Level 44
Traps:


Doom 64 TC level 44: Traps


Open the only door available, then step out to confront a hell knight waiting in the middle of the room. Continuing north toward the other door, you won't quite make it that far. Suddenly you find yourself in a another cubical, teleported a bit further north. Activating the switch lowers the walls, placing you right in the middle of a squad of zombie soldiers. Strafe around firing to take them out as efficiently as possible, then head back towards the south or find some cover.

There are more chaingunners in a corridor to the SW, and another on a ledge to the SE. Some imps will be sending fire from the north and there are two caged cacodemons that will be presenting a threat. The bloody areas below look like they might be dangerous but they aren't, other than a few specters roaming around.

Head to the west and through the door. The blue key and blue key door are both here, but inaccessible for now. The hallway can be cleared to collect some ammo and health. From the center area, jump down onto a pedastle to collect a double-barreled shotgun. To the west is a lift to an alcove with a switch and a teleport pad. This switch lowers the teleport pad near the blue key cage. The teleport there takes you to a seemingly meaningless position on top of another pedastle. Ride the lift up again and the room where the switch was has now opened and is full of imps.

Red key:
Take the hallway to the south towards the red key door. To the west are some stairs up to another alcove and switch. This switch opens the bars allowing you further north into the level, but also opens a room at the bottom of the stairs with a pair of hell knights waiting. Dispatch them both, then continue north.

Through the previously barred area, there are more imps on ledges and cacodemons in cages. Clear this area out before heading through the door to the north. A stalker waits just inside the door. Once he's taken care of, head inside to find two nightcrawlers and a pack of bull demons. Let the nightcrawlers eliminate the demons, then thank them for the help with some fire of your own.

By jumping off the walkway further east, near the door marked as an exit, you can open this area up via a wall switch. This opens both sides, however. In the other open area to the west is a mancubus and a pair of acid demons. There is also a pair of hell knights on an upper walkway behind the yellow door that can be dealt with from here. Another of those special keys can be seen floating mysterious above a pedastle here also.

In the middle of the wall at the far north point of the map is another wall switch. This one lowers the floor into a tight corridor below. Of course, you just know there will be some old friends down there waiting to play with you. It's a nightmare demon and a hell knight! Have the double-barrel ready, but don't fire a shot at first. The hell knight will likely tag his buddy with a fireball and start an altercation. The nightmare demon can take 5 or 6 of those fireballs, so let him work on the hell knight a little before he falls. One good blast should bring the knight down after that.

The bars will then rise giving you a way up again via the stairs. At the top though, are more hell knights and cacodemons. When it's all quiet again, collect the red key from the short pedastle there and head back towards the red door.

Blue Key:
Through the red key door is nothing but a little platform that is actually a teleport. Step onto it and you will find yourself in the far NE corner of the map, looking out over the bloody area you just came from. Before moving, save your game. When you step off of the teleport pad, 6 wooden columns will rise up from the area below. They only stay up for about three seconds, and you must make it across them to the alcove they lead to in order to finish this map. If you fall off, then you have to run all the way back around and through the red key door again!

*Someone has suggested starting this difficult run by jumping to the third column instead of the first, so you might give that a try if it seems impossible.

When (if) you finally make it to that alcove, head all the way to the switch there quickly. On top of all the fun you have just had getting there, the great sensation of accomplishment can quite literally be crushed here by the ceiling dropping down! This switch opens the door at the nearby false exit. Before going there, check your auto-map and find a section of wall that opens near the teleport pad. There is a secret area with blue armor and a computer map, and also a soul-sphere down the nearby stairs. I would avoid picking either of these up unless you have to.

The switch by the fake exit lowers the floor into a group of imps. The switch in this lower room opens the cage where the blue key is. Up the stairway is a hell knight and some ammo. The hallway at the top of the stairs leads back towards the red key door. About halfway down this hallway you will hear and/or see some sections of wall lower. Run back down the stairs to take cover as you have just triggered a fireball trap. The trap only activates once, so when it stops it will be safe to pass.

To the left and immediately to the left again, another teleport portal has opened. This one takes you to the blue key. Collecting the blue key opens doors on both sides and nightmare imps will try to prevent you from getting very far. Check your auto-map again to find another secret area between the rooms they were in. Inside is a plasma rifle and some hell potions.

Yellow key:
Behind the blue key door is an arachnotron and a pair of cacodemons. The overhead structure makes it so the cacos must put themselves in the arach's line of fire to get to you. Use this to your advantage and let the spider take care of both for you, then send him a rocket or two for Christmas. From the far west wall you can take out another arachnotron to the north before he can cause any problems. There is also a group of zombies that can be sniped at from here.

The wall switch opens a path on the south side of the room. Have the chainsaw ready before entering, as three bull demons will appear in the hallway and one of them will be behind you. The switch at the end of this hall opens another section of wall to reveal the yellow key. Picking it up will summon another group of nightmare imps.

To the left, just inside the yellow key door is a hidden door to the secret area where the backpack is, along with a few health potions. The wall switch raises a walkway to the left that allows you to pass where the second arachnotron was perched. You can also jump across to where the soldiers were to collect a bunch of energy cells there.

At the end of the dark corridor is a switch that lowers a barrier between two teleports you may have seen before. Head back towards the red key door. More imps and zombies will appear along the walkways, and the cages will now hold nightmare cacodemons.

Eventually, travel through the red key door teleport, then the teleport to the right along the walkway. The twin teleport that is now open takes you back to a ledge overlooking the special key. Here, zombies will try to keep you from making it to yet another teleport pad on the other end of the ledge. This fourth teleport will put you next to the real level exit.

This is another important place to save your game. The exit room looks safe enough, but once you pass the center, four pedastles will rise up to trap you, then begin spewing out fireballs. This time, there is nowhere to run and no escape! All you can do is move as quickly as possible and try to survive until the trap shuts off. A single imp will then attempt to defend the exit switch.

Before leaving, head back to the original start room to collect the special key that has appeared there. Fill up on ammo and health as best as you can, then pick up that soul-sphere and blue armor if you haven't already.





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