If you’ve spent hours bashing demons through the first four chapters of this gritty Doom total conversion, you know Doom the Dark Ages Chapter 5 is where the difficulty ramps up hard. I spent three separate playthroughs getting stomped by the mid-chapter hordes and missing half the secret runes before I mapped out every trick to beat it smoothly, no cheat codes required. I even tried using a noclip cheat once just to see what the end of the chapter looked like, but I quickly turned it off because beating it fair felt way more rewarding. This guide pulls from all those messy runs to give you every tip you need to get through without throwing your controller at the wall.
Key Preparations Before Starting Doom the Dark Ages Chapter 5
First, don’t rush into the chapter right after beating chapter 4. You can carry over all your weapons, ammo, and runes from the previous chapter, so take two minutes to sort your loadout first. If you wasted all your plasma ammo on the final chapter 4 boss, reload your last save before the end of chapter 4 and stock up. Always keep at least 40 shotgun shells and 25 plasma rounds in your inventory before starting the chapter, because the first room throws 8 fire imp variants and a Hell Knight at you within 30 seconds of spawning.
If you have the silver rune from chapter 3 that boosts armor durability, equip that first. It cuts damage from fire attacks by 30%, which is a game changer for this chapter’s constant fire-based enemy attacks. If you don’t have that rune, you can find a temporary version of it in the first secret nook two minutes into the chapter, but it’s much better to come prepared. If you’re playing on Ultra Violence difficulty, you might also want to stock up on health potions, since the first wave of enemies can take you from 100 health to 20 in two hits if you’re not paying attention.
Full Walkthrough of Chapter 5’s Main Quest Path
The chapter opens in the Burned Monastery Courtyard, a wide open space with a large wooden door at the far end and a bell tower on the right. You need to ring the bell in the tower to open the main door, but ringing the bell triggers a horde of 12 possessed monks that spawn from all corners of the yard. Don’t stand in the middle of the courtyard when the bell rings, climb the broken stone staircase on the left to pick off enemies from high ground first, then drop down to loot their bodies once the horde thins out.
Once you enter the Inner Sanctum Halls, you’ll notice loose stone tiles on the floor that trigger poison gas if you step on them. Look for the lighter gray tiles that have small cracks running through them, those are the safe spots to step on. You need to collect three holy relics from side chambers off the main hall to open the final boss door, and their exact locations are:
- Relic of St. Jude: Behind the fake wall to the left of the first torch in the west side chamber, you have to punch the wall three times to break it open
- Relic of the Burning Cross: On the rafter above the middle hall, jump from the top of the broken angel statue to reach it, there’s no hidden switch to trigger it
- Relic of the Fallen Knight: In the locked chest behind the group of 3 Hell Knights in the east side chamber, lure them out to the main hall to fight instead of engaging in the tight, cramped room
I missed the rafter relic on my first two runs because I didn’t realize the statue was jumpable, I kept running around the hall looking for a hidden switch until I accidentally jumped on the statue’s head and saw the rafter above. Once you have all three relics, place them on the altar in the main hall to open the boss door, but don’t rush in right away. There’s a secret 100 armor pickup behind the altar that you can grab first, it will save you a lot of trouble in the boss fight.
How to Beat the Chapter 5 Bishop Boss Fight
The Bishop is the first boss in the mod that has two distinct phases, and a lot of players get stuck on him because they waste ammo on the minions he summons. Phase 1 starts as soon as you walk into the arena, he floats around the perimeter of the room, throws homing fireballs, and summons groups of three possessed monks every 20 seconds. Ignore the monks for the first 90 seconds of phase 1, focus all your plasma rounds on the glowing red gem embedded in his chest, that’s his only weak point. If you get swarmed, use one shotgun blast to clear the closest monks, then go right back to targeting the gem.
Once you deplete 50% of his health, he enters phase 2: he stops throwing fireballs, starts charging melee attacks that one-shot you if you don’t dodge, and summons Hell Knights instead of monks. Use the four stone pillars around the arena to block his charge attacks, wait for him to hit a pillar and get stunned for 3 seconds, then unload your shotgun into his chest gem. I lost 4 runs to phase 2 because I tried to kill the Hell Knights first, wasting ammo and letting the Bishop charge me while I was distracted. Once I started ignoring the minions entirely, I beat him on the next try. If you saved your BFG charge from earlier chapters, you can use it during his first stun to take off 30% of his remaining health instantly, which cuts the fight time in half.
How to Unlock the Chapter 5 Secret Alternate Ending
Most players don’t know there’s a secret alternate ending for this chapter that gives you a permanent golden rune boosting all weapon damage by 15% for the rest of the game. It’s well worth the extra five minutes of work, especially if you’re playing on higher difficulty settings. First, you have to avoid breaking any of the stained glass windows in the Inner Sanctum Halls while you’re fighting enemies there. If you break even one, the secret ending path locks immediately, so use melee attacks on enemies that are standing near the windows instead of shooting them. I broke a stained glass window on my first run when I shot a monk that was standing in front of it, and I didn’t realize I locked the secret ending until I looked it up later.
After you beat the Bishop, don’t leave through the main exit that opens behind his spawn point. Don’t leave the boss arena before collecting the small red gem that drops from the Bishop’s body, you need that to open the secret well door, and it disappears if you leave and come back. Head back to the opening courtyard, and the broken stone well in the back left corner will now have a rope ladder hanging down. Climb down, use the red gem to open the iron door, and you’ll find the golden rune plus a short cutscene that explains the Bishop’s backstory, which ties into the overarching plot of the mod. The damage boost from the golden rune makes the final two chapters of the mod way easier, so it’s worth going out of your way to get it.
Doom the Dark Ages Chapter 5 is easily one of the most satisfying parts of the entire mod, once you know the tricks to get past its toughest roadblocks. You don’t need to be a pro Doom player to beat it, just take your time to explore, don’t rush into fights blind, and remember the weak points we covered here. If you follow these tips, you’ll get through on your first try, unlock the secret ending, and be ready to take on the rest of the game with the bonus damage rune in your inventory.
