DOOM: The Dark Ages has a moderately sized arsenal that will continue to grow as you play the game. You'll end up with six base weapons, five of which have two different modes. In total, this leaves you with 11 weapons you can buy upgrades for. Upgrade materials can be found in secret locations, or earned through completing challenges. While you'll eventually be able to upgrade all your items, you will have to decide what to focus on before you've earned enough to upgrade everything.

I was lucky enough to have played DOOM: The Dark Ages early for a review, so I've already beaten the game. These were the weapons I found most helpful, and the ones that I focused on upgrading first. This isn't to say other weapons aren't good or fun to use, but these are the ones I found most reliable. I'll also give you some general tips on upgrading, in case you want to try out a slightly different weapon combination, but still want some basic tips.

Shield Upgrades Are Always Useful

You'll Always Have Your Shield Equipped

One thing to keep in mind is that, while you'll be cycling through your guns, you'll always have your shield equipped. And, unlike melee weapons in DOOM: The Dark Ages, there are no different versions of the shield to switch between. Since you'll never switch it off, upgrading your shield is a good way to guarantee your points are going towards something you'll definitely use. Although not as powerful as your guns, the shield is a valuable tool that you'll likely rely on more than you think for both attacks and defense.

Basic shield upgrades in DOOM: The Dark Ages are linear, so there's no deciding which tree to follow, just when you should stop to prioritize your guns instead. I found the first three shield upgrades to be helpful early on, especially the second, which allows you to bounce your shield off enemies' energy shields. This allows you to deal with most shielded enemies in the same way, making it easier to react quickly to their presence. The extended saw blade is also nice as I rarely have to waste bullets on fodder enemies after getting it.

The Super Shotgun Is Perfect Against Bosses

The Super Shotgun Does Massive Damage At Close Range

The Super Shotgun is the second mode you unlock for your starting shotgun. It has a big spread, but does a ton of damage, so if you let it rip right next to a boss you're going to do a ton of damage. Any larger enemy is easily chewed up by this gun, and you can charge in with your shield to guarantee that you'll get max damage off. This was my go-to gun for bosses throughout the game and it never stopped being effective.

Although you'll want all three upgrades for the Super Shotgun at some point, you don't need to worry about the last one until a bit later when enemies get stronger. However, getting the second upgrade, Shatter, early on can be very helpful. It quickly makes enemy armor overheat, allowing you to shatter it with a quick toss of your shield and start doing damage to the enemy's health instead. I bought this upgrade as soon as I could, and it saved me a lot of effort against armored enemies.

The Cycler Is Great For Keeping The Pressure Up On Enemies

The Cycler Has A High Fire Rate And Large Capacity

The Cycler is the second form of the accelerator. Although you don't get this or the Super Shotgun right away, holding out to upgrade these weapons can mean waiting a few levels before upgrading anything besides your shield. If you want to throw at least one upgrade on the Shredder while you wait, it wouldn't hurt too badly, but I did regret doing it on my first playthrough since I basically stopped using it after getting the Cycler.

The Cycler is the perfect counterpart to the Super Shotgun. It's long-range and has a high fire rate, so you can use it to keep the pressure up on your enemies from far away as you move in for the finishing blow with melee or the Super Shotgun. The first upgrade for the Cycler allows it to apply shock to enemies after you attack them a few times with it. Shocked enemies take extra damage from all your attacks, so shocking an enemy from afar and then blasting them with the Super Shotgun can be very effective.

The third upgrade for the Cycler will also increase the duration of Shock and allow it to jump to even more enemies if you kill a shocked target with the Cycler. This can allow you to easily chain Shock through weaker enemies and increase the chance it gets applied to something big. Swapping between this and the Super Shotgun carried me through most of the game, and any upgrades I made after that were mostly just to give things that looked fun a try.

Avoid Upgrading Both Versions Of A Weapon Right Away

Weapon Variants Share Ammo

With the five weapons that have two styles, you'll want to avoid spending all your resources upgrading both versions. Weapons share ammo between their two versions, so you likely won't find yourself switching between them all that often. For instance, I rarely used the Combat Shotgun after finding the Super Shotgun, because it just never felt like a more effective use of my shells. Instead, I would stick with upgrading the version of each weapon you see yourself using more regularly, then just go back to upgrading the rest once you have your preferred side maxed out.

After a few levels, you will also get melee weapons and runes for your shield to upgrade. Personally, I would prioritize leveling up your guns first. The most effective rune in DOOM: The Dark Ages is unlocked later on, so I wouldn't waste too many resources upgrading the earlier ones. I initially felt the same way about melee weapons, but as I've started a second playthrough, I'm finding myself using the Power Gauntlet more. It could be a good substitute for early upgrades to the Shredder, since you may use the Gauntlet longer.

At the end of the day, pretty much any weapon from DOOM: The Dark Ages will do the trick. If you're not enjoying the ones I've recommended, then experiment with the others before committing too many resources to the Super Shotgun or the Cycler. Regardless of what you land on, however, I still recommend you stick with one of its versions. You may also want to make a habit out of exploring every corner of DOOM: The Dark World's map so you can find ways to upgrade your weapons.