If Doom monsters were to have secondary attacks...

[Voros]

The PE should put those beefy arms to good use.

[Looper]

Small burning aura around arch-viles that damages the player but heals the monsters. (Why can't they heal but can resurrect?)

[Job]

Voros said:

The PE should put those beefy arms to good use.

Those goofy little vestigial arms always reminded me of a t-rex or allosaurus. I'm not sure if there's some technical limitation or laziness that kept id from programming the PE to have the same melee attack as the caco.

[scifista42]

^ Definitely not a technical limitation. This is the code of Cacodemon's attack function:

Spoiler

void A_HeadAttack (mobj_t* actor)
{
    int		damage;
	
    if (!actor->target)
	return;
		
    A_FaceTarget (actor);
    if (P_CheckMeleeRange (actor))
    {
	damage = (P_Random()%6+1)*10;
	P_DamageMobj (actor->target, actor, actor, damage);
	return;
    }
    
    // launch a missile
    P_SpawnMissile (actor, actor->target, MT_HEADSHOT);
}

Compare with code of Pain Elemental's attack:

Spoiler

void A_PainAttack (mobj_t* actor)
{
    if (!actor->target)
	return;

    A_FaceTarget (actor);
    A_PainShootSkull (actor, actor->angle);
}

If this very part of the Cacodemon's attack code...

Spoiler

    if (P_CheckMeleeRange (actor))
    {
	damage = (P_Random()%6+1)*10;
	P_DamageMobj (actor->target, actor, actor, damage);
	return;
    }

...was inserted between the Pain Elemental's "A_FaceTarget" and "A_PainShootSkull" lines of code, he could have the same melee attack as the Cacodemon.

[Shadow Hog]

Technician said:

I'd like all the monsters to have a close range melee attack. It's feels odd that the pain elemental doesn't bite you or the cyberdemon chooses not to scratch you in favor blowing himself up.

To be fair, the Cyberdemon is totally immune to splash damage; he probably doesn't give a shit if his own rockets go off near him.

PE probably should have had an alternate attack for close range, though. As it is, standing in their face is the best way to utterly incapacitate them.

[Job]

scifista42 said:

^ Definitely not a technical limitation. This is the code of Cacodemon's attack function:

Spoiler

void A_HeadAttack (mobj_t* actor)
{
    int		damage;
	
    if (!actor->target)
	return;
		
    A_FaceTarget (actor);
    if (P_CheckMeleeRange (actor))
    {
	damage = (P_Random()%6+1)*10;
	P_DamageMobj (actor->target, actor, actor, damage);
	return;
    }
    
    // launch a missile
    P_SpawnMissile (actor, actor->target, MT_HEADSHOT);
}

Compare with code of Pain Elemental's attack:

Spoiler

void A_PainAttack (mobj_t* actor)
{
    if (!actor->target)
	return;

    A_FaceTarget (actor);
    A_PainShootSkull (actor, actor->angle);
}

If this very part of the Cacodemon's attack code...

Spoiler

    if (P_CheckMeleeRange (actor))
    {
	damage = (P_Random()%6+1)*10;
	P_DamageMobj (actor->target, actor, actor, damage);
	return;
    }

...was inserted between the Pain Elemental's "A_FaceTarget" and "A_PainShootSkull" lines of code, he could have the same melee attack as the Cacodemon.

Interesting. I wish this was fixed in a patch. Of course, that window has come and gone many moons ago. The only reason, besides laziness, that I can think of is that the PE was intended to be defeated by standing in its face for sake of balance.

[Deleted_Account]

The Pain Elementals secondary attack is to tickle you.

[Brewtal_Legend]

Cyber Demon and Spider Mastermind could definitely use some alternate attacks to make the fights more interesting.

Of the regular monsters, I think the demon could benefit the most. Likely some sort of charge attack where they close in on you fast.

[razorback]

RUSH said:

I always thought it would be cool to see the Pain Elemental have an attack outside of his usual Lost Soul spitting. Having him charge and then bite you would be awesome and prevent him from being totally useless up close.

