MAP28: City of the Unavenged (Memento Mori)

MAP28: City of the Unavenged is the twenty-eighth level of Memento Mori. It was designed by Jens Nielsen and uses the music track "Dreadnaught" by Mark Klem.

Essentials
Start

You begin in an alcove. Drop down, collect the boxes of shells, heal up with the medikits, grab the armor and pick up the shotgun and chaingun nearby. On co-op, player 2 will start in a similar alcove near player 1, while players 3 and 4 begin in alcoves in the northwest and northeast of the map respectively. Player 4 should exit their alcove and go into the room in the west to flip a switch, which opens a large door in a hallway in the south, allowing them to enter the main area and join the fray.

As the level name suggests, this is a city-map packing a massive amount of opposition. The first task in this level, as in every city-map, is to roam around and clear out any opposition that you can see. The more of them you kill, the less likely you are going to take damage while running around to progress the level, and the design of this level does indeed require quite a bit of running around.

Once the enemies have been thoroughly thinned out, proceed to the fenced-up area in the southwest of the level, and enter it through a hole in the north side. You will face two to three Hell knights and a baron of Hell. On Ultra-Violence, there is an extra cacodemon who may or may not have wandered off. Clear them out and flip the switch on the western wall.

Next, proceed to the building in the in the southeast, which can be accessed from the north side. You face up to two Hell knights and on Hurt me plenty and above, an arch-vile. The upper windows on the west wall also contain substantial amounts of cannon fodder. You should kill the arch-vile before he leaves the building, as there is not much cover outside. The switch you flipped earlier has opened a compartment with up to three spectres in the south side of this building's courtyard. Flip the switch inside, then proceed up the stairs.

The stairs contain up to three shotgun guys, a revenant (on Hurt me plenty and above) and at the top, up to two barons of Hell and a chaingunner. Nothing here should be too much of a threat as long as you use the corners of the stairway to your advantage. Once you reach the top, open the door and continue along the grey ledge. Just as you step onto the brown part of the floor ahead, you should be able to hear a fast door opening behind you. Immediately backtrack to the western side of the ledge and kill the two shotgun guys that have emerged from a trap.

Continue forward into the brown part of the floor. First, step into the teleporter ahead, which takes you into the southwest building where the imps were. Head through the door in the south, kill any remaining imps and collect the rocket launcher from its alcove and flip the switch in its alcove (this lowers bars in front of the yellow door leading to the exit).

Red Key: Single player

The next step is to collect the red key by lowering the pedestal it is on (near the center of the map). While this is designed as a co-op puzzle, three compatibility switches are opened in single player to allow the level to be completed. As such, the steps to collect the red key are slightly different depending on the number of players.

On single-player, first head to the small brown brick building in the center-east of the map, with a large brown tree in front of it and a cut-out for a mancubus platform. To the west of the mancubus platform should be a switch. Flip this switch and the mancubus platform will lower, revealing a doorway in the east. Run through to the new area, but be wary of the two shotgun guys (and on Hurt me plenty and above, a baron of Hell) that you will have to deal with in this small area. Once they are dead, go through the teleporter. This will teleport you to the grey ledge on the southeast building, in front of a newly revealed switch. Flip this switch to lower an obstacle in the red key building.

Next, go to the northwest of the map. On the south face of the building with the yellow door and an "exit" sign, there is another switch. Flip this switch to permanently raise a barrier at the entrance of the red key building.

Once all this is done, head to the eastern building (the one with green steps in its southwest face). At the eastern end of the hallway, a new alcove should be open with a teleporter. Go through that teleporter to be teleported to the guard tower in the northwest of the map. It is preferable to clear it out earlier, as there is no guarantee that you'll get the telefrag on the chaingunner (Hey, not too rough and below) or revenant (Hurt me plenty and above) in this tower. From this position, try to clear out the monsters on the ground to make your life easier, as well as the chaingunner on the platform to the southeast. Notice that the top of the fence is very close to the western side of the guard tower. Carefully jump onto it. Ledge-walk (a la ) all the way to the end, then jump onto the platform where the chaingunner was. Quickly shoot the barrels in the room ahead to deal with the enemies (two shotgun guys and a Hell knight). Face north and run (preferably straferun) into the central building.

