Doom 3/Weapons

Where indicated, italic text is quoted directly from the Doom 3 manual.

Fists
There's nothing like a little hand-to-hand combat. The most basic form of close combat possible. As a melee weapon, the 'berserk' power up will turn a successful hit into a one-hit kill. In multiplayer modes, in addition to inflicting damage, one can steal another player's weapon by landing a punch.

Flashlight
''Power fluctuations and maintenance issues continue to create poor lighting at the UAC Facility and flashlights are now required for all security forces. Also works as a club in close combat.'' Both a useful piece of lighting equipment and a handy club, the flashlight has infinite battery life, making it useful for illuminating dark areas (critical to survival in Doom 3). As a close range weapon, the flashlight differs from the fists insofar as it deals twice as much damage and possesses a greater range, but swings more slowly. Like all melee weapons in Doom 3, the flashlight can kill with one blow if the user has the 'berserk' power up.

Pistol
''Standard marine issue semi-automatic pistol. It's highly accurate and provides solid stopping power without expending too much ammo. A semi-automatic pistol which has no spread whatsoever, allowing it to be used at long ranges as a "sniper pistol" (in the manner of Half-Life, Unreal'' and other venerable first-person shooters). In multiplayer, the player possesses a pistol from the beginning.

Shotgun
''The weapon of choice for close combat. Use sparingly for medium or long-range targets.'' Like its real world counterpart, the shotgun is devastating at close range, capable of dispatching most standard enemies with one well-aimed shot. However, it should be used sparingly in other contexts, as its extremely high spread (22 degrees in single player) makes it a very poor weapon otherwise. In multiplayer, the shotgun's spread is reduced to 11 degrees, increasing its effectiveness when user and target have some distance between them.

Machine Gun
A high rate of fire, good accuracy and excellent power makes this a perfect weapon for medium and long-range enemies and quick targeting. Possessing a rapid rate of fire, commendable accuracy, and excellent power, the machine gun is a popular weapon for medium and long-range combat situations. With only 1° of spread and a magazine size of 60, the machinegun is well suited to firing a line of headshots that can bring most enemies down in seconds. In RoE multiplayer, the machinegun is the player's starting weapon.

Chaingun
This is a great short- to medium-range rapid-fire weapon, as each bullet inflicts twice as much damage as a machinegun round, but has a wider spread (and hence, is more inaccurate). In multiplayer, the chaingun’s spread is reduced to a mere 1 degree, thus making it a popular long-range weapon.

Grenade
As an explosive weapon, the grenade can deal splash damage, i.e. it damages entities within a certain radius rather than at a single specific point. Grenades can bounce off walls but will explode on contact with an enemy. Grenades are ideal for attacking enemies who are around corners or behind cover. However, the splash damage can also injure its user, so one should exercise caution when using grenades in close range combat.

Plasma gun
A weapon that fires blue orbs of hot plasma that sear through flesh. The plasma gun is similar to those of the original Doom games, with a few differences. The plasma gun is a rapid-fire weapon that has no spread, however, the projectile velocity is considerably slower than previous instalments of Doom, making it an unsuitable weapon for long range. In multiplayer, the plasma gun's capacity is reduced from 50 to 30, but its damage per projectile increases. Because of its large shot size, the plasma gun is useful for putting up "flak," capable of colliding with and prematurely detonating a wide variety of explosive projectiles.

Rocket launcher
The rocket launcher is one of the most powerful weapons of the game, firing a rocket propelled grenade that detonates on contact with any surface or creature. It is used best at mid- to long-range, as its user can damage him or herself should the projectile detonate too close to the player. It can be used for rocket jumping.

BFG 9000
("Big Fucking Gun"; "Bio Force Gun" in the film) The BFG 9000 is an extremely powerful energy charge weapon that can clear entire rooms of opponents. One fully-charged blast will deal more than enough damage to kill almost all enemies on a direct hit, and most cannot survive within a few meters (in contrast to the 15 meters described by the UAC video). Each projectile beams a damaging ray at enemies and contains an electronic core that can distinguish between allies and foes. Upon finding an enemy target, the projectile automatically detonates. The disadvantage of the BFG is that it will instantly kill its user if overcharged. The BFG is not found in the standard Doom 3 multiplayer maps, but is still modified for non-single player games, where it fires a slower projectile.

Chainsaw
A very powerful melee weapon, named the "Beaver Tooth," presumably in reference to its potential for cutting through wood. Should an attack connect, most enemies fall in a matter of seconds. As a mêlée weapon, the chainsaw can be used with the berserk power up to kill instantly on impact. The chainsaw is not included in the vanilla Doom 3 multiplayer maps.

Soul Cube
The Soul Cube is a supernatural weapon whose provenance is explained by a detailed back-story within the plot of the game. Employment of the Soul Cube releases a whirling blade-type weapon that automatically homes in on the enemy with greatest health, dealing 1,000 damage points to the target (instantly killing all but the bosses), and restoring the player's health according to the health of its victim prior to the attack. The Soul Cube becomes "charged" for use after the player has killed 5 enemies, and will not further charge. Upon being charged, the player is alerted by the Cube's spoken advice, "Use us." After use, the Cube must be recharged again with 5 kills. The Soul Cube is useless in multiplayer and not included in the standard Doom 3 multiplayer maps.