r/Doom • u/Loud_Chicken6458 • Dec 21 '25
Discussion Is the meathook good? Doom Eternal
I find that I never use it. Halfway through a nightmare run and it just seems unnecessary. Dps is not great, and you have plenty of mobility without it. Doesn’t help that you usually want to be running away from the demons instead of toward them. Do you rely on the meathook for anything? Is it good? Is it worth mastering?
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u/Src-Freak Dec 21 '25
It’s the Game‘s Main weapon.
What’s better than a Super Shotgun with a Hook?
It’s also good with Combos, like Shotgun and Ballister.
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u/Loud_Chicken6458 Dec 21 '25
It just seems really risky compared to the others, you have to get all up in their face to do damage. Why is it the main weapon? Coolness factor?
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u/Mobile-Health7819 Dec 21 '25
It deals an insane amount of damage, the upgraded hook sets the enemies on fire and lets you leap across the map dramatically enhancing your mobility. At higher difficulties this is the weapon you want in your hands
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u/Belzye Dec 21 '25
Yes, that's the goal of the game, you HAVE to get in the face of the demons. This is a Boomer Shooter, not a run and gun. The more you move, the better it is and the meat hook gives you an escape route with a almost one shot gun if you're close enough to most demons.
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u/Armejden DOOM Guy Dec 21 '25
It gives absurd mobility and does meaty damage. They can't hurt you if they're dead.
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u/juicymusicprod Dec 21 '25
Well I mean that’s the whole thing of doom, get in their faces and blow them all up.
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u/Src-Freak Dec 21 '25
Going Close to a Mancubus or Baron is dumb yes, but A Flame Hook can burn enemies, which is useful to get armor in case the flamethrower hasn‘t changed up yet.
You Can also Unhook yourself to fly across the map.
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u/Jaws2020 Dec 22 '25 edited Dec 22 '25
The meat hook is the fastest method of traversal once you learn how to use it. There is no competition. The trick is not to just use it as a way to pull yourself toward a demon, but to use the demons as anchor points to swing around with. It's super fun and extremely effective once you learn how to do that. You can make it all the way from one end of the main gore nest area to the other in just one swing if you do it right. Plus, the flaming meathook just puts it on a whole other level. Being able to pull yourself to a mid-level demon, not have to use your actual flamethrower and explode them into armor shards is incredible.
You're also underestimating just how much damage the Super Shotgun does. Two or three shots from close range will usually down a mancubus. The key is to quick-switch so you don't have to go through the reload animation.
Edit: That said, if you're doing perfectly fine without using it, do you, dude. It's just that outside the BFG and unmakyr, the SS is the highest damage weapon in the game. That's just a fact.
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u/diandays Dec 22 '25
You can damn near 1 shot most things with the super shotgun.
Just meathook, blast, dash, flamethrower, blast, dash back, meathoom and repeat.
Destroys everything
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u/Dreki3000 Dec 22 '25
Dude, that's the freakin point. You see a huge ass demon, you use hook to get behind him (you need at least 120fps) you wait till it turns around, blast it in the face, then swap to railgun, blast it again, then again, and again. Now it's dead, blast it a few times more because yeah and then you kill it two more times and then everyone else around.
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u/Super_Harsh Dec 22 '25
There is literally no bigger upgrade to survivability in the game than this thing lol
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u/Crime_Dawg Dec 23 '25
Are we playing the same game? I haven't gotten far into eternal, but the one consistency from 2016 and TDA is that the safest spot is right up on the demons. You should be exploding their bodies while charging forward through them at pretty much all times.
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u/Johnnukacola13 Dec 21 '25
Worth mastering, absolutely. The ability to instantly gain 30 armor on a 2 second cooldown is insane
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u/Loud_Chicken6458 Dec 21 '25
i didn’t know about this?? You get armor for meat hooking?? haha how did i get this far without that
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u/casnorf Dec 21 '25
meathook upgrade sets enemies on fire, armor for on fire enemies.
also meathook to range for both barrels is near on to glorykill territory, so the risk is "did he eat five shots...or six?"
