An unfortunate Imp on the receiving end of a Glory Kill
A Glory Kill is a special action in DOOM, Doom Eternal and Mighty Doom. These consist of the player performing a special melee action that instantly kills the enemy.
Description[]
Dealing enough damage to an enemy may cause them to 'stagger' which is indicated by a blue highlight. When the player comes into close range, indicated in an orange highlight, the Doom Slayer can perform a special melee action which kills the enemy instantly in a spectacularly brutal fashion. While performing this kill, the player is invulnerable. It can be disadvantageous if used while under attack by a horde of enemies, however, making choosing whether or not to Glory Kill a tactical choice. In addition, enemies killed through Glory Kills always drop health pickups, making it a great way to recover health during pitched battles with hordes of demons.
Boss battles (the Cyberdemon, the Hell Guards and the Spider Mastermind) can only be finished with Glory Kills; failure to do so will result in the boss recovering a bit of its health and continuing the fight.
Berserk and Glory Kills[]
The Berserk powerup takes away your weapons when active, but greatly reduces your taken damage and allows you to instantly Glory Kill any non-boss enemy within melee range. When Berserk is active, you retain the full benefits of all Runes (see below) that affect Glory Kills.
The Chainsaw[]
The Chainsaw allows you to perform a special Glory Kill that allows you to recover your Ammo if you are running low. This kill is the only way (aside from Berserk) to Glory Kill a demon without staggering it first, and requires fuel for each kill, with larger monsters requiring more fuel to kill.
Runes Affecting Glory Kills[]
Certain Runes improve Glory Kill efficiency, make Glory Kills easier to perform in some way, or activate other effects upon performing a Glory Kill:
- Dazed and Confused allows you to stagger enemies for longer, granting more time for a Glory Kill.
- Seek and Destroy allows you to Glory Kill enemies from farther away.
- Savagery increases the speed at which you perform a Glory Kill.
- Armored Offensive gives you armor pickups for Glory Killing enemies.
- Blood Fueled gives you a speed boost for a short period upon a Glory Kill.
- Intimacy is Best gives staggered enemies damage resistance, making them more Glory Kill friendly.
Glory Kills in Multiplayer[]
In multiplayer, Glory Kill opportunities occur in random occurrences while dealing damage, usually when an enemy is at low health. Unlike Glory Kills in single player, the player is not granted brief invulnerability, and enemies who can have a Glory Kill performed on them don't stagger. If a player is performing a Glory Kill and is killed before executing the killing blow, the intended victim will survive. This applies to Glory Kills against demons, other players, and Baron, Cacodemon, Prowler, and Spectre Glory Kills.
A player performing a Glory Kill in multiplayer gets a "Glorious" award and 25 points.
Mighty DOOM[]
The Glory Kill system works slightly differently in the mobile game Mighty DOOM.
Enemies[]
When an enemy's health reaches zero, there is a random chance that they can be staggered, in which they become tinted green with a pie timer counting down to show how much time the Slayer has to approach the staggered foe at close-range to Glory Kill them for extra health before the enemy dies. As Glory Kills can only be done as an automatic melee attack, this mechanic entails risk, as the player may be tempted to ignore enemy projectiles before going in for the Glory Kill.
Glory Killing enemies will drop health pickups that the Slayer will only collect whenever his health drops below 100%, as well as grant him a very brief period of invulnerability, lasting roughly one second.
The Slayer also can obtain any of 4 possible abilities on a level-up that pertain to Glory Kills, which expire when the run he obtains them is over:
First Impressions: Increase stagger chance per enemy alive.- Bloodthirst: Increase health gained from Glory Kills
- Explosive Glory Kill: Glory Kills cause enemies to explode, dealing damage and knocking back nearby enemies.
- Glory Kill Rage: Gain a temporary damage and attack speed boost after Glory Kills.
Glory Kill timers can also be extended with the 
Extended Stagger ability from the Chaingun and Plasma Rifle. Other weapon-exclusive abilities that can increase Glory Kill chance are the Stagger ability for the Heavy Cannon and Burst Rifle, as well as the 
Personal Touch ability of the Combat Shotgun, provided that the fatal shot is done at close-quarters.
Bosses[]
All bosses will stagger once their health reaches zero and must thus be finished off with a Glory Kill. The player has no time limit to perform boss Glory Kills. A Boss Glory Kill is presented cinematically from a more isometric, close-up view against a black background, but the effects are almost no different than that of an enemy Glory Kill. The Glory Kill of a boss version of an enemy is not necessarily done the same way as a Glory Kill on such enemy.
Following a boss Glory Kill, provided that there are no other enemies left as usual, the Slayer may meet either a Mod-Bot (if the player took enough time or damage during the battle), or the Seraphim (if the player defeated the boss efficiently).
Trivia[]
- Lost Souls, Turrets, Spirits, and Hell Troopers are the only enemies that cannot have a Glory Kill performed against them in Eternal.
- Some enemies have varied Glory Kill animations based on where the player aims on the enemy before performing the kill, such as the leg sweep on a Hell Razer while looking at its right leg, or the infamous "Death From Above" requiring you to be in the air and above your enemy when executing the kill. Many Challenges will require you to execute these special Glory Kills on specific enemies.
- The concept of Glory Kills was originally planned for the cancelled 2007 Doom 4. It is often erroneously attributed to the popular Brutal Doom mod. Additionally, some of the concept animations are strikingly similar to several Glory Kills featured in the official release. Leaked footage showing the proof-of-concept animations for the cancelled sequel can be viewed here.
- At least one Glory Kill was cut from the official game release or sped up - for example, a frontal glory kill on a Hell Knight, consisting of punching it in the head three times then snapping its neck, was removed.
- Only one Glory Kill in the entire game (aside from chainsaw kills) involves the use of a weapon, and that is the final kill of the Spider Mastermind, which involves the use of the BFG 9000.
Video[]
