E4M6: The Pain Maze

The Pain Maze is the sixth level of The Elder World. The action takes place entirely indoors with numerous traps and monster ambushes, in what seems to be an underground complex of evil crypts and shrines. The level revolves around a grand central chamber, which features a lake of Water and a large structure of wooden beams that players have to climb on in order to reach other parts of the level.

The player must search for the Gold Key and Silver Key in order to proceed. The goal before proceeding is to defile the Unholy Altars of Shub-Niggurath.

Quick Level Completion

 * Drop through the hole at the start and turn left to the four column room.
 * Follow the corridor to the right until the end.
 * Go up the Elevator to the left.
 * Turn left and shoot the Unholy Altar.
 * Collect the Silver Key behind you.
 * Return to the four column room.
 * Follow the corridor to the left
 * Go through the doorway to the left.
 * Dive into the water and follow the corridor to an Elevator.
 * Unlock the Silver Door at the top.
 * Return to the room before diving in the water.
 * Go around the wall by the left or right path.
 * Go through the door and turn left.
 * Start to walk down the corridor while the Wall behind you slides down it.
 * Drop to the lower floor.
 * Press the Buttons on the four columns.
 * Ride the Elevator and collect the Gold Key in the doorway to the left.
 * Return to the right corridor of the grey four column room.
 * Drop into the water, and follow it to a round room.
 * Climb onto the platform in the middle.
 * Stand on the gold door to lower a platform behind you.
 * Stand on the platform and go onto the right rafter.
 * Jump to the corridor on the opposite side of the right rafter.
 * Dive into the water and follow the corridor to the next room.
 * Ignore the stairs and follow the corridor to a Button on the final left column.
 * Return to the stairs and go up them.
 * Follow the corridor to an Elevator.
 * Turn right at the end of the corridor and jump onto the third floor rafters.
 * Turn around and jump to the nearby corridor.
 * Dive into the water and follow the tunnel to the next room.
 * Shoot the Unholy Altar to open the door at the end.
 * Follow the corridor to the Arch.

Walkthrough
Collect the 100 Health and Quad Damage in the starting room. Drop through the hole straight ahead and collect the Cells at the bottom. Go through the doorway to the right and collect the Ring of Shadows. Turn left and kill the Fiend in the four column room. Collect the Shells and 15 Health on the left side of the room; and collect the Shells and two 15 Health on the right side. Go through the Doors on the right side and kill the Fiend that spawns as you walk into the next hallway. Kill the 2 Spawns that spawn a few seconds after the Fiend Ignore the body of Water and traverse the rest of the hallway and kill the 3 Spawns that spawn when you reach the end. Turn left at the end and go up the Elevator. Turn around at the top and jump to a small hallway with two Cells and 25 Health at the end. Return to the Elevator and turn left into another room. Kill the Vore and collect the two 25 Health, two Nails, and Shells. Here you will encounter an Unholy Altar, to beat it you simply must shoot it repeatedly. Kill the Vore that spawns after the Unholy Altar is defiled. Turn around and collect the Silver Key in the alcove behind the Wall that has opened. Return to the Water corridor and dive into the Water. Follow the corridor to an area you can rise. Turn around and swim to the nearby alcove  (#1) . Continue following the Water tunnel until you come out in a round room with a platform in the middle surrounded by a ring of Water. Collect the items in the Water; in clockwise order they are Shells, 25 Health, Cells, Shells, a Ring of Shadows, 25 Health, and finally a Biosuit. Climb onto the platform in the middle and collect the Rockets beside the Gold Button. The Silver Door is on the opposite side of the room from the entrance, but is too high up to reach from this room. Jump into the Water] on the Silver Door side and shoot the Wall facing the platform to open the Wall  (#2) . Return to the four column room. The bottom left column from the starting entrance of the map has a Button on the opposite side from the entrance; pressing it will move a Window beside the starting entrance  (#3) .

Follow the corridor on the upper left corner of the four column room from the starting room. Turn right at the start of the corridor, then turn left at the end to enter the next room. Kill the Vore, then collect the Green Armor and Cells. Enter the doorway to the left, then collect the Nails to the left and Rockets to the right. Ignore the opposite side of the room located around the wall in the middle, and instead dive into the body of Water to the right. Swim right at the end of the corridor and take the Elevator to enter a hallway above the Water. Collect the Nails and 15 Health, then open the Silver Door at the end to return to the Gold Door room, as well as open up an alcove with a Silver Door higher than the first Silver Door. Return to the room with the ignored opposite side and go to that side. Go through the Door and turn left in the next room. As you walk down the hallway the Wall behind you will slide down the hallway and push you into the room below. Kill the 6 Spawns in the room. Collect the Rockets by the lower right column, two 25 Health by the upper right collum, Cells by the upper left column, Shells by the doorway to the left, and 25 Health by the lower right column. The lift in the doorway to the left is lowered by pressing the four Buttons, one on each column. Collect the Gold Key on the lift and ride it to move a Wall at the top revealing an entrance to the starting room.

