Marauder

"You were never one of us. You were nothing but a usurper&mdash; a false idol. My eyes have been opened. Let me help you to see, Slayer."

- A marauder, to the Doom Slayer

The marauders are a group of monsters which occur in Doom Eternal. They are a group of Night Sentinels who joined the Khan Maykr in the civil war that followed the exposure of the Maykrs' betrayal, died in the war, and were later resurrected through combined Hell magic and Maykr technology with the purpose of destroying the Doom Slayer. The marauder first appears in the ARC Complex level as a boss, before appearing as a regular enemy in later levels.

Referred to by game director Hugo Martin as a “black belt” demon, simple run-and-gun tactics that work against other demons will not suffice. As one of the most difficult enemies in the game, the marauder has attack patterns that need to be studied and dealt with carefully.

Appearance
Each marauder is a humanoid demon with a skull-like head bearing large, prominent horns. They have bluish-gray skin and wear green suits of armor which closely resemble the Praetor suit, presumably corrupted versions of the armor they once wore as Night Sentinels. They keep a garland of skulls around their left thighs, indicating that they may act as headhunters. Every marauder wields a super shotgun and an Argent double-bladed battle axe.

Tactical analysis
The marauder has three ranges of attack. When the player is at close range, the marauder uses its super shotgun; the weapon is drawn and fired almost instantly, making it unlikely that the player will be able to dash out of the way. At mid-range, the marauder performs a lunging swing (which can be either vertical or horizontal) with its axe, telegraphed by its eyes flashing green. At long range, the marauder throws its axe, sending out a wave of Argent energy.

The marauder is extremely agile. Its running speed is close to the Slayer's, and it makes frequent use of a similar dash ability as the run-up to an attack, both to evade the player's attacks and to flank behind the player. It leaves a brief trail of Argent energy when it dashes, making its new location immediately obvious.

The marauder is protected from all damage by a shield of Argent energy, which glows red-orange and bears their Sentinel logo, the same one emblazoned on their belts. It acts similarly to the shield wielded by some soldiers; however, it is unaffected by the plasma rifle and thus cannot be overloaded. The marauder will automatically raise the shield to counter incoming fire, but will not respond to indirect attacks; grenades or rockets detonated near him can cause a falter that lowers his shield and leaves him briefly open to another shot. The marauder is resistant, though not invulnerable, to the BFG-9000 and the Unmaykr, is immune to the chainsaw due to being a Super Heavy, and cannot be instantly killed with the Crucible unless stunned.

To supplement its offensive power, the marauder will frequently summon a spirit wolf if its shield is hit by either the player or stray shots from a fellow demon. The wolf glows red-orange like the marauder's shield and pursues the player in order to bite them; apart from being a distraction, the wolf leaves a translucent bite mark on the screen when its attack connects which will hinder the player's vision. Spirit wolves should be dealt with as soon as they appear; they can only take a small amount of damage before disappearing.

The Codex advises the player to stay at mid-range as this is where the marauder is most vulnerable; the super shotgun will punish the player at close range, and the marauder will throw energy waves at long range. To properly damage the marauder, it is necessary to wait for him to use his mid-range melee attack with the axe; when he winds up for a melee attack, his eyes flash green and he will be momentarily vulnerable. A successful attack at this point will falter the marauder for a couple of seconds, which is best followed with high damage-per-shot weapons such as the super shotgun or the ballista. By utilizing the quick-switch feature, it is possible to hit the Marauder twice or even three times every time he is staggered in this manner.

The marauder will direct his shield toward any BFG shot that is active and will leave his back open for damage in the meantime. Another shot of the BFG or a sustained barrage from the Unmaykr can finish him off during this time.

