than the shotgun and a vertical spread too. With the trigger held, the close animation refires early (A_CloseShotgun2 calls A_ReFire), so the true cycle is 51 tics; doomwiki's 36.8 per minute counts the 6 tics the engine skips. | p_pspr.c:716 · p_pspr.c:718 · p_pspr.c:708 · info.c:171 · p_enemy.c:1804 |
| Chaingun | 4 | 5–15 (avg 10.4) | 525.0/min (4 tics) | Bullets, 1 per shot; max 200 (400 with backpack) | Hitscan, 2048 map units | Fires in pairs of bullets; the first pair of a burst is accurate, the rest spread. | p_pspr.c:753 · p_pspr.c:633 · info.c:188 |
| Rocket Launcher | 5 | 20–160 (avg 89.5) + 103–117 blast on a direct hit | 105.0/min (20 tics) | Rockets, 1 per shot; max 50 (100 with backpack) | Projectile, 20 map units per tic (700 per second) | The explosion adds 128 minus the distance from the blast to the target's edge. A rocket detonates one movement step short of what it hits, so a direct hit adds 103–117, never the full 128. The Cyberdemon and the Spider Mastermind take no blast damage at all. | p_map.c:323 · info.c:1986 · info.c:1982 · p_enemy.c:1600 · p_map.c:1194 · p_mobj.c:186 · p_map.c:88 · p_map.c:1175 · info.c:196 |
| Plasma Rifle | 6 | 5–40 (avg 22.4) | 700.0/min (3 tics) | Cells, 1 per shot; max 300 (600 with backpack) | Projectile, 25 map units per tic (875 per second) | One burst every 3 tics while held; releasing the trigger costs a 20-tic cooldown, so the next burst comes no sooner than 23 tics after the last. doomwiki calls it the plasma gun; the source's own comments say plasma rifle. | p_map.c:323 · info.c:2012 · info.c:2008 · info.c:213 · p_pspr.c:588 |
| BFG 9000 | 7 | 100–800 (avg 447.7) + up to 40 tracers × 49–87 | 52.5/min (40 tics) | Cells, 40 per shot; max 300 (600 with backpack) | Projectile, 25 map units per tic (875 per second); tracers 1024 map units | The ball leaves 30 tics after the trigger. When it explodes, 40 tracers fan out over 90°, centred on the angle the ball was fired at, from wherever you stand at that moment; each hits the first shootable thing in its path (monster, player or barrel) for 49–87 (15 consecutive rolls of 1–8; 15–120 in theory). A large monster close to you can be hit by many of them. | p_map.c:323 · info.c:2038 · info.c:2034 · p_pspr.c:789 · p_pspr.c:806 · p_pspr.c:52 · info.c:220 |
Damage = one shot with every pellet landing; “avg” is the mean over Doom’s fixed 256-entry random table. That table also narrows what a multi-pellet shot can actually roll: a super shotgun blast with every pellet on one monster lands about 170–245, never the formula’s 100 or 300. Rate of fire = with the trigger held (35 tics per second). Source: id Software, DOOM source code (linuxdoom-1.10), commit a77dfb96, GNU GPL v2 — cross-checked against doomwiki.org.
Weapons are the central mechanical pillar of the Doom series. They are displayed on-screen as part of the player character’s body to simulate a first-person perspective, and they define the rhythm of every encounter: which gun to draw, how much ammo remains, and whether the situation calls for a measured burst or an all-out barrage. Every weapon in the Doom catalogue carries specific strengths and weaknesses relative to particular monster types, and a consistent rule applies across the series — the more powerful the weapon, the scarcer it tends to be and the more difficult it is to maintain a full supply of its ammunition.
When a weapon is picked up, it grants the player that armament plus a small amount of its corresponding ammunition. If the player already carries that weapon type, the pick-up counts only as ammo. Weapons enter play either through deliberate placement by level designers or as drops from slain enemies, including the various zombie types. The sound effect DSWPNUP plays on every weapon pick-up in the classic engine games.
Early Development and Cut Weapons
Before the game shipped, early alpha releases of Doom equipped the player with a semi-automatic assault rifle that could be paired with a twin-bladed bayonet for close-quarters combat. Neither the rifle nor the bayonet appeared in the finished product, though the rifle sprites revealed elbow pads on the player character sprite, which can still be seen on that sprite — alongside the rifle itself — in the final game. The internal design document known as the Doom Bible also referenced two weapons — the Dark Claw and the Unmaker — that never reached the shipped version of the original game. The Unmaker was later reintroduced in Doom 64 and has a spiritual equivalent in Doom Eternal.
The Classic Doom Arsenal
The original Doom ships with eight weapons, each occupying a distinct role in combat:
- Fists — An unarmed melee strike drawing on no ammunition reserve. In ordinary use its damage barely matches a pistol shot, making it a last resort. When the player holds a Berserk powerup, however, fist damage is multiplied by ten, turning it into a devastatingly efficient close-quarters tool.