As you cross into the next room, a wall will open to the right with a baron of Hell (on Hurt me plenty and above). This baron will instantly teleport into the room you jumped from the chaingunner's platform into. Defeat it and flip the switch behind it to be lowered into a new area. Kill the imp ahead and the chaingunner behind the bars (if any). Go through the door in the east wall, and watch for the imp waiting in the northern alcove. Continue along the corridor, but beware of two traps:


 * As you turn the southwest corner, a trap will open in front of you with a spectre and on Ultra-Violence, a Hell knight. Back up for some standoff distance and mow them down with the rocket launcher.
 * When you open the door in the southeast of this building, this opens a trap to your side as well. This one contains two shotgun guys (Hey, not too rough and below), a baron of Hell (Hurt me plenty), or a baron of Hell and an arch-vile (Ultra-Violence and above). On the higher difficulties, this calls for the BFG9000 if available - there is zero cover from any of their attacks in the corridor. (the switch next to this trap merely lowers the four metal walls in the south of the map, allowing access to a megasphere in multiplayer.

Continue forward. The teleporter pad here does nothing. Shoot out the chaingunner revealed behind it (if any) and flip the switch in the northeast. Backtrack to the door that you used to enter this corridor and go back through it. The bars blocking the alcove with the chaingunner have been raised, and you can flip the switch behind.

Go back through the door. The southeast corner of the central building has lowered. Leave through here and circle around to the north side of this building to get the red key.

Red Key: Co-op

On co-op, the switches in the northeast and next to the mancubus platform are blocked. Ideally, in a 3+ player co-op match, have two players (Players A and B) go through the teleporter in the eastern building to arrive on the northwestern guard tower, and a third player wait by the mancubus platform in the small brown brick building in the center-east of the map. In 2-player co-op, player B will also have to take up player C's duties. The sequence of events is as follows:


 * Player B drops down from the guard tower into the fenced area and helps dispose of the enemies. He then proceeds to a switch next to the chaingunner's platform (hidden in single-player).
 * Player A ledge-walks onto the chaingunner platform.
 * When player A is ready, player B flips this switch, which temporarily lowers the barrier at the entrance of the next room. Player A clears out the room ahead and proceeds to progress the central building.
 * Just before the southeast corner, player A will be blocked by an obstacle with a switch on it.
 * When player C is ready, player A flips the switch. This lowers the mancubus platform where player C is at, revealing the room in the east.
 * Player C goes through the teleporter to the ledge on the southeastern building and flips the newly revealed switch.
 * This lowers the obstacle in front of player A.
 * Player A continues progressing the map as in single-player until the red key is collected.

Blue Key

Proceed to the building in the northwest, and go up to the ledge by the staircase in its southwest. Unless you are going for 100% kills, do not open the western red door - all it will do is release an arch-vile (on Hurt me plenty and below) or worse, a cyberdemon (on ultra-Violence and above). Instead, go through the northern red door and kill the cannon fodder inside. Flip the switch in the south wall, and a wall to the east will lower. On Hurt me plenty and above, prioritise the arch-vile coming from the right corner. Find the switch in the southwest of this new room, equip the rocket launcher and walk towards it facing backwards - you can get the jump on a trap with two Hell knights.

Switch to something that is not the rocket launcher, then flip the switch in the southwest corner. Immediately turn around to kill a pain elemental emerging from another trap. Next, find the switch on the north wall of the trap where the Hell knights came from, flip it, then turn around again. The wall will lower to reveal several tough monsters - go back to the northwest of this area to put some distance between you and these monsters. Once they are dead, find the demon face in the southeast of this room, and press use on it to reveal a switch. Flip this switch to reveal a white teleporter in the east of this room. Do not do the same for the corresponding demon face in the southwest - assuming you did not open the eastern red door, it will allow the arch-vile or cyberdemon from behind the eastern red door to enter this building!