I found that's the best way from getting him to spit lost souls at you, get right up in his grill and keep shooting, a secondary biting attack would be decent, would have to switch up tactics.

[Clonehunter]

Pain Elementals should have a melee bite attack. I don't know why they don't.

Maybe the Cyber should have some kind of close range flame thrower attack? As cool as the Cyberdmeon is, the Maulotaur was always a far superior boss in terms of capabilities and challenge. Conversely, it sucked as a regular enemy, where as the Cyber works as a heavy hitter mini boss as opposed to an Episode boss.

[Deleted_Account]

They should have given the Cyberdemon the ability to stomp on you, or in the very least smack you around for melee attacks.

[Szymanski]

Shotgunners could have a close range headbutt attack
Troopers could hit the player with their rifle
Revenants should randomly don raybans, jetpack into the air and kickstomp the player

[Tracer]

Jaxxoon R said:

Revenant should scream and then scream louder.

This made me snort.

[Job]

Piper Maru said:

They should have given the Cyberdemon the ability to stomp on you, or in the very least smack you around for melee attacks.

I could be wrong, but in SNES Doom, I recall the cyberdemon would scratch you if you got within melee range. Big damage, more than a baron, but less than a rocket.

[Guest Unregistered account]

SciFista, in the beta version of Doom II, Pain Elementals were just re-sprited Cacodemons.

On topic, maybe the Spider Mastermind could execute that unused magic attack? (John dubbed it "too weird for 1994")

[Torturephile]

-Lost souls could spit fire.
-Cyberdemons could stomp the player with a foot like a crushing ceiling.
-Revenants could fire two unguided missiles in rare occasions.
-Mancubi could fire one projectile at a time in quick succession at random angles.
-Pain elementals could bite the player when close. It's enough with it spitting lost souls.
-Arch viles could shoot the fire, but they already do enough with reviving dead monsters.

[DooM_RO]

Explosive lost souls.

[Orchid87]

DooM_RO said:

Explosive lost souls.

Just wanted to post this. Suicidal exploding lost souls that charge at you and deal as much damage as a Cybie rocket.

[DoomzRules]

Lost Souls could possess dead bodies and reanimate them from the dead (similar to the Archvile I guess, except without that whole flame attack.)

Imps could pounce at you.

Pinky demons could charge at you with their horns (dealing a lot of damage if you don't sidestep in time.)

Zombiemen could melee with the butt of their rifle.

Barons of Hell could stomp the ground and create a shockwave.

[Marcinski]

Zombieman:
-If you get too close they will try to kick you away.

-They could throw grenades

Shotgunzombie:
-^

Chaingunner:
-^^

-If you get close he will increase his own rate of fire

Imp:
-He will pounce on you if you get close (doom3)

-There is a small chance that he would combine 2 of his own fireballs and make a huge one.

Pinky:
-He will try to charge at you like a bull

Baron:
-Same as the imp but will try to create a shock wave instead of pouncing on the player.(Doom2016)

Hell knight:
-^

Cacodemon:
-Will charge up himself to create a highly explosive fireball

Lost soul:
-will spit out a fireball a bit like a cacodemon

Pain elemental:
-will try to spit out explosive lost souls at high speeds

Revenant:
-Could use a jetpack temporarily and rapidly shoot missiles while in the air.(Doom2016)

Mancubus:
-could use a flamethrower when the player gets close.(doom2016)

Archvile: could summon enemies and not just revive them (Doom3)

[DoomzRules]

Maybe the Lost Soul could go kamikaze mode on you and self-detonate?

Oh and I think the Spider Mastermind should be able to use psychic powers and shoot BFG cells from it's brain.

