Doom Eternal Marauder strategy, and how to kill the Marauder in 30 seconds
How to take down the tough enemy type on your first encounter - and then quickly for the special challenge.
Doom Eternal's Marauder is one of the more challenging encounters you'll come across in the game.
Appearing about halfway into the campaign, during a mission called Arc Complex, once you've fired both turrets, you'll be flung into a boss battle with the Marauder, the most human demon in the game's arsenal.
The Marauder mirrors the Doom Slayer with its versatile move set, Super Shotgun and defensive shield.
It's causing trouble for a lot of players - if you thought the Carcass enemies were annoying, you ain't seen nothing yet.
On this page, we're going to run you through how to beat the Marauder in Doom Eternal, as well as play as him in Doom Eternal's multiplayer offshoot, Battlemode.
Looking for things to find? Our comprehensive Doom Eternal secret locations list can help.
Doom Eternal Marauder strategy: How to beat the Marauder on your first encounter
When the scientists disperse and the Marauder arrives through the hell portal in Arc Complex, it's very easy to lose your cool. When the boss fight starts, you'll see the Marauder lunge at you, his zombie goons in tow.
Once he summons his wolf companion it's very difficult to keep track of everything. The key here is to stay calm right at the start. Use your chainsaw to kill the stragglers, dash around to pick up ammo and try to get into a situation where it's just you and the Marauder. Once you've managed that, you want to stay in mid-range.
If you're too far away he'll hurl projectiles with his axe (you can use dash to dodge these) but if you're too close he'll persistently destroy your armour with his double-barrel shotgun. Try to find a happy medium!
Once you've figured that out, you want to set up your arsenal. Brandish the Super Shotgun and then the Ballista, so you can quickly swap between the two at the tap of a button. Now you need to keep dodging the Marauder's attacks until he flashes green. When you see this choreographed move, he's going to melee attack you with his axe.
Before he can do so, blast him with the Super Shotgun to stagger him. There's a generous amount of time here to hit him again, so use it wisely to unload your clip. Once you run out of Super Shotgun ammo, swap to the Ballista and continue as normal.
What's crucial is that you keep focused here. More zombies will spawn, so take those moments as a respite for you to replenish your health. If the wolf appears, we've found that it's not worth wasting your precious Super Shotgun or Ballista ammo.
Swap to the Heavy Cannon and use the Micro Missiles mod to fill it full of sticky explosives. Sayonara poochie.
Naturally, it's also a lot easier if you bring some 1up powerups and unlock the Saving Throw rune which will give you a few extra chances near death. With all of this in mind, return to the Marauder boss fight and you'll have a much easier time trying to deal with his annoying demon keister.
The fastest way to kill a Marauder in 30 seconds in Doom Eternal
For the masochists and completionists, there's also a challenge in the game that appears during the Taras Nabad level that asks you to beat the Marauder in 30 seconds or less.
If you hadn't guessed, this is even more difficult given that you can't pause and take stock to replenish health. The best way to beat a Marauder at speed is to master the stagger and stunlock him. Stagger with the Super Shotgun, then blast him with the Ballista or the BFG. Rinse and repeat and he should fall fairly quickly.
I've found that the Shotgun's sticky grenade mod can also be useful on a case-by-case basis. Later in the game, you'll find a lot more of these Marauders, so getting used to this routine is essential.
Also... you know, you could just lower the difficulty if you're really struggling. Nobody's watching, we won't judge you!
How to play as the Marauder in Doom Eternal's Battlemode
In Doom Eternal's multiplayer sidecar Battlemode you can get your own back by playing as the Marauder and filling other players with buckshot. The Marauder controls a lot like the Doom Slayer in Battlemode, albeit with a few important additions.
To play as him, you'll have to search for an online game mode and pick to play as the demons.
Once you're flung into the battle arena, tapping RT will hurl an explosive axe at your enemies. This gives you long-range effectiveness, but LT also offers a lightning-quick buckshot blast for when you're up close and personal.
The key to playing a successful Marauder is to figure out how to hurl the axe whilst keeping control of your movement in midair. Use the tutorial to practice dashing and then throwing your axe, but crucially learn how to reorient your viewpoint after a sudden movement to land tricky skill shots.
There's a distinct arc to the axe throw that you need to build muscle memory for before you can master it. It's also worth summoning the Marauder's wolf to distract the Slayer and force them to shift focus, following up with axe throws and buckshot when the enemy starts panicking.
Done with the Marauder and still have some things left to unlock? Our comprehensive Doom Eternal secret locations list can help.