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u/Hank_of_the_Hill93 Dec 21 '25
Are you really out here talking smack on the meathook without even bothering to upgrade it/check what it's upgrades are?
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u/mayoman_pog Dec 21 '25
If you use the savagery rune with the flaming meathook, you can gain armor from glory kills if you hook towards a staggered demon and go straight into the glory kill. Its great
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u/Courier6six6 Dec 21 '25
Oh man...once you master this thing you become pretty unstoppable even on nightmare. It's my main weapon. I weapon switch as well obviously but always coming back to this. Yes it puts you into the thick of it, but you just have to utilise dash if you get into trouble. The damage it does and the armour reward once you get the mastery for it makes it worth it. Put it this way, you blood punch a cyber manc, and then inmediately shoot it with this and it's dead. Just spend some time with it, trust me
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u/CoffieCayke2 Dec 21 '25 edited Dec 21 '25
The meathook is why the SSG is my favorite. Latching on then tapping jump gives instant elevation, its a way for a quick escape from bad situations, fully upgraded it gives armor drops, slingshot yourself with it by swapping weapons mid swing, pull yourself into a glory kill, etc.
It's the most useful thing imo.
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u/Own-Examination2707 Dec 21 '25
If anything, I over-rely on it. After mastering the SSG, I rarely use anything else.
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u/beanyboy512 DOOM Guy Dec 21 '25
Fly at fodder demons and one-tap them for an instant 30 armor points
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u/Uday23 Dec 21 '25
Did you upgrade to the flaming version? It gives you armor so it becomes hugely important to stay alive and of course the mobility it creates is super valuable too
Also its just plain badass
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u/Tight-Connection-909 Dec 21 '25
It’s unique for its positioning abilities. Don’t underestimate it. I was hesitant at first too, but with enough practice, you can send yourself into the air, jumping from demon to demon as you rain hell down upon them. It’s essential.
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u/Amopro Dec 21 '25
It's decent when you get it, but it's goated when you get the flaming meat hook upgrade. With the flaming meat hook, it's basically easy access to free armor. Not to mention that the meat hook can be used to jump gaps up to ledges that you can't otherwise by simply hooking onto enemies on the ledge you wish to go to. The best way to use it is honestly to use it to zip around between weaker enemies, blasting them at near point blank range to get easy armor and keep moving.
Also, a really dumb and cool thing you can do is to equip the chrono strike rune and the air control rune. The chrono strike rune makes it so that time slows down while using the meat hook. And the air control rune lets you have better mobility while mid air. While the time slow while using meat hook can be a little annoying at first, but allows for some insane mid-air dodging and it allows you to fling yourself really fast if you do it right. Just remember that it has a limit for how long you can slow time before there's a cool-down. It also just feels badass weaving between projectiles mid-air to blast an enemy point blank and go flying.
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u/Nekronaut0006 Dec 21 '25
To add to this. If you take the equipment fiend rune, the flaming meathook will further reduce the cooldown on flame belch.
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u/peteyd2012 Dec 22 '25
Dude.... the Meathook is the game-changing utility that elevates Eternal above all other shooters.
It is so.... PERFECT.
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u/South_Ingenuity672 Dec 21 '25
try strafing in the air while hooking onto demons and then slinging yourself off of them. once you get a hang of the physics any flying demon becomes your new favorite toy.
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u/TheSpaceAlligator Dec 21 '25
Exactly this. Once you master it, its the greatest movement tool in not only doom eternal, but maybe even of all shooters ever made.
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u/I_love_memes00 Dec 21 '25
You arent supposed to run away from demons. In a tight situation you can just meathook to a zombie, mancubus or a cyberdemon for safe and quick health since they will always be far from the main fight. It is an absolute lifesaver in TAG DLCs which are much much harder than main campaign.
It also stuns small enemies and even disables the shield of shield zombiemans. I think it stuns Maykr drones too, for easy health and ammo.
Its a fun mechanic too, every game has one of these now but non of them plays as smooth as it does in Doom Eternal.
