You’re standing in the middle of a literal hellscape, the Foundry is burning around you, and a Baron of Hell is winding up to turn your skull into a decorative bowl. Maybe you just want to see your frames per second. Or maybe you're tired of running out of ammo for the Gauss Cannon. That's usually when people start looking for Doom 2016 console commands, thinking it’s going to be as simple as the old "idkfa" days from 1993.
It isn't.
If you grew up on the original Doom or even Doom 3, you remember the power of the tilde key (~). In those games, the console was a god-mode remote control. In the 2016 reboot, things got complicated. Bethesda and id Software locked a lot of the "fun" stuff behind a wall that disables your progress. Use a cheat, and suddenly your Steam achievements stop popping and your save file gets branded with a "Cheater" mark. It’s annoying. It’s also kinda fair, but mostly annoying.
Why Most People Get Frustrated with the Console
The biggest hurdle is that the id Tech 6 engine handles commands differently than the older versions. You hit the tilde key, the little gray box drops down, and you feel like a hacker. But then you type something like god and... nothing. Or worse, the game tells you that the command is "restricted."
Basically, there are two "modes" for the console. There are the "safe" commands that just change how the game looks or performs, and then there are the "cheat" commands. To use the cheats, you have to activate a specific developer mode by typing GodMode 1 or devMode_enable 1.
Here is the kicker: as soon as you do that, your save file is flagged. You won't be able to play Multiplayer or SnapMap until you restart the game and load a clean save. It’s a "look but don't touch" situation for most players who care about their 100% completion runs. Honestly, if you're just looking to tweak your FOV beyond the menu limits or check your hardware performance, you don't need to worry about the flags. But if you want to fly through walls? Yeah, say goodbye to those achievements.
The Technical Stuff: Performance and Visual Commands
Most players aren't actually looking to cheat. They just want the game to run better. Doom 2016 was a marvel of optimization, but it still has its quirks on certain hardware.
If you want to see exactly how your GPU is sweating, the command is com_showfps 1. Simple. Effective. It puts a small counter in the corner. If you want more detail—like seeing whether your CPU or your GPU is the bottleneck—you’ll want Metrics_Display 1. This gives you a breakdown of frame times. It’s incredibly useful if you’re trying to figure out why the game stutters when a dozen Imps spawn at once.
There’s also the Com_SkipIntroVideo 1 command. We’ve all seen the logos. We know id Software made the game. We know Bethesda published it. Skipping those 15 seconds of branding every time you launch the game saves your sanity over a long enough timeline. You can also add this to your Steam launch options by right-clicking the game, hitting properties, and typing +com_skipIntroVideo 1 in the launch options box.
The "Fun" Stuff (And the Risks)
Let’s talk about the actual Doom 2016 console commands that change the gameplay. These are the ones that come with the warning labels.
If you’ve enabled dev mode, the world becomes your oyster. g_gaussScale is a hilarious one to mess with if you want to change the kickback and power of the Gauss Cannon. Then there’s g_infiniteammo 1. It does exactly what it says. It turns the game into a relentless power fantasy where the Super Shotgun never clicks empty.
But there’s a nuance here that people miss. Some commands aren't just toggles; they require values. cvarAdd g_perceptualAmmoInfinite 1 is often cited as the "correct" way to do infinite ammo in certain patches of the game. It’s a mess of inconsistent syntax because id Software kept tweaking the backend during the game's life cycle.
If you really want to break the game’s scale, noclip is the classic. You’ll fly through the floor, see the "void" outside the map, and realize that the beautiful Martian vistas are mostly just clever skyboxes and 2D sprites in the distance. It’s great for finding those last few collectibles, but it also tends to break scripted events. If you fly past a trigger point for a door, the door might never open. You've been warned.
The Myth of the "Permanent" Cheat
There is a lot of misinformation online about "hidden" commands that don't disable achievements. People claim that if you type the command in the main menu before loading a map, you can bypass the check.
