List of monsters in Duke Nukem 3D

The following are the monsters encountered in 3D Realms' first-person shooter Duke Nukem 3D. Some of the creatures are encountered only in the PlayStation version, Total Meltdown, whileas others are encountered only in the Nintendo 64 version and the Atomic Edition Plutonium Pack. There tend to be a few differences from version to version, including their looks, sounds, and even some of their actions. Changing the difficulty of the game changes the quantity in which they appear and the damage they deal; on "Damn I'm Good", it also allows them to respawn after a set period of time if their bodies aren't properly eliminated.

Assault Trooper
The basic grunt, with a lizard-look and looking like they have been grilled on a barbeque, this is the second-weakest enemy in the game. They were the first wave of aliens to invade earth. They are very common and highly mobile, spanning from the L.A to the space levels. In addition they can hover and open doors. They carry a simple laser pistol, the shots of which inflict 6 points of damage each. They have a tendency to appear at point blank range and shoot, at that point which there is greater damage, and when encountered can often shoot in volleys of 3. Assault troopers may drop a clip when they die. Occasionally, they may start to emit a gurgling sound when dying, and will eventually fall down on their own. Watch out - they will rise up for one final attack when you turn your back, but this can be avoided by falling him while he is feigning death, however rockets and exotic weaponry won't have their usual effects in this phase. HP: 30.

Assault Captain
An alien that is higher-ranking and slightly stronger than the assault trooper. It sports a red vest and carries a "Phase-Induced Teleportation Device" on its wrist, which allows them to teleport around at will, at which point it will usually do so behind Duke. It will hit the device on his wrist, in the first milliseconds of doing this he is still vulnerable. Furthermore, launching an explosive, or detonating a pipe bomb where he vanished, will allow instant death when it returns. The best way to overcome Captains without taking unnecessary damage is to back up against the wall, at which point it has no choice but to appear in your face- evening the odds a bit. A point-blank hit to an unshielded Duke can drain his health by 15-20 percent, so players should beware of it. HP: 60.

Pig Cop
The Pig Cop first arrived in the storyline by aliens mutating the L.A.P.D. The Pig Cops are humanoid boar-like creatures in police uniforms. They have L.A.R.D. written on their vests, standing for Los Angeles Riot Division. The uniforms they wear looks slightly damaged, with some blood/slime stains and tear marks. Their pants are torn and has a thin yellow line going down.

They have a big chest and muscles, wide shoulders, large snouts, long tusks, sharp teeth, glowing red eyes and a brown mohawk on their head going down to their back. They are very strong, muscular, aggressive, always attacking without fear. When shot, Pig Cops sense no pain and shoot continuously. Pig Cops usually make sounds similar to pigs, like grunts and squeals, but they can be heard clearly speaking at the end of Episode 1, Level 2: Red Light District, after they captured Duke.

They are armed with vests, 12 gauge shotguns, are specially trained, still intelligent and can pilot the Recon Patrol Vehicle and Riot Tank vehicles. They will frequently dive to avoid being hit and will also attack from the ground in crouching position. They use their shotguns, which appear to be a 12 gauge Reminton 870.

Pig Cops are not aliens, they are mutated humans.

At times, when killed, the Pig Cop will drop either their Shotgun or their used armor. HP: 100.

Recon Patrol Vehicle
The Recon Patrol Vehicle is one of the two vehicles used by the specially trained Pig Cops. The Pig Cop can be seen from the aircraft clearly - and he can see you, too! Mainly used for patrolling open areas, they are equipped with an anti-gravity system that allows them to hover above the ground indefinitely. It is gray in colour and has a shark's face, teeth painted on it and L.A.R.D. below. The vehicle is highly maneuverable as well, which allows the Pig Cops piloting them to drive around tight areas and around corners with little-to-no effort. When they are approaching, a hovering sound can be heard.