[XLightningStormL]

Zombiemen: Hits the player with the butt of the rifle. Fires in "auto bursts" for 3 seconds.
Sergeant: Hits the player with the butt of the shotgun.
Commando: Flips the Chaingun and whacks the player with it.
Imp: Doom 3 Pounce (If It detects you behind doors, and from medium distances)
Hell Knight: Charges at the player like in Doom 16.
Baron: Charges Up and shoots 4 fireballs. Shockwave Stomp attack like in 2016 Doom.
Arachnatron: Fires a large red plasma ball that deals splash.
PE: Bites the player.
Lost Soul: Does a hitscan attack like the beta Lost Soul.
Caco: Fires a large ball lightning attack that acts like the doom 3 bfg to some extent.
Cyber: Stomps the player dealing 1000 damage. Fires Homing Missiles.
Archvile: D3-style Summons monsters from around the map to it's location.
Revenant: Unleashes a blood curling scream dealing 30 damage in close quarters. Fires an automatic torrent of blind missiles for 3 seconds.
Demon: Charges at the player like a bull (missing occasionally) dealing double the bite attack and walk speed.
Spectre: Above, but entirely invisible but it's eyes.
Mancubus: Jumps up to any floors that are 32-64 higher than it's floors if the player is on those above floors. D4 Flamethrower Attack.
Wolfenstein SS: Fires in faster bursts, knifes the player in close range.
Mastermind: Summons a shield that protects it for 15 seconds. Trample Damage. Can use Telepathy to fling the player to a random wall dealing 100 damage.

[shotfan]

This is an area where Doom could see major improvement. Since no enemy in classic Doom had more than two attacks, it was not that hard to learn their attack patterns. After you learned the behaviour of a monster, it becomes much less threatening, as you can always predict its next move. This can be countered by ambushes or just slaughter-wad enemy numbers, but those remedies go old really fast. It is more interesting to fight an enemy with complex heuristics, so they cannot be readily figured out, but you have to actually react to their actions. More difficult to pull off, but also much more engaging.
One of the reasons why I currently play Project Brutality, but the so-abhorred Brutal Doom still deserves credit. The revamped enemy behavior is what for me made Doom fresh again (but that is only my opinion).

As for ideas for enemy attacks or abilities...

Former Humans
- Knife Attack: when very close, they should just slash you
- Kick: alternative close range attack that causes less damage than the slash, but also has moderate knockback

Pinkies
- Charge Attack: already suggested here - increases Pinky's speed while in duration. I would also make it trigger only at long range, disable turning (a charging Pinky can run only forwards) and deal damage on contact
(this is a major flaw in Pinky's design - they should inflict damage as soon as they get to you, not when their bite animation ends!). It should also deal more damage than the bite and knock you back a good distance.

Spectres
- Sneak Attack: when a Spectre sees you, he does not roar in alert. Instead, he stays quietly where he is, waiting for you to come in bite range, and only then he will start his attack.
He will also abandon sneaking and start his usual behaviour if you manage to hit him, intentionally or not.

Lost Souls
- Active Dodge: just like Cacodemons can strafe away from attacks in Brutal Doom

Cacodemons
- Triple Lightning Ball: a spread shot that requires a bit more delay to charge up than the single lightning ball
- Thunderbolt: requires a hefty charge-up time, but autolocks on you! (just like the Arch-Vile's attack) Inflicts very high damage (again, comparable to Arch-Vile's pyrokinesis)

Pain In The A** Elementals (:D)
- Double Lost Soul Spit: self-explanatory
- Punch: as suggested here multiple times, it would work well to push player away from PE so he can spit LS again

Hell Nobles
Oh, my favourites! Their humanoid shape along with their strength give them many potential extra attacks!

