Ballista

The ballista is a weapon introduced in Doom Eternal, replacing the Gauss cannon from 2016's Doom. It is first seen in the Fortress of Doom in a partially-built state after returning from Exultia, and can be acquired after returning from the Doom Hunter Base.

The ballista is said to be a favored weapon among Night Sentinel marksmen.

"Bonus damage to Energy Shields. Penetrates though fodder demons."

- Doom Eternal dossier protip

Tactical analysis
The ballista fills a similar niche to the Gauss cannon from Doom (2016); it fires an energy beam in a straight line, with a slow fire rate compensated by high attack power and unmatched accuracy. As it consumes 25 cells per shot, it is best used either to destroy enemy weak points from distances too far for the heavy cannon or the combat shotgun's sticky bombs to hit, as part of a combo with a different weapon, or against flying enemies such as pain elementals to exploit the bonus damage it does against them. Like the Gauss cannon before it, the ballista has a noticeable recoil which can be exploited for increased air time and propelling yourself across an arena.

Modifications

 * Arbalest
 * A rough equivalent to the Gauss cannon's precision shot mod, albeit with a weaker zoom effect and focused more on raw damage. Following a brief charging period, the ballista will fire a dart-like projectile that lodges into an enemy and explodes after a short time; if the initial hit kills the intended target outright it will keep going and potentially hit another enemy. However, it will reduce movement speed when active and needs to be reloaded in between shots.


 * Destroyer Blade
 * After charging, the ballista fires a wide horizontal projectile. The projectile has a piercing effect, allowing it to clear out multiple clustered enemies in one shot. Without upgrades, it can only fire when fully charged and reduces movement speed while active; it also uses up 50 cells per shot rather than the normal 25.

Arbalest

 * Full Speed
 * Movement speed in Arbalest mode is increased to 30%
 * Costs 3 weapon points


 * Stronger Explosion
 * Increase the size of the Arbalest explosion by 60%
 * Costs 6 weapon points


 * Mastery - Instant Salvo
 * A direct hit with the Arbalest allows it to begin charging the next shot immediately instead of waiting for it to reload.
 * Mod is unlocked by killing 20 cacodemons with the fully charged Arbalest mod.

Destroyer Blade

 * Charging Blast
 * At max charge, the Destroyer mod will emit a blast wave that falters demons
 * Costs 3 weapon points


 * Rapid Chains
 * Destroyer Blade charge time reduced by 20%
 * Costs 6 weapon points


 * Mastery - Incremental Blade
 * Removes the need to fully charge the Destroyer Blade before firing; instead, it gains a three-stage charge system. Higher levels of charge consume more ammo but produce a wider projectile that deals more damage.
 * Mod is unlocked by killing at least 3 demons or more at once with a fully charged Destroyer Blade 15 times.

Lore
Night Sentinel legend has it that a single battalion of archers armed only with ballistas defended the city of Illkana for ten days and ten nights. The weapon fires a twin beam of superheated Argent energy, vaporizing its target on impact.

Trivia

 * Even though the name of the weapon is "ballista", it is still frequently referred to as the "Gauss rifle" or "Gauss cannon" in the game's files, which was the name for its Doom (2016) counterpart. For example, its damage pointer is and the damage pointer for the Destroyer Blade is.
 * Likewise, the damage pointer for the Arbalest is, suggesting that at some point in development the weapon was supposed to be named "Gauss rifle" while "ballista" was the name of the Arbalest mod.