A Pain Elemental on Doom 64's starting map.
The Pain Elemental appears in Doom 64 in its own unique variation.
Background[]
The Pain Elementals of Doom 64 are the resurrected carcasses of the Cacodemons from Doom 1 (or presumably those found in Ultimate Doom levels of PSX/Saturn at least), resurrected by the Mother Demon. They are made from systematically altered dead carnage remade back into corrupted living tissue. The mutations were devastating. The demons have returned stronger and more vicious than before.
By far the most annoying and powerful demon in all of hell (not counting the Mother Demon). Why is this bad boy so darned powerful? Is it the name? No, it's the fact that he is not only seems more crafty than his distant cousin, the Cacodemon, he also shoots Lost Souls from the mouths he has on each of his "hands".[1]
With further altering from mutations it is colored dark pink (like the original Cacodemon; the Doom 64 Cacodemon is colored beige brown and had two arms), has a green eye and and each of its large bony arms and hands grasps two mouths so it can now spawn two Lost Souls at the same time. Its back has a large horse-like black mane. It gives off a low sinister laugh when it has sighted the player, sounding very close to a garbled, demented command of "DIIIIE!"
Tactical Analysis[]
A Pain Elemental render as seen in Nintendo Power issue 96
Unlike other versions of the game, standing at point-blank range to prevent it from spawning Lost Souls is not a viable option; each Lost Soul that fails to materialize will cause an explosion dealing 128 blast damage, the same as an exploding barrel (this makes the Pain Elemental very effective at monster infighting as well). This extends to the Lost Souls it spawns during its death sequence as well, so getting some amount of distance is highly recommended.
Due to the extreme threat this enemy poses, which is also compounded by the Lost Soul's increased aggression in this version of Doom, it's highly recommended to get rid of this enemy ASAP before you get overwhelmed. Use the BFG9000 or Unmaker to quickly get rid of this enemy, the latter being good for also cleaning up the Lost Souls it spawns. The Chaingun is also a viable choice, with its high fire rate being capable of stunlocking it, thereby rendering it from being unable to spit out Lost Souls, and is also excellent for killing the Lost Souls it spawns upon death as well as halting their advance. Using the Rocket Launcher against a Pain Elemental is ill-advised, as you run the risk of the Lost Souls it spawns charging directly into your face whilst you're firing rockets, blowing yourself up in the process.
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- ↑ Doom 64 Guide