Hell knight (Doom 3)

The Hell knight in Doom 3 is huge, very muscular and heavy. An in-game examination of its spine indicates it has a massive skeleton. It has no visible nose. Its ears resemble deformed human ears fused to the sides of its head, which makes them look almost like holes. Its obscure eyes are very small and black, located on the sides of the head just above the mouth. It is easily the largest non-boss enemy in the game. Assuming the marine is six feet tall, the Hell knight stands about ten feet tall.

In Hell, Hell knights show a different appearance than those on Mars. Their skin is greyish-green. Parts like the mouth, upper chest, hands and feet are red, possibly soaked with blood. They are covered with scars and demonic runes, and have a pentagram on their foreheads.

It differs from the classic Hell knight in that it doesn't have horns or hooves and is not goat-like.

Combat characteristics
The Hell knight's attacks are similar to those of the imp: melee attacks, but including biting, and energy balls with splash damage. The Hell knight, however, doesn't have any sudden leaps and its energy balls are much larger, more powerful, and have a wider area of effect, making them more dangerous in enclosed spaces, though they are easier to dodge as the Hell knight's height means they are launched from farther up, making it possible to literally run under them.

The Doom 3 Hell knight is actually tougher than the original Hell knight, having roughly as many hitpoints as the original baron; the Doom 3 Hell knight takes six direct rocket hits to kill, while the old baron usually took five or six rockets (depending on the random damage rolls). It is probably for this reason that there is no baron of Hell in Doom 3; essentially, rather than being the new version of its namesake, the Doom 3 Hell knight is a reinterpretation of the original baron of Hell.

Tactical analysis
When facing a Hell knight, it is strongly recommended to use the Soul Cube or the BFG if it is necessary to take them down quickly, for they can absorb large amounts of damage. But if the situation permits, the rocket launcher, plasma gun, chaingun, and even the shotgun are effective enough.

It is a very bad idea to retreat from a Hell knight when it is about to throw an energy ball as its splash damage radius is rather large. It is recommended to avoid being in close proximity to walls or other solid objects. The chainsaw, while powerful, is not a good choice against a Hell knight, as it will not prevent the monster from retaliating with its powerful scratch and bite attacks.

Hell knights hang tough, and it can take 100 rounds or more of machine gun fire (almost two full magazines) or close to a full magazine of chaingun or plasma rifle fire to kill one (somewhat less if you can score consistent head shots, which is relatively easy due to the Hell knight's slow speed and large head). The shotgun is reasonably effective against Hell knights, and can kill one with a handful of shots, especially if aiming at the head. However, this tactic requires the player to close in at point-blank ranges and again render themselves vulnerable to the extremely damaging melee attacks of the Hell knight.

In Resurrection of Evil and The Lost Mission, the grabber is a relatively effective weapon; however, it requires five direct volleys to vanquish it. The super shotgun is also relatively effective, provided the player has sufficient space to keep dodging, blasting, and reloading.

Although Hell knights can survive significant damage and have powerful attacks, their attack rate and speed are quite slow, and are normally fairly easy to dodge. However, they can be very dangerous if they manage to pin the player inside an enclosed space or narrow corridor where there is insufficient room to effectively dodge their attacks.

UAC research notes
These notes can be downloaded to the player's PDA during the course of the game:

Specimen 31 - Hellknight (partial)

''The cranial mass of this bipedal specimen indicates that it is one of the largest creatures inhabiting the site. Overpowering its prey with sheer might, the Hellknight is one of the most ferocious predators known to our researchers. Like the imp, this creature is able to defend itself at long-range with thrown plasma projectiles.''

Trivia



 * The first Hell knight appearance occurs in Delta Labs 4. The portal to Hell activates, and two Hell knights emerge. This is reminiscent of the first boss fight in the original Doom, where the player must defeat a pair of barons of Hell at the end of Knee-Deep in the Dead.


 * In the E3 2002 demonstration of Doom 3, the Hell knight had mechanical legs, making it similar to the Doom 3 pinky demon. However, in the final release of Doom 3, these robotic elements have been removed.