DOOM Eternal - Update 6.66 Release Notes

Features and Content

Introducing our biggest free update yet - Update 6.66

The team can't wait for you to experience our brand new, three level arcade-style single player Horde Mode (with online leaderboards), two new Master Levels and enough improvements to BATTLEMODE that it’s getting the 2.0 treatment. We are super excited about this release and hope you enjoy playing it as much as we do. Thank you again for your patience and continued support of DOOM Eternal

• Note: Update 6.66 will be coming to Nintendo Switch as soon as it's ready

Horde Mode

Compete for the highest score by battling wave after wave of demons across three Missions from DOOM Eternal and The Ancient Gods – Parts One and Two* in this challenging new single player game mode. You’ll need to keep your wits about you and your skill sharp. Like a classic arcade game, there aren’t any checkpoints, you start with just 3 extra lives - but there are more to earn as you progress. You begin with only a fully mastered Combat Shotgun, unlocking a new weapon at random as you complete each Arena Round. Earn new Milestones and unlock loads of cool new customization items as you progress!

• *All Horde Mode content is available to players who own any DOOM Eternal product configuration, including standalone versions of The Ancient Gods - Parts One, Part Two, and or the Year One Pass

Structure

Each Horde Mode Mission consists of the following Rounds (pictured above):

• Arena Round - Arena combat encounter with waves and waves of demons

• Blitz Round - Kill as many demons as you can before time runs out

• Bonus Coin Round (optional) - Collect as many coins as you can before time runs out

• Traversal Round - Navigate a traversal puzzle and collect as many coins as you can before time runs out

• Bonus Blitz Round (optional) - A Blitz round but with Super Heavy demons and Onslaught (damage multiplier) power-ups!

Scoring

Your score is tallied at the end of each Round. You are awarded additional points for any remaining Extra Lives and BFG Ammo

• Every demon you kill that isn’t a Zombie, a Spirit or summoned by an Archvile gives you points

• Bigger demons are worth points more than smaller ones

• Bounty demons are worth more than standard ones but decrease in value over time

• Earn more points by completing Mission Challenges (completing all of them rewards bonus points)

• Picking up coins in Traversal and Bonus Coin Rounds reward points (Gold > Silver > Bronze)

Progression

You begin Horde Mode with:

• 3 Extra Lives

• A fully mastered Combat Shotgun

• The Chainsaw, all Equipment and Dash

• All Perks, Runes and Sentinel Crystal Upgrades

• Another fully mastered gun is awarded at random on completion of each Arena Round

• Special weapons are given at the start of certain Arena Rounds*

• Completing Milestones unlocks new customization items

• Additional Extra Lives are awarded by completing Blitz Rounds, Bonus Coin Rounds, Bonus Blitz Rounds, Combat Arena Rounds 1 and 2 in The Holt and by killing the required number of demons in Blitz and Bonus Blitz Rounds. They can also be acquired in level during any Traversal Round

• *The Sentinel Hammer in The Holt Horde Mode Level requires 4 charges (2 more than in The Ancient Gods – Part Two)

Leaderboards

• There is a different Leaderboard for each Difficulty

• Your score gets uploaded to the Leaderboard at the end of each run

• Your rating is based on your score

• Slayers who score 400,000 points are awarded Slayer Medals

Rewards Galore

There are so many amazing earnable rewards in Horde Mode, that instead of listing them all via text, we thought it would be better to show you:

So...

...many...

...rewards.

Stadia Enhanced Feature – State Share *

Stadia players can use State Share to save their score and weapon loadout at the end of each Horde Mode round. Use State Share to challenge your friends to beat your score or replay the round yourself to beat your own score

• *Note: If you don't have a Stadia controller, you'll need to press F12 on your keyboard to capture a State Share

New Master Levels

Update 6.66 includes two new Master Levels, Mars Core and The World Spear*. Complete the corresponding campaign level to unlock each one. Access your unlocked Master Levels from the Fortress of DOOM or the Mission Select menu

• *You must own DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods – Part Two to play The World Spear Master Level

