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It's all fun and games until you meet the Marauder in Doom Eternal. Working your way through the campaign so far has seen you settling into the combat loop. Splitting skeletons, crushing skulls, and gouging eyes in gruesome glory, you feel comfortable. You're well versed at locking onto enemies, selecting the perfect weapon counters, and clearing the arenas. Then the Marauder appears.
Doom Eternal's Marauder stands out against the remainder of the demon roster. It's strong offensively and defensively, making it a tricky foe to overpower. It also has different attack patterns, depending on how close you stand. The game's detailed tutorial is a good start for learning how to tango with the Marauder, but your first fight is still undeniably challenging. Here's how to make quick work of the fallen Night Sentinel.
How to kill the Doom Eternal Marauder boss
Stick to mid-range
You're not going to forget your first encounter with the Marauder in a hurry. This "defensive powerhouse" carries both an axe to hack away at your health and a shield to protect itself from incoming attacks.
Stand too close and it'll catch you off guard with its shotgun, but the Marauder will unleash flashing red projectiles if you retreat too far. So keep it at mid-range to avoid taking unnecessary damage and take advantage of its vulnerability.
Wait for the green flash
Once you've got your distance down, the golden rule for handling the Marauder is to wait for its eyes to glow green. This signals that it's about to attack: shoot it during these frames to counter it. Fail and you'll take a large chunk of damage. Sticking to the ideal range encourages the Marauder to repeat this attack. Reacting to its advances quickly is key as it will block regular attacks using its shield, otherwise you're just wasting ammo.
The best weapon against the Marauder is the Super Shotgun as it's easy to time your powerful shot after the visual cue while dealing substantial damage. Meanwhile, send grenades and sticky bombs between successful body shots to capitalise on the extra damage. After a handful of successful counters (depending on your weapon choice), the Marauder will enter a stagger state for you to dash in for the Glory Kill.
Take out the Hellhound
The Marauder spawns an orange hound that darts around and tries to bite you. Try switching to another weapon such as the Plasma Rifle or Heavy Cannon to deal with the dog's speed. It'll return a few times over the course of the fight, making it awkward to focus solely on the Marauder. However, it's always worth removing the hound as it puts you under needless pressure in an already taxing fight.
Restock resources often
Resource fodder such as Zombies will frequently spawn while you fight the Marauder. Chainsaw and Glory Kill these smaller enemies to generate the health and ammo you need to keep you alive for the duration of the battle.
Note: the Marauder reappears in Slayer Gate challenges and arenas later in Doom Eternal's campaign, too. But since you closely followed my tips and mastered its battle routine, you're ready to tango with it anytime.
