Doom: The Dark Ages Releases Update 1 Patch Notes

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Summary

  • Update 1 for Doom: The Dark Ages focuses on improving gameplay based on player feedback.
  • Changes include adjustments to dragon-related battles and Atlan combat systems.
  • Bug fixes also address various issues related to gameplay, visuals, audio, and achievements.

The initial comprehensive update for “Doom: The Dark Ages” has been rolled out, focusing on modifications to the Doomslayer’s dragon, Atlan, among other aspects. Although two minor adjustments (hotfixes) have previously been made for “Doom: The Dark Ages,” id Software is leveraging player feedback to fine-tune the game according to user preferences.

As a dedicated fan, I can share that it was me who jumped at the opportunity to explore the origins of my favorite video game hero in the prequel to the iconic 1993 Doom, titled Doom: The Dark Ages. This captivating adventure found me protecting a technologically advanced medieval-style kingdom from various threats.

There was a bit of a stir just before its release, as the physical edition’s hefty download requirements caused quite the commotion among fans. However, once it hit the market on May 15th, all that talk quickly faded away. The game has been nothing short of phenomenal, breaking records for id Software as their biggest launch ever! In fact, within just a week of its release, Doom: The Dark Ages boasted an impressive player base of 3 million strong!

After three weeks since its launch, the game development team is ready to tackle some initial gameplay problems that have been reported. A significant portion of this update focuses on enhancing the dragon in Doom: The Dark Ages, with adjustments primarily targeting faster dragon combat action by boosting the dragon’s autocannon abilities. Making the autocannon more powerful will be simpler now as enemies can only fire Hell Surge projectiles at the dragon, and the empowered effect will last longer. Furthermore, firing an empowered autocannon shot immediately after a perfect dodge will let the blast pass through enemies’ projectile barriers.

In addition to the dragon, the combat system in the game is also undergoing significant changes. The Atlans, the massive melee-focused mech suits, are receiving both boosts and reductions in their capabilities. Two features that were previously adjustable by players have now been integrated into the gameplay itself. Following a hotfix in late May, maintaining health while piloting an Atlan has become more challenging due to health drops disappearing faster. This difficulty will be offset by an improvement to the Atlan combat system, making it easier to execute multiple finishers, a change intended to widen the combo system and encourage more strategic maneuvers.

Beyond these modifications, the rest of the update details primarily focus on resolving bugs to enhance gameplay, graphics, sound, and other aspects. Notably, one bug fix aims to refine the game’s graphics even further, addressing the occasional blurry visuals some players encountered. Additionally, other issues addressed involve dialogue becoming silent at the end of cutscenes in certain voice tracks, music halting between levels or during cutscenes, and subtitles not appearing synchronously across various language versions.

Doom: The Dark Ages Update 1 Patch Notes

Improvements and Adjustments

  • Adjusted audio mix so music and sound effects are more balanced at Default levels (For best results we recommend you reset audio settings to Default)
  • Reduced the amount of time health drops remain active during Atlan missions
  • Sprint VFX are now disabled for auto-sprint

Changes made to achieve a more balanced gaming experience, some of which were adjustable on-the-fly in the past but have now been officially implemented in Update 1. The changes marked as (*PT) represent those that were previously adjustable but have since been permanently incorporated into the game.

Atlan

  • (*PT) Reduced how long health drops linger in the world when in the Atlan
  • (*PT) Updated the Atlan combo system so that after using a Finisher, the player can still use the previous one
  • ㄴPlayers were paying too much to use a Finisher, which led to holding on for the most powerful attacks and then cashing out. This creates a more dynamic combat experience that rewards building up multiple Finishers for extended combos and more strategic decision-making

Dragon

  • Dragon combat experience has been updated to allow players to move more swiftly through the experience
  • ㄴMost enemies faced when on the Dragon will now only fire Hell Surge projectiles, allowing for more opportunities to empower the Autocannon
  • ㄴThe Empowered state for the Dragon’s Autocannon now lasts longer
  • ㄴ(*PT) Empowered shots from the Dragon’s Autocannon after a perfect dodge will go through projectile shields

Bug Fixes

Achievements

  • Resolved an issue in which some users could not unlock the Berserker Achievement/Trophy upon obtaining the necessary upgrades. This should resolve retroactively for affected users

Audio

  • Fixed an issue with music potentially pausing when transitioning between levels
  • Addressed an issue in which VO was getting cut off during ending cinematic for The Holy City of Aratum

Ultra-Nightmare

  • Difficulty Settings – adjusted the modified (M*) tag to persist after reverting to Default Settings in Ultra-Nightmare
  • Fixed an issue in which the Death Marker did not display the correct enemy name when killed by an armored Leader or Enforcer
  • Addressed the Death Marker so it no longer displays “???” when the player is killed by the ground spike AoE attack from any Cyberdemon variant
  • Updated the Death Marker so the Mancubus (who fires acid hazards) name now displays correctly

Cinematics

  • Fixed an issue in which the sound effects were not consistently playing during the interstitial sequences in The Old One boss fight
  • Fixed an issue with music potentially dropping out during cinematics
  • Addressed issues with subtitle timings for multiple languages

Crashes

  • Fixed rare crash after destroying the gore portal in Siege – Part 1

Gameplay

  • Resolved an issue in which the Shredder could lose functionality after performing an execute move
  • Addressed a bug where the Shield Saw could lose functionality after being caught, then melee attacking a dazed enemy
  • Fixed an issue with upgrade functionality not working when re-equipping a shield rune after maxing out the upgrades

Menus

  • Fixed an issue in which some players were unable to select and enter The Holy City of Aratum via the level select menu
  • The Battle Knight codex is now obtainable and will appear in the Codex menu
  • Addressed issues in which the Chapter Selection text and the Command Bar UI element would flicker
  • Fixed an issue encountered by some players where Campaign map completion was reset to 25% after the previous update
  • Resolved an issue in which players could skip to future levels by highlighting them in the Level Selection menu
  • The Arachnotron Codex page now appears consistently within the Dossier
  • Addressed an issue in which the “Field Of View” menu slider could lose functionality after cutscenes or Shield bashing through a wall
  • Resolved issues in which opening/closing the Dossier and reloading Checkpoints could cause the Shredder Barbed upgrade to unequip itself and the Pincushion and Ricochet upgrades would be equipped simultaneously
  • Menus – the (M*) marker is now present on Campaign Save Files that have been modified

Rendering

  • Added an additional control to customize image contrast when using HDR to fix issues where the image appeared washed out for some users

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2025-06-05 22:56