
| “ | One of the worst of a bad lot. You can't think of enough rotten things to say about him. He's fast, hard to kill, casts spells, and resurrects dead monsters! At least these suckers are rare. | „ |
| ~ DOOM II Manual description |

| “ | One of the worst of a bad lot. You can't think of enough rotten things to say about him. He's fast, hard to kill, casts spells, and resurrects dead monsters! At least these suckers are rare. | „ |
| ~ DOOM II Manual description |

| “ | Forged from Hellfire, the Archvile is feared among lesser demons for its innate ability to channel and manipulate the unholy powers of Hell magic. Descended from the eldest race of demons, the Archvile has long held a place within the ruling caste of high-born demon lords. Possessing superior intellect among the demon ranks, the Archvile's psychomancy powers make it a natural-born ruler of the savage and primitive beasts of Hell, capable of bending weak-minded underlings to serve its will. | „ |
| ~ DOOM Eternal codex |
Summary
The Arch-vile is one of the most formidable enemies in DOOM, serving as a major threat even when encountered by itself. They are seen as 'evil healers' of some sort within the ranks of Hell, reanimating their fellow demons and incinerating those who attempt to stand in their way. Due to their large propensity for attacking anything that disturbs them, they pose just as much of a danger to their comrades as they do to their foes.
Powers and Stats
Tier: 9-A physically, higher with fire columns and fire blasts | 9-A | At least 8-C physically, higher with fire columns and fire blasts
Key: Classic | Doom 3 | Modern
Name: Arch-vile
Origin: DOOM
Gender: Seemingly genderless
Age: Unknown
Classification: Demon Lord (Likely sorcerer)
Powers and Abilities:
- Superhuman Physical Characteristics
- Fire Manipulation & Essence Manipulation (Essence - Arch-vile's attack in the original Doom by surrounding their target in flames before causing the fire to erupt by clasping their hands. In Doom 3 Arch-vile's can send pillars of flames at targets. Fire-based attacks of demons can burn souls, demons are implied to be capable of devouring souls)
- Distance Negation with fire blasts (Can completely ignore distance as long as the target remains within its line of sight)
- Necromancy (Can resurrect nearby demon corpses)
- Summoning (Can summon any non-boss Demon in Doom 3)
- Immortality (Types 2 and 7; is an undead demon that can have large chunks of flesh ripped away and still fight. Demons are frequently referred to as mortally challenged and are referred as an army of the undead)
Immunity to
- Soul Manipulation (All demons have had their souls ripped away from them)
Same as before to a higher degree plus;
- Magic (Arch-viles have the innate channel and manipulate the unholy powers of Hell magic)
- Teleportation (Can teleport around the battlefield to avoid attacks)
- Greater Fire Manipulation & Forcefield Creation (Showcases greater a manipulation of fire, being able to form a pool of flames beneath a target even while the target is out of sight. Can Arch-viles can also shoot large fire balls out of their hands and send large flame waves at foes like in Doom 3. Can create a forcefield made of flames to block oncoming attacks)
- Attack Reflection (With the Fire Specialist upgrade, flame wall can reflect oncoming attacks)
- Statistics Amplification (Haste boosts the Arch-vile's speed by 50% for five seconds)
- Statistics Reduction (The Broiling heat upgrade causes enemies damaged by lake of fire suffer 25% increased damage from all sources and inflict 25% less damage while in the area and for four seconds after leaving it)
- Healing (Mid-low; Healing Zone and Team Heal helps the user and allies recover from bullet and explosion damage)
- Greater Summoning (Can now summon large groups of demons at once. Can summon fodder demons and a Baron of Hell instantly, although there's a cooldown before they can be summoned again)
- Limited BFR (Whatever a demon kills, it gets sent to Hell)
- Greater Essence Manipulation (Hell's Essence - Arch-viles have the innate ability to channel and manipulate the unholy powers of Hell magic. The demons with their presence bring their reality with them, "hellifying" the environment. This can lead to many destructive events, all of which benefit them on conquering worlds. Whether that be creating Hellgrowths or infecting the atmosphere, making it poisonous)
Resistance to;
- Heat
- Ice Manipulation (Can quickly thaw out of the Slayer's flash freeze)
- Poison Manipulation (Should be comparable to other demons, can walk through toxic fog with no issue)
- Acid Manipulation
- Electricity Manipulation (Demons can stand on electrified water with no damage taken)