Although equipped with laser cannons, the vehicle prevents the pilot from firing while moving, so the Pig Cop must stop before attacking the player. After the Recon Patrol Vehicle is shot down, it will spiral to the ground, but ejects the pilot unharmed. The Pig Cop will always survive and attack you with his mighty shotgun! HP: 130

Riot Tank/Scorpion Tank
Another vehicle piloted by Pig Cops is the Riot Tank. They are highly maneuverable, heavily armored, but somewhat slow, with caterpillar tracks. It is green in colour and has L.A.R.D. written on its front. It comes armed with a two-barreled machine gun on both sides, a grenade launcher on the top and, occasionally, they may fire lasers. The Pig Cop can be seen on the tank's front window. Similarly to the Recon Patrol Vehicle, the Pig Cop may eject at times, however this is less likely as the tank has a poor ejection system. But if he survives, he will be at full health and attacking. The Scorpion Tank is a type of tank for the Pig Cop, brown in colour, less armored and has a scorpion-like tail from which it can also shoot. This is a concept once dropped (found in art tiles), but revived by some fans.

If players manage behind the tank, they can press the obvious self-destruct button on the back to destroy the vehicle, but the resulting blast can harm the player as well. HP: 500. This enemy is only found in Plutonium Pak/Atomic Edition expansion for Duke Nukem 4D

Octabrain
Sporting trifocal vision and high intelligence, Octabrains are sinister, sadistic foes. They are not fast moving but they can take to the air as easily as they dominate the bodies of water, giving them versatility. Expect to see several of them later on in the game. Furthermore, they are the nannies to Protozoid Slimers, so expect to see them near the eggs guarding them quite frequently.

Octabrains have 2 main attacks. Their primary and best-known attack is their debilitating mental blast. It takes them a second to charge up (noted by their face lighting up and their mouths open), and they afterwards project an energy blast that goes a short distance, but is quite powerful, taking away between 30-45 percent of health. Their second attack is to bite when they are engaged at melee battle, but this is easily avoided, unless you are surrounded by several of them.

The best way to deal with an Octabrain is to take advantage of its main weakness, its speed. Knowing that their projectiles travel only a short distance, you should make it your priority to keep as far away from them as possible, at which point you can pluck them off with even your pistol. It takes 3 solid shots from the shotgun to deflate an Octabrain from the air like a balloon.

However the recommended weapon against the Octabrain is the Chaingun. With it you can simply hold the trigger and prevent the Octabrain from releasing one of its blasts, as the bullets will prevent it from concentration. Shrink Rays work best when they are in high numbers, as the blast renders them ineffective for the duration of the blast.

Finally, since they are of leather-skinned with no armor, explosive firing weapons, such as the RPG and Devastator will kill them instantaneously, and work excellent in groups of them. In fact, only ONE devastator missile is enough to splatter blood on the floor. HP: 175.

Protozoid Slimer
The weakest, smallest enemy in the game. After emerging from its egg, this extremely agile face-hugger will creep slowly on floor and ceiling alike. Its goal in life is to drop down behind Duke, creep up his pant leg, and suck his brains out through his nose. One hit from anything (including hitting it with an undetonated pipe bomb) will kill it, luckily, but you have to aim well to make that hit. A remote-detonated grenade is suitable for taking out a nest of eggs at distance before the slimers have the chance to hatch and attack Duke. Duke isn't the only thing they like to chew on - they will happily eat any enemies or dead bodies they come across. HP: 1, 30 HP for eggs.

Enforcer
As durable and aggressive (but not as intelligent and muscular) as the Pig Cops, these nose-ringed aliens are charged with dispatching the remaining human opposition on Earth. Enforcers are very fast and agile. Their very powerful legs allow them to jump great heights into the air, often in a single bound, that makes them harder to evade than other non-hovering aliens. Often, they use this to their advantage in order to get the drop on you. They are armed with itchy trigger fingers and a chain gun, which they are prone to drop, or the ammo of if when you kill them. They also tend to get a few shots in before they expire, but often not as much damage as a pig cop shot.

The best way to handle an enforcer would be to use a shotgun, strafe, and deliver your response. Two solid shotgun blasts should do the trick, heavier weapons are also effective.

They have the tendency to defecate. If the player steps in their droppings, they will make several foot prints of manure. Duke Nukem also often says "S#$^ Happens" when you step in the droppings. They often spit a toxic vemon at you, usually just before they open fire. Your screen turns green when this happens. HP: 100.

Sentry Drone
Large, Kamikaze, hovering metal bread-bins, programmed for one purpose and one purpose only. To find Duke Nukem and kill him.

You will not encounter sentry drones until the Lunar Apocalypse missions, and they will be susceptible from a distance when their servo-monitors haven't homed in on you yet, they are usually floating around. However, when they home in on you and their high-pitch whine emits, they will begin to chase you, doing their damndest to run into you and dodge the projectiles you fire at them, making slow moving explosives near useless on them. If they contact you, they will explode on contact, delivering about 30-40 damage with the explosion.

