Heretic/E1M2: The Dungeons



You start in the tower near the souterhn part of the map, within a small courtyard. Stairs lead to the base of the tower behind you, but it is also possible to exit by the window ahead.

Walkthrough
Climb down from the tower, either by jumping or through the stairs. In the southeast of this area you will find a wooden door, leading to a series of similar doors. Pass through these four doors into the room beyond. The demon face wall in this room is a fake wall with Undead Warriors who will attack from behind it, although it is possible to surprise them. Turn left and go up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, go forward and make a U-turn to the right to find an Ethereal Crossbow. Picking it up will trigger an ambush from gargoyles, so be careful. Collecting the crossbow is optional, but makes the level much easier. Backtrack to the top of the stairs.

From the top of the main stairs, take a left turn and head north down the main corridor. The yellow key is located behind the set of barrels. Return to the central area either by backtracking, or by using the secret exit in the north-east corner of the room.

Head through the yellow door in the south-west corner of the central area. Make your way around the structure in the room beyond to find a wooden door. Head through, turn right, and follow the stairs down. At the bottom of the stairs you will find a pool of grey slime. Run across as fast as you can to the opening on the other side. Go to the left, then left again and you will find a hallway with three wooden doors on your right. The room behind the first two doors contains Quartz Flasks. Go through the third door and fight your way into the structure at the center of the room to collect the green key.

At this point, you may backtrack or continue forward. If you go forward, turn right as you exit the green key room, then right again. Pull the switch to open a door leading to a stairway, then follow the stairs up. At the top of the stairs, lower the wall marked with a falcon and enter the chamber beyond. There is another ambush here. Open the next wall marked with a falcon and pass through. Turn right and make your way forward. A wall will lower temporarily to allow you back into the central area.

Head through the green door in the north-east corner and find the blue key. When you take it, the lights will go out another ambush will trigger. To restore the lights, head into the alcove containing the bag of holding. With the blue key, head back to the yellow door and go down the stairs beyond to the edge of the slime pool. To the left is the blue door. Pass through it and follow the stairs down to the exit.

Secrets

 * 1) Past the third wooden door from the central area, there is a wall that looks darker.  Open it to access the area behind the fake wall in the next room and collect a Tome of Power.  You can also ambush the Undead Warriors.
 * 2) At the top of the stairs from the fake wall room, you will see a room with black pillars to the west.  Make your way around these pillars to find a torch and a switch.  Pulling the switch opens a passage in the yellow key room.  Go through this passage and down the stairs beyond to earn a secret.  An ambush will trigger as you head down the stairs.  Continue to the bottom of the stairs, and a passage to the central area will open.  You will find that the red column in the tower has risen and you can collect the Dragon Claw.  Beware, as this red column becomes a fatal crushing ceiling once you step under it.
 * 3) After going through the yellow door, you will see a darker wall to the left of the door that leads to the stairs down.  Open it to find a secret chamber where you will find a Shadowsphere.  Entering the chamber triggers an ambush. This secret is not visible if you used the torch, and is difficult to see if you increase the display brightness.
 * 4) When you reach the grey slime area, make a U-turn to the right into a passage that has a darkened wall at the end.  Open the wall and pass through to find an area with Timebombs of the Ancients and a Map Scroll.  Collecting these items will open a closet in the corridor behind you.
 * 5) Inside the above secret, you will see another darkened wall.  Open it to find Gauntlets of the Necromancer.
 * 6) After collecting the green key, take the route forward.  On the stairs, you will see a torch with flickering light.  Open the wall opposite this torch and head in to find a chamber containing Wings of Wrath.
 * 7) After collecting the blue key, enter the ambush chamber that has walls with a grey triangular pattern.  One wall is darkened.  Pass through this secret door to find a large chamber with items.  At the opposite end of this chamber is another wall with the same grey triangular pattern.  You can open it to come out near where you collected the green key.

The following bonus areas do not give credit to your secrets score:
 * 1) After collecting the Ethereal Crossbow, enter the ambush chamber that opened.  A second ambush opens.  Head into this one as well and a third will open.  Go in and push on the western wall to find a darkened chamber with a Silver Shield.  While you can access this shield through another route, this path disarms the ambush that would normally surprise you.
 * 2) After collecting the green key, go forward to the place where the wall bordering the central area lowers.  You can stand on this lowered section until it rises again to find several bonuses above.  Lower the wall again and run through the yellow door.  You will find that the central structure there has also lowered temporarily, making more bonuses available.

Weapons

 * The ethereal crossbow is in the south-east part of the map, on a right turn through the southern corridor.
 * The Claw orb is in the lower portion of the tower. To reach it, get the yellow key, and return to the court-yard from the north-east path.
 * Gauntlets of the Necromancer are located near the blue key area; on the southern part of the room is an alcove that opens to a secret area.

Multiplayer

 * A chaos device is at the western end of the northern secret.
 * Mystic Urn and Tomb of Power at the exit.
 * A second Dragon's claw is near the blue key gate.
 * A hellstaff is in the south-west Shadowsphere secret.
 * An etheral crossbow is available from the northwest re-entry to the courtyard.
 * A phoenix rod is in the Wings of Wrath secret.