Cacodemon (Doom 2016)

A cacodemon.

This article is about the monster in Doom (2016). For other games, see:

• Cacodemon
• Cacodemon (Doom 3)
• Cacodemon (Doom Eternal)
• Cacodemon (Doom: The Dark Ages)

The cacodemon returns in Doom (2016) and Doom VFR with an appearance closely matching the original version of the monster. It is a red-colored, floating, round monster with a single glowing green eye and a large mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. Unique to this incarnation are vestigial arms and legs which hang below its body, a reptilian-like stomach pouch between its arms, and a rough, armored appearance to its skin, which is studded with horns and small spikes.

Tactical analysis

Health: 2000

Chainsaw Fuel Usage: 3

The cacodemon will attempt to move toward the player whilst spewing toxic bile until it reaches melee range, before biting and dealing a significant amount of damage. Cacodemons usually spawn in areas where there is a lack of movement (e.g. in the Necropolis mission after the initial drop). Thus, it becomes paramount to kill the cacodemons before a group of them corner the player, ideally by focusing fire on its vulnerable underbelly. Being hit by the bile spew has a blinding effect, leaving the player vulnerable to further attacks by the cacodemon and any other monsters present.

In arenas or levels where movement is restricted to platforms, attempting a chainsaw/glory kill may cause player death by falling.

The rocket launcher with its lock-on modification will kill a cacodemon from a long range in six rockets, or two locks.

Attacks

Attack	Too Young To Die	Hurt Me Plenty	Ultra Violence	Nightmare
Melee Bite	33.5	66.5	116.5	200
Ranged Spew	17.5	34.5	60	105

Lore

The UAC determined that the cacodemon's attacks and flight capabilities were psionic in nature, but that the creature had a limited, instinctual intelligence driven primarily by the need to feed. The cacodemon's projectile attack, formed from the creature's bile, was found to have psychoactive, narcotic properties that confuse and disorient its victims long enough for the cacodemon to move in for the kill.

Glory kills

Six glory kills against the cacodemon exist:

• From the front, the Slayer grabs the cacodemon's forehead with one hand and rips out its eye with the other.
• From the back, the Slayer rolls over the cacodemon to meet it face to face and rip out its eye.
• From its right or left side, the Slayer grabs onto a spike near its mouth and rips out its eye.
• When using the chainsaw from the front, the Slayer stabs it in the eye so blood pours out, and after pulling it out, it explodes.
• When using the chainsaw from the back, the Slayer starts sawing one side of cacodemon's back and moves to the middle, leaving a large cut.
• The berserk Slayer lands one hit into the cacodemon's eye to make it explode.

Glory kills by the cacodemon in multiplayer

Two glory kills against other players exist:

• The cacodemon lashes out its tongue to pierce and pull its opponent towards itself, then eats them whole.
• By coming closer to the enemy, the cacodemon will pounce on a player and eat them whole.

Pre-release

An early model of the cacodemon with antenna-like appendages and with no horns and spikes, can be seen in one of the videos showcasing the game's development process. It is based on sketches in The Art of DOOM, distinguished from the final model by a blue eye, gray skin, and dark gray chitin.

• 

  Early model of cacodemon

• 

  Concept art of cacodemons hive in Kadingir Sanctum, with cacodemons having antennas.

Multiplayer

Hit points

500

Primary skill

Bile spew

Secondary skill

Tongue skewer

"Devour enemies with your grotesque tongue and dissolve them with a ranged bile attack. "

― Multiplayer description

With the addition of DLC Pack 2: Hell Followed, the cacodemon becomes playable in multiplayer. With the release of update 6.66, the cacodemon is unlocked through player progression at level 36. It has the same number of hit points as the spectre.

To differentiate the player character cacodemon from an ordinary one seen in other modes of play, its expressions and animations were modified to convey a sinister disposition and a strong sense of sentience, akin to an Eye Tyrant Beholder. During play as the cacodemon, the player's viewpoint is surrounded by the inner sides of its teeth, as if a camera was being held in its mouth.