BATTLEMODE 2.0

Update 6.66 brings the biggest and most important update to the game mode so far. Now, more than ever skill matters in BATTLEMODE. The more you win, the better the players you face off against will be. Complete BATTLEMODE 2.0 Series Challenges to increase your Rank, unlock new rewards and attain a higher Leaderboard position

Hot Streaks

Hot Streaks are key to the more competitive BATTLEMODE 2.0 design

The new Streak Tracker on the top of the Player Card tracks wins and losses played in Public Matches, activating after the first win as a Slayer or a Demon. When the Streak Tracker is active, additional wins are tracked as checkmarks and losses as X’s

• A Hot Streak card is awarded when a player wins four games before losing two

• The Streak Tracker resets after losing two matches before a Hot Streak card is awarded

• The number of Hot Streak cards you have determines your Rank and Leaderboard position

Additional details:

• Playing as the Slayer and as a Demon each has their own respective Streak Tracker

• Exiting a Public match prematurely will count as a loss

• The Streak Tracker does not record wins and losses from Private Matches

• Rewards from the series page and the requirements to unlock them are different for Slayers and Demons

Time for some helpful infographics!

1. Streak Tracker

This is the streak tracker (not to be confused with Hot Streak) this is to highlight the user what level of streaks they are currently at. This should match up with the same state that 1A

1A. Title Card Border

The title card border surrounds the players title card, in conjunction with 1. this too shows the players current streak count and they should match the same visual style (ie: if the streak tracker is stone, the title card border should also be stone

2. Hot Streak Tracker

The hot streak counter becomes active when the user achieves 4 wins. When they do, they will complete a hot streak and win a hot streak card

3. Rank

A players rank will increase as they accomplish the series challenges. Below is a diagram breaking up the progress of the ranks

Hot Streak Cards

When a player completes a hot streak run, they will be awarded a hot streak card (these determine your leader board position). If you got a hot streak playing as a Demon you’ll get a Demon card. If you completed it as the Slayer, you’ll get a Slayer card

1. Stone Border (Default) - 0 Win Streak(s)

2. Red Border (Hot Streak) - 1 Win Streak(s)

• Each empty check mark will fill in if the player continues their win streaks. If the player fills out all check marks they will complete their hot streak and receive a hot streak card (#2. in the image)

• When a player is on a hot streak, they will have 2 loss forgiveness opportunities (the 2 unfilled x’s) If both x’s become filled, the user will reset to stone (#1. in the image)

Streak-Based Matchmaking

With the release of Update 6.66, all Public Lobbies use Streak-based matchmaking. Streak-based matchmaking aims to match you against other players with the same number of Streak wins, broadening the match criteria over time if unmet. Players can join Public Lobbies as a Slayer, a solo Demon or as a Demon team

Additional details:

• Players return to the BATTLEMODE 2.0 root menu at the end of every Public Match

• Players are no longer able to play consecutive matches in Public Lobbies - the Shuffle and Replay post-match options have been removed

• Players on the same team cannot choose to play as the same Demon

• When two Demon players in a party quick play, the player with more wins is used for matchmaking

• 3-player parties cannot join Public Lobbies

Series Challenges and Rank

Update 6.66 adds new Dossier pages that exclusively track your progress toward completing BATTLEMODE 2.0 Series Challenges while playing as the Slayer or as a Demon. Completing Slayer Challenges increases your Slayer Rank. Completing Demon challenges increases your Demon Rank. You are awarded a new Customization item or XP every time you attain a new Rank. Series Challenges and Rank reset with each Series changeover

Leaderboards

BATTLEMODE 2.0 adds Slayer and Demon-based Leaderboards for each supported platform. Leaderboard position is determined by Rank attained and number of Hot Streaks completed in the current Series. Leaderboards are reset with each Series changeover

1. Cycle Type

• Global - This displays all players on the Leaderboard within a specific platform

• Favorites - This displays all players within your personal favorites list

• Near Me - This displays global players in and around your Leaderboard placement

2. Leaderboard List

Leaderboards are organized by descending order of rank

• Rank - Displays rank numbers

• Hot Streak - Indicates number of Hot Streaks earned

• Name - Displays player usernames

3. Rewards

• Players will be awarded title cosmetics based on their BATTLEMODE Leaderboard placements for a single Series. There are two separate sets of titles for both the Sentinel Hero and Hell’s Demons Leaderboards

Simplified Player Cards

• Player Cards are simplified to username and faction up until match podium introduction. This format has been implemented to reduce lobby dodging within BATTLEMODE 2.0

Speaking of Rewards...

