In Heretic, the player can pick up many different items to use at their discretion. Raven added a number of features to Heretic that differentiated it from Doom, notably interactive environments, such as rushing water that pushes the player along, and inventory items. Many weapons are similar to those from Doom the early weapons in particular are near-exact copies in functionality to those seen in Doom. The gameplay of Heretic is heavily derived from Doom, with a level-based structure and an emphasis on finding the proper keys to progress. However, he eventually succeeds in his endeavour, only to find that Parthoris is in disarray once again. After killing D'Sparil, Corvus ends up on a perilous journey with little hope of returning home. After defeating them, the player must seal the portal and so prevent further infestation, but after he enters the portal guarded by the Maulotaurs, he finds himself inside D'Sparil's dome. At its end is the gateway to Hell's Maw, guarded by the Iron Liches. The player must first fight through the undead hordes infesting the location where the elders performed their ritual. He travels through the "City of the Damned", the ruined capital of the Sidhe (its real name is revealed to be Silverspring in Heretic II), then past the demonic breeding grounds of Hell's Maw and finally the secret Dome of D'Sparil. While the Sidhe retreat, one elf (revealed to be named Corvus in Heretic II) sets off on a quest of vengeance against the weakest of the three Serpent Riders, D'Sparil. The Sidhe are forced to take a drastic measure to sever the natural power of the kings destroying them and their armies, but at the cost of weakening the elves' power, giving the Serpent Riders an advantage to slay the elders.
The Serpent Riders thus declared the Sidhe as heretics and waged war against them. The Sidhe elves resist the Serpent Riders' magic. Three brothers (D'Sparil, Korax, and Eidolon), known as the Serpent Riders, have used their powerful magic to possess seven kings of Parthoris, turning them into mindless puppets and corrupting their armies. Heretic II was released in 1998, which served as a direct sequel continuing the story. An indirect sequel, Hexen: Beyond Heretic, was released the following year. The music in the game was composed by Kevin Schilder. The game used randomised ambient sounds and noises, such as evil laughter, chains rattling, distantly ringing bells, and water dripping in addition to the background music to further enhance the atmosphere. Previously, the character would simply crumple into a heap. It also introduced multiple gib objects that spawned when a character suffered a death by extreme force or heat. Using a modified version of the Doom engine, Heretic was one of the first first-person games to feature inventory manipulation and the ability to look up and down.
It was developed by Raven Software and published by id Software through GT Interactive. Elite who wear gold armor are the equivalent of Elite Majors with more health and stronger shields, while those with brown armor seem similar to Elite Minors.Heretic is a dark fantasy first-person shooter video game released in 1994. Heretic Elites can be found in both brown and gold armored variants, as well as the Heretic Leader's personal red-colored armor. Sesa 'Refumee does not share these fins, but instead has a jetpack on his back nearly identical to those used by Elite Rangers ( Halo 2). Heretic Elites also have four fins on the back of their armor, similar to the traditional armor seen on Ripa 'Moramee's clan brothers in Halo Wars: Genesis. Heretic Elites do not wear helmets like their Covenant counterparts, but instead don breathing apparatus to assist in respiration on the Gas Mining facility. The Heretic Sangheili have a limited rank system, consisting of: Most, if not all, Heretics on the gas mine perished when the newly appointed Arbiter Thel 'Vadamee assaulted the facility and plunged it down into the gas giant. Although most lines of outside communications had been severed by 'Refumee when he came into contact with the Oracle, one Heretic Sangheili, Kola 'Baoth's brother, succeeded in sending out scattered messages that detailed newly encountered truths.
They also set up a makeshift camp on Basis, Threshold's moon. The Sangheili remained loyal to 'Refumee after this revelation and made the gas mine facility as their base of operations. During an expeditionary patrol, the Sangheili encountered the caretaker of Installation 04 and were informed of Halo's true purpose. These Sangheili were once part of the artifact retrieval group led by Sesa 'Refumee on Threshold's gas mine.