Patch NotesDoom: The Dark AgesHotfix 2

Doom: The Dark Ages 4 Hotfix 2 Patch Notes (29th July 2026)

Hotfix 2 tightens weapon balance across three melee tools and patches a save-breaking bug in Osseus that could permanently lock progression.

Nathan Lees6 min read
Doom: The Dark Ages Slayer wielding melee weapons in a demonic arena environment.
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The Update 4 Hotfix 2 lands on all platforms today, and while the headline changes are modest, the bug fixes address problems that could wreck a playthrough. The balance adjustments target three weapons that were either overperforming or creating friction in specific scenarios, but the real story here is a save-corruption bug that slipped through Update 4 and is now being patched before it spreads further.

Skullcrusher Ravager's ammo and health drop thresholds have shifted: standard enemies now require more damage to trigger drops, while Vagary enemies and Xal'Goroth the Imprisoned demand even higher thresholds. This is a cooldown in disguise. Players using Skullcrusher as a primary ammo-generation tool will notice longer stretches between pickups, particularly against bosses where consistent damage is harder to land. The weapon was likely sustaining too aggressively in high-level play, turning resource management into a non-issue. Tormentor, the Chain Spear's Meathook Orbit upgrade, now suffers diminishing returns when chained repeatedly against Heavy and Superheavy demons or the Henchman, eventually disabling the post-orbit lock-on entirely. Against Vagary enemies, its damage output is reduced outright. This is a direct nerf to loop-based strategies that relied on Tormentor spam for crowd control and burst damage. Dreadmace's Riposte upgrade now plays the backhand swing first when a second swing is available, reordering the combo sequence. That sounds minor until you realise it changes the rhythm of the parry-counterattack flow and may alter which attacks connect with which enemy states.

The bug fixes are where this patch earns its urgency. A critical save-corruption issue in Osseus's End Game Praetor Fight could permanently break progression if the player used the Confessional Stone at a specific location. That is now resolved. Chain Spear had a hands-disappearing glitch during Glory Strikes and Executions, and Haste from Spear abilities was disabling the Dash Pass upgrade entirely. Marok's targeting was broken, Xal'Goroth's Glory Strike could send players through the floor, and the Chasm of Xal'Goroth End Game fight had the Acolyte Leader teleporting into ice walls. All patched. The Ripatorium arena fixes address Archviles teleporting off the map and floor clipping in Osseus, while Hell's Core fixes prevent the flamethrower cart from trivialising the Revenant Leader and block a sequence-breaking Blue Skull Key pickup that could trap players on reload.

One known issue remains: re-entering the Classic Level Encounter in Chasm of Xal'Goroth more than once per session can permanently lock the player in that location. The patch notes explicitly warn against repeating this action, which is a containment strategy rather than a fix. That problem will need a follow-up. For most players, this hotfix is a straightforward stabilisation pass that removes several progression-blocking bugs and tightens weapons that were overshadowing alternatives. The save corruption fix alone makes this mandatory.

Full Patch Notes

▲ Buff▼ Nerf✓ Fix◆ Tweak

A hotfix has been deployed to DOOM: The Dark Ages on all platforms that addresses the following issues:

⚖️Balance Updates

Gameplay

Skullcrusher Ravager

  • Updated damage required to trigger ammo and health drops from standard enemies
  • Increased damage required to trigger ammo and health drops from Vagary enemies, Xal'Goroth the Imprisoned
  • Decreased damage dealt to the Pain Elemental

Tormentor (Chain Spear Meathook Orbit Upgrade)

  • Against Heavy demons, Superheavy demons, or the Henchman
  • Too many consecutive uses of Tormentor in a short period of time will apply diminishing returns on max time and angle for orbiting the target, eventually leading to the post-orbit lock-on being disabled as well
  • Against Vagary enemies
    • Damage dealt is reduced while Tormentor is active

    Dreadmace

    • When Riposte upgrade is active (with 2nd Dreadmace swing available), the backhand swing will now play first

    🗺️Levels

    Osseus

    • In the End Game Praetor Fight, updated late-encounter Cyberdemons spawn conditions and defense roles to make them more impactful

    🐞Bug Fixes

    Chain Spear

    • Fixed an issue where attempting to initiate a Glory Strike or synced Execution against a demon while also attempting a second Spear slash would leave the player with no hands
    • Fixed an issue where triggering "Haste" from any Spear ability upgrade caused the "Dash Pass" upgrade to become disabled

    👹Bosses

    Marok

    • Fixed an issue where Marok wouldn’t properly target the player while attacking

    Xal’Goroth the Imprisoned

    • Fixed an issue where the player could fall through the floor when attempting to Glory Strike Xal’Goroth
    • Fixed an issue where Holy Swarm Shield Rune daggers would not spawn when parrying projectiles

    👿Enemies

    • Fixed an issue where attempting to execute an Agaddon Brute Champion too close to a wall could cause the player to become stuck in the wall
    • Fixed an issue in the Chasm of Xal’Goroth End Game Praetor Fight where the Acolyte Leader could teleport and become stuck inside an ice wall

    🏟️Ripatorium

    • Fixed an issue in Osseus arena where Archviles would rarely teleport outside the map near the water section
    • Fixed an issue in Osseus where the player could clip inside the floor around the middle-left of the arena

    📽️Cinematics

    • Fixed an issue where the cinematic before Marok's Phase 3 was missing the vignetting border VFX

    🎰UI

    • Fixed an issue where turning ‘OFF’ the Melee Pips visibility was not hiding the icons until a checkpoint was reloaded
    • Fixed an issue where Slayers Club and Account Creation QR codes appeared blank after quitting to main menu
    • Fixed an issue on PlayStation 5 where Slayers Club presented a ‘page can't be displayed’ error when selected
    • Fixed an issue where Shield Saw Teeth were removed from the Shield HUD element upon throwing the Shield
    • New users will no longer see the bind reset dialog.

    🗺️Levels

    Hell’s Core

    • Fixed an issue that allowed the player to use the flamethrower cart to easily kill the Revenant Leader
    • Fixed an issue where picking up the Blue Skull Key before the checkpoint fired was causing the player to become trapped in the room upon reload/death

    Chasm of Xal’Goroth

    • Fixed an issue where attempting to mantle onto platform pieces that were returning to their original positions could cause the player to clip into the ceiling

    Osseus

    • Fixed an issue where pressing ‘Use’ at the location of the Confessional Stone in End Game could permanently break the player’s save if used

    💥Crashes

    • Fixed a rare crash that could occur during Atlan gameplay sequences

    🧠Known Issue

    🗺️Levels

    • Chasm of Xal’Goroth (End Game) - when reentering the Classic Level Encounter, you can become perma locked in that location unable to exit
    • Please refrain from re-entering the Classic Level Encounter more than one time per loading into Chasm of Xal’Goroth

    A huge thank you to everyone who's been submitting bug reports! 💞

    ➡️Click here for a look at the full release notes from our recent Update 4.

    If you're still experiencing issues, please holler at our amazing Customer Service team

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    Tags:Patch NotesDoom: The Dark Ages
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    Written by

    Nathan Lees

    Gaming journalist and founder of XP Gained. Covering patch notes, breaking news, and updates across 160+ games.

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