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On the Hebeth mission in Doom: The Dark Ages, the Fire Door blocks access to a small hidden room packed with valuable loot. The door is flanked by pillars of fire that can’t be broken through with sheer force. Instead, you’ll need to seek out and unlock a hidden valve in a nearby room with precise platforming, a cautious shield toss, and a short firefight with a Hell Knight.

Once the valve is turned, the flames dissipate, granting access to the secret area and its rewards. Make sure to get this to make your journey in Doom: The Dark Ages a tad easier!

Understanding the Hebeth Fire Door Puzzle

Image from Doom: The Dark Ages. Courtesy of Bethesda Softworks.

On Doom: The Dark Ages’ Chapter 2’s Hebeth level, there is a sturdy platform with a double door that is aflame, hindering any direct access to the hidden room behind. Not even melee or pure stamina can penetrate the flames, not even for the Doom Slayer; you need to sever the flame at its source.

This puzzle is special in that it disrupts the usual pattern of fighting and forces you to search more carefully.

Step-by-Step Guidelines to Unlatching the Fire Door

Image from Doom: The Dark Ages. Courtesy of Bethesda Softworks.

1 – Visit the Central Platform

  • Approach the fire door and go forward beyond it, with the fire jets behind you. You’ll see a low climbing wall on the far side of the platform.
  • Use a double jump and wall climb to reach the thin ledge above the broken guardrail.

2 – Access the Locked Room

  • Stand on the ledge, look directly across the fire to notice a superheated lock on a metal gate.
  • Grab your shield and throw it at the lock. The shock will blast the latch off the gate, creating an opening just large enough to squeeze through.
  • Leap through the opening into the dark room on the other side.

3 – Locate and Turn the Valve

  • Inside the small room, immediately turn right to see a circular valve wheel mounted on the wall, partially obscured behind debris.
  • Interact with the valve to shut off the fire jets. You’ll hear the flames sputter and die down, and the door ahead will become safe to approach.

4 – Deal with the Hell Knight Ambush

  • As soon as you turn the valve, a Hell Knight breaks through the damaged wall, starving to guard the secret.
  • Kill the Hell Knight as fast as possible with a heavy weapon (most likely the Shredder or Accelerator) in order to minimize health loss.

Exit and Claim Your Reward

  • Shield-bash or destroy the remaining barricade to exit the valve room.
  • Go through the newly-safety door into the secret room, where you’ll receive nine gold pieces and a Life Sigil (in case you haven’t yet hit the three-sigil cap).

Puzzle Run Tips and Tricks

  • Keep Shield Integrity: Use the minimum damage shield bash necessary to break the lock and door frames; shields automatically restore after a period.
  • Watch Your Step: Don’t underestimate the wall climb as it can send you back into the flames and make you have to redo the sequence.
  • Conserve Ammo: In low ammo before the ambush by the Hell Knights, take them out with shotgun blasts up close or the Power Gauntlet to kill them fast.
  • Explore Thoroughly: This secret is part of 13 collectibles in Hebeth, finding it serves to raise completion percentage and give codex entries.

Rewards and Significance

While the loot (gold and a Life Sigil) might seem modest at first, these resources are precious for keeping your health topped up and purchasing gun upgrades toward the end of the campaign, which is especially important in Doom: The Dark Ages.

Far more important, the unlocking of environmental challenges like the Fire Door enhances your sense of situational awareness, and you become accustomed to scanning every nook and cranny for hidden mechanisms and valves that could tip the scales of combat.

Final Thoughts

Unlocking Hebeth’s Fire Door in Doom: The Dark Ages’ mission is a gratifying fusion of exploration, platforming, and combat. Through discovering the hidden valve, executing a successful shield toss, and surviving a Hell Knight ambush, you are rewarded with entry into a secret cache that is reliant on skill and vigilance. This challenge not only offers tangible in-game rewards but is also a reflection of the level design philosophy of rewarding the outside-the-box thinking player who can be creative.

The next time you’re back in Hebeth, you’ll cut down that blazing barrier with ease, and perhaps spot even more hidden gems along the way. For more guides in Doom: The Dark Ages, check out here.

This article first appeared on Total Apex Gaming and was syndicated with permission.

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