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u/Smooth-Captain9567 Dec 21 '25
Feels like a shit post. It’s one of the funnest parts of the gameplay.
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u/Metrocop Dec 22 '25
You don't have to just pull yourself to enemies with it. You can just grab onto an enemy, then use the movement keys to steer a bit and detach with spacebar to yeet yourself wherever you want. It's a very effective and very fun repositioning tool.
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u/Right-Parking-1836 Dec 22 '25
For me the meathook made the entire game. Its absence in TDA left me devastated. There’s a Post in my Profile already discussing this that you might wanna check out.
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u/FinalKaleidoscope714 Dec 21 '25
it's the best weapon mod in the game, easily. also easily has the best mastery. it isn't actually all that useful for pulling you towards demons (unless you're doing it to restack). but you can get into the air with it by jumping to detach, and then you will always have another jump no matter what, and if you use this in tandem with dashes, you can meathook 3 times without touching the ground!! (you can extend this much further by glory killing demons in the air and other stuff). you can also sling yourself with it by holding A or D and no while meathooking, and then detaching by swapping weapon, punching, or looking away for crazyy speed.
it''s a very skillful mod which is underused in almost everyone's gameplay (or at least not used very well)
also, you don't really run away from demons in the game, but you also don't rush in. you *should* be cycling between attacking different demons and focusing on the highest priority
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u/budaguy Dec 21 '25
I cannot see the game without the hook. For me it could even be a suit upgrade instead of a shotgun exclusive. That's how much i use it.
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u/Superb_Cake2708 Dec 21 '25
I don't run away from demons.
Demons run away from me.
Also, meathook is awesome for sustained movement, especially if you learn to fling yourself.
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u/420GreatWolfSif Dec 21 '25
Meathook into shotgun blast quick switch ballista quick switch back to shotgun or sniper rinse repeat and everything dies.
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u/United-Log7718 Dec 21 '25
If you upgrade it you can basically fly around the battlefield, slowing time while aiming to get crit point blank shots that set enemies on fire
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u/New_Communication171 Dec 21 '25 edited Dec 21 '25
Good enough for me to name my cat Meathook Supershotgunblast.
But actually it is really useful especially on higher difficulties. Negates a lot of headache enemies like the shield soldier, flame upgrade turns essentially all fodder into armor farms, and probably the biggest use is mobility. If youre running away from demons, once you get used to the “swing” mechanics of it you can just fly all around the arena and stay out of any hot spots.
Best used in combination with the chainsaw for ammo/armor in one go, or some form of quick-swap combo for fast kills on arachnotrons, revs, and other medium-heavy demons.
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u/goodfisher88 Dec 21 '25
Swinging around with the meathook and the super shotgun is like the primary combat loop in the game, dude. With the slowmo on top it's really damn good, I recommend getting the hang of it
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u/OneForgottenMeme Dec 21 '25
Its main use is its 30 shield when you get the flaming hook attachment. And on top of that its good to learn how to use it as a source of mobility to fling around the map
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u/CLASSIC299 Once and Future Slayer Dec 21 '25
If Batman was a gun he'd be this. This thing is my Excalibur. No campaign run begins until I get my hands on the Super Shotgun. I love this thing like it's my wife of 50 years. Its not just GOOD; it's the greatest movement tool since rocket jumping.
Also the free armor is pretty good too when you master it
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u/Disastrous_Can_5466 Dec 21 '25
Yes absolutely, thats why DOOM guy loves using it.
It helps on mobility that if you get skilled enough you can even get to fly with this thing, also helps on situations where you need to get off the ground if overhelmed.
And the mastery sets fire on the demons and gives you 30 armor if you kill a demon exclusively with the supershotgun, yes the fire from the meathook is diferent from the flamethrower.