Knights:
- Plasma Punch: HK takes a moment to light up his right arm, then he does a plasma-powered straight. Ouch! (very high damage and knockback)

Barons:
- Plasma Bomb: an alternative to the standard plasma balls. Baron charges a huge plasma projectile in his hands, then throws it like a grenade, on a low arc. Plasma Bomb is slow and short-ranged, but deals horrible injuries and has splash damage comparable to that of Belphegor's projectiles
- Ground Smash: Baron hits the floor to generate a shockwave. Light actual damage, but knocks you back significantly (and wrecks your aim, of course)
- Plasma Super Punch: instead of a straight, Barons do a haymaker with less range but more lateral reach. Hurts like a motherf*****
- Plasma Blast: Baron joins their hands in a hadouken shape and generates a plasmathrower. Done only at close range. Mancubus' flame burn is a mere suntan compared to this!
- Grab: not enough close combat viciousness? Then how about a grapple that will kill you if you do not damage Baron enough in time?! I imagine it like this: when a Baron catches you, you will be immobilized and raised off the floor, but you can still shoot (reloads and weapon switching disabled - if you have kicks enabled, they can be your only chance!) The grab itself does not cause damage, but after a few seconds the Baron will manage to rip you in two, no matter what your health is. So it is essentially an instant-kill fatality. Good news - you cannot be grabbed if you are in Berserk! Should serve Barons well to promote them from "doors with health" to "a badass second only to Cyberdemon"

Shared: (Barons' versions are more powerful, obviously)
- Kick: another close quarters attack. Comes out fast! (heavy damage and knockback)
- Headbutt: The Hell Noble puts his horns to use! Watch out, this attack knocks you into the air!

Mancubus
- Hammer Smash: just like in Doom 3

Arch-Vile
- Flame Wave: again, this attack is also brought from Doom 3. Faster than pyrokinesis, but weaker and does not hit instantly
- Summoning: another ability imported from Doom 3. The Arch-Vile can simply summon a demon to aid him in battle if there are no corpses nearby to resurrect.
Of course, Cyberdemons, Masterminds and other Arch-Viles cannot be summoned

Cyberdemon
- Grab: Ups, here we go again. If he grabs you, Cyber is not going to f*** around, and will proceed to simply crush you inside his hand. PROTIP: the only way to escape Cyberdemon's grasp is to kill him. Berserk will not save you. Better pray that you have BFG ready if he ever catches you...

Spider Mastermind
- Stomp: also suggested before - why does she do not simply stab you with one of those huge mechanical legs of hers?
Psionics for SM would make sense, seeing that she is pretty much a giant brain tissue. But I am not proposing anything of it, as my "originality" ran dry already...

[VGamingJunkie]

If you're up close to the Pain Elemental, it should spit a Lost Soul that just dies against you but does a lot more damage than just a regular Lost Soul attack. Essentially, the Pain Elemental will be spitting the Lost Soul right up against your face at maximum velocity. Logically speaking, getting in its face should be a really stupid idea.

[DoomzRules]

MetroidJunkie said:

If you're up close to the Pain Elemental, it should spit a Lost Soul that just dies against you but does a lot more damage than just a regular Lost Soul attack. Essentially, the Pain Elemental will be spitting the Lost Soul right up against your face at maximum velocity. Logically speaking, getting in its face should be a really stupid idea.

I also think another cool attack would be if it shot out three Explosive Lost Souls at you, and sometimes it charges at you and self-detonates.

[Cruduxy Pegg]

Cyberdemon : Shoots at the player's feet if he can target them. If the player stays in his line of sight for 20 seconds the cyberdemon says fuck it and shoots chaingun instead :P.

Mastermind : Monsters never infight him. If he wants to kill a monster (maybe except cyber for some map funsies) they instantly explode without him firing. Much lower painchance and periodically calls lost souls around him into the fight. His death enrages nearby demons and increases their speed.

Archvile : If at low hp detonate monsters healing himself instead of reviving them. They are selfish jerks after all. Being too close to a vile that is channeling his spell\Attack caauses low damage.

Pain Elemental : Lost souls summoned by a PE can imbue demons giving them +100 hp. Ignores all demons and focuses on the player. Summoning a lostsoul will try to push the player back if in melee and if it fails does damage as if the soul exploded in the player's face.

Icon of Sin : Less barebone map and maybe an extra stage since it feels anticlimatic when it gets defeated.

Edit : People here forget how much harder it'll be to sprite one million animation and still stay in 1993 CPU\Ram\HD budget lol.