Go through the white teleporter. Kill any remaining monsters in here and grab the blue key. Flip the switch in the southwest to open the door in the north. You will face two Hell knights and a chaingunner. Up to two arch-viles will teleport away almost instantly. On Hurt me plenty and above, the first arch-vile is in the pillbox west of player 1 and 2's spawn point. On Ultra-Violence and above, there is one more on the ledge on the south-eastern building, which may take the teleporter to the southwestern building.

Take the red teleporter in the northern room to be teleported back to the white teleporter in the previous area. Backtrack to the red door and leave this building.

Eastern Buildings

Proceed to the bloodied door in the northeast of the map. Clear the former humans from their perch ahead. As you continue forward, prepare for a boss encounter - on Hurt me plenty and below, it is two barons of Hell, but on Ultra-Violence and above, it is a cyberdemon. If the latter, kite it out into the northern courtyard and fight it around the central guard tower for an easier kill. Once done, go back to the area behind the bloodied door and flip the switch in the north to lower a platform. Ride this platform up to a ledge, then flip the switch at the top. This will open a window behind you - snipe any curious enemies. You will use this window to jump from one building to another later.

Next, proceed to the southeastern building with the green steps again. This time, go through the red door. These next areas are full of nasty ambushes:


 * Open the red door and kill the former humans in front of you.
 * Go through the western door. There is a revenant lying in wait. Hurt me plenty adds a Hell knight. Ultra-Violence adds an arch-vile. This arch-vile is rigged to teleport into the lit area with a floor lamp south of center. It will thus be behind you and have a direct line of fire if you step back out. Focus on dealing with this arch-vile.
 * Once the room has been cleared and the arch-vile (if any) is dead, go through the open doorway in the north of this room. A baron of Hell will be alerted - use hit and run tactics to bring it down.
 * Open the door in the east and clear the room of enemies (on Hurt me plenty and above, pay attention to the revenants and baron of Hell in here.

In the northeast of this room is the window that you opened when you cleared the area behind the bloodied door. make a running jump across and prepare for another trap-filled building:


 * As you turn the corner, a wall lowers, revealing a shotgun guy.
 * Clear out the room in the north (on Hurt me plenty and above, it has a Hell knight and a shotgun guy). As you walk into the room, the west wall opens with a chaingunner in ambush.
 * Go into the corridor where the chaingunner was.Take out the two shotgun guys (and on Ultra-Violence, a chaingunner) ahead.
 * Continue forward and clear up to four imps from a side room.
 * As you step into the side room, walls lower and a shotgun guy (hey, not too rough and below) or mancubus (Hurt me plenty and above) appears. A Hell knight is also released into the corridor. Try to fight them from this room - you do not want to inadvertently trigger the next trap as well while fighting them!
 * Return to the corridor and continue north. A wall will lower ahead. On Ultra-Violence, there is an arch-vile - quickly burst it down.
 * Look at the alcove in the east with a teleporter. On single player, there is no need to go through the teleporter - instead, find the switch on the south wall of this alcove and flip it. If on co-op, have another player go through the teleporter, flip the switch in the room he is teleported to, then jump out the windows (on Ultra-Violence, this avoids a cyberdemon encounter).
 * Return to the corridor, go all the way north and continue east and kill the baron of Hell (Hurt me plenty and above). Flip the switch in the south of its alcove to open a door in the green hallway to the north.

Yellow Key

Go through the door in the north of the green hallway and open the western door. Flip this switch to open the other wooden door in the northwest, allowing you to exit later. If on co-op, have all players regroup here.