Return to the four column room and kill the 4 Spawns that have spawned. Return to the Gold Door and stand over it to lower an Elevator behind you with a Death Knight. Kill the 2 Death Knights at the top, one on the platform to the right and one on the platform to the left. Collect the Nails and Quad Damage on the wooden rafters to the left, and the Nails on the rafter to the right. Go onto the far left rafter and shoot the Window to make the rafter rise so you can reach the Red Armor platform  (#4) . Follow the right rafter to the opposite end, then jump to the nearby corridor. Collect the Shells and dive into the Water. Swim right at the end and follow the corridor to dry land. Follow the corridor to the right and kill the Fiend that will attack you once you get past the stairs. The Wall to the right will lower after the Fiend dies, revealing Nails and 25 Health. Collect the Ring of Shadows in the alcove underneath the stairs to the left, then return to the previous corridor. As you turn right you will eventually reach another Fiend. Collect the 25 Health, Shells, and Yellow Armor resting against the right wall. Press the Button on the final left column to lower the Walls of the area above. Return to the stairs and go up them. Kill the Death Knight and collect the Rockets. Follow the corridor around to the right and kill the Vore. Collect the 25 Health and follow the corridor to the end. Turn right and go through the corridor where the Wall was lowered earlier by the Button, collecting Cells and riding a lift at the end. Collect the 2 Rockets and Biosuit while pressing the Floorplate. The window to the right overlooks the Gold Button room. Kill the 2 Death Knights, one on the closer platform that has lowered because of the Floorplate and one on the platform on the other side of the room. Kill the Vore on the Gold Button platform as well. Drop to the ground and go onto the platform that was lowered. Collect the Rocket Launcher to the left and go through the Teleporter at the top to reach the third floor rafters. Follow the rafters to the left and jump to the corridor straight ahead. Dive into the Water and swim all the way to the bottom. Swim forward and collect the Rockets and Nails; then rise slightly to reach the next room. Kill the Vore in front of you and the 3 Spawns that jump from the windows on the right. Collect the Quad Damage, Nails, Shells, and Cells on the right side; and 15 Health on the left side. Shoot the Unholy Altar to open the Door at the end, and collect the 100 Health behind the Unholy Altar. Go through the opened Door and turn left at the end of the corridor. Turn left at the end, then finally turn right to reach the Arch.

Differences from Easy to Normal

 * 2nd Fiend in grey four column room.
 * Death Knight on alcove next to first Unholy Altar room.
 * No Vore initially in first Unholy Altar room, instead it drops as you enter the room.
 * 2nd Vore spawns when first Unholy Altar is defiled.
 * Rotfish in Water of corridor to right of grey four column room.
 * Spawn at  (#1) .
 * Rotfish in tunnel leading to Water around Gold Button room.
 * Fiend at  (#2) .
 * Spawn in starting room after collecting Gold Key.
 * 3 Spawns behind Wall in large curved room.
 * Vore spawns when Fiend at the end of the corridor dies in large curved room.
 * 2nd Spawn  in first window of second Unholy Altar room.
 * 2nd Spawn in second window of second Unholy Altar room.
 * 2nd Spawn in third window of second Unholy Altar room.
 * Death Knight in hallway leading to Arch.

Differences from Normal to Hard/Nightmare

 * No Ring of Shadows in the doorway leading out of the starting room.
 * 3rd Fiend in grey four column room.
 * 2nd Fiend in right corridor of grey four column room.
 * 3rd Spawn in right corridor of grey four column room.
 * 2nd Rotfish in Water of corridor to right of grey four column room.
 * 2nd Spawn at  (#1) .
 * 2nd Rockets at  (#1) .
 * Shells and Nails in Water around Gold Button room.
 * 2nd Death Knight at  (#2) .
 * 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th Spawn in green four column room.
 * Shells on rafter surrounding the Red Armor platform.
 * 4th, 5th, and 6th Spawns behind Wall in large curved room.
 * 5 Spawns at the end of the corridor in large curved room.
 * 3rd Rockets in corridor overlooking third floor rafters.
 * 2nd Vore in second Unholy Altar room.
 * 3rd and 4th Spawn in first window of second Unholy Altar room.
 * 3rd and 4th Spawn in second window of second Unholy Altar room.
 * 3rd and 4th Spawn in third window of second Unholy Altar room.
 * 2nd and 3rd Death Knight in hallway leading to Arch.

Glitches

 * It is possible to hit the second Unholy Altar with the Thunderbolt in the room to the right of the grey four column room if the player hits the left wall. From the left side of the Door of the grey four column room looking into the room with a pool of Water, the player can shoot the second brick on the right on the bottom row to hit the Unholy Altar. On Normal difficulty, the Spawn closest to the player will be right in front of this wall, making it easy to shoot if the player is trying to hit the Spawn. The 2nd Fiend, or the one added on Hard/Nightmare difficulty, will also be right in front of this brick.

Differences

 * Grenade Launcher in starting room.
 * Double-Barrelled Shotgun in first Unholy Altar room.
 * Unholy Altars are replaced with regular walls.
 * Thunderbolt at  (#1) .
 * Super Nailgun in corridor where 1rst Silver Door used to be.
 * Nailgun at the end of the corridor in large curved room on left side.
 * Grenade Launcher on second floor of large curved room.
 * Thunderbolt in corridor overlooking third floor rafters.
 * Double-Barrelled Shotgun on third floor rafters.
 * Super Nailgun in second Unholy Altar room.
 * Grenade Launcher and Double-Barrelled Shotgun in hallway leading to Arch.

Spawn Locations

 * First Unholy Altar room
 * Second floor of large curved room
 * Starting room
 *  (#1) 
 * Arch
 * Corridor where 2nd Silver Door used to be
 * Corridor where 1st Silver Door used to be
 * Water around Gold Button room
 * Other side of  Water around Gold Button room
 * Corridor overlooking third floor rafters
 * Entrance of Water around Gold Button room