Do you have to beat Doom Eternal before playing the Ancient Gods DLC? It is definitely worth asking since many games (like Nioh 2 and its recent expansion) do require that you complete the main campaign first. So can you jump right into The Ancient Gods or do you need to hunt down Eternal‘s final demon first?
Do you have to beat Doom Eternal before playing the DLC?
If you want to play The Ancient Gods, you do not have to beat the Doom Eternal campaign first. It is a separate list item on the menu with its own save. You can jump right into the DLC without having any prior or experience with the game as long as you download the newest patch. This is probably going to particularly useful for those switching platforms for the DLC or for when the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions come out if those don’t transfer your saves (or if you’re also switching console families).
You don’t have to beat the core game first, but you probably should. The Ancient Gods takes place after the events of the campaign so you may be lost on what is happening if you jump straight into The Ancient Gods. Also, you begin the expansion with all of your gear so you may be a little rusty or lost if you’re jumping into it cold. It’s a lot to juggle. There’s also no warning in the game telling you this so it is entirely up to you. This all makes sense since the game is being sold as a standalone game (in most cases, which you can read more about here)
It is not clear if you will be able to play The Ancient Gods Part 2 without beating The Ancient Gods Part 1. Id has not spoken much at all about this second DLC but given how it is tied to the first episode, it wouldn’t be all too shocking if you did need to plow through this new first episode.