The best way to handle sentry drones is when they are far away, as they are the least threat. The pistol is arguably the best in very far situations, as its the most accurate gun, second to the RPG. The RPG however will not work, because it is too slow moving, and the drone will only dodge it. At closer distances, rely on the ripper chaingun will take care of it with little effort, and if you're skilled enough a few shotgun blasts (3-4) will destroy a sentry drone.

You can also coax it to ram into a wall if you're daring enough, doors can work, however, but beware as a sentry drone has the ability open doors in the game. This happens infrequently though.

Sentry drones are immune to energy weapons, so don't bother trying to shrink it. HP: 150.

Assault Commander (Aka Fat Commander)
One of the most disturbing aliens you meet in the game actually capable of speaking English. They are encountered later on in the space levels, making their appearance in Warp Factor. These fat and round aliens float around on grafted anti-gravity decks, capable of hovering and maneuvering at will.

Despite being a very tough enemy, a shrinking ray will work on them in one shot. So it is recommended that you kill them with a shrinking ray. They take not one, but two RPG rockets to destroy. When in combat, you can usually hear them talking in English, speaking phrases like "Suck it Down!"

The assault commander has 2 modes of attack. Its blades around its deck acts as a food processor. The assault commander likes to drop from the sky and rotate at full spin, slicing into you. Secondly, the Assault Commander is lethal at even long ranges, its rectum conjuring up missiles that are capable of shaving your health down by 50-75% in some instances. HP: 350.

Turret
These fixed-placement, rotary turrets are armed with rapid-firing dual laser cannons. They are extremely accurate, and can be quite annoying, sometimes secretly placed in areas that Duke has a hard time detecting right off the bat. They are tough to aim at and shoot, especially with a normal pistol.

They fire laser canons like the troopers, but they are more accurate, and slightly more damaging. The best way to prevail over them, is to get right in front of them so they cannot fire at you, a single shotgun blast does the trick, or about 5 pistol shots, where the turret will begin to spin wildly. If you fire at it while it is spinning, it will take more shots to destroy. As a machine it is immune to the effects of the shrink ray, it cannot be frozen, but it can be harmed by the charges.

Any explosion also does the trick. HP: 40.

Protector Drone
These are the rapidly gestating spawn of the Alien Queen. They are very mobile and fast, capable of leaping very high (practically matching your speed) and are very strong.

The protector drone has two main attacks. For starters he has very sharp claws that he uses with pleasure in melee battle. From a distance they use the shrink ray, and will then proceed to step on you, quite easy for them to do with their speed.

The best way to deal with protector drones is to use a heavy weapon, as they are immune to shrink rays. The ripper chaingun works wonders. The shotgun is good with skilled players as you can simply dodge and return fire. Only found in Plutonium Pak/Atomic Edition,xbox 360 and in Duke Nukem 64.

Many of them in the game original levels can be found in the palette 15, what doesn't affect them because it changes the blue to brown, and there is no blue on them. It and an image of Area 51 map of one of them proves that it was planed to be blue in the prototype, likes The Queen. In Duke Nukem 64, they are renamed to Alien Beasts and placed in different levels, for Example: Hotel Hell, Overlord and Fusion Station. HP 300

Battlelord Sentry
A weaker and smaller incarnation of the Battlelord that appears multiple times in episodes 2-4. They are still armed just the same, but they takes much less punishment and can't normally step on you. In the PlayStation version however they are normal size, and stronger than the PC and N64 version Battlelord Sentries, but cannot step on you, and are not as strong as the True Battlelord. Battlelord sentrys take five RPG rockets to kill.

Please note that they can be shrunk, but you'll have to hit them low in their foot, or else it'll auto-aim at its chest and have no effect.HP: 1000.

