Ballistic force crossbow

This article is about the weapon in Doom: The Dark Ages. For other versions of this weapon, see:

• BFG9000
• BFG 9000 (Doom 3)
• BFG-9000 (Doom 2016)
• BFG-9000 (Doom Eternal)

The ballistic force crossbow as it shown in the second trailer.

The ballistic force crossbow, or BFC is a weapon in Doom: The Dark Ages. It is a direct analog to the BFG from other Doom games.

The BFC is introduced in Spire of Nerathul, where the Doom Slayer uses it to destroy the cocoon surrounding The Old One's cage. The Slayer later uses it to destroy the large organ inside the Old One's body, fatally wounding it and allowing him to escape.

Tactical analysis

Functionally, the BFC plays rather similarly to the BFG-9000 from Doom Eternal, being a superweapon with its own unique ammo pool accessed separately from the main weapons list. When fired, the bolt is launched in a straight line and causes a highly damaging, large green explosion on impact. The Slayer himself takes no damage from the explosion.

The ammunition for the BFC is not dropped from enemy demons but rather found as a rare pickup in a number of levels; no more than three bolts can be carried at a time. The BFC's immense firepower is further balanced out by it being the only weapon in the game that precludes using the shield saw in any way while the Slayer is wielding it, which can leave the Slayer exposed to attacks that could otherwise be blocked or parried.

Lore

The ballistic force crossbow was created by the Astral Forgekings millenia before the events of The Dark Ages. It was gifted to the Night Sentinels as a means to combat an ancient force of darkness, firing an eldritch lance infused with unknown and otherworldly materials said to be able to pierce any defence.

Gallery

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  The codex entry image.

• 

  Concept art by Colin Geller.

Trivia

Concept art of the Cosmic BFG by Colin Geller.

• According to Hugo Martin, at one point the development team discussed not including a BFG-type weapon in The Dark Ages.
• According to id Software artist Colin Geller, once it was decided that a BFG would be included, the original "Cosmic BFG" design was meant to reflect the architecture of the Cosmic Realm, and would have had a similar appearance to BFGs from previous games. The Cosmic BFG would have fired a projectile from a collapsing micro black hole.

• Also according to Geller, the impaler started out as a sort of crossbow, but this concept was abandoned and later realized in the BFC.