Doom Eternal – How to Deal With Shields

The main way of defeating Doom Eternal’s many types of demons is simple: shoot them until they die. A few hours into the campaign, however, a wrench is thrown into the mix. What do you do against enemies with shields in Doom Eternal? Multiple demon types, from the shield grunts that rush at you to the first Doom Hunter boss, are equipped with shields, protecting them from most of your arsenal. Thankfully, there is an easy way to dispatch shielded foes, and it’s one that also turns them into a tool for you to use rather than a threat for you to avoid. This is how to deal with shields in Doom Eternal.

How to Deal With Shields in Doom Eternal

Shielded enemies are easily recognizable by the bright blue glow of their shield. These protective energy barriers block most conventional gunfire, taking several shots to break down, but there is a way to fast track the shield breaking process. The energy-based Plasma Rifle excels at this purpose, shredding shields in a matter of seconds. Upon destroying a shield, it will explode and damage nearby demons in a fairly large radius, making shielded enemies function as moving explosive barrels once you learn how to take them down.

Later in the game, more advanced shield demons like the Doom Hunter will start to appear in normal combat encounters, and these can be a bit trickier to take down. The same strategy still applies with these demons, though. With Doom Hunters especially, you should definitely take down their shields with a Plasma Rifle so you can dispatch them as quickly as possible. The Plasma Rifle is also a great weapon to use in general, with several mods like Heat Blast that take advantage of sustained fire, which is what you’ll be doing to destroy all those shields.