That doesn't work. Not anymore.
Early on, there were some exploits involving the devMode toggle, but the developers patched those out pretty quickly. The game checks the "cheater" flag constantly. If the engine detects that a restricted variable has been changed, it flips the bit on your save file. The only real way to "cheat" without the flag is using third-party software like WeMod or Cheat Engine, but that’s a whole different rabbit hole that carries its own risks of crashing your game or triggering anti-cheat software in other titles.
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Practical Steps for Using Commands Safely
If you’re going to mess with Doom 2016 console commands, do it the smart way. Don’t just start typing things into your main campaign save.
First, go to your save folder—usually found in C:\Users\[YourName]\Saved Games\id Software\DOOM\base\savegame—and make a backup. Just copy the whole folder to your desktop. If you accidentally flag your save as a "cheater" save, you can just delete the messed-up one and paste your backup back in.
Second, decide what you actually need. If it’s just performance monitoring, use the com_showfps command and leave it at that. It’s safe. It’s clean.
If you are determined to use the gameplay cheats, follow this sequence:
- Open the console with
~. - Type
devMode_enable 1. - Accept the warning that pops up (it will tell you that achievements are now disabled).
- Type your desired cheat, like
GiveArmor 100orGod. - When you’re done messing around, you’ll likely need to restart the game to "reset" the state before you can go back to your legitimate playthrough.
The Forgotten Commands: FOV and HUD
One thing that really helps the feel of the game is adjusting the "Viewmodel" FOV. The standard FOV slider in the settings menu changes how much of the world you see, but it doesn't always change how much of your massive gun is taking up the screen.
Using hands_fovscale can let you pull the gun models back a bit. It makes the Slayer feel faster, more kinetic. It’s a subtle change, but for high-level players who find the gun models too bulky, it’s a lifesaver.
Then there’s the HUD. If you’re a fan of taking screenshots, g_showHUD 0 is your best friend. Doom 2016 is a gorgeous game, especially the Hell levels with their gothic architecture and floating debris. Getting the UI out of the way lets you appreciate the art direction without a giant health bar blocking the view. Just remember to turn it back on with g_showHUD 1 before a fight starts, or you’ll have no idea when you’re about to die.
Troubleshooting the Console
Sometimes the console just... won't open. This usually happens if your keyboard layout is set to something other than US English. The ~ key is hardcoded to that specific physical location on the keyboard. If you're on a UK layout or using a different language, try the key right above the Tab key, whatever it happens to be for you.
Another common issue is commands not "sticking." If you find yourself re-typing com_showfps 1 every single time you start the game, you should create a config.cfg file or add the command to your Steam launch options. Adding +com_showfps 1 to the Steam launch options ensures it’s active from the second the game boots up.
Actionable Takeaways for the Doom Slayer
If you want to master the console without ruining your experience, stick to these rules. Use the performance metrics to dial in your settings—getting a stable 144Hz is way more important than having infinite ammo. If you're hunting for secrets you missed, use a separate "dummy" save file to use noclip and scout the map, then go back to your main save to collect them legitimately. This keeps your trophies and achievements intact while giving you the "insider" knowledge of the map layout.
Always keep a backup of your save files before touching devMode. It takes ten seconds to copy a folder, but it takes thirty hours to replay the game because you accidentally locked yourself out of the "The Circle is Complete" achievement.
The console is a tool. Use it for performance first, aesthetics second, and "godhood" only when you’ve already seen everything the game has to offer the intended way. There's nothing quite like the rush of beating a Cyberdemon on Ultra-Nightmare without any help from the console; don't rob yourself of that feeling by taking the easy way out too early.
To get started right now, try opening your console and typing listCvars. This will show you every single variable you can tweak in the engine. It’s a long list, and most of it is gibberish to anyone who isn't an engine programmer, but it gives you a real sense of just how much "under the hood" access id Software actually gave us. Just be careful what you toggle.