MAP20: Misri Halek (Alien Vendetta)

MAP20: Misri Halek is the twentieth map of Alien Vendetta. It was designed by Kim André Malde and uses an original music track by Chris Laverdure. It is set inside of a massive Egyptian pyramid. It was known as Mishri Halek in the first release of the megawad.

The title of this level is more correctly spelled Mišri Halek. It is Arabic for "Egyptian Slaughter", which fits the level's theme. The title was supplied by speedrunner and beta tester Selim Benabdelkhalek (Bastard).

Misri Halek was featured in Doomworld's Top 100 Most Memorable Maps, placing 1st.

Essentials
Approach the entrance to the pyramid and it will open. There will be a fork right here. Go right, as left is a dead end. Take the first side path you see to get a berserk pack. Continue along the path, going down the steps to a switch, opening up a new passage which you should go through. Turn left and go through picking up medikits if needed. A side room with a cacodemon, a box of bullets, and a soul sphere is just along the path. If you go all the way down the passage you will find another cacodemon, a box of shells, and a super shotgun. You are supposed to go down the passage and take the second right, when you do, go through the hall of imps to the next room. You need to remember the room with the solitary backpack by the way, as you will be back here later on in the map. When you approach the backpack, the wall in front will open, revealing a Hell knight and another chamber. Head north here, into an area with tombs. Press the switch at the end and go back to the previous room to find bars have lowered, so go past those. You will be presented with another fork. Remember this fork, as you will be back here for a much later time. This fork is illustrated by the Egyptian figure with large wings. Go right here and follow the path to a switch which opens a nearby wall. In here is another fork, where you will go left down the stairs this time. There are three passages, the middle one is blocked off. Go through the one on the right first. Be prepared for an arch-vile to come out of the south wall along the bend here.

You will eventually see that part of the Egyptian pyramid has been cut by the hellish landscape. Drop into it, and right next to the pillar of torches, you should see a small opening southeast. Go through here and follow the tight corridor around the perimeter of two more pillars. When you make it around that, go east and the ground will break below you and drop you down. You will have to make your way back up, using the small platforms here. Carefully make your way back up and head into the lava stream. There is a room to the right with a medikit and three spectres, but it is not necessary to go through. Head along the stream to a room with Hell knights and a soul sphere, and drop off to the west. Follow this dark lava trail, and actually look towards the ceiling for the correct path, as the other ones you will not be able to go through. Drop into the cauldron here and head through either arch. Then, go east until you find a switch, then go back through the lava river to find bars have opened up. Climb up these tight stairs until you get out of the hellish area and back into the pyramid.

You will find an arch-vile and a plasma gun on top of a tomb. There is also a switch here. Press this switch and continue down the hall until you are back at the three passages. You just came out of the middle one which was previously locked and you have already been through the right passage, so it is time to head through the left passage. This passage zigzags and contains several Hell knights. If you had not pressed the switch earlier, this area would not have been fully open, but now it is. Go through the next room looking out for Hell knights hiding behind pillars and head into the small tunnel. Go right at the fork first to get a BFG9000, then head left and into the next chamber. A cyberdemon is on the other side, so dispose of him and head north then west into the next passage. A baron of Hell comes straight at you while another baron approaches from the side. This is a fork, so go right, and you will find yet another fork. Go left here, following this passage until you find a throne. You will have to step onto this throne, and when you do, a closet with monsters opens up south of the throne. Backtrack to the previous fork and take the path heading east. Go through the hall till you reach a river of lava. You actually need to cross this river of lava going southbound, and as you do, you will find a set of ruins with a switch. Press this switch and continue down the river till you find the red skull key guarded by imps. Now backtrack all the way to the north end of the lava river. The switch you pressed opened some bars to the northwest, go through this passage and hit the switch at the end of this path.

You will then need to backtrack to the fork that had the two barons, so do that, and go west, following this passage to a room with imps and a mancubus. The last switch you pressed opened the southern bars in this room, so go through here, going up the spiral staircase to the next switch. When you press it, it strangely does not light up, but it works. Head back to the previous room to find the right path is now open. Go down this path, watching out for a surprise mancubus, and you will end up back near the center of the labyrinth (where you saw a cyberdemon earlier). The path on the other side (east) is open and an arch-vile will see you through here. Go through this passage, killing Hell knights and barons as you make your way to a lava river and some lavishly carved rock staircases. There is an arch-vile on the lava river, as well as the level's secret on the bottom. On the large rock staircases, you need to look out for two cyberdemons. Also, you need to head north first, as you need the yellow key to proceed eastward.