Next, proceed through the blue door in the east of this area. Follow the corridor around to a recessed metal panel and open it. Continue forward into a large courtyard with a Hell knight (Hey, not too rough and below), two barons of Hell (Hurt me plenty), or a Hell knight and two barons of Hell (Ultra-Violence and above). Flip the switch in the northeast corner (this opens the east end of the green hallway), then backtrack to the green hall.

This next area is tackled slightly differently depending on whether you are on single-player or co-op. As soon as a player crosses the middle of the green hallway, yellow bars lower behind the blue bars.


 * On single-player: Raise the blue bars. Flip a "compatibility switch" (hidden in co-op) in an alcove in the north wall to raise the yellow bars. Continue forward.
 * On co-op: Player with the blue key must raise the blue bars. One player must then proceed to the switch directly west of the green hallway, on the west wall of an open courtyard. The rest of the players should then proceed to the yellow bars. When ready, the player at the switch flips it, raising the bars and allowing them to go through. Note that the player who flipped the switch will not be able to join the rest of the players in progressing the yellow key area.

Follow the corridor around to a door, then go through the doorway in the east. This leads to a large room with a central nukage pit. Imps and chaingunners snipe from a raised walkway around the room. To lower the yellow key pedestal, walk into the alcove in the east of the room. When you pick up the yellow key, the entrance to this room seals - you have to back to the alcove and flip the switch in the alcove to re-open the entrance to this room, but doing so also releases some Hell nobles into this room (two Hell knights on Hey not too rough and below, four Hell knights on Hurt me plenty, two Hell knights and two barons of Hell on Ultra-Violence and above).

Backtrack to the entrance of this room and take the teleporter here to be teleported back to the green hallway.

Exit

Find the yellow door with an "exit" sign in the northwest of the map and go through it to find a circular courtyard with a "+"-shaped structure in the middle. As you enter, the door shuts behind you. Flip the switch in the west and a trap opens ahead with two Hell knights and on Hurt me plenty and above, two revenants. Flip the switch in this trap to open a trap in the north with up to four barons of Hell. Flip the switch in this northern trap to open yet another trap in the south, with up to two Hell knight and two arch-viles.

Open the door in the southern trap and clear the room of former humans. Step into the hole in the floor to exit the level.

