E4M2: The Tower of Despair

The Tower of Despair is the second level of The Elder World. Similar to the previous level, players begin in an isolated safe area that they cannot return to, an area that appears to be the tower's roof. The building itself appears to be old and decrepit, consisting of a series of dark corridors and several larger chambers. The environment is primarily made of rough stone and rusting metal beams. There are two large stained glass windows and Buttons decorated with the images of golden daggers. A larger room towards the level's end appears to be damaged or unfinished.

The player must search for the Silver Key in order to proceed. This level brings back the Ogre, Knight, Shambler, Death Knight, and Vore. There is a noticeable lack of Ammo or Health in this level.

Quick Level Completion

 * Drop through the hole.
 * Follow the corridor to the left until you reach a room to your right with Water.
 * Drop through the Water to the room below.
 * Find the exit on the opposite side of the room and follow the corridor until you reach a intersection to your left and right.
 * Take the left corridor and follow the platforms to one overlooking the Window.
 * Shoot the Window and take the Elevator.
 * At the top, follow the corridor to a Button.
 * Drop to the ground and follow the corridor to the left until you reach a narrow platform bridge.
 * Stay on the right side and cross the bridge to a Teleporter.
 * You will be teleported in front of the Arch.

Walkthrough


Drop through the hole straight ahead from the start. Collect the Shells at the bottom, and turn around to collect a 100 Health. Kill the Knight that comes running out of the archway ahead from the left corridor. By now the game will tell you that shooting the Window will open a Secret, so shoot the Window to open a Wall below with a Button, which when pressed opens the Bars to the left and right of the opposite side of the room. Collect the Shells on the left side. Then collect the Double-Barrelled Shotgun on the right side  (#1) . Go through the doorway, turn right, and turn right at the end to a corridor with a Knight. Turn right at the end to a Wall that can be shot to reveal an alcove  (#2) . In  (#2) , turn left and press the Button, shoot the Wall to back get out to the corridor before, and drop into the hole before the floor closes to teleport to the wooden platform around the bottom floor of the first room  (#3) . Follow the left corridor from the first room, turning a couple of times until you reach an Ogre. Turn left at the end and kill the Knight. Eventually you will get to a pool of Water to the right with alcoves to the left, right, and straight ahead. The left and right alcoves each hold an Ogre, or 2 Ogres together. Continue to the end of the corridor and turn left to a dead end with Shells and 15 Health. Return to the Water and try to dive into it, only to find out it was but an illusion covering a hole to the floor below. At the bottom collect the Pentagram of Protection and kill the Shambler. Turn right and collect a 15 Health, but do not enter the Teleporter as it leads back to the bottom floor of the starting room. Collect a 15 Health in the upper left corner of the room. At the upper right corner is an Elevator leading to the rafters above. Jump from the Elevator to the rafters. Collect the Shells and Double-Barrelled Shotgun to the right, and a 25 Health and Shells to the left. Jump from the area with a 25 Health on the left side to the platform to the right to collect a Nailgun. Collect the Nails to the left, and the Pentagram of Protection to the right, then drop to the floor below to return to the upper left corner. In the lower left corner is a doorway leading to a corridor. Somewhat down the corridor is a doorway to the right. Collect a 25 Health in the doorway, as well as press the Button on the far side to lower the Elevator in the middle. Collect the Shells at the top, and ignore the Wall that opens to the right as it leads back to the Nailgun rafter, unless you had trouble making the jump earlier.