We know you just wanna see the rewards that are available right now in BATTLEMODE 2.0, so without further ado...

New Playable BATTLEMODE 2.0 Content

In addition to BATTLEMODE 2.0, Update 6.66 adds the brand-new playable Demon, the Dread Knight and new BATTLEMODE arena, Stronghold!

DREAD KNIGHT

The Dread Knight is well-suited for Demon players who have an all-or-nothing play style. With double-jump and an array of attacks, the Dread Knight is a nimble demon with and potent offensive capabilities, but the attacks require cooldowns that can leave you exposed in between use

Primary Attack: ENERGY WAVE

The Energy Wave is a Destroyer Blade-style energy projectile that yields moderate damage with a moderate rate of fire

BERSERK

• Activating Berserk temporarily replaces Energy Wave with a high-damage melee attack with heavy lurch

• While in use, Berserk increases movement speed and reduces damage taken by up to 60%

• Every use of Berserk requires a long cool down period

GROUND SLAM

• Ground Slam is an AOE attack that allows the Dread Knight to leap to a selected location within the permitted range to deal explosive damage to the area upon impact

• Every use of Ground Slam requires a cool down period

QUANTUM ORB

• Quantum Orb is a projectile attack dealing moderate damage which the Dread Knight can redirect in flight by activating its teleport ability

• Every use of the Quantum Orb requires a cooldown period, which is shorter if the teleport ability is not activated

Mid-Round Upgrades

FEROCITY

Your Energy Wave projectile reduces Berserk’s cooldown every time it hits the Slayer

ENSHROUD

Ground Slam not longer deals damage but instead creates a smoke cloud that grants temporary invisibility

New BATTLEMODE 2.0 Arena: STRONGHOLD

What better way to celebrate all that is new and exciting about BATTLEMODE 2.0 in Update 6.66 than the new Immora-inspired map, Stronghold

BATTLEMODE's new arena: Stronghold is at the center of Hell. Acting as both a defensive position and a processing facility that helps fuel the Dark Lord's warmachine, the environment lends itself to players who can keep moving between the different layers arena. Demon players and Slayer alike will fight over the valuable cover that the Fuel Overflow area provides. Players who master traversing between the bottom and top platforms will excel in our most competitive BATTLEMODE map to date

New BATTLEMODE 2.0 Balance Changes for ALL platforms

SLAYER

CHAINGUN

• Removed Energy Shield mod from BATTLEMODE loadout

• Primary Fire increased to 60 damage up from 48

• Mobile Turret increased to 64 damage up from 60

COMBAT SHOTGUN

• Primary Fire increased to 400 damage up from 350

HEAVY CANNON

• Primary Fire increased to 140 damage up from 100

• Precision Bolt increased ammo consumed per shot to 8 up from 6 to offset the increased bullet count

• The Precision Bolt has increased max ammo count to 96 and 128 (with Sentinel Infused mid-round upgrade)

PLASMA RIFLE

• Primary Fire increased to 55 damage up from 45
• UAC Firepower mid-round upgrade causes the Plasma Rifle to deal 65 damage up from 55
• Heat Blast increased to 200, 300, 400 damage (based on charge level) up from 150, 250, 350

ROCKET LAUNCHER

• Lock-on increased to 900 damage (per 3-rocket burst) up from 600

BLOOD PUNCH

• Increased to 500 damage up from 400

DEMON PLAYERS

MARAUDER

AXE

• The further the axe travels the more damage direct hits deal - this damage is indicated by glowing effects that grows over time