When you go north you will emerge into a gray, rocky cavern. Here, you just have to follow the linear path on to the top of the mountain. This is easier said then done though, because there will be a lot of monsters standing in your way, some of which come out from surprise wall traps. If you are on the eastern and northern sides of the mountain, do not fall in the lava because you cannot escape from it. At the top will be a soul sphere and a lot of revenants. Head into the small brown building, taking a right at the fork, and straight at the next fork. You should be in a small room with a switch, press it, and go back to the hall. Head left into the new set of halls you passed up, going right at the first fork and into the small room. There is another switch here, press it and head in through the opposite hall. Here in this small room there is a new switch on the wall. It does not open the nearby bars, but it does open the other end of the long hall, so go there and find some new enemies, including an arch-vile. The next room here has the switch to raise the bars you could not raise earlier. Now go back to that room and enter the larger hall, then go southeast back outside. There is a faux pyramid here, but more importantly, the yellow skull key. You can now go back to the lavishly carved stairs and open the yellow door on the other path, so leave the gray mountainous area. You can drop off to the east to save time, but do not go too far otherwise you will fall in the lava and cannot escape.

Once you get back to the lavishly carved staircases, head back to the yellow door. If you do not know, head south, east, south, west, south, east, and then up the stairs where you will be greeted by a baron of Hell and Hell knights (on Hurt Me Plenty or higher). Through the yellow door, follow the halls, past the tomb in the water, entering a cavern with metal shafts holding place. There are several demons here. Head westward, as east leads to a dead end, and you will end up back on the pyramid prior with a hellish cutting through it (watch out for the shotgun guy on the side). Cross over to the other side using the pieces of hellscape as stairs up. You will find yourself back at a familiar fork. You previously were here and went down the stairs to the area with three different entrances. Now that you are back, instead take the route south, back to the room with the switch that opened this hall. Backtrack further and you will be at another familiar fork. This was the one with the winged Egyptian figure. Now that you are back, head through the northern path. This L-shaped hallway has imps and chaingunners, and at the very end is an embankment with boxes of shells. Two revenants will be at the end of this hall here. Go left in their room to another hallway, which leads to a room with some chaingunners and a switch. Press the switch and head back to the previous room. There is a newly-opened chaingunner closet here, but now head through the hallway to the northeast. You will find a room to the left with two Hell knights; here is the next switch to press so press it. Now go back to the room, to find the bars to the eastern room have been removed (all but one of them, strangely). There is yet another switch here, so press it and return, going all the way through the northeast hallway. Continue across the next few rooms till you find the next switch to press, then backtrack to the hallway to another room to (finally) find the last switch you need to press. Go back to the previously-pressed switch to find a new passage is open. Head down this passage, fending off the baron of Hell as well as the walls of chaingunners and zombiemen along the way. Then, take out the arch-vile blocking you from the next room with the coffin in it.

You will see yourself back in the room where you collected the solitary backpack, but there is a problem, the southern wall has not opened up yet. To open it, head west back through the room you previously were in, and in the next hall, turn left. You should see a brand new switch. This opens up the southern wall in the backpack room, but gives you another dilemma as now bars have blocked you access to go back. To open the bars, head back through the hallway going north, east, north slightly, then west. There is a brand new room here, with a switch that will lower the bars that barred your access. Make sure to hit it, then return to the square room where you acquired the backpack and head south through a hall with barons and a Hell knight. Head down the big lavish hall to a room with a switch that when you press it, opens a wall in the hallway. Through this new hall, kill the group of chaingunners, and enter the checkered-tile room with the spider mastermind. The three portals here function as exit portals, and you will be very thankful for finally finding the exit to the map.

Secrets

 * 1) From the yellow door, backtrack a short way until you reach a lava flow crossing the path. Go through the opening in the wall and drop down the lava flow to get a soul sphere. (sector 1798 in the first release; sector 1797 in the second)

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

Player spawns
This level contains six spawn points:
 * 1) facing east. (thing 929)
 * 2) facing north. (thing 930)
 * 3) facing east. (thing 931)
 * 4) facing north-east. (thing 933)
 * 5) facing north-east. (thing 935)
 * 6) facing south. (thing 937)

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