E2M5: The Catacombs (Heretic + Hexen)
From DoomWiki.org
| Heretic re-release maps |
|---|
| The City of the Damned |
| The Dome of D'Sparil |
| The Ossuary |
| The Stagnant Demesne |
| Fate's Path (deathmatch only levels) |
| This level has an original version |
E2M5: The Catacombs is the fifth map of the Hell's Maw episode in the enhanced Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders re-release, included with Heretic + Hexen. It uses the music track "Elf" by Kevin Schilder.
Contents
Walkthrough[edit]
_E2M5_map.png)
Essentials[edit]
Go up the steps in front of you to a junction, take the dragon claw in the hole if needed then go west up some more stairs until you get to the top where you can run east to land on a pole with the yellow key on it. Go back to the junction and take the east staircase this time; when you reach the top, follow the flowing river down to a pair of doors which are protected by some gargoyles. Go through the yellow (western) door to reach a ledge overlooking a platform with the blue key on it, then turn right and press the switch on the wall ahead. Go back to the river to find that the second door has opened, pass through it to enter a cavern with a single gargoyle, then go to the south end of the cavern to lower the east and west walls revealing more gargoyles along with sabreclaws.
Go to the silver shield at the north end of the cavern to open the south wall, then continue following the river until you drop into a wide hall with an iron lich. Go behind the horseman mural at the west end to find a tunnel and open the door here to face a gargoyle, then follow the tunnel into a corridor with a number of sabreclaws. Follow the corridor until you see an opening in the wall on your right, go through it to see a cage with one or two disciples of D'Sparil, then go round to the east side of the cage to find a mystic urn in front of a switch; the switch will raise some stairs leading up to the blue key. Go round to the south-west corner of the room and step on the gray pillar that lowers nearby, then wait for the pillar to rise and carry you up to the green key, which is guarded by a few gargoyles.
Go back to the corridor and open the green door at the north end, then go forward to a room with gargoyles and one or two weredragons. Open the door in the south-east corner and climb the stairs you raised earlier to get the blue key, then go back to the previous room and open the south-west door next to the blue gizmo. Push past one or two sabreclaws to reach the exit door, then open it to find a disciple guarding the exit teleporter.
Other points of interest[edit]
Secrets[edit]
Official[edit]
- Drop into the magma pit below the blue key and run to the opening in the south-west corner to find a Ring of Invincibility, then go east to a hellstaff, lesser runes, and crystal vials (plus two greater runes on bringest them oneth (BTO) skill level or lower). (sector 365)
- Just before you drop into the hall with the iron lich on the south side of the map, you will pass a switch on the north wall. Press this switch to lower eight teleporters inside the hall, then enter any of them before they rise again to go to the ledge on the north side of the hall. Climb the steps here to find a firemace, a Tome of Power, three mace spheres, and one or two quartz flasks. (sector 251) Go through the door here to reach the green key room.
- Return to the start of the level after getting the green key, then go up the east staircase again and follow the water down to the floor below. The silver door here has opened, revealing a staircase guarded by weredragons that leads down to Tome of Power. Continue east into the neighboring chamber to find a Chaos Device and greater runes, along with a flame orb and an inferno orb (or three flame orbs on BTO or higher). (sector 267)
- Pass through the green door then go round the corner to a set of steps with carvings of hooded figures on either side. You can open the middle carving on the south wall to find an inferno orb. (sector 206) Entering the secret will open the other carvings, revealing sabreclaws (and a weredragon on smite-meister or higher) along with a map scroll, a Morph Ovum, and one to three crystal vials.
- From secret #4, continue east into the next room which has two more carvings on the east wall. Open the carving in the north-east corner to find a teleporter to a phoenix rod and an enchanted shield. (sector 285)
- Run north-west from the blue key platform to an opening in the wall to find Wings of Wrath, one or two mace spheres, and a pile of mace spheres. (sector 256)
Non-official[edit]
- From the start, head up the east staircase. When you get to the top, look for a switch on the west wall that will lower the nearby river, revealing a stone chamber with several items including a Bag of Holding; if you open the rock wall in the north-west corner you can reach a ledge with Gauntlets of the Necromancer. You can also reach this ledge by using the teleporter behind the blue key platform.
Bugs[edit]
Demo files[edit]
Comparison of versions[edit]
Room design[edit]
- Additional sectors were added throughout the map to create more realistic lighting.
- A magma pool was added below the yellow key pillar for added jeopardy.
Texture changes[edit]
- The floor of the starting area, as well as the steps leading down to secret #3, were changed from gray squares to dirt.
- Orange and gray triangle walls (TRISTONE3 and TRISTONE4), which were not seen in the original Heretic, were added in the staircase and river areas.
- A missing upper texture behind the horseman mural in the water-filled hall (sidedef 791) was fixed, but is misaligned.
- The floor of the room past the yellow key, as well as the exit area, were changed from green to tan.
Thing placement[edit]
- Wall torches were added on the steps leading to secret #3, to the yellow door, and to secret #5.
- The multiplayer firemace in secret #2 was changed to appear in single-player as well.
- More wall torches were added to the room past the green door.
- Comparison of maps
E2M5 (original)
E2M5 (Heretic + Hexen)
Areas / screenshots[edit]
Speedrunning[edit]
Routes and tricks[edit]
Current records[edit]
The records for the map at the Doom Speed Demo Archive are:
| Run | Time | Player | Date | File | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SM speed | |||||
| SM max | |||||
| BP speed | |||||
| BP max | |||||
| NM speed | |||||
| NM 100S | |||||
| Tyson | |||||
| Pacifist |
The (absence of) data was last verified in its entirety on August 10, 2025.
Deathmatch[edit]
Player spawns[edit]
This level contains four spawn points:
- facing north. (thing 17)
- facing north-west. (thing 18)
- facing south. (thing 19)
- facing west. (thing 20)
Statistics[edit]
Map data[edit]
| Things | 472 |
| Vertices | 1911* |
| Linedefs | 2075 |
| Sidedefs | 3011 |
| Sectors | 381 |
Things[edit]
This level contains the following numbers of things per skill level:
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