As you progress through the different levels in Doom The Dark Ages, you’ll need to upgrade your weapons to keep up with the increasing enemy levels.
While it won’t matter much when at lower difficulties, if you’re someone who enjoys beating games on the highest possible difficulties, you’ll need those upgrades. There are three different upgrade currencies that you need to collect as you slash your way through the demonic hordes.
Where to Upgrade Weapons in Doom The Dark Ages
You can buy upgrades for your weapons and shield at Sentinel Shrines, scattered across the map. While some of the upgrades are level locked, you’ll not be able to unlock them if you don’t have the required currencies. These currencies are Gold, Ruby, and Wraithstones.
Gold will help you unlock most lower-level upgrades, but some final upgrades will cost you Rubies and Wraithstones. Gold is commonly available and is usually found in abundance in secret areas across different maps in Doom The Dark Ages. Rubies and Wraithstones, however, are hard to come by, which adds more value to the upgrades!
All Upgrades in Doom The Dark Ages
Weapon Upgrades
You’ll have access to 13 different weapons, including the three melee items, to obliterate the demonic hordes, and each weapon has its own dedicated upgrade tree. Before you upgrade any weapon, make sure to figure out the ones that you really like using. Upgrade resources are hard to come by anyway, so it’s best to use them to max out your most-used weapons.
These weapon upgrades are broken down into three tiers in Doom The Dark Ages:
- Tier 1 costs Gold.
- Tier 2 costs Ruby.
- Tier 3 costs Wraithstones.
Sometimes these upgrade tiers have options too, so if you pick up one, you’ll be locked out of the other!
Combat Shotgun
| Tier | Upgrade | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Incendiary | Dealing enough damage to a demon with the Combat Shotgun applies Burn. Demons affected by Burn drop armor pickups. |
| 2 | Smelt | Demons affected by Burn applied by the Combat Shotgun drop more armor pickups. |
| 2 | Blast | Burn applied by the Combat Shotgun causes demons to explode on death. |
| 3 | Tune Up | The Combat Shotgun fires in rapid, three-round bursts. |
| 3 | Flare-Up | The Combat Shotgun instantly applies Burn to fodder demons. |
| 4 | Eat This! | The Combat Shotgun fires an increased number of projectiles per shot. |
Super Shotgun
| Tier | Upgrade | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Tier | Upgrade | Effect |
| 1 | Speed Loader | The time between Super Shotgun shots is reduced. |
| 2 | Shatter | The Super Shotgun deals increased damage to armor. |
| 3 | Eat This! | The Super Shotgun fires an increased number of projectiles per shot. |
Shredder
| Tier | Upgrade | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pincushion | Dealing enough damage to a demon with the Shredder applies Pincushion. Hitting a demon with Shield Throw or parrying a Hell Surge attack detonates Pincushion, causing damage in a wide area. |
| 1 | Ricochet | Shredder projectiles that hit a demon affected by the Shield Saw strike one additional demon. |
| 2 | No Frills | The Shredder’s rate of fire is increased. |
| 3 | Barbed | Detonated and ricocheted Shredder projectiles deal more damage. Hitting a demon with Shield Charge now also detonates Pincushion, dealing more damage in a wide area. |
Impaler
| Tier | Upgrade | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stalwart | Hitting a demon with Shield Throw, Shield Charge, or parrying a Hell Surge attack drops Impaler ammo. |
| 2 | Salvage | Picking up Impaler ammo empowers your next shot. |
| 2 | Chronospike | Holding the shoot button/key slows down time. Impaler projectiles fired during slow time deal more damage. |
| 3 | Lobotomy | Headshots with the Impaler refill a portion of your next melee charge. |
Accelerator
| Tier | Upgrade | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Feedback | Shooting a demon with the Accelerator builds Charge. The Accelerator’s damage is increased at maximum Charge. |
| 2 | Stabilizer | The Accelerator’s spread is reduced at maximum Charge. |
| 2 | Modulator | The Accelerator’s rate of fire is increased at maximum Charge. |
| 3 | Headblast | Releasing at maximum Charge fires a damaging Heatblast that consumes all remaining Charge. Demons killed by Heatblast drop Accelerator ammo. |
| 3 | Mega Cell | .The time it takes for the Accelerator to lose Charge is increased. |
| 4 | Overload | Shooting a demon at maximum Charge will Supercharge the Accelerator. Supercharge further increases damage dealt by the Accelerator and its Charge-related effects. |
Cycler
| Tier | Upgrade | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shock | Dealing enough damage to a demon with Cycler applies Shock. Shocked demons take increased damage from your attacks. Killing a Shocked demon with the Cycler arcs lightning to nearby demons. |
| 2 | Amplify | The Cycler deals increased damage to Shocked Demons. |
| 3 | Fulmination | The durating of Shock applied by the Cycler is increased. Additionally, killing a Shocked demon with the Cycler generates more lightning arcs. |
| 4 | Overload | Killing a Shocked demon with the Cycler builds Charge based on the size of the demon. The Cycler deals increased damage at maximum Charge. |
Pulveriser
| Tier | Upgrade | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Runic Skull | Killing a demon with the Pulverizer or Melee builds Charge based on the size of the demon. Your movement speed and the Pulverizer’s rate of fire is increased at maximum Charge. |
| 2 | Runic Strike | Melee strikes now build and maintain Charge. |
| 3 | Flay | The Pulverizer fires an increased number of projectiles per shot over a wider area. |
