Prince Ahzrak is the main antagonist of DOOM: The Dark Ages. He is a demon prince of Hell and a high-ranking member of the High Council of Hell.
Background[]
Born in the shadowed pits of Hell's blackest citadel, Ahzrak grew not in sinew but in dread knowledge gleaned from dark priests. While demon-kind cowered before the one known as the Doom Slayer the young prince stood before the Elder Council, his voice ringing with ambition.
By ancient blood-oath, the hordes became his to command. Now Ahzrak consorts with the Witch, a pale sorceress from realms beyond starlight, forging an unholy alliance between their realms.
Doom: The Dark Ages[]
Ahzrak seeks the Heart of Argent to gain godlike power from the soul of the Wraith so he can rule over Hell as the head of the High Council of Hell. He is wary of the Slayer and often avoids confronting him, telling the Witch and his subordinates to focus on breaking the humans first, unleashing a horde on Hebeth after failing to find what he sought at Khalim.
He leads an attack on the City of Aratum where the Heart of Argent is supposedly sealed and has a portion of the demon horde attack the Sentinel's barracks to divert the Slayer's attention. By the time the Marine arrives, the prince attempts to seize the artifact, only to be stopped by Novik who seizes it as Valen detonated the charges, distracting Ahzrak long enough to escape the collapsing city.
He later lays siege on a Sentinel city, soon coming after Novik and beats him to seize the Heart of Argent, only to find out he only had the amulet but the second portion, the energy source, was lacking. When the Slayer pilots an Atlan that was damaged earlier during the battle after being thrown out of the balcony by the Witch, the demonic prince is then teleported to avoid getting obliterated by the robot's cannon.
He later hijacks a Maykr drone and slaughters all other drones in his vicinity before coming in contact with the Kreed Maykr, who had just lost control over the Doom Slayer and was forced to stay near the front line lest he would be executed by the Khan Maykr. Upon establishing contact, Ahzrak offers to enlist him in his quest for the power source of the Heart of Argent.
After the Doom Slayer is incapacitated by the Wraith power upon contact with Thira, he acquires the Wraith's power with the help of the Witch and has the Slayer imprisoned in the Cosmic Realm, knowing that killing him won't be a permanent solution. As he lays the final assault on the Sentinel Stronghold, he fights the Slayer and manages to seriously wound him both physically and emotionally, the physical part being by stabbing him in the abdomen and the emotional part by killing Serrat, the Slayer's loyal mount. After a lengthy battle, Ahzrak is defeated as the enraged Slayer rips out the heart of Argent from his body, rendering him back to his original form.
When the Doom Slayer and Thira's Night Sentinels squad assault his fortress to take him down for good, with the Slayer pursing them with the intent to avenge his fallen steed. He and the Witch try to flee but the Doom Slayer catches up to them. Both him and the Witch fall against the Slayer as the ship they used ended up crashing down after the witch exploded. The Slayer bashes his skull with his flail until his head is decapitated. The Doom Slayer then tosses his severed head to the demon horde that was attacking Thira's forces, forcing them to retreat in fear.
Boss Fight[]
Enhanced Ahzrak[]
Enhanced Ahzrak is a Boss encountered after defeating the Old One in Mission 21 - Final Battle. As expected from a penultimate boss, he is one who is not to be underestimated, as missing your parries are very punishing and will result in your health and armor being depleted. However, he has 3 phases and these are the requirements to beat him, using a strategy:
Fully upgraded Reaver Chainshot ammo, at least the 1st upgrade for the RC unlocked, Dreadmace, and the last upgrade for that melee if possible.
On higher difficulties you may want the Shotgun with all its upgrades, mainly Smelt & Tune-Up, and the Ravager with the Vampirism & Ignition or Slow-burn upgrade, mostly the latter as this is a boss fight where no other enemies are around.
Attacks[]
Enhanced Ahzrak starts off with 6 attacks.
Dash-Slash - Ahzrak will prepare to swipe the player with his spear up to 2, 3 or more times, depending on the phase (confirmation needed). This is always the first attack he uses in the first phase. Getting hit once will immediately cancel this attack. Parrying this attack 3 times in a row will put him in a stun state. Making a mistake during this attack will punish you heavily unless you time your parry with the next one as this attack becomes more deadlier later on. In Phase 2 he may delay the next slash after the first one making parries with this attack a bit more difficult, so it is best to wait for the green flash to appear then hit the Block button, or block the delayed attack then time your parries as usual.
