Commando/Doom II

"Geeze, weren't shotgun zombies bad enough? At least when you fade these jerks you get a cool chaingun."

- Doom II manual description

The Heavy Weapons Dude (called a Former Commando in the Doom II manual, and frequently referred to as the Chaingunner) is the third and most powerful type of human which has been turned into a zombie during the invasion from Hell. It is the first new monster introduced in Doom II, greeting the player in MAP03.

Physical Appearance
The Heavy Weapons Dude has a different appearance from the other former humans in that they are burlier/overweight, as well as having a darker skin tone. The Heavy Weapon Dude appears as a robust, red-eyed, bald man with a bloody mouth, wearing bloodstained red body armor and boots over slate-gray pants, and carries a chaingun with its accompanying ammo belt.

Combat Characteristics
The Heavy Weapons Dude emits the same sounds as the Zombieman/Shotgun Guy enemies do. When spotting the player, they will make one of three animalistic roars, and will emit a pained groaning and soft moaning sound while it is in pain and being active, respectively.

This enemy attacks by repeatedly firing its chaingun. While its chaingun does slightly less damage per bullet than the player's version and has a slower rate of fire, the damage buildup can increase considerably. Especially once the Heavy Weapon Dude begins to fire, it will continue until its target has been killed or left its line of sight, or if the monster itself, has been stunned (causing it to move immediately afterward) or killed.

When killed without being gibbed, he lets out the same three Zombieman/Shotgun Guy death cries, his right body half rips apart, head exploding, left eyeball and right arm falling off as the other half of the body collapses backwards. Upon dying, he drops his chaingun, which contains 10 bullets. It contains 20 bullets on the ITYTD and NM skill levels. In common with other monsters, although the Chaingunner's weapon is shown in his right hand, the bullets emerge from his middle.

Tactical Analysis
Because of their unrelenting automatic fire, and their tendency to appear in large numbers, the Heavy Weapon Dudes are not enemies to be taken as lightly as other former humans are. They should be considered a high priority threat in cases where there are many in an enclosed area, even when they are accompanied by more powerful enemies.

As Heavy Weapons Dude employ a ranged attack that starts quickly and continues in rapid succession (even the Spiderdemon pauses briefly in its tracks before firing, giving the player a fraction of a second to take cover), they are able to quickly drain the player's health while providing almost no opportunity to dodge. Therefore, the player must ensure they avoid staying in one place in open areas and frequently maintain cover.

Engaging the Heavy Weapon Dude at close range is generally risky, as it gives them more opportunity to land a hit on the player. However, should the player find themselves having no choice but to confront these monsters at close quarters, the super shotgun works best, as one point blank blast will guarantee a quick kill. Discretion must be taken however, if the player is forced to fight multiple Heavy Weapon Dudes at close range. The slow reloading animation the super shotgun provides would often render the player vulnerable if they are forced to deal with multiple Heavy Weapon Dudes in close quarters.

The chaingun would be a preferable option to take out multiple Heavy Weapon Dudes up close. The weapon's high rate of fire will guarantee to hit multiple of them at once. If there are multiple Chaingunners in a clustered formation from range, usage of the rocket launcher or plasma gun is recommended.

The Heavy Weapons Dude's high rate of fire makes him a formidable presence in monster-monster battles; they are the only enemies in its class that can stand as a worthy opponent against even the middle-tier demons; if it survives the initial hit (given their 70 hit points, this is usually the case with an unharmed one), one of these zombies is capable of defeating a healthy Cacodemon or Revenant. A Heavy Weapon Dude can also sometimes defeat a Hell Knight, a Mancubus, or an Arachnotron at close range, when the Chaingun manages to continuously stun the opponent, preventing any return fire. Like all hitscan-firing enemies, Heavy Weapon Dudes will gladly turn on each other if provoked.