Strategy
Although by all means a complex enemy to fight as it is hard to determine the proper distance to be and is capable of cheap tactics and block nearly all attacks, there is a relatively easy way to considerably simplify the Marauder's attack patterns. Simply stay away from the Marauder while evading his axe shockwaves, and be attentive to his movement especially his dashing and try to maintain distance. When the Marauder starts running rather than dashing, this signals the Marauder will approach the player for a melee attack. Exploit this to land shots to stun and damage the Marauder. As explained above a Super Shotgun-Ballista quick switch combo, is the most effective for maximum damage.

If the Marauder is accompanied by other demons, prioritize the other demons as the Marauder warrants full attention. Space is of the utmost importance to employ this strategy, as some Marauder encounters occur in enclosed rooms, in which case players will need to be quick on their feet, although overall the principle applies, keep your distance from the Marauder while paying attention to him, once he runs, wait for his eyes to glow and hit him. Run away and kill any fodder for whatever supplies might be needed.

This strategy also works against the two Marauder encounter in the UAC Atlantica Facility and Possessed Marauder in the Slayer Gate in The Holt. In both instances, there is ample space to maneuver. Simply run in circles, and wait for the Marauders to come to a specific part of the map the player is comfortable with facing them. Hit them, then run again and refill supplies killing fodder.

It is possible to cheap shot them with the BFG-9000 by shooting while they are spawning as the tendrils will hit them before they get the chance to rise their shields. A lucky such shot is capable of killing a Marauder, although generally speaking this is difficult to pull off as it needs the precise angle and timing to perform.

Sentinel Hammer
In The Ancient Gods, Part Two, the marauder is especially vulnerable to the Sentinel Hammer. Faltering the marauder and immediately following with a hammer slam will keep him stunned for several seconds, allowing enough time to kill the marauder either with fast-firing weapons or by quick-switching between the super shotgun and ballista.

Glory kills

 * From the front, the Slayer stabs the marauder twice in the chest with the Doomblade before landing a fatal stab in his right eye.
 * The Slayer stabs the marauder in the back out through the chest and punches him in the face after he turns around.
 * The Slayer kicks the marauder's leg to the side, snatches the axe out of his grasp and swings it down, decapitating the marauder.
 * The Slayer punches the marauder to the left and goes for a second punch, only for the marauder to block it. The Slayer then extends the Doomblade, piercing the marauder through his right eye.

Battlemode
The marauder is one of six playable demons in Battlemode. Intended to pressure the Slayer at close range, the marauder is highly mobile thanks to his double-jump and dash abilities. He can use his super shotgun up-close and throw his axe to deal explosive damage wherever it lands; the marauder can also summon a spirit wolf which will chase down the Slayer before exploding.

Lore
Following the revelation of the Maykrs' betrayal of the Argenta, some of the Night Sentinels abandoned their oaths to King Novik and declared their loyalty to the Khan Maykr. The traitors who were slain in the Argenta civil war were later resurrected by the Divinity Machine that had been used to empower the Doom Slayer and transformed by Hell's power, becoming demonic themselves. They now serve as an infernal knightly order, acting as a twisted mockery of the noble warriors they used to be.

Pre-release
Hugo Martin promised at the 2018 convention that there is a story reason behind the appearance of the marauder and its resemblance to the Slayer which would be revealed in the game.

E3 2019
The marauder appears at the end of the story trailer of Doom Eternal, as the Slayer pulls out a chainsaw in response while it is swinging its battle-axe. Note that in the final game, it would be impossible to perform such an attack, as the Marauder is an invalid target for the chainsaw (as it is a Super Heavy demon).

At E3 2019 the marauder was revealed to be one of the five established playable demons in the new multiplayer Battlemode.

2020 trailer
The marauder appears in the second official trailer for Doom Eternal, walking out of a red portal facing the Slayer. This would be included in the final version of the game, in the ARC Complex level where the marauder is first introduced.

Trivia

 * The marauder is voiced by Edward Bosco, who also voices the Icon of Sin.
 * In early versions of the game, if the marauder was faltered with a grenade, he could be attacked with the Crucible and killed, causing a glitched animation to play, with his removed head stretching, leaving a tail of deformed textures. This glitched animation has been fixed in recent patches.