BURY THE HATCHET (End of Round Upgrade)

• Direct hits with the axe now heal the Marauder for a portion of the damage dealt

ARCHVILE

• Large reduction in Flame Wall hitbox size

REVENANT

• The threshold to trigger Sadist has been increased from 30% to 40%

PAIN ELEMENTAL

• Haste now grants 25% movement speed increase down from 35%

General Demon Player Updates

• Reduced the number of armor shard drops, while retaining relative armor values

• Player Demons now drop no more than 30 armor when Flame Belched by the Slayer

• Bonus Armor from Burning Hate has been removed

• Increased Instant Resurrection cooldown from 2 minutes to 3 minutes

New BATTLEMODE 2.0 Balance Changes for Consoles Only

SLAYER

BALLISTA

• Primary Fire decreased to 500 damage down from 600

New BATTLEMODE 2.0 Balance Changes for PC Only

DEMON PLAYERS

PAIN ELEMENTAL

• Reduction in movement speed gained by Haste

New Slayer Campaign & BATTLEMODE 2.0 Changes for ALL platforms

CONTROLLER: WEAPON-SPECIFIC BINDS

• Players can now remap their controller to include specific weapon-specific binds

COMBAT SHOTGUN (FULL AUTO MOD)

• Added ability to switch weapons during wind down animation

• Adjusted base charge time and wind down time

• Speed of Quick Recovery upgrade has been increased

• Removed additional movement speed penalty for firing so there is just slowdown on activation. As a result, the Fast Feet upgrade removes all movement penalty and the string has been updated to reflect that

The Ancient Gods - Part Two Balance Changes for ALL platforms

The World Spear

• Updated Fountain encounter by adding a Pain Elemental and improving AI pathing

• Added some incidental encounters to mountain area

• Adjusted pacing of initial Blood Maykr encounter

Reclaimed Earth

• Beefed up the first encounter to make it a bit more challenging and added a Mancubus

• Removed Stone Imps from the first stage of the Escalation Encounter

• Removed Shield and Riot Soldiers out of the Library arena

• Added some more challenging AI to combat as you ascend the Library building

• Added an additional Mancubus to the final arena

Immora

• No changes

Main Menu Music Option for ALL platforms

Happy to announce the community requested QOL option to be able to chose which music plays in the main menu!

Main Menu Music options now available via Audio menu:

• DOOM Eternal Menu Music

• The Ancient Gods Menu Music

New Achievements

Horde Mode brings three new Achievements!

Let's Play

• Complete the first Horde Mode Mission

Reinvent the Weapon Wheel

• Re-collect all of the weapons on the Weapon Wheel

Game Over

• Beat Horde Mode

Bug Fixes for ALL platforms

CAMPAIGN

• Fixed an issue where collision was present on armor and ammo drops

• Fixed in issue in which ambient music from the automap would persist outside of the Dossier

• Fixed the issue in which the Argentas Paladi Milestone progress would not complete correctly

Note: Thank you all so much for your patience with these!

BATTLEMODE 2.0

• Fixed an issue in which the Archvile’s Flame Wall would block the Marauder’s Shotgun Blast attack

• Updated the description for the Revenant’s Sadist upgrade to make the wording clearer

• Fixed an issue where Demon Players can stack Healing Zone for double healing with/without Tactician upgrade 

• Fixed a physics-related issue that caused Slayers to lose momentum when dashing next to certain surfaces 

• Fixed the Revenant’s jetpack acceleration so it is no longer framerate dependent

• Fixed an issue where additional Demon Player models would appear on respawn after using Team Heal upon a Demon teammate's death

• Fixed an issue where Slayers can generate more armor shards from Demon Players damaged by quick-swapping

• Fixed a culling issue on the ceiling of the Corrosion map

Bug Fixes for Xbox Only

BATTLEMODE 2.0

• Fixed an issue introduced in Update 6 in which the controller configuration image in the Settings menu didn't update after changing Controls as a Demon Player during a BATTLEMODE match