Secrets

 * 1) After leaving the map start area, standing in front of four steel walls, strictly go west. In the southwestern-most region of the map, east of the two dead trees, go south, but do not push the switch (it raises a stairway). Instead, run to the inset in the eastern wall, thus opening an alcove in the north of the dead trees, releasing a Hell knight on easy, a baron of Hell on medium or an arch-vile on hard skill levels and a pain elemental. Open the inset to reveal a lift. Take it up into the baron's pillbox, containing (a BFG9000 on easy and medium skills,) a box of shotgun shells, a box of rockets, a bulk cell and a backpack. Entering this pillbox opens an alcove in its southeast, releasing a sergeant, two (one on easy skills) chaingunners, (an arch-vile on hard skills,) (a revenant on medium and hard skills,) and a baron of Hell. (Raising the stairs after opening this alcove will not prevent you from registering the secret.) Enter this alcove to find (another deaf baron on medium and hard skills in front of) an elevator (sector 223) (with an arch-vile on it on medium and hard) that you can take up to the pillbox and back again. Going through the bloodstained door in the northeast of the map will open the wall hiding this elevator in the pillbox if you have not opened it from the elevator before.
 * 2) From the four steel walls mentioned in secret #1, strictly go north, passing the super shotgun's plinth and the lit circle with the three medikits. Push the switch west of the mancubus's platform to lower it, revealing the entrance to a room with two sergeants, (a baron on medium and hard skills,) a bulk cell and a teleporter. Open the northwestern wall (sector 508) in this room to find a backpack and another bulk cell.
 * 3) From the switch you used in secret #2, continue going north, passing a wooden guard tower (sector 233). Enter the building in its north from the western side and jump from the southern window into the guard tower to acquire a box of bullets, a backpack and a bulk cell.
 * 4) In the central building (to the west of the mancubus's platform mentioned in secret #2), cross the southwestern corner to the east, and a wall will open in the northwest of the building. Go back to the northwest to find (a chaingunner on hard and) a backpack (sector 149).
 * 5) Triggering secret #4 to open also opened a compartment right east of that corner, containing a spectre, (a Hell knight on hard,) a shell box and a rocket box. Open the eastern wall (sector 153) to find a soul sphere.
 * 6) In that same compartment, open the western wall (sector 155) to find a bulk cell.
 * 7) In the northeast of the central building, flip the switch, and then return to the west to find that the silver bars blocking another switch have been raised. Flip the switch, and then enter secret #4 to find another compartment (sector 456) containing a blue armor.
 * 8) In the northwestern room of the easternmost building (east of the one with the mancubus's platform mentioned in secret #2), press on western portion of the southern wall to reveal a corridor (sector 524) containing three energy cells. It also leads into another room containing (a chaingunner on medium and hard and) a bullet box.
 * 9) In the northern room of the easternmost building, enter the room to the east and exit it through the southern door. After that, exit the building and head over to the eastern side to find a newly-opened compartment (sector 200) containing three sergeants and a bulk cell.
 * 10) After jumping the gap into the gray stone building in the north of the one where you found secrets #8 and #9, open the second northern wall (sector 296) after you enter to reveal a backpack, a shell box, a berserk pack and a blue armor.
 * 11) In the cuboid outdoor area (in the northernmost part of the map) with the switch opening the door to the toxic pool, the southernmost portion of the western wall in the southwest looks different from the others. Open it to reveal a secret room (sector 408) containing a backpack, eight bullet boxes, five shell boxes, three boxes of rockets and a megasphere. Since you can open this room only once, you should save it up until right before entering the yellow door as from the area behind it there is no way back to the rest of the map.
 * 12) In the same cuboid outdoor area, the northernmost portion of the western wall has a different texture. Open this wall (sector 425) to find a computer map.
 * 13) Hit the switch in the east of the toxic pool room to reveal a switch nearby the entryway. Use it, then enter the walkway surrounding the pool and head to the southwest. A wall will have opened here revealing a compartment (sector 491) containing a soul sphere.

Bugs

 * The items placed at the spawn points of coop players #3 and #4 cannot be collected in single-player mode, but are not flagged as multiplayer only. At player #3's spawn (sector 415): A shotgun (thing 482), two shell boxes (things 485 and 486) and a green armor (thing 483). At player #4's spawn (sector 414): A shotgun (thing 480), a shell box (thing 481) and a green armor (thing 499).
 * After triggering secret #1 and having raised the stairs, taking the now useless elevator from inside the pillbox and opening the lower door reveals a flat bleeding effect.

Routes and tricks
This level is notorious as the hardest level in Memento Mori to speedrun, due to its impressive difficulty provided by not only the powerful hellspawn, but also impressive complexity that allows for little to no shortcuts. A UV speed run through this level takes close to 8 minutes to finish, and a UV max run requires more than 15 minutes; the slowest UV max demo by Istvan Pataki, lasts a showstopping 24:01.

One shortcut is a key grab that can be performed with the red skull key, by straferunning against the northern side of the platform the key is on. However, circumventing the process of lowering the platform also skips the opportunity to grab the plasma rifle, which is a necessity against the powerful enemies that inhabit this level, meaning it is not wise to perform in a single-level run. The only demos in which this is used are Drew "stx-Vile" DeVore's 31:11 MAP21-30 UV Episode run and his 1:23:56 UV Run of the entire megawad (.)

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

The data was last verified in its entirety on July 4, 2020.

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

The data was last verified in its entirety on October 24, 2022.

Player spawns
This level contains four spawn points:
 * 1) facing north-west. (thing 516)
 * 2) facing north-east. (thing 517)
 * 3) facing south-east. (thing 518)
 * 4) facing south-west. (thing 519)

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