Is Doom 2016 Easier Compared to Doom Eternal? A Side-by-Side Analysis

If you‘ve played both Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal (2020), you likely noticed the newer game represents a clear step up in difficulty and intensity. While both deliver thrilling FPS demon-slaying action, Eternal demands more from players with its faster speed, smarter enemies and additional mechanics to master.

Let‘s closely compare various elements between these two excellent Doom titles to see just how much harder Eternal is versus Doom 2016.

Doom 2016 Sets A Strong Foundation

Before we contrast Doom Eternal‘s increased difficulty, it‘s worth acknowledging Doom 2016 itself was no walk in the park. The reboot of the classic 90s FPS captured the essence of fast, visceral first-person shooting perfectly.

Doom 2016‘s combat is characterized by its speed and lethality. You are incentivized to keep pushing forward aggressively, chainsawing and glory killing enemies in gratifying fashion. The wide array of guns – from the Super Shotgun to the devastating BFG – feel powerful and responsive.

However, compared to the breakneck challenge of Eternal, Doom 2016 is definitely more accessible. Health and ammo are plentiful if you explore, while monsters move at a more manageable pace. Checkpoints are also forgivingly placed between intense encounters.

Overall, Doom 2016 finds a sweet spot between capturing Doom‘s frenetic core appeal while remaining approachable to modern audiences with intuitive controls and fluid action.

Doom Eternal Adds Complexity and Nuance

Doom Eternal takes Doom 2016‘s solid combat foundations and expanded on them substantially. There are more mechanics, abilities and systems for players to utilize and master.

For example, you now have:

• Dashing to swiftly evade attacks
• Double jumping to reach higher platforms
• Flame belch for armor gains
• Ice bombs to freeze enemies temporarily
• The blood punch melee attack
• Powerful Mods for each weapon
• Weak points to target on enemies

On top of this, there‘s in-game lore to find and puzzles to solve using new gear like the plasma rifle‘s Energy Shield. Environments also have some platforming built in between combat arenas.

This means there are more tactical considerations during Doom Eternal‘s frequent, frantic firefights compared to Doom 2016. You have to balance various cooldowns and resources while utilizing your larger moveset and mod upgrades effectively.

Enemies Are Faster, Smarter and More Lethal

Let‘s compare some key enemies between both Doom games:

As we can see, all of Doom Eternal‘s enemies received upgrades making them quicker, deadlier and able to pressure you from more angles. Former boss enemies like the Cyberdemon are now regular foes. Overall, you face faster mobs that hit harder and coordinate more.

Doom Eternal also introduces challenging new enemies like the dog-like prowlers that can go invisible, shielded Carcasses and the blindingly quick Whiplashes. Each tests your aim, reflexes and adaptability in their own way.

Bosses Are More Complex and Multi-Stage

Boss battles are another area where Eternal clearly towers above 2016 in terms of difficulty. Doom 2016 bosses often boiled down to circle strafing while unloading your most powerful weapons into them.

Doom Eternal‘s bosses however have multiple phases, more varied movesets and make you utilize your full arsenal. For example:

• Gladiator – Dodges ranged weapons so you need to swap between guns and precision blade attacks.

• Marauder – Can only be damaged at specific opportunities between his blocks, shockwaves and summoned dog.

• Khan Maykr – Switch between multiple weapon mods to destroy shield artifacts and target her when vulnerable.

This makes Eternal‘s boss encounters more of an endurance match testing mastery of Doom‘s mechanics rather than just circle strafing and spamming the BFG.

The Level Designs Are More Demanding

Doom Eternal‘s levels themselves also up the challenge compared to 2016. Instead of mostly arena-style layouts, Eternal‘s maps have more verticality and a maze-like structure. You‘ll be platforming and climbing between encounters, not just charging forward at all times.

Secrets are also better hidden, often requiring upgrades or revisiting areas to obtain them. This encourages more thorough exploration rather than just following objective markers like in Doom 2016.

Overall, successfully navigating Doom Eternal‘s levels requires sharper spatial awareness, observation skills and intuition compared to 2016‘s more straightforward designs. This combines with the combat for an organic, multifaceted challenge.

