Pistol/Doom 3

"All UAC Security and Military personnel are supplied with this basic projectile side arm."

- PDA Description

The pistol is the basic gun found in Doom 3. It is the first weapon that the player obtains, aside from the flashlight. Comparatively weak but also very accurate. The design is similar to the Pistol featured in the classic Doom games. In Doom 3, the pistol is considerably more powerful, but often seems weaker, due to the fact that several of the weaker monsters have been "beefed up" compared to their classic counterparts.

While the pistol, machine gun, and chaingun all fire bullets, they do not share the same ammo pool as in earlier Doom games.

Tactical Analysis
As the first starting weapon of the game, the Pistol shines greatly against the earlier enemies the player comes across, such as Zombies and even shotgun wielding Z-Secs. However, it eventually becomes outmatched when fighting against average sized demons such as the Imp, in which the player should switch to more powerful weapons such as either the Shotgun or Machine Gun.

It is best used to conserve ammo or as a backup weapon for when stronger weapons get close to emptying their magazines. In mid and close range, the Machine Gun is far more reliable, but the pistol is very accurate, so use it for enemies at long distance, or when you run out of ammo. It is also a worthy weapon against Trites, being able to kill one with two bullets, and against Lost Souls if your aim is reliable. But when they come closer, swap to something more powerful.

While the Pistol is not ideal against majority of enemies, it can also be convenient on destroying explosive barrels that are scattered throughout the game.

Trivia

 * The appearance of the pistol is influenced by the pistol that Harrison Ford's character Rick Deckard carries in the Blade Runner film.
 * The pistol (with no sound mods) uses the same sound as Half-Life: Opposing Force's Desert Eagle.