E4M2: Perfect Hatred (Doom)

E4M2: Perfect Hatred is the second map of Thy Flesh Consumed in Doom. It was designed by John Romero and uses the music track "Donna to the Rescue." In the Doom Classic port, it has a par time of 4:15.

Of all the levels John Romero contributed to Doom and Doom II, E4M2 took the shortest time to finish; he started working on it at midnight and finished at 6AM.

Its open yet compact design means that the player will immediately alert and face a mass of monsters at the start, particularly a concentration of Imps and Cacodemons, without much cover and in very close quarters. Also, as much of the level consists of platforms above damaging lava, some skill is needed in making the "jumps", often while dodging enemy attacks.

Overview
The map title comes from Psalm 139:22: "I hate them with perfect hatred; I account them mine enemies."

Strategy
If starting ammo and health are not enough, you can fall into the slime and look for the supercharger and pick up the shell ammo in the tunnel back to the start. Mind the cacodemon waiting down in the slime right in front of the starting area.

The circular lava room in the southwest corner of the map has a platform which contains a plasma rifle - but when the player tries to grab it, Barons of Hell emerge from hidden walls directly ahead of and behind the player. The eastern edge of the southern trap has a hidden switch which raises some of the wooden structure in the centre of the level, giving the player more room to move around.

The teleporter from the Barons' room from the left has a secret next to it that leads to the other side of the plate, which leads to the upper-left niche containing a Megaarmor and other items. From there, you can normally jump back on the platforms in the center, or if you coordinate your jump properly, you can reach the stairs beyond the blue column.

From the same Megaarmor niche, you can use the grab trick: run as fast as you can (helped by strafing at the same time) in the direction of the Cyberdemon niche. If you go in the correct direction and coordinate the run properly, you'll be able to grab the BFG behind the wall, early.

The Cyberdemon can be defeated by telefragging. As soon as you reach the skylit top area, a teleporter on the central platforms opens, which will bring you right on top of the monster, killing it. From there, you will be able to access the secret level, E4M9.

Walkthrough
There is a walkthrough available in YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM1Zs4la0Yo

Secrets
1. In the smaller, isolated lava pit in the southwest of the level, drop into the lava and flip the switch to raise a bridge. Step into the small triangle of lava next to the switch to open an exit out of this pit. At the top of the stairs is a teleporter. Open the wall to the left just before the teleporter; behind it is a secret cache. The right wall at the back of the secret room also opens, and you can take the other side of the teleporter to a separate secret room.

2. After opening the blue "door", run up the stairs and across the raised platform with the Cyberdemon guarding it until you hear the sound of a door opening behind you. Run back down to the lower wooden platforms, and a teleporter will have appeared. Go through it to telefrag the Cyberdemon, saving you a lot of work. Pick up the BFG and lower the wall in front of you to exit.

3. Secret exit: Upon lowering the wall to exit secret 2, a wall back down in the western wall of the main lava pit will lower temporarily. Quickly run into the opening to reach the exit to E4M9: Fear.

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

The data was last verified in its entirety on November 23, 2012.

Trivia

 * In The Ultimate Doom, it is the fourth stage in the demo rotation, and the player does not live long through it.
 * This is the level with the most Barons of Hell in Ultimate Doom, and is seconded by the boss map, E4M8.