Nightmare imp stalker

Barely visible, a nightmare imp stalker is about to launch into a dash attack.

This article is about the monster in Doom: The Dark Ages. For other games, see:

• Nightmare imp

The nightmare imp stalker is a monster in Doom: The Dark Ages, a spectral version of the imp stalker which is practically invisible. They return as a monster variant for the first time from Doom 64, though some of their attributes were previously echoed by other imp-like monsters such as the prowler.

Appearance

While it is cloaked, the nightmare imp stalker's appearance is obscured by its transparent body. Only its faint glowing eyes and the silhouette of its body can be barely seen against the background of the places in which they may be found. Their skin color is a dark denim color that surrounds the pale or pink skinned parts of their body. Their bony parts are colored yellow.

Tactical analysis

The nightmare imp stalker prefers to ambush the player using its lunge attack, regardless of the distance between it and the player, but it will rely on its projectiles in some instances. Combined with its invisibility, this demon serves as a highly damaging assassin that must be taken seriously.

The energy that envelops their body during the startup of their attacks is visible through their cloak, giving away their position. Setting a nightmare imp stalker on fire with the combat shotgun will not dispel the cloak, but the flames on its body compromise its invisbility.

• Swipe: At close range, the nightmare imp stalker either throws a swipe to the player's right or a backhand to the player's left. This can be blocked but not parried.
• Lunge: The invisible imp's preferred attack, even without its invisibility. It will wind up a surprise ambush by stretching its hands out to dash towards the player and slash them with its right hand's claws. This attack is a Hell surge that, when parried, falters the imp stalker and thus dispels their cloak.
• Dash: The nightmare imp stalker dashes a short distance. It can dash to its left and right while moving forward or backward, attempting to not cross the player's line of fire.
• Invisibility: The nightmare imp stalker is partially invisible as light passes through its body, but its silhouette is somewhat visible while its small eyes glow faintly. Their cloak will be dispelled if the imp stalker is faltered, staggered, or dead. It also hides them from being targeted by the shield saw's charge. The nightmare imp stalker borrows its projectiles from its lesser imp fellows to protect itself while dealing damage.
• Wall projectile: Like its lesser imp cousins, the nightmare imp stalker points its right hand out to send out a slow hellfire fence that homes in on the player's position, while blocking all shots from their weapons. It comes out as fast as its original version's not-parryable fireball, and it can be blocked but not parried.

Lore

Nightmare imp stalkers are renowned for the terror and surprise they bring into battle. They are born from a fusion of Hell energy and cosmic magic wielded by the psychomancers of the evil cults. They exist in a state of fusion between corporeal and ethereal dimensions, striking from shadow.

Data

Class Heavy

health 10 000

Gallery

• 

  The codex entry image.

Trivia

• The lore of the nightmare imp stalker seems to explicitly make reference to the article from Maximum magazine issue 2, which described the nightmare imp that was, at that time, meant to appear in PlayStation Doom as warping through dimensions and phasing through the ether.