Double Swipe - Ahzrak will run at the player and swipe at them 2 times with his spear, like the previous attack parrying this at least 2 times will put him in a stun state. Another version of this exists when he is 2/3 on health, which is 2 floor-sweeps and is essentially the same.
Spear Lunge - This attack is also one of the deadliest as it will instantly destroy the shield, leaving you open for attack. Ahzrak will position himself before stabbing the player with the spear. It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED you wait for the flash and the ping noise, because this attack has quite a start-up time. Parrying this will instantly stun him.
Overhead - Ahzrak will raise his spear to overhead the player. This may be followed up with the Spear Lunge. Another version of this attack exists when he is 2/3 on health, where he jumps into the air, overheads the player and then follow-up with a swipe.
Summon - Ahzrak will summon 2 Blood Priests from the ground. These are barely a threat as the player can use a full charge with the RC on Ahzrak and they'll instantly disappear, however it is worth noting they also drop Health when killed.
Air Slash - Ahzrak will prepare to swipe the air, creating a green horizontal projectile which travels a bit fast. Parrying this will stun him.
Phase 2[]
In Phase 2, Enhanced Ahzrak will unlock 3 new attacks and the damage output for his other attacks are increased (confirmation needed) as well as his aggression.
Spikes - Ahzrak will summon 4 orange spikes from the ground, which can damage the player if they're in the way. Destroying these with a Shield Throw will net your armor and health, however failing to do so in time will cause the spikes to self-destruct with fireballs all over the place. This is always the first attack used here.
Overhead 2 - Ahzrak will fly into the air before stabbing the player, this is very similar to the Spear Lunge, except it has no flash but still stuns on successful parries. This also creates a shockwave.
Spear Throw - If the player is too far, Ahzrak will punish the player by throwing the head of the spear to the player. This attack is one of the deadliest as it punishes the player for being too far, instantly destroys the shield and is always followed up with a Spear Lunge. Because of this it is worth taking the hit so you can prepare yourself for the Spear Lunge.
Phase 3[]
In Phase 3, Enhanced Ahzrak will reach maximum aggression and will unlock 2 new attacks.
Fall of the Beast - Ahzrak will leap up into the air and then summon 6 Blood Priests. These will have a slight delay before they travel, and as you parry them the time they take to begin traveling is decreased. After this, Ahzrak will come down from the air, creating a damaging shockwave and summon a multitude of blade-walls. The green ones can be parried, right after this attack is finished Ahzrak will begin attacking as usual.
Anger - Ahzrak will do 2 swipes then 3 stabs which can all be parried.
He also gains new follow-ups or combos such as Spear Throw > Spear Lunge > 2 swipes > Overhead 2. This however, is done randomly.
Strategy[]
If you are familiar with the Dark Lord boss from the previous entry, and ULTRAKILL's Minos Prime and Sisyphus boss fights, then this fight can only be described as one thing - a dance battle. Ahzrak will constantly try to destroy you with his barrage of melee strikes, and punish you for being too far. Meanwhile, you have to constantly parry his melee strikes to avoid getting punished. The strategy is simple - Fire the Reaver Chainshot as soon as you hit each successful parry, and if he is in a stun state, use the Dreadmace on him. It is worth noting that when firing a weapon there is delay before the shield comes out so it may be best to use the RC when Ahzrak finishes his combo.
After you defeat this boss, a cutscene will show up depicting the Slayer ripping out the Heart of Argent with King Novik watching, weakening the demon prince back to his original form as well as disabling Commander Thira as his source of energy and freeing her with an explosion triggering, destroying the prince's Hell Ship. Thira then rises down, the Slayer gives Novik the Heart of Argent and he gives the Heart of Argent back to her, stopping her sentience and turning her back to normal, but still having power inside. Unfortunately because of the explosion that has sent the demon prince and the Witch back to Hell, the game does not end here yet as there is one final mission - Reckoning.
Gallery[]