Battlelord
The Battlelord is the first boss you'll encounter (playing the game in order), and is the deadliest of all enemies in the L.A Meltdown episode. A true mastadon, the Battlelord emerges from the ground in his chamber, immediately ready to fight. With enough size to scare you crazy, its size is only matched by its ferocity. In fact, he is the most aggressive character in the entire game, firing even if you aren't in direct sight, or shielded yourself behind a door. A Battlelord will NEVER stop pursuing or attacking Duke Nukem, until he is a heaping corpse. When you feel its high-artillery over/under ripper chaingun, which also doubles up as a mortar launcher, you will run and run fast for shelter, seeking it like a madman. Fighting the Battlelord on its own grounds in the Abyss level is only for the most skilled players, and doing so makes him the toughest boss in Duke Nukem. He has dead-accurate aim, his bullets outspeed ANY missiles, and his bombs he drops do not simply detonate on their own, YOU have to be near them to take damage. Expect to die from a short burst of his chaingun and take about 40-60 percent damage form his mortar launcher. To add to the player's frustration, the Battlelord can kill you instantly by stepping on you; and as the RPG is your only heavy weapon (and makes him scoot forward), it can more often than not become an exercise in frustration.

The best way to overcome the Battlelord is to avoid stepping on the trigger right before his roof ends and his layer opens up (there is a line on the ground if you look well enough) by hovering over it. Move to get the medkit, and if you have enough time the Jetpack, and hover back over the line and leave out... the Battlelord will follow, however, unfortunately for him, his colossal stature prevents him from leaving the room. This is your opportunity to punish him with impunity and little fear of harm. It takes around 20-30 RPG's to witness the awesome spectacle of him crumbling to the ground.

Braver and more daring players however, CAN attempt to fight the battlelord on his own grounds. Once you trigger him, you should notice him walk around the area near his emerging -if you leave him alone. Using weaker weapons, like the pistol, shotgun, and ripper chaingun, while avoiding his fire will usually keep him from gunning across the bridge until at LEAST his health is extremely low. If it so happens you piss him off, expect him to chase you relentlessly across the canal, firing at you nonstop. The only way to keep a decent health-count is to fire at him while only his face is exposed above the canal. However if you are extremely skilled, you could take advantage of the fact that he is right-handed and smoke him in a position where he is firing at a surface. Again RPG's are powerful, but will piss him off and cause him to scoot forward, best to use that when he's almost dying if you can help it.

You are treated to a cinema on PC Xbox 360, and PlayStation of Duke blowing his brains out if you prevail over him.

HP: 4500, 3000 in Duke Nukem 64.

Overlord
The gargantuan rocket-launching Overlord is the leader of the force of aliens that was sent into space with the women, and is the nasty, ugly boss of episode 2, Lunar Apocalypse. Encountered on the last level Overlord, the boss closes the episode with a giant exclamation point. The level starts out with you as a virtual stowaway, and eventually has you dropping down through a spinning helix, right into a large circular room surrounded with eggs. Upon destroying them, as you walk towards the door, it will trigger open, and a large, ugly (even ugly for the ailens), boss will begin to fire large rockets in nonstop succession at you, or haste at you, attempting to step on you like a bug. Armed with a duel rocket launcher on its back, it will use them with great prejudice, attacking from one shot from each rocket in approximately one second (alternating for twice as many). The damage and explosion radius is similar to that of an RPG, so expect little mercy. It also has several chambers to explore and reside in for weapons, or to block an oncoming onslaught of rockets pounding at you.

The simplest, quickest way to overcome him is to go into the recess of water located on the left side of you if you are facing his door (there are two doors on the 64 version on the left and right side, which can be activated with a push). Once in there he will more than likely come close to you and stop attacking completely, where you can once again attack him with impunity, using a pistol, shotgun, or anything else besides a shrinker. Watch the tight space however, as the explosion will give you damage as well, something unnecessary to a creature who isn't fighting back.

You can also attempt to set up the boss. This is done by getting the jetpack in the underwater chambers (there is also a devastator further ahead with Octabrains, and even a secret passage that lets you back through the level). You can begin to set several tripbombs along the threshold of the lair on each side, try to get all ten. Then place as many pipebombs as you can (5 on N64, and ten on PC and PlayStation), and open the door. Run back, and as he detonates the tripbombs, give him an extra dosage with the pipebombs.

If you wish to fight the Overlord on his own grounds, you can simply pull out the devastator and obliterate him in a few seconds (till about 28 rounds are left, from a full stock). Or use the rpg, but be sure to dodge his missiles, this is best done by running circles around him, and if you are precise his missiles should never hit, as he never aims ahead of you, giving you a window of opportunity to dodge all of them.

Upon completion of the level and defeating the boss, you will be awarded with a cinema of Duke doing precisely what he promised, ripping his head off, and shitting down his neck. A good treat to watch.

