A Big Upgrade For Doom The Dark Ages
Doom The Dark Ages already delivered some gloriously brutal demon slaying, but its August update added something extra for players who like to tinker with their own fights. That mode was the Ripatorium, a custom arena where you could spawn demons and build wave based encounters.
Now id Software has pushed out update 2.3 and it is not just a small balance patch. The Ripatorium has been reworked into what is basically Ripatorium 2.0, with a new structure, more control, and a smarter way to share your creations with other players.
If you bounced off the original Ripatorium because it felt too repetitive or loose, this update might be the moment to jump back in.
What Changed In The Main Game
Before diving into the arena overhaul, it is worth touching on the main campaign changes. Update 2.3 does a bit of general housekeeping to keep the campaign feeling sharp.
- Combat encounter tweaks Some fights in the story have been adjusted. Think of it as id Software moving pieces around the board one extra enemy here, one less there to keep the pacing and challenge smooth.
- Brink of Death options The game includes a system called Brink of Death which can sometimes save you when you are about to die at very low health. With the new update, you can now reduce how often this system kicks in.
That means if you want a more old school Doom feel where a bad mistake equals an instant death, you can now tune the game closer to that. It is a nice touch for players who want a more punishing experience without having to crank every difficulty slider.
Ripatorium 2.0: From Waves To Rounds
The heart of the update is the complete redesign of the Ripatorium. Previously, this mode was a straightforward wave based arena. You could pick what demons appeared, how many times they respawned, and whether the fight was timed or endless. It was fun for a while, but it could quickly start feeling like the same mess of monsters over and over.
Ripatorium 2.0 flips this into a round based structure that gives you more control and better pacing.
- Up to five rounds per encounter Instead of one long wave, you now build an encounter as a series of up to five rounds.
- Custom rules for every round Each round can have its own settings. You decide which demons show up and how many times they can respawn.
- Up to 10 waves per round Within each round, you can still break the action into multiple waves, so the fight can escalate in stages rather than just throw everything at you from second one.
The big benefit here is progression. You are not fighting the same pile of monsters on repeat. Instead, you can create a climbing difficulty curve. For example, you might start round one with basic fodder demons, bring in tougher heavies in round two, and then let rip with your nastiest super heavy combo in round five.
This lets the Ripatorium feel closer to a mini campaign builder. You can shape the flow of a fight instead of just toggling some sliders and hoping for chaos.
The update also includes a few extras that make the mode more fun to hang out in:
- Five new music tracks More tracks to blast while you are tearing through hellspawn, so the ambience does not get stale.
- New encounter presets If you do not feel like building your own setup, you can jump into pre built scenarios and get straight to the action.
Passcodes And The Future Of Player Made Fights
One of the coolest parts of Ripatorium 2.0 is the new passcode system. Whenever you create an encounter, you can save it with a unique code. Share that code with friends or online, and anyone can load and play the exact same setup.
On its own, that might sound pretty basic. Lots of games have level codes. The interesting part is what id Software wants to do with those codes.
- Community made presets The studio plans to highlight the best custom encounters by turning them into official community made presets inside the mode.
- Social sharing Players are encouraged to post passcodes on social media and tag the official Doom account, making it easier for the developers and the community to find cool ideas.
This is a smart way to stretch the life of a singleplayer shooter. Not everyone wants to design their own arenas from scratch. But a lot of people are happy to browse and play great fights made by more creative or obsessive players.
Longtime Doom fans might remember Snapmap from Doom 2016, which let players build and share full custom maps. It even had in game browsing and rating tools. Ripatorium 2.0 is not as advanced as that system, and Doom The Dark Ages is more focused on singleplayer than online features, so fully integrated map sharing might be a bigger lift this time around.
Still, this update is a clear step in that direction. Strong support for player created content gives singleplayer games more replay value and a longer tail, which is important in a market obsessed with live service games and endless multiplayer grinds.
For players, it means this: if you like Doom combat, the Ripatorium is turning into a community driven demon lab where you can always find a new challenge, whether you love building encounters yourself or just downloading some fiendish gauntlet that someone else cooked up.
So if Doom The Dark Ages has been sitting installed but untouched, update 2.3 is a solid excuse to jump back in, tweak your Brink of Death settings, and see what kind of horrors the community can unleash in Ripatorium 2.0.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/doom-the-dark-ages-latest-update-overhauls-its-customisable-arena-mode-and-id-software-wants-to-add-the-best-player-made-slaughter-fests-as-selectable-presets/
