I’ve been a diehard Doom fan for over 15 years, so I went into PS5 Doom The Dark Ages expecting the same fast-paced, demon-slaying action I know and love. What I didn’t expect was how many new mechanics, hidden secrets, and PS5-exclusive features would shake up the formula entirely. I’ve put over 120 hours into the game across single-player, multiplayer, and endgame content, so I’ve compiled all my best tips, tricks, and hard-earned lessons in this guide to help you skip the frustrating learning curve and start dominating right away.
Core Gameplay Mechanics Unique to PS5 Doom The Dark Ages
If you’ve played Doom Eternal on older consoles or PC, you’ll notice a huge difference in how PS5 Doom The Dark Ages feels right out of the gate. The first thing you’ll want to adjust is your display mode: performance mode runs at a buttery smooth 120fps with minor graphical tweaks, while quality mode locks to 60fps with full ray tracing enabled. I stick to performance mode for most playthroughs, especially for fast-paced boss fights where reaction time matters most.
The PS5’s adaptive triggers are more than just a gimmick here, they completely change how you interact with weapons. Adaptive trigger resistance ramps up as you fire heavy weapons like the rocket launcher or BFG, so you’ll feel exactly how much charge you have left without looking at your UI. That means you don’t have to take your eyes off incoming demons to make sure you don’t waste a shot. The 3D spatial audio is another game-changer, you can hear imps sneaking up behind you or cacodemons floating above before they even show up on your minimap.
You also get access to PS5 activity cards that let you jump straight to specific boss fights, challenge rooms, or hidden collectible locations without replaying entire levels. I used this feature constantly when I was going back to find missed runes, it cut my collectible hunt time in half. Just don’t rely on it too much if you want to explore levels organically for the first time, it can spoil some of the fun of finding secrets on your own.
Best Beginner and Endgame Character Builds to Try
One of the biggest new additions to PS5 Doom The Dark Ages is the customizable character build system, which lets you tweak your playstyle to fit your skill level and preferences. If you’re new to Doom games or just want a high-failure tolerance build for your first playthrough, go for the Juggernaut build. It prioritizes heavy armor, flame thrower damage bonuses, and glory kill health regen, so you can take a few hits without dying while you learn enemy attack patterns.
For endgame content, ultra-hard difficulty runs, or speedruns, the Blitz build is unbeatable. It focuses on maximum movement speed, critical hit chance, and chain kill ammo regen, so you can zip around levels slaying demons in seconds without ever running out of ammo. The only downside is you have almost no armor, so one wrong move against a cyberdemon will send you back to the last checkpoint. No matter which build you pick, there are three runes you should always equip to make your life easier:
You can unlock these runes as early as the second level if you know where to look, so keep an eye out for hidden challenge rooms. I made the mistake of ignoring runes for my first 10 hours of play, and switching these three in immediately made even the hardest fights feel manageable. Just don’t swap out the fall damage rune for anything else until you’ve memorized every level’s layout, you’d be surprised how many times you’ll accidentally jump off a ledge when you’re focused on slaying demons.
Hidden Weapons and Unlockable Content You Probably Missed
PS5 Doom The Dark Ages is packed with hidden content that most players won’t find on their first playthrough, including two exclusive weapons that completely change how you approach fights. The first is the Dark Ages Greatsword, a melee weapon that one-shots most basic demons and deals massive damage to bosses. You can find it in a hidden crack in the wall of the third level’s cathedral area, just shoot the cracked stone with your shotgun to open the passage.
There’s also a secret PS5-exclusive skin pack that lets you turn all your weapons into retro 1993 Doom sprites, which is a ton of fun for long-time fans. You unlock it by completing all 12 of the game’s challenge rooms, which are scattered across every main level. If you’re struggling to find them, use the 3D audio feature I mentioned earlier: you’ll hear a faint, distorted version of the original Doom theme playing when you’re near a hidden challenge room entrance.
If you collect all six of the hidden Dark Runes spread across the campaign, you’ll unlock a secret final boss fight that’s not listed in the main story. The boss is way harder than any other fight in the game, but beating it gives you a permanent 10% damage boost for all subsequent playthroughs, including multiplayer. I spent three days trying to beat it, and the reward was 100% worth the frustration. Just make sure you come prepared with plenty of ammo and a fully upgraded super shotgun before you trigger the fight.
Multiplayer Tips to Dominate Public Matches
The multiplayer mode for PS5 Doom The Dark Ages is chaotic, fast-paced, and a ton of fun once you get the hang of it. First, if you’re new to multiplayer, go into the settings and turn off cross-play if you don’t want to compete against PC players with mouse and keyboard. You’ll get slightly longer wait times for matches, but the lobbies will be far more balanced for controller players.
The most effective team composition for ranked matches is one support player with the Juggernaut build, two damage players with the Blitz build, and one scout player with a focus on movement and item collection. Don’t make the mistake of running four damage builds, you’ll have no one to revive you or heal the team when you get swarmed by enemy players and AI demons. Also, always prioritize glory kills over regular kills in multiplayer, they give your entire team a 10% damage boost for 10 seconds that can turn the tide of a close match.
There are also three PS5-exclusive multiplayer maps that are only available to PS5 players, so take time to learn their layouts first. They have way more vertical movement options than the standard maps, so the fall damage immunity rune is even more useful here than in single-player. Don’t waste your BFG or rocket launcher ammo on single enemy players, save it for when the enemy team is grouped up capturing an objective, that way you can take out three or four players with one shot.
At the end of the day, PS5 Doom The Dark Ages is all about having fun slaying demons, so don’t stress too much about perfect builds or finding every secret on your first playthrough. These tips are just meant to help you avoid the mistakes I made during my first 20 hours of play, so you can spend more time enjoying the action and less time dying to the same boss over and over. If you find any other cool hidden secrets or broken builds, drop them in the comments below, I’d love to test them out.