On the back of the Duke Nukem 3D box, you can find a prototype enhanced Overlord. HP: 4500.

Cycloid Emperor
The aliens had a plan that they thought was ingenious, and it was. Their initial plan involved not only trying to bust a hole right down in the Earth with their beam aimed at the San Andreas Fault Line (as we saw right before the Battlelord), but they also had an interest in our women. Duke, being the hero that he was, thwarted their plans on Earth, causing them to retreat with Earths women, and Duke hard on their tails.

In space he fought hard and valiantly and destroyed all of the instillations, and thwarted their plans once more, but while all of this was happening, the ailens had a special force sent back on Earth. So Duke returned expecting a warm welcome, and got this... the other foes plus the leader himself of the alien attack force, the Cycloid Emperor.

A colossal beast in all senses, he lives to see you die before your time, engaging him rising proudly above the manhole cover, you witness him for the first time. The Cycloid Emperor is armed with two built-in Devastators, that are powerful enough to render you into expensive grass fertilizer in only one shot; one shot. In close quarters to avoid hurting himself, he also shoots off a powerful breath attack, compromised of the same energy matter as the Octabrains. He is also very fast, and his Devastator attack doesn't just target you, it attacks in areas around you, making dodging his missiles often a game of chance.

To prevail over the Cycloid Emperor, it is best to give yourself as much room as possible, taking note to grab the atomic health units at the start of the battle. At that point you should already have it your priority to be at the top of the bleachers, as his massive stature prevents him from climbing, though he will try again, and again, and again in vain to reach you, rendering him practically immobile.

The quicker you are in the air, the better off you will be, becoming a small target for him to attempt to pick off. In the PlayStation and PC versions a large "Duff" blimp is hovering above the Stadium (blasting it seems to do damage on the PlayStation version to you), and nailing it with an explosive causes it to release a plethora of weapons and items for you to assemble to your needs.

Another bit of strategy would be to allow the cheerleaders to actually get nailed by the Emperor, and allow the Assault Commanders to be released. When this happens, the short-tempered aliens often fight among each other, allowing you to get more weapons. It is not infrequent that the Assault Commanders kill the Emperor, or that the Emperor kills itself in confusion of the firefight.

Upon defeating the Emperor, in all versions, you are treated to a cinema of Duke kicking his eyeball into a field goal. In the PC and N64 version, he says "game over". HP: 4500.

Alien Queen
Starting Episode 4, the Birth, Duke is watching a video of a woman in an incredibly painful labor. What comes out of the woman is something unlike anything they have seen before. Just as they were analyzing, the film stops.

After scores of Protector Drones in the Birth Saga, you make it to the level aptly named "The Queen". Here you go across what will seem like miles of Territory across chambers, cogs, and hyper-toxic canals to reach the new Antagonist, the Alien Queen itself. The Queen that is the Alien's new hope of restarting the entire invasion of earth again.

Most likely you will not believe your eyes when they are laid upon the Queen, her heavy, blue body releases an electrical charge with each Protector Drone that is brought to life, in other words-the longer the Queen lives, the less of a chance you have to survive. In addition to having to fight on an underwater water supply, AND her Protector Drones, her electrical charges harm the entire area at once, doing quite a bit of damage.

The best way to overcome the Alien Queen, is to not stay on ground level, because doing so allows you to be squashed by the Protector Drones and become easy folly for them. Best bet is to stay higher, as even if the blasts from their shrinking hit you, they will be unable to reach you. Also refrain from making physical contact with the Queen- it is a foolish mistake that you will regret by an instant death.

With time being such a factor here, you have no choice but to strap your most damaging weapon, (most likely the Devastator), and doing as much damage as you can before you are taken over. Since an entire stock of Devastator will not finish the job, you will most likely have to finish up with the Rocket Launcher.

Some small mercies include health in some crevices (portable medkits and atomic, and also the air holes at the ceiling of the lair.

Upon beating this menace, Duke, declaring "It's time to abort your whole freakin' species!", places a Pipebomb between her legs and detonates it while escaping. In sounds, you can find a Queen Alien scream from when he is first seen like Battlelord by player not used in the game (because there is a Duke talk instead). HP: 6000.

''Only found in Plutonium Pak/Atomic Edition. Also its in the xbox 360 arcade ''