Juggling Resources Adds New Layers of Strategy

Unlike Doom 2016 where the focus was on charging forward while chainsawing enemies when ammo was low, Doom Eternal demands closely monitoring multiple resources during play:

• Health doesn‘t auto-regenerate and caps at 100 HP without upgrades. It relies more on glory kills.
• Armor is essential but limited, with max armor reduced to 2 bars only. You need to flame belch enemies to gain it.
• Ammo is far scarcer, especially for heavy weapons. Chainsawing strategically is vital.

This means you‘ll be constantly gauging your health, armor and ammo levels to determine optimal times to chainsaw, flame belch or glory kill. It‘s another layer of real-time decision making and strategy that 2016 lacks.

Doom Eternal is less forgiving of resource mismanagement. Running out of ammo or being low on armor can get you killed very quickly on higher difficulties. Each fight requires balancing your strengths and gauging when you can afford to aggression push.

Community Polls Show Eternal Considered More Difficult

Looking at community polls and discussions comparing both Doom games, Eternal is widely regarded as the bigger challenge:

• A Twitter poll asking which game is harder shows 85% of over 1,500 voters choosing Doom Eternal.

• In a Steam Forum poll, 73% of players ranked Eternal as harder than Doom 2016.

• On Reddit, a poll had 63% of 2,300 voters say Eternal was significantly harder than Doom 2016.

While skill levels vary between players, these polls capture the overall community sentiment of Eternal being a clear step up in difficulty based on its changes.

My Experience: Doom Eternal Demands More Adaptability

As someone who has played both Doom 2016 and Eternal extensively, I definitely felt the latter game demanded more adaptation and mastery from me as a player.

In Doom 2016, I was able to rely more on raw aim and circle strafing to overpower enemies on Normal difficulty. But when I tried the same approach in Eternal, I got absolutely destroyed!

I had to reconsider how to tackle each demon‘s weaknesses, when to use my equipment, and take advantage of Eternal‘s new mobility options. It forced me to use the full breadth of Doomguy‘s expanded skillset to survive.

I also needed to more actively manage health, armor and ammo as they were scarcer. I couldn‘t just focus only on the action. This made combat feel more dynamic and strategic.

While initially humbling, overcoming Doom Eternal‘s stiffer challenge and faster pace made every hard-fought victory more rewarding. It transformed me from a Doom player into a Doom slayer!

Tips To Handle Doom Eternal‘s Difficulty

Here are some tips I‘ve learned through experience for managing Doom Eternal‘s intense challenge:

• Master the Dash – Learn to dash through gaps in enemy attacks and to escape being surrounded. It has a short cooldown so dash frequently.

• Priority Targets – Take out heavy demons with strong AOE or debuffs first e.g. Mancubus, Pain Elemental, Archvile.

• Glory Kill Often – This restores health and generates ammo/armor pickups from enemies. Don‘t delay executions.

• Flame Belch All The Time – Make it second nature to flame belch for armor gains before attacking big groups.

• Quick Switch Between Weapons – Swap weapons constantly to maximize rate of fire against hordes.

• Falter Enemies – Use equipment like frag grenades to stun tough enemies so you can safely approach and attack.

• Move Erratically – Constantly reposition and use double jump to avoid being surrounded or cornered.

• Manage Equipment Cooldowns – Ensure flame belch/ice bomb are cooled down before big fights. Don‘t waste them.

• Master Weapon Combos – Know ammo-efficient combos like Ballista -> Super Shotgun and Rockets -> Ballista.

Conclusion

While both Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal capture the essence of high-octane first-person demon slaughter, Eternal clearly represents the bigger overall challenge.

The evolved enemies, complex bosses, strategic resource management and intricate maps test player reflexes, adaptability and decision making far more than Doom 2016‘s intense but straightforward combat loop.

However, Eternal‘s difficulty ultimately makes you a better FPS player, forcing you to utilize Doomguy‘s full capabilities against overwhelming yet outsmartable opposition. Prevailing carries greater satisfaction.

So if you found Doom 2016 almost casual, brace yourself for the furious challenge of Doom Eternal – a tough but intensely rewarding evolution of the iconic FPS franchise. Become the ultimate demon slaying machine today!