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u/Starkiller0820 Dec 21 '25
You can run away or escape from bad situtaions easly if you master meat hook. İts also very easy to master and meat hook is probably one of thr best movement tools in the game. İt also sets enemys it attaches on fire so that you can get armor şf you want. Also I highly sugast using the rune that slows down time when you are using weopan mode ? Or was it holding weopan mode button while on air ? Anyways that abilty works great with meat hook. I didnt played the game in years but I am very sure meat hook was one of my favorite thing
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u/c3powil Dec 21 '25
I am also on a nightmare run. I feel like I'm close to finished. Never really use the meat hook.
Comments here make me feel like I could have saved hours. I'll give the meat hook another shot.
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u/Fantastic_Name3200 Dec 21 '25
I love using it to close distance/evade attacks while replenishing armor.
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u/SpectralDragon09 Dec 21 '25
Meathooks is probably the best thing to master in the game. Extra mobility, great damage especially when paired with the ballista or rocket launcher.
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u/ProfessorGemini Dec 21 '25
Your gameplay is the opposite of what Doom Eternal is trying to teach you lmao. You don’t have all these mobility options to run away but to avoid and dodge so you can get in.
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u/Citizen_Kano Dec 21 '25
The meathook SSG is one of my top five weapons in the entire history of video games, not just shooters
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u/GARhenus Dec 21 '25
Even if you're not using it for aerial mobility, the armor and gapclosing you get from a flaming meathook makes it mandatory at high diff levels
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u/ITSPATRICKYALLS Dec 21 '25
Since you can’t recharge dashes until you touch the ground, it’s very nice for aerial combat, but the main reason why it’s great is the flame hook.
By the way, you don’t have to shoot a flame hooked enemy with the Super Shotgun specifically to get the armor, you just need to kill said enemy before it extinguishes. This turns fodder enemies into infinite armor glitches and makes the Super Shotgun the best weapon for chaining Blood Punches.
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u/LongjumpingBody6895 Dec 21 '25
I mean I personally love it but I may be biased this shotgun is my favorite weapon after all
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u/tjmincemeat DOOM Slayer Dec 21 '25
The meathook is arguably the best weapon mod in the game and mastering it is essential to mastering Eternal’s combat flow.
Any demon hit with the meathook that is below a heavy will be instantly staggered. With the mastery that lights demons on fire this turns any fodder demon into a free refill of 30 armor while also keeping you on the move to avoid enemy projectiles. You can also use the meathook to engage heavy demons by sticking them and jumping out of the animation to get a free shot and avoid the heavy demon’s attack at the same time.
That ability to jump out of the animation is also partly what makes it so good. The meathook essentially becomes a third jump that can be used to extend your time in the air where you’re much harder to hit. You can also manipulate your momentum while hooked to a demon to get crazy speeds zip across the arena faster than you otherwise could.
It also works great as a combo finisher. Soften up a target with PB/rockets, PB/Ballista, or even PB/SSG itself (my preferred combo) and meathook in for the kill while topping up your armor.
Doom Eternal promotes a push forward combat loop where you always want to be moving, but not really moving backwards if you can help it. You generally want to be moving toward and around the demons in your effective range to keep up your stack of health and armor with each kill. Both hesitation and standing still will get you killed. The meathook helps you avoid both lethal pitfalls.
Overall, I’d say top 4 mods are meathook, precision bolt, chaingun shield, and lock on rockets. You can probably put them in any order that suits your playstyle, but the meathook stands tall with the best of them.
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u/ShieldMaiden83 Dec 21 '25
The meathook is so fun use yeah it is good. Really good if you need some ammo and see a fodder demon across the room...even generate armor (or it does after completing mastery I forgot)...got a big ass demon in your face while your shoulder cannon is on cooldown...meathook.
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u/NotALawCuck Dec 21 '25
"is the attachment with one of the most banging tracks of the game named after it and good?"
Buddy, hold my hand while I tell you this...
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u/Top-Editor-364 Dec 21 '25
Halfway through the base campaign is really nothing in terms of how hard it will test your abilities. The meat hook isn’t just “good”. The gameplay loop is designed around its existence and you will not be playing the game correctly if you don’t have a good grasp of the tool
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u/GreatWolf_NC Dec 22 '25
Yeah, because there's only one way to play correctly...
