Pain Elemental/Doom Eternal

The Pain Elemental makes a return in Doom Eternal. While mostly similar to its depiction in Doom 2, it has undergone several visual and behavioral design changes.

Codex
''An abhorrent creation of the Umbral Plains, the Pain Elemental is descended from the primal, abominable depths of the demon world. Knowing only its own torment, the Elemental is cursed to forge Lost Souls within the fiery pit of its gut--a process that is excruciating and without end for the duration of the creature's miserable lifespan. The Elemental's only reprieve from its own agonizing and torturous existence is the projection of suffering into the world. For this reason, the Pain Elemental reaps great satisfaction from indiscriminate killing and the infliction of misery upon those weaker than itself. ''

Appearance
The appearance of the Pain Elemental is mostly similar to its original design, but it has undergone several notable changes. For one, its jaw has now been separated into several different sections, each capable of opening and closing individually. Its body has also become more narrow, losing some of the bulk from its original design. The Pain Elementals horns have also become noticeably larger, with several increasingly smaller sets of horns converging on its forehead. Its eye has also been changed, with its pupil going from black in color to a glowing orange.

Combat Analysis
The Pain Elemental possesses an incredible amount of health, able to take significant punishment before going down. Similarly to its original depiction, the Pain Elemental will produce Lost Souls from its maw. However, unlike in Doom 2, the Pain Elemental will hurl these Lost Souls at the player, dealing an alarmingly high amount of damage. The Pain Elemental can also release several Lost Souls at once, launching them at the Slayer over time while they serve as a barrier to protect the Pain Elemental itself. While fairly slow in the air, the Pain Elemental can 'sprint' towards the player in order to better target them. If it gets up close to the Slayer, it will swipe at him with its claws.

The Pain Elemental serves as a bullet sponge, requiring concentrated fire to take down. The Ballista deals increased damage against them, but several bolts will still be required to take it out. The Meat Hook on the Super Shotgun can also allow the player to get up close and deal high amounts of damage. The Lock-On modification for the Rocket Launcher can deal significant amounts of damage, but at least two bursts are needed to kill it. Otherwise, just avoid its barrage of Lost Souls and pound it with everything you can until it goes down.

Battlemode
The Pain Elemental is also one of the several playable demons in Doom Eternal's Battlemode. With a base health of 3000, the Pain Elemental serves as a bulky aerial pressure unit. It is capable of soaring over the arena, placing hazards in strategic positions that's not possible with the other demons, and hurling Lost Souls at the Slayer. However, it lacks many mobility options, and it is frequently unable to hide behind cover in as effective a manner as the ground demons. It also somewhat lacks damage output, with its Lost Souls not dealing a lot of damage to the Slayer.