Why default Scripted Marines make terrible enemies

[OkDoomer174]

Hello, ZDoom forums!
As my first post into this great community, I've decided to let you all know just why you should not use (un)Scripted Marines as enemies in your Doom levels.

Why default Scripted Marines make terrible enemies
Because they're really unfair, that's why.

A default Scripted Marine uses one of many player attacks, such as the shotgun, rocket launcher, or BFG 9000, depending on which Marine you placed in your level. This can make for some fun scenarios where players fight players, or a little "reinforcements" kind of thing if you set them to friendly. But what if you try to use them in bulk?
Basically, don't.

In the attached .WAD, I've created a short level with a large amount of health bonuses to show just how much Scripted Marines can hurt. Try it out and see how hard it is, and if you're looking for a challenge, remove all the Health Bonuses and Stimpacks. Those two Medikits won't save you.

You'll also see that the Marines don't count towards the kill percentage. That's probably because they're not intended to be used as enemies, at least not in this state. That's probably not good either.

So, in conclusion: don't use Scripted Marines as enemies, retexture fair enemies instead.

[Arctangent]

The only takeaway I got from this is that if you're using the marines and you care about kill count, you need to slap +COUNTKILL on them.

[Enjay]

I don't consider myself a great player - competent, but not great - and I killed all the bad guys on my first run through and I finished with over 100 health points and loads of health packs still lying around. The marines can be tough enemies, but this map isn't particularly tricky IMO.

[OkDoomer174]

The only takeaway I got from this is that if you're using the marines and you care about kill count, you need to slap +COUNTKILL on them.

Actually, it was more about how incredibly tough they are. It's good you got that, though.

[Arctangent]

Actually, it was more about how incredibly tough they are.

They have the health of a lost soul and basically the same pain chance as a pinky ( 62.5% vs 70.3% ), but with twice the flinch duration.

The chaingun chews through them like nothing. The only thing keeping 'em from being like wet paper is that you have to get exceptionally lucky to down 'em in a single shotgun blast ... but the fact that it's theoretically possible is still pretty damning, considering how much of the bestiary can soak the super shotgun's theoretical max damage.