Rocket launcher

This article is about the original Doom games weapon. For the weapon in Doom 3, see Rocket launcher (Doom 3). For the weapon in Doom 4, see Rocket launcher (Doom 4).

The rocket launcher is used to fire rockets, missiles that fly in a straight line and explode when they hit anything solid. When picked up, the launcher contains two rockets (four at the I'm Too Young To Die and Nightmare! skill levels).

The launcher first appears in a secret area of the level E1M3: Toxin Refinery and appears again in secret areas of the following three levels. It is finally found in a non-secret area on E1M7: Computer Station.

Combat characteristics

Each rocket does 20-160 points of damage, in round multiples of 20, plus a blast radius of 128 units (taking a direct hit automatically incurs the full 128 additional points). The rocket launcher is approximately as powerful as the super shotgun, but equally effective at long range and with a more rapid rate of fire, although rocket ammo is less plentiful than shells.

It can be used for rocket jumping in some areas, for example to reach the secret exit of E3M6: Mt. Erebus.

Tactical analysis

The rocket launcher is usually the most effective long range weapon in the game as its projectiles fly faster and it has a higher rate of fire than the BFG9000. Against a particularly tough monster such as a Baron of Hell, getting in several rocket hits is not that difficult due to the rocket speed and reload, whereas it is more difficult score a direct hit with the BFG9000 blast.

The rocket launcher can inflict enormous damage against groups of monsters, and is often the preferred weapon when cells are low. The rocket launcher can also conserve ammo due to its splash damage which can deliver (roughly) the same damage to a large number of targets given that they are all close together in proximity to the rocket's blast.

However, when using the rocket launcher at close range or within a confined structure, great care must be taken to avoid the effects of blast damage. Even a player with 200% health and armor can be killed by several such accidents. For this reason, using a rocket launcher around Lost Souls or Pain Elementals is hazardous.

Novice players may also be caught off guard by the weapon's horizontal auto-aiming which sometimes causes a rocket to be launched a few degrees away from center.

Notes

• As with the BFG9000 and chaingun, the full rocket launcher sprite (after pickup) is slightly too large for the screen, and can only be viewed with a level or resource editor.
• The rocket launcher has a "safety catch" similar to the BFG9000. When selected while the fire key is still pressed, the rocket launcher will not begin firing immediately like other weapons, but only when fire key is released and pressed again. It is likely this feature was implemented to prevent severe player injuries by accidentally firing the weapon at close range.
• Due to the rocket launcher's explosive force, it is often used in many speedruns to propel the player to a faster momentum, or to slingshot the player over jumps that typically could not be reached by running alone.
• The rocket launcher's appearance in Doom 64 is slightly different. However, not much has been changed, with the exception it delivers some knockback to the player when fired.

Data

Appearance statistics

The IWADs contain the following numbers of rocket launchers:

See also

• Blast damage
• Rocket jumping
• Rocket passes through the player who fired it
• Rocket launcher (Doom 3)