MAP17: A Vile Piece (Doom 2 Unleashed)

MAP17: A Vile Piece is the seventeenth map of Doom 2 Unleashed. It was designed by Christian Lian (darkreaver) and uses a custom music track. When using the music WAD included with this megawad, this level instead uses the music track "Unexpected Danger" by Paul Corfiatis.

As its name suggests, this level includes a large number of arch-viles.

Yellow key
Take the items in the room then try to open the green door ahead of you, which will release an arch-vile behind you - use the columns as cover from its attacks, then press the switch in the closet that the arch-vile came from to open the door. Go through the door and take the box of bullets behind it, which will lower the wall ahead and reveal four cages with chaingunners - kill them, then go through the room to collect a super shotgun and a box of shotgun shells which will open several alcoves behind you containing chaingunners and another arch-vile. ‎Use the alcoves as cover, then go to the south-west corner of the room and enter the arch-vile's blue alcove to find another switch which will open the north door. Go through this door and kill the shotgun guys waiting on either side, as well as a baron of Hell and one or more Hell knights waiting behind the concrete columns.

There are four switches in the corners of the room - press the switch in the north-west corner then go clockwise around the room to reach the remaining switches. Pressing the fourth switch will cause four revenants to teleport in, and lower a set of bars in the north-west corner - go up the steps past these bars and press the switch at the top, which will reveal another arch-vile and a sixth switch behind it. Press this switch then go down the steps to find that four of the columns have lowered to reveal mancubi, along with a set of bars blocking the east doorway. Go through this doorway and flip the switch in front of you to be carried down to ground level, but arm yourself before going outside as a number of zombies and mancubi will be released around you.

Turn right after going outside and cross the nukage stream in front of you to a collection of green and brown rocks. Kill any monsters standing on the rocks then climb them to a narrow ledge which you can follow to a switch in a small niche - pressing the switch lowers a set of bars blocking a cavern to the north-east, which contains a number of knights and an arch-vile. Go into the cavern to find a switch between two locked doors - pressing the switch will lower a wall in front of you revealing one or more revenants, and release another arch-vile behind you. Step south-west to collect a megaarmor and a box of rockets, using the rock column here as cover from incoming attacks. Watch out for three arachnotrons that have also been released outside.

Go back outside and head north-west past a fence through which you can see the red keycard. As you pass this platform a large number of monsters will be released ahead, including three revenants that appear on the ledge on your right. Head forward towards two mancubi in a nukage pool, then turn left and kill some demons approaching from next to a round platform. Go round the platform, killing the revenants and imps standing on the rocks, and you will see one or two mancubi guarding a switch. Approach the switch and kill the baron of Hell that appears on your right (plus two revenants on Ultra-Violence (UV) and Nightmare (NM) skill levels), then press the switch to lower the nearby metal bridge. Step on the bridge before it rises then go to the round platform you passed earlier to kill a knight guarding another switch and armor.

Press the switch then head back across the metal bridge - a door has opened at the east end leading back to the room with the corner switches, and the central column in this room has opened to reveal an arch-vile guarding the yellow keycard.

Blue key
Take the yellow key and be ready to kill four revenants teleporting in from the east, then head east to the lift you used earlier and ride it down to ground level. Head forward into the cavern with two locked doors and open the door between the yellow key markers, revealing a switch next to another armor pickup. Press the switch then go back into the cavern to kill an arch-vile, then return to the nukage pool on the west side of the map where a set of yellow bars west of the pool have lowered. Kill the revenants waiting in the room behind these bars (plus two arch-viles on UV and NM) then enter the room and flip the switch in the south-west corner to lower a set of stairs. Go down the stairs, ready to kill a group of shotgun guys on the right and a group of imps on the left (bars will also close at the bottom of the stairs to lock you in).

Head left or right around the fenced outdoor area to its west side, killing any imps that get in the way, then head west into a short tunnel to find a switch behind a berserk pack. Flipping the switch will open several walls in the area and release a number of monsters - kill the two spectres that are revealed behind you on UV and NM, then head north to find demons and imps (plus three chaingunners on UV and NM) guarding a plasma gun and a megaarmor, as well as an arch-vile protecting an energy cell pack. Go east from here to confront some knights and a baron, then enter the chamber they emerged from and flip a switch here to open a silver wall behind you and reveal another switch. Arm yourself before approaching the switch as an arch-vile is hiding behind it, which will teleport into the neighboring passage and start resurrecting the monsters you killed.

After killing the arch-vile and pressing the switch, go to the east side of the fenced area where a set of gray bars have lowered so you can go inside it. When you step through the doorway a number of zombies, imps and revenants will appear on the ledges in the fenced area, and a pain elemental and two cacodemons will be released into the corridor outside the fence - you may want to stand outside the fence to kill as many monsters as possible. Once the area is safe, go down the grass steps and flip the switch at the bottom - this will lower a pillar behind you holding the blue keycard, and open four closets above containing chaingunners. An arch-vile will also teleport in at the top of the steps.

Red key
Take the blue key then climb back up the grass steps and head east up the staircase which is now accessible. Turn left at the top of the stairs to see two revenants guarding a switch, which will lower a wall behind you and reveal a tunnel with a number of imps. Go into the tunnel, ready to kill an arch-vile that rises from the floor, then turn left as soon as you get outside to see that a pillar holding a megaarmor has lowered. Take the item then backtrack to the cavern east of the central building and open the door between the blue key markers to find another switch behind an armor pickup. Approach the switch but do not press it - instead, go back to the cavern to kill another arch-vile and two mancubi then press the switch and return to the nukage pool on the west side of the courtyard. Look north to see a pair of green columns with blue key markers, behind which are several revenants and an arch-vile.