- Chainsaw — Deals the same damage per hit as the normal fist but attacks four times faster, making it far more effective in sustained melee. Like the fists, it requires no ammunition.
- Pistol — The default starting weapon. It is the weakest ranged option, but its first shot is always perfectly accurate, making it useful for picking off distant targets before engaging.
- Shotgun — A general-purpose weapon that excels at close range. Its reload time is slightly longer than average, but the spread of pellets rewards proximity to targets.
- Chaingun — Shares its bullet ammo pool with the pistol. Its rapid rate of fire is effective against crowds but can drain ammunition quickly if used without discipline.
- Rocket Launcher — Fires explosive projectiles capable of dealing large amounts of damage, but the blast radius means the player can injure themselves if they fire at close range.
- Plasma Gun — Fires blue-hot plasma projectiles at high speed, capable of cutting through groups of incoming enemies rapidly. It shares its cell ammo with the BFG9000.
- BFG9000 — The “Big Fucking Gun.” Fires a large green projectile at a cost of 40 cells per shot. Its operation is somewhat counter-intuitive for new players, but when all of its tracers connect it can eliminate any monster in one or two shots.
An important ammo-economy note: the chaingun and pistol draw from the same bullet pool, the shotgun and super shotgun (introduced in Doom II) draw from the same shell pool, and the plasma gun and BFG9000 both consume cells. Choosing which weapon to use therefore affects the ammunition available to its ammo-sharing sibling.
Doom II and the Super Shotgun
Doom II: Hell on Earth added one weapon to the classic loadout: the Super Shotgun. A double-barrelled, sawed-off design, it consumes two shells per shot and has a longer reload time than the standard shotgun. At close range, however, it is significantly deadlier than its single-barrel counterpart, and it became one of the most recognisable and beloved weapons in the series’ history.
Legacy of Rust and ID24
The Legacy of Rust official add-on and the broader ID24 specification expanded the classic arsenal further. The Incinerator — a flamethrower that projects lasting flames — replaces the plasma gun in Legacy of Rust but becomes a standalone additional weapon in ID24. The Calamity Blade, another flamethrower that projects a spread of flying flames, replaces the BFG-9000 in Legacy of Rust and similarly becomes a separate weapon in ID24.
Doom 64 and the Unmaker
Doom 64 carried forward the complete Doom II weapon set and added the Unmaker, the demonic laser gun that had originally been conceived for the classic game but cut before release. In its base form the Unmaker functions as a hitscan version of the plasma gun, but it can be upgraded in firepower through the collection of Demon Keys found throughout the game’s levels.
Doom 3’s Reimagined Roster
Doom 3 retained recognisable versions of all the classic weapons while introducing several new ones suited to its horror-oriented design. New additions included the Flashlight — not strictly a weapon but usable as a crude club — standard thrown fragmentation grenades that detonate on a timer or on enemy impact, the Machine Gun (a less powerful but more accurate rapid-fire weapon compared to the Chaingun), and the Soul Cube, a unique artifact charged by killing monsters that, when released, seeks out a target and transfers that enemy’s health to the player.
The Doom 3 Chain Gun, formally designated the UAC Weapons Division Mach 2 Chain Gun, illustrates how substantially id Software redesigned classic weapons for the new context. Unlike its classic counterpart, it fires exclusive.30 calibre armour-penetrating rounds rather than standard pistol bullets, requires a short spin-up time before it can fire, and carries ammo in belt form — ammo packs containing 60 rounds. Its normal damage per shot is 20 in singleplayer and 25 in multiplayer, with headshots dealing 40 and 50 respectively. Rate of fire sits at approximately 8–9 rounds per second depending on the edition, with the BFG Edition reducing it slightly from the original. Maximum ammo capacity is 600 rounds. It is notably the only Doom 3 weapon whose ammo packs contain a different quantity in multiplayer (120 rounds versus 60 in singleplayer).
The Resurrection of Evil expansion for Doom 3 introduced the Grabber — a version of a gravity gun — and restored the double-barrel shotgun from Doom II, while removing the Soul Cube and chainsaw from the available roster.
Doom (2016) and Weapon Mods
The 2016 reboot retained all of the Doom II weapons and added numerous new options. More significantly, it introduced a weapon mod system: the majority of weapons now carry a choice of two secondary functions that can be swapped at will, giving players meaningful tactical decisions beyond simple weapon switching. The BFG-9000 in this iteration functions more like the Doom 3 version, with damage rays emanating from the projectile. The Chainsaw was redesigned entirely — rather than dealing sustained melee damage, it consumes fuel to instantly kill an enemy and rewards the player with a large ammunition drop. The classic pistol was replaced by the UAC EMG Sidearm, a chargeable weapon with infinite ammunition but very low base power. Campaign and multiplayer mode weapons differ; the multiplayer roster includes unique options such as the Burst Rifle, Lightning Gun, and Vortex Rifle added through DLC.