Known Issues for ALL platforms

GENERAL

• Issue: Series Challenge reward unlocks may be delayed

• Resolution: Series Challenge reward unlocks may not be immediate. If you experience this, don't worry, they will unlock shortly

• Issue: Mission Challenges pinned on the HUD can appear to partially reset once completed

• Resolution: This is a cosmetic issue. Progress on the Challenge tracker in the Dossier remains intact

• Issue: Control inputs may not work correctly in Photo Mode third person free camera mode

• Resolution: We are investigating a fix for this in a future update

• Issue: The cooldown timer does not appear if you fail to kill the tagged demon with the Take Back Rune equipped

• Resolution: We are investigating a fix for this in a future update

• Issue: The Saving Throw cooldown timer is shared between Campaign and Master Levels on the same save file

• Resolution: We are investigating a fix for this in a future update

MILESTONES

• Issue: Progress for the "Headstrong" and “Blood Transfusion” Agnostic Milestones is not tracked in the campaign or Master Levels

• Resolution: We will fix these Milestone issues in a future update

MASTER LEVELS

• Issue: The Full Auto Combat Shotgun mod is not usable if you interrupt its pickup animation with the Plasma Rifle equipped in the Mars Core Master Level

• Resolution: Switch to the Sticky Grenades mod then back to Full Auto to resolve this

• Issue: Milestones and milestone progress is not visible from the Pause Menu while playing a Master Level

• Resolution: This is a cosmetic issue in which the UI is not displaying correctly. Unless otherwise noted above, Milestone progress is being tracked under the hood while playing Master Levels. We will fix this in a future update

BATTLEMODE 2.0

• Issue: Your personal Leaderboard Rank may not always match your public one if you are tied with another player

• Resolution: Just be aware and check to see if you happened to be tied with another player on the Leaderboard

• Issue: The Demon Loadout menu may auto-scroll after selecting a new Demon if placed in a different Podium slot from the previous match on Quick Play

• Resolution: Back out of the lobby before all players are readied up and rejoin a new one to resolve the issue

• Issue: In rare cases, player names may appear delayed in BATTLEMODE lobbies or fail to appear before matches launch

• Resolution: It should correct itself by the end of match

• Issue: If the host leaves a match in progress, the remaining players are placed in a broken lobby

• Resolution: Back out of the lobby to resolve this issue, if encountered.  It will be fixed in an upcoming patch

Horde Mode

• Issue: The player’s “Previous Best” score displays as 0 on death and at the Victory Summary screen after finishing all Horde Mode rounds on Cultist Base and Reclaimed Earth

• Resolution: This is a cosmetic issue. The correct score is being tracked under the hood even though it displays as 0 on the UI. We are working to fix this issue in a future release

• Issue: The Difficulty Bonus score is incorrectly attributed to Combat Score on the Summary screen after losing your last life

• Resolution: This is a cosmetic issue. The correct score is recorded

• Issue: In rare instances, the player may get pushed out of the world

• Resolution: You will need to back out of the current Horde Mode playthrough to resolve this

• Issue: There may be briefly visible level culling present after teleporting and during Round transitions

• Resolution: This has no effect on gameplay

Known Issues for PlayStation 5 Only

BATTLEMODE 2.0

• Issue: On PlayStation 5, some users may encounter the "#str_dlg_no_online_priveleges" error pop-up message

• Resolution: This means you can't access online game features without a PlayStation Plus subscription if you do not already have one. If you already have a PlayStation Plus subscription, it means that you are not able to access online features because of a network connection issue. In this case, please check your network connections and confirm that all ISP and platform services are not down. We will be adding clearer error messages for these cases in a future update

Known Issues for Stadia Only

Horde Mode

• Issue: The Demon Wave HUD element may not always display accurately during some Arena Rounds

Known Issues for PC Only

• Issue: Some users with Ray Tracing-compatible NVIDIA GPUs have reported stability and performance issues while playing with Ray Tracing and DLSS enabled on the 496.13 and 496.49 drivers. NVIDIA are actively investigating these reports

• Resolution: Users have reported reverted to the 472.12 driver release resolves the issue. You can download them here