Once these monsters are killed, go through the door behind them (requiring the blue key) and follow the health bonuses round to a switch. Press this switch then go to the east side of the room to flip a second switch, which will open the bars in front of you but also open the column behind you which contains two knights, a baron and an arch-vile plus a supercharge and other items. Follow the tunnel east to a room with two square columns, ready to kill two knights that appear in front of you and an arch-vile that teleports in behind you. Press use on the lift at the south end of the room to open the two columns and reveal chaingunners, then go inside either column to find a switch which will lower the lift for you. Ride the lift up, ready to kill two or three chaingunners waiting at the top.

In the next room, press the switch on the south wall and then shoot another switch revealed behind it, ready to kill a baron and mancubus that are released. There is a third switch behind the mancubus which will lower the east wall - step through it but be ready to kill an arch-vile that teleports in behind you, along with two knights and barons in the passage ahead. Head east, watching out for chaingunners waiting behind two of the pillars (plus another arch-vile on UV or NM), until you reach a doorway but do not go through it - approaching the doorway will cause revenants to appear in front of you (plus one arch-vile on UV or NM), and the three columns you just passed will now contain a revenant and two arch-viles. Consider going back to the lift room - you can kill the arch-vile in the first column then use it as cover from the other monsters.

Once the way forward is clear, go through the doorway and go up the stairs on your left leading to a pillar with a BFG9000. Halfway up you will be confronted by chaingunners, shotgun guys and a revenant so kill them then go around the pillar to find a switch which will lower the pillar and open an alcove behind you with a supercharge, but will also reveal six knights. Take the BFG and head back to the lift room where a number of enemies are teleporting in then return to the stairs and head east into enter another room which is now accessible, ready to kill a chaingunner that tries to ambush you from the left. Climb the steps until you see two barons appear in front of you (plus two knights on UV and NM), then look west to kill an arch-vile which has teleported in.

Kill the monsters then climb the steps to the top and flip the switch, which will lower a set of bars behind you but also open two closets that each hold ten chaingunners. Head west into the hallway so they are forced to approach from one direction, then head south-west through the bars you just opened to get outside onto a bridge leading to the red keycard. Watch out for two chaingunners that appear in a cage on your right, then go forward to collect the supercharge - the pillar in front of you holding the red keycard will lower automatically, but a cyberdemon will teleport in to protect it. (The red key is not used anywhere in the level, but you must step on its plinth to open the way forward.)

Exit
Take the red key and kill the mancubus that teleports in behind you, as well as a number of shotgun guys that have appeared on the other side of the bridge. Cross the bridge and go into either of the closets that the chaingunners emerged from earlier - a section of wall has opened in both closets, revealing a switch next to a megasphere and five energy cell packs. Take the items and flip the switch, then kill the arch-vile that appears behind you before heading west into the passage with three columns. The concrete wall here has lowered to reveal two switches, but when you step through the wall you will be confronted by two cyberdemons - use the BFG and the energy cell packs you found earlier to kill them quickly. Avoid fighting them in the hallway if possible, as a number of revenants will have appeared on the ledge visible through the south fence as well as two to six arch-viles.

After killing both cyberdemons, take the supercharge and megaarmor they were guarding and press both switches - a metal wall between them will lower and reveal a chaingunner guarding a third switch which also needs to be pressed, as it re-opens the wall leading back to the lift room. Go back into the lift room and press the button on the south wall to lower the lift, then follow the tunnel back outside to find two arch-viles waiting for you. Kill them then go back outside and look to your right to see a metal structure with steps leading up to a teleport pad - kill the arch-vile standing on the pad then step on it to finish the level.

Other points of interest
In the north-west area of the courtyard are three square platforms, two of which hold boxes of rockets. You can get on to the platforms using the silver lifts between them, but watch out for a mancubus and arachnotron which teleport in when you collect the ammo.

Secrets

 * 1) At the start, use the small round block to the right to hop to the terminal. Open it to find a partial invisibility. (sector 199)
 * 2) Run up to the doorway with the super shotgun, then pass it to hear a lift lower. Return to the previous hall and in the north-east corner you can find two medikits and an armor. (sector 79)
 * 3) At the south-east end of the main courtyard, there is a switch tucked away at the west end. Use it to lower a nearby pillar with a berserk pack. (sector 141)
 * 4) In the room north of the switch at the western-most part of the map, go to the north side of the north column and use it to lower the columns which hold imps. You will also lower a box of rockets to the west. (sector 632)
 * 5) In the blue key area, get to the high rocks on the west side and use the metal wall to find a shotgun guy and a box of rockets. (sector 366)
 * 6) In the northeastern-most halls, get to the switch with the megasphere, then take the south hall where you will find a teleporter. Take it to reach a supercharge. (sector 737)

Bugs
Attempting to play this level in deathmatch will cause the game to exit with an error message, as only one deathmatch start is present. As the level includes no multiplayer-only weapons or items, its inclusion is probably an error.

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

The data was last verified in its entirety on December 21, 2021.

Player spawns
This level contains only one spawn point, making it unplayable in deathmatch mode:
 * 1) facing east. (thing 97)

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