Doom Eternal’s Refinements
Doom Eternal’s arsenal is largely continuous with that of Doom (2016), with meaningful adjustments to existing weapons and a pair of new additions. The BFG-9000 in Eternal consumes 30 BFG cells per shot rather than the previous game’s count. The Chaingun no longer has a spin-up delay and can stunlock heavier enemies with sustained fire. The Super Shotgun gained the “Meathook,” a grappling hook attachment that lets the player latch onto an enemy and rapidly close distance, enabling aggressive momentum-based play. The Ballista — a new weapon firing twin bolts of Argent energy — fills the long-range high-damage role previously occupied by the Gauss Cannon. A pistol was implemented in the game’s code but is not obtainable during normal play and requires console commands to access.
Weapons Across the Doom-Engine Family
The Doom engine’s influence extends well beyond id Software’s own titles. Games built on the same engine or its descendants — including Heretic, Hexen, Strife, and Hacx — each feature their own distinct weapon sets suited to their settings and mechanics. Heretic’s arsenal, for example, replaces firearms with magical staves, wands, and crossbows. Hexen divides its weapons across three distinct character classes — Fighter, Cleric, and Mage — each with entirely separate armaments. Strife features eight weapons of its own. These parallel rosters are catalogued under the Doom Wiki’s weapons category system alongside the main Doom game entries.
Community-created WADs and mods have also expanded the concept dramatically. Brutal Doom, for instance, introduces new and updated weapons including a flamethrower, the demonic Unmaker, assault shotguns, new rifle types, a grenade launcher, and additional weapons. Custom WADs such as VooDoo Guns demonstrate how mappers can introduce entirely bespoke weaponry — including a nailgun and the eponymous voodoo gun replacing the BFG — through the engine’s item-replacement mechanisms.
Design Principles Across Generations
Several design constants run through the weapon systems across Doom’s many iterations. One or two weapons in each game require no ammunition and therefore remain perpetually available as fallbacks — in the classic games, the fists and chainsaw occupy this role. Weapons found in levels always grant a small ammo bonus on first pick-up. The ammo-sharing relationships between weapons (bullets, shells, cells, rockets) create an economy that rewards players who manage resources across their full inventory rather than fixating on a single weapon. These principles, established in the 1993 original, have proven durable enough to inform the design of every successor entry in the franchise.
Frequently asked questions
What weapons are available in the original Doom?
The original Doom ships with eight weapons: Fists, Chainsaw, Pistol, Shotgun, Chaingun, Rocket Launcher, Plasma Gun, and BFG9000. The Fists and Chainsaw require no ammunition and are always available. The Pistol is the default starting weapon. The BFG9000 fires a large green projectile at a cost of 40 cells and can kill any monster in one or two shots if all tracers connect.
What weapon did Doom II add over the original?
Doom II added the Super Shotgun — a double-barrelled, sawed-off shotgun that consumes two shells per shot and has a longer reload time than the standard shotgun. At close range it is significantly deadlier than the single-barrel version and draws from the same shell ammo pool.
How does the BFG9000 work?
In the classic Doom games, the BFG9000 fires a large green projectile at a cost of 40 cells. Its operation is noted as somewhat counter-intuitive for new players, but when all of its tracers connect it can kill any monster in one or two shots. In Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal it functions more like the Doom 3 version, with damage rays radiating off the projectile. In Doom Eternal the cell cost was reduced to 30 BFG cells per shot.
What is the Unmaker?
The Unmaker was originally conceived for the classic Doom but was cut before the game shipped. It was introduced in Doom 64 as a demonic laser gun that functions as a hitscan version of the plasma gun in its base form. Collecting Demon Keys scattered through Doom 64’s levels upgrades its firepower. A spiritual equivalent appears in Doom Eternal.
Do weapons share ammunition in Doom?
Yes. In the classic Doom games, the Pistol and Chaingun share the same bullet pool, so firing either depletes the shared reserve. The Shotgun and Super Shotgun both consume shells from a single pool. The Plasma Gun and BFG9000 both consume cells. Rockets are exclusive to the Rocket Launcher.
What new weapons did Doom (2016) introduce?
Doom (2016) retained the Doom II weapon set and added the UAC EMG Sidearm (replacing the classic pistol), the Gauss Cannon (high-power, long-range accuracy), and the Heavy Assault Rifle, among others. Most weapons also gained a mod system allowing a choice of two secondary functions swappable at will. The Chainsaw was redesigned to instantly kill enemies in exchange for fuel, rewarding the player with large ammo drops.
What is the Meathook on the Doom Eternal Super Shotgun?
The Meathook is a grappling hook attachment on the Super Shotgun introduced in Doom Eternal. Pressing the fire button launches the hook, which latches onto an enemy and rapidly pulls the player toward them. It enables fast, momentum-based repositioning and helps set up close-range shots with the shotgun’s devastating spread.
Are there weapons in Doom that require no ammo?
Yes. In each Doom game, one or two weapons require no ammunition and are therefore always available to the player. In the classic games these are the Fists and the Chainsaw. The Fists become dramatically more effective when the player picks up a Berserk powerup, which multiplies their damage by ten. The Chainsaw attacks four times faster than the normal fist.