E3M3: Infernal Catacombs (ConC.E.R.Ned)

E3M3: Infernal Catacombs is the third map in episode Hellish Extermination of ConC.E.R.Ned. It was designed by Matt Powell (cannonball) and uses the music track "Grove," originally composed by Kevin Schilder for Hexen.

Essentials
Take the shotgun in front of you then go down the steps to a door; interacting with it will open two closets on either side containing one or more imps and shotgun guys. Press the skull switch in the imps' closet to open the door and take the berserk pack behind it, then go into the next room and kill a demon that teleports in (or baron of Hell on Hurt Me Plenty skill level or higher) while you wait for the floor to lower and reveal more demons. Press the gargoyle switch in the north alcove to open the next door and go through to a room with shotgun guys, imps and one or two cacodemons then step across the lava river to collect a radiation shielding suit; with this item, you can follow the lava river south - triggering an ambush by demons and zombies - until you get to a room with a bloodfall. Dispose of the waiting imps then go through the south archway to reach a Y-junction.

Go down the left-hand (east) staircase and push past some zombies and a spectre to reach a gargoyle switch next to another radiation suit; pressing the switch will lower four walls behind you revealing lava pools with cacodemons, imps and a demon. Walk through the south pool to reach a staircase and follow it to the top where one or two barons will rise from a blood pool (one will teleport behind you), then collect the red skull key on your right - some cacodemons, imps, shotgun guys and spectres will be released into the area below. Return to the Y-junction and head up the right-hand (west) staircase this time to enter a red cave, then look between the rocks in the middle of the cave to find a gargoyle switch guarded by a baron; after pressing the switch, fight off the imps and demons that teleport in then go through the doorway in the north-east wall to collect the blue skull key.

You will be above the room with the bloodfall. Go to the door ahead and press the gargoyle switches either side of it to open the door, revealing a cavern with several gray pillars over a lava pit - make sure to kill all the enemies you can see before you start crossing the pillars. There are two skull switches in the north-west and south-east corners of the cavern that need to be pressed; doing so will lower the bars on the east side of the cavern, letting you reach a teleporter that leads to a ledge with barons. Press the skull switch on the east wall to lower some more bars in front of a fire portal, then enter the portal to finish the level.

Other points of interest
After pressing the gargoyle switch in the south-east area, enter the north lava pool to find a tunnel leading to a spectre (or cacodemon on Ultra-Violence (UV) and Nightmare (NM)) guarding a rocket launcher and an eye switch. Pressing the switch will lower a platform with a supercharge in the south cavern; after getting on this platform, wait for it to rise again then run north to reach a backpack.

When you enter the red cavern in the south-west corner, you will see an octagonal platform in front of you with a chaingun on it. Taking the chaingun will open three closets containing cacodemons and lost souls.

Secrets

 * 1) Pick up the red key and return to the center. A closet with spectres will be open along the way. Lower the east fire wall to get a box of rockets, an energy cell pack and armor bonuses. (sector 220)
 * 2) Enter the south-west area and at the last step, return to the center and go through the wall at the south end to get a megaarmor in the lava. (sector 86)
 * 3) In the south-west area, climb the mountain at the south-west end to lower three walls. Jump to the south-west one and go through the wall there to find a plasma gun. (sector 135)
 * 4) At the eastern-most area with pillars, you will see a gray wall at the south end. Jump to it and go through the wall to find armor bonuses and a teleporter. The teleporter takes you to an invulnerability, or supercharge on UV and NM. (sector 236)

Current records
The records for the map at the Doom Speed Demo Archive are:

The (absence of) data was last verified in its entirety on December 20, 2021.

Things
This level contains the following numbers of things per skill level: