MAP13: Last Look at Eden (Hell Revealed)

MAP13: Last Look at Eden, designed by Yonatan Donner, is the thirteenth map of Hell Revealed. It uses the music track "Goin' Down the Fast Way" from Rise of the Triad.

Description
According to the Hell Revealed info pack:


 * This is an outdoor level, one of my favorites. It's the first of the new Hell Reveled maps (the "murder" maps) and has some tricky fights - such as the nearly-impossible cagefight in the blue key area. Attractions also include a fully-shaded area. In short, don't miss this one! And, as the name suggests - it's your last look at Eden...


 * Size: medium
 * Difficulty: hard



Strategy
Out of the obstacles in Hell Revealed, the cage-trap mentioned in the documentation (containing the blue key card) is probably the most common spot where a player becomes dead-in-the-water in terms of completing this megawad. Make sure you have plenty of ammo before even THINKING of setting foot into this level, because you're gonna need it!

When dealing with the monsters BEFORE the cage trap, try to use only the non-cell weapons on them (the BFG 9000 with at least 280 cell ammo is the only way you can beat the cage trap inside the red-skullkey door). If you must, then try skipping some of the unnecessary encounters in the northern field to conserve ammo (the pavillions with the Spider Mastermind and the massive group of smaller monsters that teleport in after grabbing the supercharge artifact on top of the pentagram). When you finally go into the cage trap to retrieve the blue key, get your BFG ready, because THIS nasty trap is THE thing that earned HR's reputation as an ultra-hard wad! When the walls lower, fire the BFG like there's no tomorrow because the resulting monsters will come at you hard and fast from all sides and test your skill as a Doomer.

After that, the level should be a walk in the park. Just proceed to the blue-key door and lower one of the columns in the room. It reveals a teleporter, sending you back to the starting area with the exit teleporter revealed in a formerly-closed pavillion. You might want to skip the resulting cyberdemon encounter and run for the exit, since the levels after this will NOT get any easier.



Secrets

 * 1) In the stair-filled area leading from the first area to the big battle area in the north straferun to the ledge between first and second floor, right over the first western stairs. Follow the ledge to the west and open the wall to find a Blue armor.
 * 2) In the room behind the yellow door there is a panel with a switch at the end of spiral staircase. The back side of this panel is a switch, too, that reveals a secret in the south wall of this area containing a Pain Elemental and a Bulk cell.
 * 3) In the room behind the blue door there is a pillar in the northwest corner. Pressing this lowers a pillar right outside the room in the northwest corner of the large battle-area with a Plasma gun.

Speedrunning
See:
 * Hell Revealed at Compet-N
 * Hell Revealed at the Doom Speed Demos Archive