E4M2: Blockhouse (Heretic)
From DoomWiki.org
| Heretic maps |
|---|
| City of the Damned |
| Hell's Maw |
| The Dome of D'Sparil |
| The Stagnant Demesne |
| Fate's Path (deathmatch only levels) |
| This level has a remastered version |
E4M2: Blockhouse is the second level in episode The Ossuary of Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders. It uses the music track "Fred" by Kevin Schilder.
Contents
Walkthrough[edit]
Essentials[edit]
Yellow key puzzle
The level is made distinctive by a fortress that is surrounded by a lake of sludge. Inside the outer layer of walls, there is yet another building that is protected by a moat of water. (B) Between the outer walls and the moat, there is a glowing tan-colored platform that goes around the inner building. (C) At each corner, there is yet an area that extends from the sides of the fortress.
You start at the southeastern extension of the platform (A). There are three types of enemies, each guarding a separate location: gargoyles lurk at the three other extensions, sabreclaws patrol on the bottom of the moat and ophidians are ready to fire at you from an encircling platform on the other side of the moat. (N)
When you drop into the moat at any possible location, a teleporter will become accessible at the northeastern extension. (D) Enter the device and you will end up inside the inner building.
Consistently with the place you were transported from, you stand on a high ledge at the northeast corner of a square-shaped zone. (E) Each corner has a similar ledge. In the middle of the water below, there is a plinth and a pyramid with the yellow key on its top. (K)
The idea is simple: each time you leave a new ledge by dropping into the water, a step of the pyramid will descend. When the fourth exit has been done, the key will finally come down. Thus, grab the ethereal crossbow and the silver shield and jump away. You can fight the existing sabreclaws and ophidians effectively by using Time Bombs that are found on all four ledges. Alternatively, you can fool the monsters to fight each other. When you approach the pyramid, an elevator will descend allowing you to return to the ledge. Use the teleporter to go back to the other side of the wall.
Now, enter the northwestern extension of the tan platform (F). When you use the exposed teleporter, you will end up onto the consistent ledge inside the inner building. (G) Take the dragon claw and the Tome of Power and repeat the last actions of the previous paragraph.
The teleporter at the southwestern extension will descend next. (H) Have the hellstaff and the Morph Ovum and go on. (I)
Finally, the teleporter at the southeastern extension will open. (A) Pick up the phoenix rod and the mystic urn (J) and wait for the yellow key to become available. At the moment of collecting, yet a fifth elevator will descend. (L) It allows you to reach the yellow door.
Remaining areas
Travel up and enter the door to find yourself on the narrow platform between the moat and the inner building. When you enter the door, the banner walls in the middle of the western, northern and eastern sides of the fortress will descend revealing disciples at their guard posts. (M) Go all the way to the other side of the encircling platform to find the green key. (N)
The green door can be found at the northeastern extension. (D) It will reveal a curvy passage with an iron lich opposition on the medium skill level or a higher one. The blue key is at the other end. (O) Collecting the key will open doors for more iron liches (or a maulotaur on the two highest levels), but notice that you can escape freely. It will take a long time for the monsters to enter the main area, given that they make it past the blue key area or the curves en route.
Return to the tan platform and proceed to the southern wall of the fortress where the blue door is located. (P) Open it to be greeted by a maulotaur. If you do not want to fight, you can lure the monster into the moat to make him less dangerous. He does not need a staircase but will simply drop himself from the edge once it comes in front.
Enter the exit door, hit the switch in the southern wall and move onto the revealed exit teleporter. (Ω)
Secrets[edit]
Official[edit]
There are no official secrets in this level.
Non-official[edit]
Passing through the yellow door will lower three banner walls in the outer fort, releasing disciples (M). You can use the lowered walls as steps to walk over the low walls surrounding the disciples' platforms and drop into the sludge lake below (Q), but do not spend too much time inside it as the sludge is damaging. There are two Wings of Wrath under the east and west platforms (R1 and R2), and on BTO or lower you will find a third set under the north platform (R3). A shadowsphere can be found at the south end of the fort, and a Ring of Invincibility can be found at the north end. Crystal vials and ammo are also scattered around the lake. You can use a Ring of Invincibility to protect yourself from the sludge, and a Chaos Device for a fast escape.
Areas / screenshots[edit]
The player needs to proceed from a corner to a corner on the tan platform.
Eventually, the repetition will pay off in the inner building.
Speedrunning[edit]
As this level does not contain official secrets, the NM 100S category is redundant.
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 | 0:26.91 | Jean-Charles Dorne (JCD) | 2016-12-31 | H4S2-026.zip | |
| SM max | 3:54.14 | Jezs | 2023-08-23 | he4m2m354.zip | |
| BP speed | 1:13.86 | Natalya Shilyaeva (QWERTY) | 2002-10-14 | h4b2-113.zip | |
| BP max | 4:23.29 | Doomniel | 2023-07-09 | h4f2-423.zip | |
| NM speed | 1:12.57 | Vincent Catalaá (Peroxyd) | 2007-03-01 | h4n2-112.zip | |
| Tyson | |||||
| Pacifist | 1:08.40 | Doomniel | 2025-01-14 | E4M2-10840.zip | |
| NoMo | 0:23.43 | Ks4 | 2023-07-09 | h4o2-2343.zip |
The data was last verified in its entirety on July 11, 2025.
Deathmatch[edit]
Player spawns[edit]
This level contains four spawn points:
- facing north. (thing 29)
- facing west. (thing 30)
- facing south. (thing 31)
- facing east. (thing 32)
Statistics[edit]
Map data[edit]
| Things | 407 |
| Vertices | 873* |
| Linedefs | 780 |
| Sidedefs | 1215 |
| Sectors | 123 |
* The vertex count without the effect of node building is 623.
Things[edit]
This level contains the following numbers of things per skill level:
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