Pain Elemental

The Pain Elemental is a type of demon from the DOOM video game series. Similar to the Cacodemon, it is a floating sphere with a single eye and a large mouth. It has leathery brown skin, two small arms and a pair of curved black horns. It attacks by spawning Lost Souls and launching them at the player.

DOOM II
Pain Elementals have the same HP and movement speed as Cacodemons, but unlike their cousins, they will maintain a distance from the player whilst continuously spawning Lost Souls to attack for them. Upon spawning, the Lost Souls will immediately launch themselves in the player's direction, but will stop and turn around if they miss. The Elemental will only spawn Lost Souls until there are 21 in a level, at which point it will become idle until that number is reduced.

The Pain Elemental is best fought using the Chaingun or Plasma Gun to whittle down its health quickly. Rockets can also be effective, but pose a risk to the player as well since the Elemental can possibly spawn a Lost Soul while a rocket is in flight, blocking the rocket and threatening the player with splash damage if they are too close. Upon dying, the Pain Elemental will disintegrate and spawn three more Lost Souls.

DOOM 64
In DOOM 64, Pain Elementals are created by the Mother Demon from the remnants of slain Cacodemons. The resurrection process has transformed these creatures into even more nightmarish beasts; they have rounded bodies made from warped flesh with a dark pink hue, sporting short spikes on top and a single green eye. Where the mouth should be are only a few in-grown bone spikes and a mane of black hair runs down the back. Its arms end in gaping, fang-filled mouths within which burn the souls of the damned.

The Pain Elemental is somewhat stronger than the Cacodemon it was raised from. Upon sighting the player, it will laugh wickedly and give out a garbled shriek of "DIIIE" before attacking. It can spawn two Lost Souls at a time, one from each mouth.

DOOM Eternal
In DOOM Eternal, the Pain Elemental's design has shifted back towards that of the DOOM II original, but with noteable differences. Its jawline has been altered to somewhat resemble that of a human, though it has several articulating mandibles on both sides of the mouth. Its arms and even its horns are also longer, and its rear end resembles the shell of an armadillo. Its one eye glows a fiery orange colour.

The in-game codex describes the Pain Elemental as a creature of absolute torment forged in the Umbral Plains of Hell. It constantly forges Lost Souls within its infernal gut, a process that is unending and utterly agonizing. The only thing that distracts the Pain Elemental from its own suffering is inflicting suffering on others, and it takes great delight in dispensing death and misery upon creatures weaker than itself.

The Pain Elemental fights by spitting up Lost Souls from its mouth and throwing them with its arms. If the Doom Slayer is relatively close, it will instead charge and bite. Highly resilient, the Elemental takes a significant amount of firepower to put down. The Ballista and the Rocket Launcher's Lock-On Burst are the most effective weapons to use against this monster.