[13-2] The Weapons

Quake Champions weapon guide covering The Axe, Shotgun, Super Shotgun, Nailgun, Super Nailgun, Grenade Launcher, and Rocket Launcher.

The Axe

Rating: Crappy. This is your fallback weapon. The only way to use this is to circle in on your opponent, and when you are close, axe him once or twice, then dodge away, and start circling in again. If your opponent has the Nailgun, run away.

The Shotgun

Rating: ***. This is actually one of the best long-distance guns, although it lacks a real bite. It is an excellent sniping weapon, and it is quick. If you start taking shots from a distance, your opponent is going to move to close the distance. You have to outmove him or you are going to be dead meat. The best thing to do in situations like this is to strafe one direction till he turns to follow you, at which point you start strafing in the opposite direction. That will give you some distance, and you can start taking shots at him again.

The Super Shotgun

Rating: ***1/2. This weapon packs quite a punch, and is very effective against all of the other weapons. It is extremely effective in close range, but loses its punch quickly as the range increases. Thus, you should always engage at close range. Don't waste your surprise trying to get a long-distance hit off. The best tactic with this gun is to circle in on an opponent, and hit him as you are circling. If he is too elusive to get a good shot on, try and bump into him, shoot him, then dodge away quickly. This tactic works well against all guns, except the Super Nailgun. The only tactic against the Super Nailgun is to be elusive till he runs out of ammo, taking an occasional potshot when you have the chance.

The Nailgun

Rating: ***. This weapon functions much like the Chaingun in Doom. It is stronger than the shotgun, but it is still no match for most of the other weapons. It is good against elusive opponents, however, and is great for doing that last little bit of damage. The best tactic with this weapon is to strafe left and right from about 10-20 feet away while spraying nails. You should be able to kill your opponent even if he is elusive, as long as you have 150-200 nails. If your opponent has a Shotgun or Axe, your best bet is to charge your opponent and nail them point blank. You should kill them very quickly. This method costs a little life, but it is very ammo conserving.

The Super Nailgun

Rating: ****1/2. This is an excellent weapon. It eats ammo fast and kills faster. If you have played Doom deathmatch, use this sucker just like you did the Plasma gun. The best tactic with this weapon is to charge the opponent, and when you get close enough, unload on him. This kills people real quick, and is ammo conserving, though you will take a little damage. Another good tactic with this weapon is to start shooting nails, and strafe left and right in a tight pattern. This makes the nails impossible to dodge completely, and will kill your opponent with minimal damage to you, but will empty your nail reserve completely. This weapon, like the rocket launcher, is quite effective as suppressing fire. Turn a corner and fire it back the way you came. The opponent will stomp, not wanting to be hosed down. Fire a few shots ever once in a while to keep the opponent sitting there. Then charge your opponent quickly. He will likely be completely off guard, so he will be dumbfounded when you turn the corner and run him over.

Grenade Launcher

Rating: ****1/2. This is one hell of a cool weapon, and it will do you well to learn how to use it right. This is the most versatile weapon in the game. This weapon is even better at corner fishing than the rocket launcher. The Quake grenades act just like a Cue Ball. You can use this weapon to get rid of people on higher/lower platforms with almost no risk, and you can remove people from their corner hiding places. If somebody charges you, trying to make you eat your own explosion, the best tactic is to lay a few grenades on the ground just far enough away from you not to hurt. The charging guy will run right into the blast 99.9% of the time. If somebody is picking you off at long range, feel free to run around a corner. The idiot WILL follow you, unless he was almost out of ammo or health. If he does follow, serve some pineapple. Boy, will he feel stupid.

Rocket Launcher

Rating: *****. This is easily the best weapon in shareware Quake. Obviously, this weapon is best used at long range, due to its large blast radius, though it can be very effective close in too. The trick is knowing how to use it. Realize that, unlike Doom, you can look up and down now. This means that you can aim missiles at their feet. This makes them very hard to dodge. Most people aim it directly at me when they are about 15 feet away. They should aim it at my feet, or the ceiling if it is low enough. This is especially applicable if somebody is rushing you, trying to get you to suicide. People can dodge a missile well enough, but most people will walk right into an explosion if you set it at their feet. Most people don't realize that the rocket launcher can hit enemies that are out of your range of sight. It is actually very good at this. Say for example an enemy is hiding around a corner, launch missiles at the wall near that corner continuously till he is dead. He will not be able to get away because the blast will knock him into the corner. Dead Duck. The missile launcher makes a great chance killer too. Unless you are almost out of ammo, shooting a missile or two into an area that is passed through frequently is a great way to net yourself a lot of free frags.