Return to the corridor of the room before and continue to the end, then turn left through the doorway. Collect a 15 Health in the doorway, and the Quad Damage to the left. Kill the 3 Knights down the corridor to the right and collect the Nails at the end by an intersection. Turn right and kill the Death Knight. Turn left at the end to a barred room, collect a 15 Health next to the bars, and kill the Ogre through the bars. Return to the intersection and take the left corridor to a Windowed room beside tall rafters. Collect a 15 Health beside the wall at the end, then turn right to a ramp that can be jumped on to reach the floor above. At the top, collect the Nails and kill the Ogre. Turn around and jump onto the rafter behind you. Collect the Shells on this section, and turn left to reach a taller rafter with a 15 Health in the corner. There is also a doorway in this corner which leads to another doorway overlooking the bars. Land on the bars to collect a 100 Health  (#4) . To the left is the opposite side of the bars. Turn left at the end and collect the Quad Damage. After a couple more turns, you will arrive in a small room with Bars in a doorway to the right, and an Ogre, Nails, 15 Health, and a Button to open the Bars straight ahead. Enter the next room, then select any of the doors to teleport to the alcoves around the Water. Each door leads to the flipped side seen earlier, thus the left door leads to the right alcove, the front leads to the front alcove, and the right leads to the left. From each alcove you may jump across to each of the alcoves but the start, as the start has a bar across it, high enough to cross but not high enough to jump from or to. If you fall, return to the Bars, as a Section of the Bars has opened. The left alcove has Yellow Armor, the right has a 100 Health, and the middle or front has the Silver Key and a Teleporter leading to a platform to the left from the top of the rafters of the rafter-window room. The platform is next to the Window. Shoot the Window to open a passageway to an Elevator. At the top of the Elevator turn around to enter the next room. Kill the Knight and collect the Nails to the left, as well as collect a 15 Health to the right. Press the Button in the middle to open Bars in the floor returning you to the platform by the Window below. The Wall to the right also opens up on the floor below the platform to reveal a corridor with an Ogre on an alcove and a Death Knight on the ground floor. Return to the Button room above and shoot the Wall on the right to gain access to the alcove in the next corridor  (#5) . Collect the Shells and stand next to the Small Wall Spike. Wait for the Small Wall Spike to come down, and go through the hole above the Small Wall Spike. As you get to the opposite side of the Small Wall Spike, an Ogre will come from the end of the corridor to the right. Turn right to where the Ogre came from, and follow the corridors to a Nail Trap. To the left is a corridor made of rafters to jump across. Kill the Vore on the floor below. Drop through the rafters and collect the Shells and 25 Health. Follow the corridor to a 25 Health by a doorway. Collect the Nails and push the Button in the next room, which opens a wall back to the barred room. Return to the upper floor of the rafters and cross to a Teleporter, which leads to the Arch, which the Silver Door that was in front of it opens as you land. A Teleporter behind you in the exit room leads back to the windowed-rafter room.

Differences from Easy to Normal

 * 2nd Knight in left passageway from start
 * 2nd Knight in right passageway from start
 * 2nd Knight in corridor by entrance to Water room
 * Ogre at left end of corridor by entrance to Water room
 * No Pentagram of Protection in Shambler room
 * Vore by Quad Damage in main intersection corridor
 * 2nd Death Knight by bars
 * Ogre by entrance to window-rafter room
 * Ogre on top platform of window-rafter room by window
 * 3 Knights in corridor after bars to Silver Key
 * Vore by Silver Key
 * 2nd Ogre on alcove of the Small Wall Spike room
 * Death Knight and Knight by Button to open Wall back to bar room from rafter corridor

Differences from Normal to Hard/Nightmare

 * 2 Knights, one to left and one to right of doorway after starting room
 * 2 Knights in room after Shambler room
 * Death Knight in Elevator room leading to upper level of Shambler room with Nailgun
 * Vore by entrance to window-rafter room
 * 2nd Ogre on lower platform of window-rafter room
 * 2nd Death Knight and 2nd Knight by Button to open Wall back to bar room from rafter corridor

Differences

 * No 100 Health in starting room
 * Grenade Launcher on wooden platform around starting room
 * No bar on entrance to Water room
 * No 25 Health on rafters of prior Shambler room
 * Rockets in Elevator room leading to upper level of prior Shambler room with Nailgun
 * Rocket Launcher at top of Elevator leading to upper level of prior Shambler room with Nailgun
 * Cells at end of corridor exiting prior Shambler room
 * Grenade Launcher on rafters of window-rafter room
 * Cells on platform by window of window-rafter room
 * Double-Barrelled Shotgun in corridor overlooking the room with bars
 * Cells by Silver Key
 * Thunderbolt on right alcove of Water room
 * Rocket Launcher in the Button room opening the Wall to the Small Wall Spike
 * Room below rafter corridor contains Cells replacing Shells, and also contains a Grenade Launcher
 * Super Nailgun by Teleporter to exit room

Spawn Locations

 * Start
 * Left end of corridor by entrance to Water room
 * Lower floor of prior Shambler room
 * Elevator room leading to upper level of prior Shambler room with Nailgun
 * Exit
 * Room with bars
 * Teleporter to exit room
 * Button room opening the Wall to the Small Wall Spike
 * Just past Window of window-rafter room
 * Just past Small Wall Spike
 * Lower platform of window-rafter room

Trivia

 * The floating Water in this level was created by Sandy Petersen because Lovecraft highly disliked Water to the point it was highly prevalent as a negative aspect in his stories. Petersen wanted to make the players distrust the Water by disorienting them. Featuring a decent sized drop, the player has no immediately visible return, and thus can throw the player off their guard.