The Revenant in Doom 3 looks very reminiscent to its original counterpart, taking the appearance of a tall, armored human skeleton with missile launchers mounted on each of its shoulders.
This iteration has glowing green eyes and wears a thicker, more advanced red armor, consisting of tubes/wires along with the shoulder-mounted launchers. Their body below the collarbone is covered in a layer of almost transparent skin. This skin was originally a textural test in which id Software was trying to recreate an accurate skeleton by measuring it to the "flesh line". However, when they saw the creature in action with this test texture, they thought it looked interesting, and never removed it from the model.
The Revenant has baffled UAC scientists; it lacks visible internal organs and muscles, which doesn't explain the brute strength that the demon possesses. Presumably, unless every organic system is contained inside its metal shoulder plates, it must be completely controlled by the powers of Hell.
The Revenant makes its debut cutscene in the Monorail Skybridge: Facility Transport. It emerges from a dark corner of the area and fires a missile which destroys a huge steel column that sustains part of the ceiling, causing the column to fall and obstruct the Marine's path, forcing him to face the creature in search of another escape route. Revenants emit an avian-like, mechanical croak when they spot the player.
Combat characteristics[]
The Doom 3 Revenant attacks in a very similar fashion as its original counterpart. It fires missiles from its shoulder mounted cannons at long range, and will resort to melee at close range.
However, it no longer maintains the same mobility as it did in the classic version, preferring to walk slowly instead of running very fast, although it will occasionally sidestep to dodge the player's fire. To make up for their lack of mobility, they are much more aggressive; while the original version was only limited to firing one missile, this Revenant can launch two missiles simultaneously from both of its shoulder-launchers and in quicker successions.
The Revenant's missiles are a lot harder to avoid, as they travel in erratic patterns, tending to wobble and spiral in multiple directions before hitting their target, as though the guidance sensor isn't quite consistent. To make up for this, the missiles are lot less damaging compared to the ones in Doom II and can be now be destroyed while in flight. Revenants do not also appear to be immune from the damage caused by their own missile detonation.
Revenants possess two types of melee attacks. The first melee consists of a basic clawing attack, which while limited in range and only does modest damage, can be executed pretty quickly, and instantly be followed by a second upper swipe hit. The second melee consists of a winded downward punching attack, reminiscent from the classic version, which while slower to execute, has further range than its clawing and does more damage.
Revenants are usually found alone, although they can occasionally come in pairs or be accompanied by other enemies such as Imps or Z-Sec soldiers.
Tactical analysis[]
Overall, the Revenant is considered a much less dangerous monster in comparison to its classic counterpart, as it moves a lot slower and does much less damage, as well as no longer appearing in large numbers. To make up for this, however, their attacks are a lot harder to avoid, as their missiles travel in erratic patterns, and their additional clawing attack gives them more chance to strike the player.
The best way to take down these monsters is from a distance. At long range, the Plasma Gun is most effective against the Revenant thanks to its high rate of fire, and the plasma bursts "wide vapor radius" can instantly neutralize the Revenant's missiles. It's best to aim right towards their chest and start firing before they launch their missiles, as the wide shots from plasma bursts will ensure the missiles detonate right at the monster. If a Plasma Gun is not available, the Chaingun can also work well as the bullets can also destroy the Revenant's missiles. Keep in mind, however, as the Chaingun bullets lack the splash damage of the Plasma Gun, this could be a tricky procedure in destroying the Revenant's missiles. Other weapons such as the Machine Gun is also partially effective, although it takes some time and dodging. The BFG is not recommended because of the likelihood that the projectile will hit the Revenant's missile in flight, as well as the moderate threat the demon poses will make this valuable weapon a wasteful overkill.
At close range, the Shotgun can be an effective weapon to take them out. If you're lucky, you can even kill the Revenant with a single blast aimed at its neck or the center of the clavicle. Most cases, however, it will take two blasts at blank range to completely take them out, so be aware as you dodge its melee attacks. First rush towards the monster with your Shotgun and fire at the Revenant at close range. This action will force it to claw you, so take good advantage of this to back off and take a second shot at the Revenant, which will kill it in the process. Resurrection of Evil and Lost Mission in the BFG Edition introduce the double-barreled shotgun, which will work wonders as it can easily kill the Revenant with one shot at point blank range. It is possible to use the Grabber Gun on the Revenant's missiles, but the missiles will still travel wildly in multiple directions, even while it's caught on the weapon's plasma trails, thus making this weapon a bit of a gamble to "return fire" against the Revenant.
The general strategy when fighting against Revenants is to dodge behind cover when the missiles come close. This can allow the missiles harmlessly impact against an object used as a hideout. The homing missiles can also be dodged by sprint-strafing diagonally forward, although this takes some practice to perform and requires enough space to maneuver. Be very careful around flammable and explosive barrels (common in the Recycling sectors) as they can be detonated by both direct hits and splash damage from the missiles.
UAC Research Notes[]
These notes can be downloaded to the player's PDA during the course of the game:
Specimen 218 - Revenant
This creature's endoskeleton is visible through a translucent non-solid skin. Despite the absence of any visible muscles, this creature is able to strike at close-range targets with enormous strength. Two shoulder-mounted cannons controlled by its nervous system allow this creature to fire guided rocket-propelled missiles.
Trivia[]
- In the E3 trailer of the Doom 3 Alpha, the Revenant was shown to be acting like the old one: running at the player, then punching him.
- The Revenant's shoulder missiles were originally going to drop missile ammo for you to pick up (and were also rumored to be actual weapons that the player could wield and guide the fired missiles). However, for unknown reasons, this concept was abandoned for the finished game.
- The Revenant will emit a distinct rattling sound from their bones upon death. This is similar to its classic version, whose death audio is accompanied by a solid clanking sound from their bones shattering before collapsing.
- Strangely, Revenants have 272 health points in total. Other monsters have an amount of health that is divisible by five.
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