E3M1: Hell Keep (Doom)

E3M1: Hell Keep is the first map of Inferno in Doom. It was designed by Sandy Petersen and uses the music track "Untitled". The par time is 1:30. The secret map E3M9: Warrens is structurally based on E3M1 but has extra rooms, items and enemies, and requires two skull keys.

in the Jaguar-based ports, this level is replaced entirely by an unrelated level of the same name.

Overview
This map is short and it is not very difficult, there are only 4 big rooms and 3 corridors, and 26 monsters and this makes it easy for speedruns.

Essentials
You start in front of a closed eye, which is a switch (A). Press it and the platform you are standing on will rise, revealing a big outdoor area, a red wall with a door ahead of you, and some imps, ammo and (on I'm Too Young To Die and Hey, Not Too Rough) health. After you have taken down the imps, press the switch to the left of the door to open it (B).

On Hurt Me Plenty and higher, there are cacodemons behind the door. Since you have only a pistol, limited ammo, and plenty of space, you might want to open the door first and maneuver the Cacodemons into taking out the Imps for you, while taking some damage themselves. Kill the Cacodemons and move forward to a fork in the path. Go straight and turn left into a curved bridge with blood on both sides. There is a shotgun here. The bridge will sink into the blood in sections as you step on it so run quickly across and through a fake wall before it lowers (C). There may be imps behind the fake wall, depending on your skill level. When you are done with the imps (if any) go to the right and open the door with the face on it. Then go to the fork and take the other path (D).

(If you ran too slow or fell off, you will be in the blood and taking damage. In this case, run to the wall at the left and turn left when it ends. Run to the end of the blood and go up the stairs. Then go the other path in the fork.)

Open the door and kill the enemies that you see. Then open the door to the right and go into a narrow hallway with demons. Kill them and open the next door into a room with red pillars and a few items. Pick them up and enter the next room, which is filled with imps. Once you are done with them, go through the exit door (E). Collect some health and ammo, then go into the teleporter to exit the level.

Secrets

 * 1) In the room before the exit room, open the hidden door on the left to reveal a rocket launcher, shotgun shells, and a stimpack (F). (sector 25)

Bugs
Two "hanging leg" decorations (Things 80 and 82) have no flags set for any of the difficulty classes, so they do not actually appear in the level.

Current Compet-n records
The Compet-n records for the map are:

The data was last verified in its entirety on July 6, 2020.

Current DSDA records
The records for the map at the Doom Speed Demo Archive are:

The data was last verified in its entirety on November 22, 2022.

Player spawns
This level contains four spawn points:
 * 1) facing north. (thing 85)
 * 2) facing south. (thing 86)
 * 3) facing north. (thing 87)
 * 4) facing east. (thing 88)

Things
This level contains the following numbers of things per skill level:

Trivia

 * The music for this level is inspired by the track "", by the group.
 * Most console ports use a different version of Hell Keep.