Cyberdemon

The cyberdemon is the end-of-episode boss in Episode 2 of the original Doom, then returns in a small number of levels in Ultimate Doom and as a recurring, relatively rare enemy in Doom II: Hell on Earth. Later games reinterpret the creature: Doom (2016) features a cyberdemon as a two-stage boss, while Doom Eternal uses the related tyrant enemy class. The cyberdemon proper returns in Doom: The Dark Ages.

Origins and design

The cyberdemon first appeared in Doom (1993), developed by id Software. It is a tall, muscular, horned demon with cybernetic components, including a mechanical leg and a rocket launcher in place of one arm. It is the tallest monster in the original game, although the spider mastermind is wider.

The cyberdemon was sculpted by Adrian Carmack. A version of the creature by artist Brom, featuring a human-like nose, appeared on Doom II’s title screen.

Game data and technical properties

Within the original Doom engine, the cyberdemon is assigned Thing type 16 (decimal) and 10 (hex). These thing-type identifiers are used by map editors and source ports alike to place or reference the enemy in WAD files.

The cyberdemon has 4,000 hit points and is immune to blast damage. This immunity means that attacks must damage it directly; the splash component of explosive attacks does not harm it.

Its rockets travel in a straight line rather than following a ballistic arc. The cyberdemon fires a salvo of three rockets, and each rocket can cause direct-hit and splash damage to the player and other monsters.

Role across the Doom series

The cyberdemon has appeared in multiple entries across the Doom franchise, with its role and design evolving alongside the series:

• Doom (1993): It is the boss of Episode 2, appearing in E2M8: Tower of Babel. It reappears in the secret level E3M9: Warrens.
• Doom II: Hell on Earth (1994): The cyberdemon transitions from exclusive boss to a recurring powerful enemy encountered in several maps, requiring players to manage it alongside other threats. It appears sparingly, with three, five, or five cyberdemons across the game’s maps on the three on the two easiest skills and five on the others.
• The Ultimate Doom (1995): The cyberdemon appears in E4M2 and E4M6, and on the higher difficulty settings in E4M7.
• Doom (2016): The cyberdemon is reintroduced as a pivotal story boss with an expanded lore role. Its design retains the rocket-arm and imposing stature while incorporating a more detailed visual treatment consistent with the modern engine. The encounter in Lazarus Labs has two stages. In the game’s lore, UAC researchers rebuilt the demon as part of the Lazarus Project.
• Doom Eternal (2020): The cyberdemon’s class is represented by the tyrant, a recurring major enemy that differs from the boss role of the 2016 cyberdemon. The cyberdemon proper returns in Doom: The Dark Ages.

Combat behavior

In the original Doom engine, the cyberdemon fires salvos of three rockets in rapid succession. Each rocket causes significant area-of-effect damage on impact. The enemy does not have a melee attack — its threat is entirely ranged. Its movement speed is 186.7 map units per second, making it the fastest monster in the original Doom. In Doom II, it is second only to the arch-vile. Its hoofbeat is the only one in the game; its metal leg makes the same clank as the spiderdemon’s legs.

The cyberdemon is the only monster in the original Doom with a blast-damage attack. Its rockets can hurt other monsters and provoke infighting, but the cyberdemon usually dominates these fights because of its high health and damage output. It can occasionally be overwhelmed, including by the spider mastermind in MAP20: Gotcha! or by a large group of barons of hell in MAP08: Tricks and Traps.

Understanding how other enemies behave can also help you anticipate their attacks and recognize opportunities for infighting. For more information, check out our Doom enemies database.

Tactics: how to defeat the cyberdemon

• Keep moving and circle-strafe rather than standing still in the cyberdemon’s line of fire. Its rockets travel straight toward the player, so continuous lateral movement makes them harder to hit with; avoid hugging walls, since a rocket exploding nearby can still inflict splash damage on the player.
• Use pillars and corners to break the cyberdemon’s line of fire, then step out to attack. A solid obstruction can intercept its rockets, giving you a chance to reposition or fire without remaining exposed to a full salvo.
• Choose the rocket launcher or BFG 9000 when ammunition permits. The cyberdemon has 4,000 hit points: it takes about 45 direct rocket hits to kill. Three to four direct BFG hits will usually kill a cyberdemon, and at point-blank range, two well-placed shots are enough.
• Aim for direct damage rather than relying on explosions near the cyberdemon. It is immune to blast damage, so the splash portion of explosive attacks does not hurt it; rockets must hit directly to deal damage.
• Use infighting as an opportunity, not as a guaranteed way to kill it. The cyberdemon can damage other monsters with its rockets, but it usually wins these exchanges. A spider mastermind or a large group of barons can sometimes overwhelm it, as seen in MAP20: Gotcha! and MAP08: Tricks and Traps, respectively.
• If attempting the close-range super shotgun flinch tactic, time the shot at point-blank range and be prepared to retreat. A well-timed blast can interrupt the cyberdemon, a technique associated with high-level speedrunning, but getting close exposes the player to danger and does not make the encounter risk-free.

For more information on choosing the right equipment for different encounters, see the guide to Doom weapons.

The cyberdemon in WADs and modding

The cyberdemon has been a staple of custom map design since the earliest days of Doom modding. WAD authors frequently use it as a climactic boss encounter in megawads and episode replacements. Source ports and mods can change the cyberdemon’s behavior, hit points, projectile speed, or sprites, depending on the features they support.

The cyberdemon also appears in unusually large numbers in both official games and custom maps. In the official Doom 64, MAP17 contains two cyberdemons and MAP24 contains three on the Watch Me Die difficulty. Among custom maps, Nuts is documented with 848 cyberdemons, while the Doom Wiki’s list of maps with large cyberdemon counts is topped by Doomworld Mega Project 2019, with 947.

Cultural legacy

The cyberdemon appeared on the retail box cover of Doom II. In 2008, PC World ranked it 16th in its list of the 47 most diabolical video-game villains.

In the Xbox Live Arcade release of Doom II, the “You Have Huge Guts” achievement is awarded for killing a cyberdemon with your fists.