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 new type of monster which occurs in Doom Eternal, a group of Night Sentinels who joined the Khan Maykr in the civil war that followed the exposure of the Maykrs' betrayal and were later resurrected by combined Hell magic and Maykr technology with the purpose of destroying the Doom Slayer.

Appearance
Each Marauder is a humanoid demon with a skull-like head bearing large, prominent horns. They have blueish-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 been referred to by game director Hugo Martin as a “black belt” demon, remarking that simple run-and-gun tactics which work against other demons will not suffice. The Marauder has certain attack patterns that need to be studied and dealt with carefully.

The Marauder has three ranges of attack. When the player is at close range, the Marauder uses its super shotgun. The Marauder draws and fires it 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 Argent 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 Doom Slayer's, and it makes frequent use of a similar dash ability as the run-up to an attack, 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. The shield glows red-orange and displays the Doom Slayer’s mark. It acts similar to the shield wielded by some soldiers; however, it is unaffected by the plasma rifle and thus cannot be blown up. However, the Marauder 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 and the Unmaykr, is immune to the Chainsaw due to being a Super Heavy, and cannot be instantly killed with Crucible unless stunned. The Marauder will deploy his shield whenever an attack is about to land.

If the Marauder is faltered with a grenade, he can be attacked with the Crucible (this is a matter of timing) and killed, causing a glitched animation to play, with his removed head stretching, leaving a tail of deformed textures.

To supplement its offensive power, the Marauder can summon a spirit wolf, which occurs if the Marauder's shield is hit by either the player or stray shots from a fellow demon. It glows red-orange like the Marauder’s shield and will move across the arena. It frequently attacks the player and can be an annoying and significantly damaging distraction, as any of its attacks will slow down the Slayer significantly and also hinder the player's sight by overlaying a transparent bite mark on the screen. It should be dealt with as soon as possible.

The player is advised in the codex to maintain a medium distance from the Marauder, this being the distance at which the Marauder is most vulnerable. The shotgun will punish the player at close range, and the shield protects it at long range. In order to properly damage the Marauder, it is necessary to wait for him to use his mid-range melee attack with the Argent axe. When he winds up for a melee attack, his eyes flash green, which indicates an opportunity to strike. A successful counter would make him stagger, which is best followed with high damage-per-shot weapons such as the super shotgun or the ballista. By utilizing the quick swap 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.

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 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 Doom Slayer which will be revealed in the game.

E3 2019
The Marauder appears at the end of the story trailer of Doom Eternal, as the Doom 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 tier demon).

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

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