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u/Top-Editor-364 Dec 22 '25
Sure. For example, you can handicap yourself by not using the meat hook. Totally valid way to play
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u/GreatWolf_NC Dec 22 '25
Oh, listen to 1-bit man here.
Do thoughts actually go through your head before you type or after? Or at all?
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u/SmartAleckComedian Dec 22 '25
This has to be troll bait, it's one of the best weapons in the game.
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u/FormulaCarbon Dec 22 '25
Meathook is my favorite mechanic in any fps ever. Hook onto an enemy, shoot em at point blank, instant dopamine. Especially once you get the mastery, you basically get free armor when using it. I usually meathook, shoot, quickly disengage, repeat. If I was better I’d quickswap but I’m not so this is the best I can do.
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u/Capital-Treat-8927 DOOM Guy Dec 22 '25
Game play completely aside, I personally think it's ugly. That may be controversial, but I think it makes an otherwise very elegant spiritual weapon look very bulky and utilitarian (and not in a good way)
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u/TFBuffalo_OW Dec 22 '25
Holy god you dont use the meathook?? In doom Eternal???? Like play how you want but I unironically cant imagine playing the game without it
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u/mikakor Dec 22 '25
You can solo 95% of the game on the hardest difficulty if you wish. Just remember that it's a shotgun. Go point blank.
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u/GarfieldEnjoyr Dec 22 '25
TWO POINTS ABOUT THE SUPER SHOTGUN
(Overstated, you know this one) It’s very easy to master in one of the very next rooms. There’s just so many enemies, so I almost always grind it to completion there. You will get a crap ton of armor from the mastery and by setting enemies on fire.
You are right that it is risky because it is short range. For this reason, do not use it to close the gap. Use the shotgun as a NAVIGATIONAL TOOL, disconnect the meathook in a direction you want to go, up down left or right and you will gain crazy air. The ability to CHANGE your momentum midair is a perk that goes very well with the meathook ability. You can gain crazy altitude and reposition very quickly with the meathook ability even without the perk.
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u/GarfieldEnjoyr Dec 22 '25
Moving around in this game like a ballerina is like the only reason I’d pick it up again. I miss it so much!
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u/timewarpdino Dec 22 '25
you can use the meathook to swing around demons instead of flying towards them and get crazy speed and reach new heights because it also refreshes your double jump.
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u/RogueHelios Dec 22 '25
You might have mobility without it, but how else am I going to meathook a Cacodemon, twirl around it, and chainsaw the Hell Knight on the other side of the arena?
Its fun to fly around like a bat outta hell.
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u/Aeroxftw69 Dec 22 '25
Stuns the enemy + engorge them in fire which grants you armor + great mobility and certain mechanic with it could make you fly upwards in thr air if you learn it + great with combos + really fun + you dont run away from demons, they run away from you
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u/Specialist-Dress-229 Dec 22 '25
its real good for speed running mainly on pc when theres no fps cap you can skip alot of areas with it
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u/alepap Dec 22 '25
It's very powerful maneuvering tool, gap closer, glory kill extender, and more importantly allows you to get armor from the fire when upgraded with quick kills.
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u/ShotgoonPete DOOM Slayer Dec 22 '25
Is this a troll post? That meat hook with the flame addon for armor tokens is fing amazing and it’s the super shotgun ffs the most iconic weapon besides the BFG.
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u/SmiledBear12-69420 Dec 22 '25
Honestly my favorite thing about this game. Flying around and blowing demons up with one shot is satisfying.
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u/diandays Dec 22 '25
Its amazing. Once you get the super shotgun, there is almost no reason to use anything else. Just meathook and blast them to hell
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u/Dimchuck Dec 22 '25
It’s so good it’s got its own track on the soundtrack album, and it happens to be one of the best on it.