- Disease Manipulation (Unaffected by the Disease filled air of the Blood Swamps)
- Radiation Manipulation (Demons can stand on toxic waste without much issue)
- Mind Manipulation (Can resist the effects of buff totems which taints the mind of those nearby with nightmarish terror)
- Essence Manipulation (Hell's Essence, Argent Energy, Sentinel Energy) and Fire Manipulation (Doom Demons can fight each other for extended period of times while using their abilities on each other)
Attack Potency: Small Building level physically (Slightly weaker than the Cacodemon), higher with fire columns and fire blasts (The most devastating of any non-boss attack in the original games. Significantly more powerful than the Baron of Hell's plasma projectiles) | Small Building level (One of the stronger demons in the game, can contend with and overpower the Marine) | At least Building level physically (Far stronger than its Classic self One of the strongest demons in the game), higher with fire attacks (Its fire attacks are much stronger than its physical capabilities)
Speed: At least Supersonic (Comparable to Doomguy, much faster than an Imp, the original games depict them as being among the fastest-moving enemies encountered) | Supersonic (Can keep up with the Marine) | At least Supersonic+ (Far faster than its Classic self. Comparable to other Demons)
Lifting Strength: At least Class 5 (Stronger than Pinkies) | At least Class K (Far stronger than Lost Souls) | At least Class 5 (Should at very least be superior to the Pinky), likely Class G, possibly far higher (As a Super Heavy Demon, should be somewhat comparable to the Marauder, momentarily stopped the Doom Slayer)
Striking Strength: Small Building level (Their strikes are comparable to Cacodemon projectiles, albeit slightly weaker) | Small Building level | At least Building level (Should be comparable to other Super Heavy Demons)
Durability: Small Building level (Significantly superior to the Hell Knight. Capable of taking multiple direct hits from the Rocket Launcher, as well as numerous plasma projectiles. Point-blank explosions aren't enough to interrupt their spellcasting) | Small Building level (One of the more durable demons in the game, superior to many other species) | At least Building level (Far stronger than its Classic Incarnations, as a Super Heavy Demon should be on this level), Multi-City Block level with forcefields (Forcefields can tank BFG shots)
Stamina: Infinite (The demons of Hell have limitless aggression and are tireless beings)
Range: Extended Melee Range physically (due to size), likely Several Meters with fire columns, far higher with fire blasts (presumably only limited by sight)
Standard Equipment: N/A
Intelligence: Seemingly above most other demons in the series, as it is capable of utilizing tactics in combat. Despite this, it is somewhat unstable, and oftentimes makes little distinction between friend and foe.
Weaknesses: Far less dangerous in melee encounters. Prone to attacking anything that hurts it, and as such will lose focus on its main enemy if hit by a stray projectile from someone else. Is not immune to its own flames, and can in fact harm itself if it is within close proximity of the target when fire spells are cast. Most spells take a brief moment of standing still in order to cast, leaving it vulnerable to attack during that period. Fire blasts can be avoided altogether if the target hides behind cover before they are cast, and they leave the Arch-vile exposed to counterattacks if they miss.
Notable Attacks/Techniques:
- Fire Column: The Arch-vile thrusts its hands forward, sending a fast-moving column of fire at its target.
- Fire Blast: A spell that causes a fire to ignite itself underneath the target's feet and follow them around whenever they move. After a moment of gathering its flames, the Arch-vile shoot its hands forward, creating an explosion of fire underneath the target that more often than not sends them flying backwards. This can be avoided if the target manages to leave the Arch-vile's line of sight before the spell is cast, however.
- Summon: With this spell, the Arch-vile opens a portal to Hell, summoning any demon of its choosing to fight at its side.
- Resurrection: When presented with a fallen ally, the Arch-vile is capable of bringing them back to life with a spell. Resurrected beings are cured of all wounds and possess every bit of the strength they had before they died.
Note: Not to be confused with the Summoner. Despite the two enemies fulfilling the same exact role within their respective games in the franchise, they are two different monsters with different abilities and thus should not be treated as one in the same.
Notable Matchups
Victories:
Losses:
Inconclusive:
Discussions
| Discussion threads involving Arch-vile |