MAP28: The Absolution (Doom 64)

MAP28: The Absolution is the last level of Doom 64, designed by Randy Estrella. It uses the music track "Aspects Of The Vile", the same heard in level 11, Terror Core.

Essentials
The layout is simple: You start off in a room containing all the weapons including the Unmaker and a large amount of ammunition. Leaving the room (the door cannot be re-opened after leaving), you will enter a courtyard with a pillar-like object in the center and three small "rooms" which cannot be entered and have a switch each next to them. The focus of the map: survive an onslaught of enemies, and then fight the Mother Demon. The key strategy will depend on whether or not you got the demon artifacts. The three unique switches are positioned north, east, and west of your position of entry to the courtyard.

The only way to activate the switches is with the demon artifacts (you do not lose the artifacts from your inventory). The more artifacts you have, the better your survival, since each switch closes its respective demon entry point. Closing all demon entry points will instantly lower the center pillar (it lowers normally if all demons are killed), revealing a soulsphere that respawns indefinitely. The soulsphere also occasionally switches to megaarmor. The Mother Demon follows shortly after the pillar lowers. The only cover from her attacks are the pillar with the soulsphere and the "rooms" in which the hordes of enemies spawned from.

If you had the three artifacts, this level shouldn't be too difficult. Grab the invulnerability upgrade, head into the arena, and close off the teleports before too many monsters arrive. Use the rocket launcher to destroy any enemies that might have spawned into the arena. Once all enemies are dead, the Mother Demon will present herself from the center pillar.

To kill the Mother Demon, use the fully-powered Unmaker or the BFG9000. The boss should be killed easily provided you have both weapons in your arsenal. The rocket launcher is also an effective weapon against her if you ran out of ammunition for the two aforementioned weapons, but be prepared for a far more difficult battle.

Secrets
There are no official secrets on this map.

Bugs

 * It is occasionally possible for enemies to escape destruction by the demon key switches and then be unable to teleport into the main area. The cause for this is currently unknown. If it happens, the Mother Demon will never spawn and the level cannot be successfully completed.

Routes and tricks

 * It is highly recommended that you possess all three Demon Artifacts, as you will not have to fight the monster gauntlet before battling the Mother Demon, which will save you a lot of time and ammunition.


 * If you end up having to fight through the gauntlet, the best strategy is to be passive aggressive and run circles around the entire arena to let the vast majority of demons fight and kill themselves off, while occasionally using the chaingun to kill any rogue lost souls attacking you. Afterward, you can pick off the straggling demons and prepare to fight the Mother Demon. This will allow you to save your ammunition for your more powerful weapons, but you should still expect to take a few hits. This will take a few minutes at the most, since many of the demons that emerge from the portals are higher tier, and therefore take more hits from each other to kill.


 * The Mother Demon is very tough. She relentlessly chases and attacks you with homing missiles and flame sweeps, all while screaming horrendously. It can take up to 30 super shotgun blasts or six BFG shots to kill her, but if you have all three Demon Artifacts and the Unmaker with full energy ammunition (600 rounds), she can be effortlessly destroyed.

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