Secret exit in Doom 64 map 1, Staging Area (original) (raw)

To find the secret exit on Doom 64 level 1, Staging Area:

(Note: For a video demonstration of the walkthrough below, click here.)

When you first appear on this level, take note of three things in the immediate starting area: A barrel a little ahead of you and to the right, another barrel further ahead and in the left corner against the far wall, and a closed door directly behind you.

The door behind you leads to a small room. As you enter that room, you'll see a Berserk Pack ahead of you, and on the floor to your left is a small stain or puddle against the wall. The secret exit (a teleporter booth) is hidden in the wall directly behind that stain.

This teleporter can only be accessed once per game, and it only stays open for a few moments, then permanently closes. The teleporter opens when all of the barrels on the level are destroyed. There are 10 of them, and a couple of them may be hard to find. (Read BARRELS, below, for their locations, or click to view a map of barrel locations.)

As the last barrel explodes, the exit booth opens up, stays open for about 5 seconds, and then closes. Once closed, it's closed permanently; Therefore, you want to be able to get to the secret exit quickly after destroying the last barrel. You can choose among a few different barrels to be the last one; but the easiest thing to do is to save the barrel that's closest to the secret exit for last.

When the other nine barrels have been destroyed and you're ready to leave, open the door to the small room where the secret exit is, then stand in the doorway so the door can't close. Use your pistol or shotgun to fire at the nearby barrel ("barrel 10") that you've saved for last. You can shoot through the wire-mesh cage blocking that barrel.

As the last barrel explodes, turn and Run into the secret exit teleporter, and you're off to level 32...

BARRELS -------

Barrel 10 (save for last): There are 10 barrels in this level. Two of the barrels are in the starting area, as mentioned above. For best results save the barrel closest to your starting position (nearest to the secret exit) as the last/10th barrel.

Barrel 1: When you first appear on the level, barrel 1 is in the starting area (along with barrel 10), and is in the far left corner of the large square space just ahead of you.

Barrel 2: Walk out of the starting area, past barrel 1's location, turn left, and walk until you see a door on your left. Enter that room and barrel 2 is in there.

Barrel 3: Step out of that room and turn left and walk to the end of the hallway and turn right. Walk all the way to the end until you're at a triangular switch. This switch lowers a lift; Get on and ride up. When you get to the top you'll be looking down a long hallway, with short hallways branching off on either side. From this position, barrel 3 is behind you on your left.

Barrel 4: From the top of the lift that you just rode, walk forward all the way to the end of the long hallway, and take the last left, then left again. On your left will be a secret panel. (Almost all of the walls in the area have twin rows of circles running horizontally across them; the secret panel is missing these circles.) Open that panel and barrel 4 is in there.

Blue key: In this general area of the level (where barrels 3 and 4 are found), there is a small niche with a switch on its back wall. At lower Skill levels the blue key is on the floor near this switch; At higher Skill levels you'll need to activate the switch and quickly Run to a small closet that temporarily opens nearby. (As you face the switch, the closet is around the corner behind you on your left.)

Barrel 5: Once you have the blue key, go back to the lift, then drop down off the lift to fall back into the hallway you came from a while ago. Walk forward until you come to the blue-keyed door on the left. Walk in through the door and you'll see barrel 5 ahead of you across the room.

Barrel 6: In the middle of the room (where barrel 5 was) is a wide pillar and a small stair-step in the corner, leading up. Go up and head left to the end of the long passage, where you'll find a switch on the wall to your left. Activate it to open a large room behind you. In this room is another switch on the far wall (activate it) and barrel 6.

Barrel 7: After activating the switch where barrel 6 was found, walk back out of that room and turn left. Go back down the corridor until you come to a new opening on your left, and step through. Follow the left path around to a small alcove on your left. Walk in there and the floor drops down. Just ahead is a tiny room below floor level, where you'll find several health potions, a special monitor screen on the wall, and barrel 7.

Barrel 8: Come back up out of the tiny room, turn left and proceed down the path to the door ahead of you. Open it and go through into a large room. At the far end of this room is another door leading into a small chamber where the regular exit to level 2 is. In here is barrel 8.

Barrel 9: From barrel 8's location inside the regular-exit chamber, step out of that chamber into the large adjacent room, then leave through the door at the far side. Follow the curving path past the tiny drop-down room where barrel 7 was found, and continue to the next opening on your right with a wide step leading up. Go up and you'll see the room ahead where barrel 5 was found, and you should be able to see the open end of cubbyhole that's inside of a wide, floor-to-ceiling pillar. On the back wall of this cubbyhole is a switch. Back up to get a running start and Run into the cubbyhole. When you activate the switch, it temporarily lowers a lift in the corner of the room (to the right of the blue-keyed door). The lift drops down beneath floor level, opening a path below. Activate the switch and quickly back out of the cubbyhole and look slightly to the right. If you can make it to the opening in time, jump down in, and in the lower passage you'll see barrel 9.

Barrel 10 and the secret exit: When barrel 9 is destroyed you can head back to the upper section of the level's starting area. To get there you'll need to use one of two teleporters:

There's a teleporter that's just around the corner in the tiny passage where barrel 9 was. Once that barrel is gone, this teleporter can be used at any time (and repeatedly) to reach the upper section of the starting room. Alternatively there is a hidden (but not Secret) teleporter that's located just outside and directly across from the blue-keyed door. Note that this teleporter can only be used once, and using it can cause Shotgun enemies to spawn into the starting area.

As the last barrel explodes, turn and Run into the secret exit teleporter, and you're off to level 32...

(Note: For a video demonstration of the walkthrough above, click here.)

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