Ravager
| Tier | Upgrade | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vampirism | While at maximum fire rate, demons damaged by the Ravager drop health pickups. |
| 2 | Ignition | The Ravager takes less time to reach maximum fire rate and the movement penalty while firing is removed. |
| 2 | Slow Burn | The Ravager’s maximum rate of fire is increased but it takes longer to achieve. The movement penalty while firing is more significant. |
| 3 | Supplier | Demons damaged by the Ravager drop Skullcrusher ammo. |
Grenade Launcher
| Tier | Upgrade | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fragment | Every third direct hit with the Grenade Launcher drops Cluster Grenades that deal area damage. |
| 2 | Rupture | Direct hits with the Grenade Launcher drop Cluster Grenades when hitting a demon affected by the Shield Saw. |
| 3 | Cataclysm | Every second direct hit with the Grenade Launcher drops Cluster Grenades. |
Rocket Launcher
| Tier | Upgrade | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cannibalism | Parrying a Hell Surge attack temporarily causes self-damage to heal you. |
| 2 | Cooked | Parrying a Hell Surge projectile empowers your next shot. |
| 2 | Blood Sacrifice | Rocket Launcher projectiles deal increased splash damage at the cost of more self-damage. |
| 3 | Bloodlust | Cannibalism lasts significantly longer. |
Flail (Melee)
| Tier | Upgrade | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conditioning | Reduce the recovery time of a Flail charge by five seconds. |
| 2 | Ignite | Demons hit by the Flail are scorched and drop armor. |
| 3 | Resonant | Flail strikes deal additional damage to metal shields and armor. These strikes will also generate armor shards. |
| 4 | Engulf | Every Flail strike also scorches nearby demons and causes them to drop armor. |
Dreadmace (Melee)
| Tier | Upgrade | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reaper | Demons killed with the Dreadmace drop additional health. |
| 2 | Obliterator | Dreadmace strikes deal increased damage to nearby demons. |
| 3 | Riposte | Successfully parrying a Hell Surge attack when the Dreadmace is charged will grant you an additional Dreadmace attack. This bonus is available for a limited time. This effect cannot be triggered again for a short duration. |
Power Gauntlet (Melee)
| Tier | Upgrade | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finisher | Increases the damage of the final hit in a combo. |
| 2 | Duelist | Parrying Hell Surge Attacks speeds up melee charge regeneration. |
| 3 | Jolt | The first combo hit applies shock, Shocked enemies take more damage from your melee hits |
| 4 | Encore | Grants a fourth hit to the combo. Fourth Hit is granted only when acquiring a melee charge from a parried attack. |
Shield Upgrades
Shield Upgrades, unlike your weapons, work a bit differently in Doom The Dark Ages. This item has an upgrade tree along with a Rune tree. These Runes make your shield more powerful and trigger specific abilities whenever you parry an incoming attack.
| Tier | Upgrade | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Retaliation | Parrying Hell Surge attacks will trigger a larger, more powerful shockwave that causes nearby demons to Heavy Falter. |
| 2 | Power Surge | Energy Shields that are hit by a Shield Throw will cause your Shield to bounce to nearby enemies. |
| 3 | Extended Surge | Shield Throw has an extended reach against fodder demons. |
| 4 | Steadfast | The Shield will recover faster from taking damage, and also recover faster after breaking. |
| 5 | Harvester | Killing multiple fodder demons with Shield Throw will empower your next Shield Charge, allowing it to deal increased damage to the primary target. |
| 6 | Blade Master | The stun duration of the Shield Saw is increased. |
Runes
| Rune | Unlock Chapter | Effect | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ground Fissure | Chapter 9 | Summon a ground-splitting fissure that travels in front of you, damaging and faltering demons in its path. | Aftershock: Increases Ground Fissure travel distance. Wavefront : Scorches enemies hit by Ground Fissure, causing them to drop armor. Megathrust: Increases the size and damage of Ground Fissure. |
| Holy Swarm | Chapter 11 | Unleash a swarm of ethereal daggers that spread out and seek toward nearby demons. | Outbreak – Summons additional daggers and increases damage. Upsurge – Summons even more daggers and increases damage. Plague – Summons maximum daggers and increases damage. |
| Auto Turret | Chapter 12 | A shoulder-mounted Auto Turret will activate, firing ballistic rounds at a single target in front of you. | Extended Magazine – Increases Auto Turret duration. Health Extractor – Enemies damaged by the turret drop health. Rapid Fire – Increases turret rate of fire and damage. |
| Heaven Splitter | Chapter 14 | Transform Hell surge projectiles into a bolt of energy that calls down lightning on impact, stunning nearby demons. | Induction – Increases Heaven Splitter stun duration. Megaburst – Increases the area affected by Heaven Splitter. Gigawatt – Heaven Splitter also shocks enemies. Shocked enemies take increased damage from your attacks. |
This sums up everything you need to know about upgrading your weapons and shield in Doom The Dark Ages. You can always revisit the maps to get your hands on some upgrade materials. However, if you’re playing on Pandemonium or Ultra-Nightmare difficulty, you won’t be able to revisit the maps once you’ve left the mission area.
Although you’ll be upgrading your weapons and shield anyway, there are a few achievements associated with them, so if you’re looking for a completionist run, you’ll need to chase these trophies.
Published: May 13, 2025 08:30 am