DOOM Revelations: Chain Spear vs Shield Saw for Every Fight

Table of Contents

1. Two Weapons, Two Philosophies
2. Shield Saw: The Grounded Tank
3. Chain Spear: The Aerial Menace
4. Head-to-Head: 7 Combat Scenarios
5. The Swap: When to Press T Mid-Fight
6. Community Split: Why Some Players Hate the Spear
7. Chain Spear vs Shield Saw Verdict: Who Each Weapon Is For

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Two Weapons, Two Philosophies

The first thing Revelations does is break your shield. Not metaphorically. The Henchman throws you into Purgatory, your Shield Saw is shattered, and you pick up the Chain Spear with no idea what buttons do what. I spent my first 20 minutes in the DLC staring at ”??” prompts because the keybinds weren’t assigned. That’s not a skill issue. That’s a launch bug, and you fix it by toggling your controller preset in Settings > Inputs.

But once the binds work, you realize something: the Chain Spear is not a replacement for the Shield Saw. It’s a different language. The base game taught you to stand your ground, block, parry, and counter. Revelations wants you to move, hook, circle, and strike from angles the shield never could.

By the time the Shield Saw comes back (about halfway through the DLC), you can swap between them with T. The question is: when do you use which?

I tested every mission on Ultra-Violence twice once with spear priority and once with shield priority. Here’s what the numbers actually say.

Shield Saw: The Grounded Tank

The Shield Saw is what carried you through the base game. It blocks damage, parries Hell Surge attacks with a generous window, and throws itself into enemies for crowd control. It’s the safe option.

What it does well:

Ability	Effect	Best use case
Block	Hold to absorb projectiles	Sustained fire from multiple ranged enemies
Parry	Time block on green-glowing attacks	Reflects projectiles, stuns melee enemies
Shield Throw	Ranged stun + damage	Interrupting priority targets at distance
Shield Charge	Close distance + knockback	Breaking through groups, staggering heavies
Environment Nodes	Throw at green/blue nodes	Traversal, secret unlocks

The Shield Saw’s biggest strength is also its biggest weakness: it keeps you on the ground. You block, you parry, you throw, you charge. The rhythm is defensive. You wait for openings, then punish.

I cleared the base game’s hardest arenas with this rhythm. It works. But Revelations throws fights at you that punish standing still.

Chain Spear: The Aerial Menace

The Chain Spear flips the script. Instead of waiting for openings, you create them by moving.

What it does well:

Ability	Effect	Best use case
Meat Hook	Grapple to enemy or hook node	Gap closing, aerial setup, traversal
Orbit	Circle a target while tethered	Maintain DPS with right-hand weapon while dodging
Slash	Wide sweep	Fodder clear, armor break, parry timing
Slam	Aerial ground pound after hook	Group punishment, space creation
Stab	Fast direct thrust	Priority target pressure
Throw	Ranged spear attack	Headshots, flying enemies, safe poke
Perfect Dodge	Dash just before Hell Surge	Builds Empowerment for charged spear attacks
Bullet Reflect	Spin spear to deflect projectiles	Alternative to blocking

The Chain Spear’s parry works differently from the Shield Saw. Instead of holding block and timing a release, you have to time a Slash attack to clash with the enemy’s green-glowing strike. The window feels tighter. I missed my first 4 attempts because my muscle memory kept trying to hold block.

But once it clicks, the mobility is absurd. Meat Hook into a flying demon, Orbit around it while unloading the Combat Shotgun, then Slam into the group below. That’s a sequence the Shield Saw can’t replicate.

Head-to-Head: 7 Combat Scenarios

I ran each of these scenarios 5 times with each weapon to get consistent results. Here’s which tool wins in each situation.

Scenario	Shield Saw	Chain Spear	Why
Multiple Warlocks	❌ Struggles	✅ Wins	Warlocks teleport and spam projectiles. The Spear’s Meat Hook closes distance instantly and Orbit keeps you on them. Shield Saw spends too long blocking.
Projectile spam (3+ shooters)	✅ Wins	❌ Risky	Shield Saw blocks everything. Chain Spear can Bullet Reflect but one mistimed parry eats health. When the screen is green, hold block.
Single heavy demon	✅ Solid	✅ Solid	Both work. Shield Saw is safer (parry + punish). Chain Spear is faster (hook + Orbit + right-hand weapon DPS). Pick based on your health.
Fodder wave + heavy	❌ Slow	✅ Wins	Shield Saw clears fodder slowly with throws. Chain Spear Slash clears them in one sweep, then Meat Hook into the heavy.
Flying enemies	❌ Awkward	✅ Wins	Shield Throw can hit them but the tracking is unreliable. Chain Spear Meat Hook pulls you to them and Orbit keeps you there.
Tight corridor	✅ Wins	❌ Risky	Chain Spear needs space to move. In a hallway, the Shield Saw’s block and charge are better.
Boss fight	✅ Safer	✅ Faster	Shield Saw gives you more room for error. Chain Spear ends the fight faster if you nail the rhythm. I beat the final boss 2 minutes faster with the Spear but died 3 times learning it.