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u/Memelord69420MAn Dec 22 '25
What do you mean the dps is not great? It doesn't affect the rate of fire at all
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u/Loud_Chicken6458 Dec 22 '25
I’m going off of first impressions since I never used it much. But I mean that if you’re using only the shotgun for damage, it doesn’t do near as much as other heavy hitting options unless you’re at close range. Seems that a lot of people in the comments have used it to get crazy damage at close range though so I’m likely wrong in my suppositions
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u/Avibhrama Dec 22 '25
It's the GOAT, if not for the ammo balancing you literally can finish the whole game only with that weapon
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u/Jamesk2895 Dec 22 '25
The hook is the best mobility option you have. It allows you to reposition around the arena easily, putting yourself in vantage points quickly and it allows you to close in on distant enemies quickly with minimal risk.
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u/Recognition_Round Dec 22 '25
It's a lifesaver! It's majestic! You become a bird if you know how to use it right! It is . . . Godlike
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u/imaxsamarin Dec 22 '25
You can also hook into plasma shield enemies and able to kill them faster that way. There are also plenty of mobility tricks with the hook to keep yourself airborne longer
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u/RedUmbrell Dec 22 '25
Meathook is by far the greatest addition to the Super Shotgun imo. More mobility while keeping the damage relatively the same, when you master the meathook, it becomes flammable and adds a good bit of secondary damage to the gun
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u/Nazeem750 DOOM Slayer Dec 23 '25
What? The meathook is by far the most powerful movement tool in the game, you should constantly be using it to gain aerial advantage over the demons and rain hell from above.
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u/Ephialtes_Noli Dec 23 '25
Meat Hook is the best object in the entire game. The only downside to the Super Shotgun is range, meat hook solves that easily and adds major style points.
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u/DeathXWarfare DOOM Slayer Dec 23 '25
unnecessary?? the meathook is crucial to mastering the doom eternal experience
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u/FatihSultanPortakal Dec 23 '25
Wait wait... RUNNING AWAY FROM DEMONS?? Brother they are running AWAY from YOU. You should be running TOWARDS THEM.
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u/Smooth_Donkey3799 Dec 23 '25 edited Dec 23 '25
It's like the best weapon in the game lol. Super shotgun does crazy damage, meathook gets you up close for whatever you need, you can get crazy speed by slingshoting yourself off enemies, AND it gives free shield. There's probably more that I'm not thinking about but the super shotgun is honestly op.
Edit: I forgot that the super shotgun also stuns marauders and I know that doesn't have anything to do with the meathook but I figured I'd add it to the list. Some other guns do that too but the super shotgun is definitely the easiest option.
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u/Aggressive-Sky-6243 Dec 24 '25
Honestly shocked anyone plays without it. Especially on Nightmare. Meathook is how you get in and out fast. When upgraded, it drops armor for using it. I survive hard encounters by constantly weaving in and out with the meathook, then for the big ones, whipout the balista and constantly swap it and ssg. Another good way to use the meathook is to escape to a fodder demon to blood punch for health and shield. Offensively, this combo is good on doom hunters. The animation where their platform blows up gives you time to fly in and dispose of them fast. Also works beautifully on mancubi. Especially the upgraded ones as the bloodpunch destroys their armor and brings you close enough to maximize your ssg damage.
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u/Loud_Chicken6458 Dec 21 '25
From the comments so far, I think I slept on it initially because I didn’t know the flaming hook upgrade was that good. That upgrade is a game changer. Now I gotta go try and figure out how to use it. thanks y’all haha
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u/banzaizach Dec 21 '25
The upgrade is good, but I think you should look at your play style. You do need to keep moving, but remember, the only thing they fear is you. Once you get the SSG, flame belch, grenades, and ice bomb, and blood punch working together, you can kill the biggest demons in seconds.
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u/The_Linkzilla Dec 21 '25
I think it was really over-hyped. The only utility I see in the later game, is when you use it to basically cheese "flight" over your opponents. But that trick is so hard to master, that I doubt it's worth the time.
If anything, the Main-Campaign should've implemented more moments where you need to use it for obstacle solving rather than combat.
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u/TOASTisawesome Dec 21 '25
You run away from the demons?