Difference between revisions of "Gameplay tips"

Revision as of 01:53, 4 August 2023

Movement and Navigation

Quake is a 3D world, be sure to look up and down as you explore a level. Underwater areas are sometimes the only way to proceed, so go swimming when you have an opportunity.

Weapons and Combat

• Learning the number of shots it takes to down a monster is important for all weapons. This is something you'll get a feel for over time, but is good for saving ammo and knowing when you can switch targets while fighting.

• Damage you deal to yourself with explosive projectiles only does half damage. This can be used to grenade/rocket jump places if you find yourself healthy with good armor. Red armor will absorb almost all of it making it incredibly powerful for doing this.

• Shamblers have 50% damage reduction to explosions, so it's best to avoid using the grenade and rocket launchers against them.

• Zombies can only be gibbed in order to kill them. While the grenade and rocket launchers can always do this, you'll need Quad Damage with every other weapon. Only the nailgun is incapable of killing them outright.

• The axe should largely be avoided as it has extremely low damage and range. Instead, it can be used as a tool for exploration. Some secrets only open when damaging them, so the axe can be used to scout these out potentially and save ammo. It's also very fun to swing.

• The starter shotgun is weak but has good range. Given its relatively tight spread, the fact that it's hitscan, and the abundance of shotgun ammo, it's good for picking off monsters at longer ranges during the early game or for saving less common ammo like nails. Against Knights you can fire a single shotgun shot followed by a super shotgun shot to combo them.

• The super shotgun will be your main work horse weapon throughout the game given the abundance of shotgun ammo and how early you pick it up. Its spread is significantly wider but it also deals over twice as much damage as the starter shotgun. Hitboxes are larger than they might seem so barrel stuffing isn't as necessary on big monsters like Ogres, but try and stick within close range while attacking. Learning how to properly kite melee monsters will help significantly. For hard to reach monsters like the Scrag the nailgun or shotgun is preferred since they'll be much more reliable.

• The nailgun is weak but reliable at medium ranges. Some monsters like the Ogre have low pain thresholds and are easy to keep locked down with it thanks to its fire rate. For beefy enemies like the Death Knight or Fiend, using the super shotgun or a launcher is usually preferred. However, this weapon is good if you find yourself with a lot of nails and low tier enemies to pick off.

• The super nailgun is significantly better than its younger sibling and is one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal. Boasting an insane DPS, this thing can kill anything quickly and reliably out to medium ranges. It uses twice the ammo, however, so your nails will go fast. Try and save this for large monsters like the Shambler or packs of monsters like Ogres and Fiends. You can use the regular nailgun to save ammo against weaker monsters.

• The grenade launcher lacks range but makes it up for it with its fire rate. The grenade hitbox is much smaller than its fellow weapon projectiles, however, so you need to be more precise. Bouncing it off walls and ceilings is a great way to pick off monsters in hard to fight places. Avoid shooting ramps with it as this can sometimes cause your grenade to stop dead in its tracks (specifically if you're trying to shoot down a ramp). The grenade has a brief timer after it stops, so make sure to stay away from it if it hasn't detonated yet. The grenade launcher works amazingly with the Pentagram of Protection as you can barrel stuff monsters with no danger, allowing for incredible DPS.

• The rocket launcher is your best utility weapon. It has good range, great damage, and usually an abundance of ammo, though has a slower fire rate than the grenade launcher. If you find yourself with excess rockets, be sure to use this to help fight against beefier monsters. A bug exists with Shamblers that can sometimes cause projectiles to go through them, so it's best to avoid using this weapon against them on top of their explosive resistance.

• The thunderbolt is your BFG. It boasts the highest DPS in the game albeit with very limited ammo and a short-ish range. Use this for the biggest monsters on the field like the Shambler and Vore. It's also a great back up weapon if you find yourself getting overwhelmed and need to quickly reset the state of the fight. Just make sure not to use it while you're underwater if you don't have a Pentagram.

For tips on dealing with each of the monsters and bosses in Quake, see the Monsters page.

Resources

• For health pick ups, how much health they give can be seen from what they look like. Small health pick ups have a rotted look to them while standard pick ups appear "healthier". These pick ups won't heal over 100 health, so avoid grabbing them if you're only missing a few points. Megahealth pick ups are the largest and give 100 health, up to a cap of 250. Once your health is above 100, however, it'll begin to drain down. Since this health will be lost regardless, you can play more aggressively to get more use out of it. A bug exists where the drain from a Megahealth will stack the more you pick up, so consider this before grabbing a bunch of them.

• The amount of damage reduction armor gives is based on its color. You can see what kind of armor you currently have by looking in the HUD to check the color (green, yellow, or red). Unlike Doom, Quake has some preventative measures in place to make sure you don't accidentally replace something like your red armor with yellow armor just because you were at 149 points. This means you don't have to dance as carefully around it if you're trying to manage your damage reduction.

• Backpacks that monsters and players drop can always be picked up, even if your ammo is full. Make sure to preserve them until you need them. Also be warned that they'll despawn after a few minutes.

• How much ammo a pick up gives is based on its size. Smaller boxes give less ammo than big boxes. It's best to learn which is small version and which is big so you don't accidentally waste lots of ammo when picking it up.

• For powerups, it's best to assess the situation before immediately grabbing them. It can be tempting to pick up that secret Quad Damage now, but consider if you'll get any use out of it by doing so. If nothing is nearby, it might be best to save it for a later fight when you'll need it.

• Pentagrams of Protection are a good time to go all out, but your armor will still take damage when it's active. Make sure you avoid walking over any armor pick ups until after it wears off.

• Most things will die in only a few shots if you have a Quad Damage. Try to keep your forward momentum going as much as possible while it's active. You want to kill as many monsters as you can. Come back after it's worn off to explore.

• The Biosuit gives complete resistance to slime and significantly reduces the damage of lava. It also allows you to breathe underwater. If one is nearby, get the most use out of it by exploring underneath water and slime.

• The Ring of Shadows offers little utility, but does allow you to be completely undetectable against idle monsters, even if brushing up against them. Avoid shooting while this is active to get the most use out of it. Just remember that once monsters wake up, they'll be able to track you.

Finding Secrets

Quake rewards creative and explorative players with secrets. If you see an odd texture on the wall, chances are you can shoot it to unlock a secret pathway to an item, such as in E1M1: The Slipgate Complex.

Not all secrets are found by blasting buttons, though. For example, another secret in the same level requires you to perform some jumping to get to a secret Mega-Health.

First E1M1 secret.

Fifth E1M1 secret.

Trick Jumps

Trick Jumps are maneuvers that allow you to achieve a speed, height, or distance beyond what is usually possible with the physics of Quake. In general these 'features' were not intended by the designers at id Software, though there is some evidence that at least some of them were known to the designers during development. They are almost never necessary to progress through a level (with the exception of a few rare user-made levels), but can often be used to take a shortcut to another part of a level.

See Also

• Thresh's Quake Bible