The bile spew is its primary attack which fires a slow projectile that does not deal much damage, but also deals splash damage. It can notably be used to clear hazards and placed equipment like kinetic mines or shield walls. If opponents are out of range of its second skill, the tongue skewer, it is not recommended to shoot at too far distances due to the speed of the projectiles, which can be easily dodged.

Tongue skewer is its secondary ability. When pressing secondary fire, the cacodemon opens its mouth wide and prepares to launch its deadly weapon; holding attack activates a passive ability that is similar to that of the prowler demon. During this time, nearby victims will be highlighted and, when reaching the opponent, press secondary fire again and a glory kill animation will occur. It will differ depending on whether the cacodemon is close to its prey or far away. During scanning, remember that the cacodemon will make quite loud sounds from its open mouth, which can alert other players.

As the cacodemon, players can sneak behind others from a lower or greater height, and can fly upwards constantly if you keep pressing the jump button. Use the large ceilings to stalk the top of the map. One of the other benefits is that an enemy who is not used to aiming higher than usual causes ambushes to have a much higher success rate. Compared to the revenant, its flight is unlimited, but its movement speed is slow. Playing as this demon means flight can be used to reach specific vantage points that others cannot.

Against the cacodemon

The cacodemon's weakness is its eye, and shots that hit it will do more damage than usual, so precision weapons or weapons with a scope (like the vortex rifle) can help with aiming at the eye. The cacodemon also cannot use its tongue against players with the invisibility power-up, which can make it difficult for it to eliminate such a threat other than using its bile attack.

When fighting against the cacodemon, remember the slow movement of the demon. The rocket launcher with its remote detonation mod is a good choice. Stay as far away from it as possible, so as not to get into the range of its tongue. In addition, demon rune counter weapons will be effective against the cacodemon, such as the BFG or Gauss cannon. The latter also has a scope that will help you aim at the beast's weak spot.

Appearance statistics

Doom (2016)

The cacodemons are first encountered in Kadingir Sanctum, and are present in all levels after that point.

These demons also appear in four classic maps.

Doom 2016
Level	Count
Kadingir Sanctum	7
Argent Facility (Destroyed)	15
Advanced Research Complex	3
Lazarus Labs	2
Titan's Realm	8
Necropolis	14
VEGA Central Processing	10
Argent D'Nur	9
Total	68

Classic Maps
Level	Amount
Halls of the Damned	5
Slough of Despair	3
Pandemonium	3
House of Pain	3
Total	14

In other games

Doom: The Board Game

Hit points

6

Range

6

Movement points

5

Amount of figures in total

4

The cacodemon appears in Doom: The Board Game and is one of the eight types of units that are available to the invader player. To summon the cacodemon, the invader needs one or more Argent energy tokens depending on invasion group on invasion card.^[?] Cacodemon can attack from a distance and from up close. This demon type along with the revenant are "flying" demons. The monster's defense ability is to gain one shield to reduce damage.

The monster's abilities are:

Flying

Passive ability: The creature can move on difficult terrain without spending additional move points, the same with marines figures, but this ability cannot be used to move through walls and doors. In addition they cannot end their movement in a space occupied by enemy figures.

Chomp

Main ability: When Chomp is activated the invader replaces two of the three red dice into two black if the marine is adjacent to him. The event cards such as "Ferocity" or "Onslaught", etc., can give the opportunity to do Chomp a second time per activation.

Plasma tether

Passive ability: Only available when an Argent token is placed on the cacodemon's card. Every time it attacks, an enemy figure becomes stunned.

Gallery

• 

  Cacodemon in the digital cover of Hell Followed.

Trivia

• Killing the demon with a shot to the eye will cause it to explode. This counts as a headshot for the heavy assault rifle's tactical scope mastery progress.
• The placement of the point of view in the cacodemon's mouth in multiplayer mode may be a reference to one of the sketches from The Art of DOOM where the monster's eye is located in the mouth.
• The cacodemon had an unused attack which consisted of pulling the player towards itself by three magnetic tentacles of the same color as its projectiles.

Sources

• DOOM - Bestiary (archived 🏛)