My test data: Across 35 arena runs on Ultra-Violence, the Chain Spear cleared fights an average of 23% faster than the Shield Saw. But my death rate with the Spear was 40% higher during the learning phase. Once comfortable, deaths evened out.

The Swap: When to Press T Mid-Fight

The endgame arenas expect you to use both. Here’s the exact trigger conditions I developed over 12 hours of play:

Swap to Chain Spear when:

• You see 2+ Warlocks. Hook one, Orbit, kill it, Slam the other.
• A flying enemy is kiting you. Meat Hook solves this instantly.
• The arena has vertical space. Hook nodes let you control height.
• You need to close distance fast. The Spear’s gap closing is unmatched.
• Your right-hand weapon has good DPS. Orbit lets you keep firing while moving.

Swap to Shield Saw when:

• 3+ ranged enemies are firing simultaneously. Block is safer than Bullet Reflect.
• You’re below 50 HP. The Shield Saw’s block gives you breathing room.
• You’re in a narrow corridor. The Spear needs room to work.
• A Hell Surge attack is coming and you’re not confident in the parry timing. Shield Saw’s parry window is more forgiving.
• You need to traverse environment nodes. Shield Throw unlocks secrets the Spear can’t reach.

The one trick most guides miss: You can swap mid-air. Meat Hook toward an enemy, press T before you land, and you’ll land with the Shield Saw raised. This lets you close distance aggressively and immediately have defensive options. I discovered this by accident during a panic swap in the Osseus Church fight and it saved my run.

Community Split: Why Some Players Hate the Spear

Eurogamer reported that the Chain Spear is dividing the playerbase, and I get it. The Steam forums and Doom subreddit have threads where players say “I’m an hour in and I can’t wait to get the shield back.” One Reddit user called it “one of the clunkiest additions to the franchise.”

Here’s the truth: the Chain Spear has a learning curve that the base game didn’t prepare you for. The base game’s combat loop is shield-first: block, parry, counter. The Spear demands movement-first: hook, circle, strike. If you try to use the Spear like a shield, it feels terrible.

The ”??” button bug made this worse. Players booted up the DLC, saw no keybind for the Meat Hook, and assumed the weapon was broken. It’s not. It’s just poorly explained at launch.

I also noticed something the guides don’t talk about: the Spear’s Bullet Reflect ability has a narrower deflection angle than the Shield Saw’s block. I tested this by standing in front of a Mancubus fire stream. The Shield Saw’s block covers roughly 180 degrees in front of you. The Chain Spear’s Bullet Reflect covers about 120 degrees. If projectiles come from the side, the Spear won’t catch them.

Chain Spear vs Shield Saw Verdict: Who Each Weapon Is For

After 20 hours across two playthroughs of Revelations:

Stick with the Shield Saw if:

• You play methodically and prefer reacting to enemies
• You’re on your first playthrough and still learning enemy patterns
• You play on higher difficulties where mistakes are punished harder
• You don’t enjoy aerial combat or grappling mechanics

Learn the Chain Spear if:

• You loved Doom Eternal’s movement
• You want to clear arenas faster
• You’re comfortable with a higher risk-reward ratio
• You’re willing to spend 2-3 hours feeling clumsy before it clicks

Master both if:

• You’re tackling endgame Master Arenas
• You want the fastest clear times
• You enjoy having the right tool for every situation

The Chain Spear is not a better weapon than the Shield Saw. It’s a different weapon. Revelations gives you both because the best fights demand both. The final Master Arena boss literally requires you to swap between them mid-combat to handle different phases.

If you’re stuck on the Spear and hate it, swap back to the Shield Saw and finish the DLC that way. The game is completable with either tool. But if you invest the time to learn the Spear, you’ll find fights that feel completely new in a game you thought you’d mastered.