It’s official: one of our most anticipated FPS games of 2017 has arrived in Early Access on Steam. You’ll want to pick up a six pack of energy drinks before installing, though, because Quake Champions is as insanely fast-paced and as twitchy as you’d expect.
There are 11 different Champions to pick from in the game’s current state, with at least one more to be released down the line. The game is using an interesting model that has fan opinion split — you can either play Quake Champions completely free on full release, or you can buy the game in order to automatically access all Champions from the start.
The free players will be able to rent specific Champions with in-game currency for short periods of time, and besides those characters that are temporarily unlocked by spending Favor, the free-to-play crowd will primarily have access to the Ranger Champion.
But regardless of which option you choose, knowing each Champion’s abilities and strengths is something you’re going to need to know to win in the arena.
Quake Champions Characters
Everyone in a match — even other members of your team — are competing for weapon and upgrade resources, so you need to properly utilize the special ability of each Champion to have an edge.
There will be times where you are stuck with the basic machine gun that does minimal damage, and in a game as twitchy and deadly as this one, that’s not going to cut it at all. Below we break down each Champion and how to best use their abilities.
Ranger
- Ability: Dire Orb — The Ranger throws an orb that deals damage to any opponent it passes through. You can activate the ability again to teleport to the orb’s position. If not activated, the orb will explode one second after it hits any surface.
- Health: 100
- Armor: 25
- Speed: 320
Your base Champion is a bit squishy at only 100 health, but he does have decent speed, which is a plus if you know how to quickly reach jump pads or slipdoors. The Ranger takes less self-damage than other Champions, so don’t be afraid to take that rocket launcher into “danger close” territory.
The Ranger’s ability is less about the damage it deals and more about the teleportation effects it provides, which are helpful for quickly getting out of the line of fire, or for moving across chasms and cliffs to get at fleeing enemies on the verge of death.
Quake Champions Ranger
Scalebearer
- Ability: Bull Rush — Scalebearer rushes forward, dealing massive damage to any opponents he hits. While the ability is active, Scalebearer loses maneuverability but becomes much more resistant to incoming damage.
- Health: 150
- Armor: 25
- Speed: 300
This guy’s a big, hulking target who will always get shot at, but if you can deck him out with extra armor upgrades, he takes longer to go down. If Scalebearer’s speed increases above 400 through upgrades, he also automatically damages any enemy he touches.
Since everyone will constantly be in your face, Bull Rush can be a lifesaver, as you are pretty much guaranteed to get a kill so long as you are moderately aimed at an enemy when you activated the ability. Don’t forget you are resistant to damage for a few seconds afterward as well, so use that time to get up close and personal to anyone who thought they were going to frag you.
Quake Champions Scalebearer
Visor
- Ability: Piercing Sight — Visor activates a special cybernetic sight that allows him to see enemies through walls and other objects.
- Health: 125
- Armor: 25
- Speed: 310
With higher health and only slightly reduced speed, Visor is often a better pick than the basic Ranger class. Unlike the other Champions, he can strafe jump with no limit and will always pick up speed on every successive strafe jump, so you frequently won’t get hit at all.
While there is a cool down period to prevent omniscience, the versatility of being able to see through walls can’t be overstated. Unless the quad damage upgrade has spawned and you already know where everyone is going, being able to see the enemy before he sees you makes all the difference. This is especially useful if you are rocking the railgun, which requires a lot of precision. If you know an enemy is about to turn that corner, headshots become incredibly easy.
Quake Champions Visor
Anarki
- Ability: Health Injection — Anarki instantly heals himself and receives a permanent boost to his maximum health. Anarki also receives speed boost for 5 seconds after he used an injection.
- Health: 75
- Armor: 25
- Speed: 320
Anarki’s low health makes him seem useless — until you realize his ability not only returns him to max health instantly, it also permanently increases his health for the remainder of the match.
When timed properly, this means you turn certain death into certain victory, and you will be harder to kill for the next guy. Don’t forget that he can make tight turns at high speeds on his hover board to dodge out of the way of incoming fire.
Quake Champions Anarki
Nyx
- Ability: Ghost Walk — Nyx moves into another dimension becoming invisible and immune to any damage. Nyx will instantly kill any opponent occupying her materialization spot.
- Health: 75
- Armor: 25
- Speed: 320
For the cloak and dagger crowd, there’s the stealthy Nyx, who can wall jump to get across chasms or away from enemies on the ground. Get caught out in the open and you’re dead, but remain mobile and you can dominate. Turning invisible to flee in the opposite direction of where an opponent thinks you are going is massively useful.
Killing an enemy by materializing on top of them is more difficult than you’d think, though, due to how fast everyone is moving and all the constant jumping and dodging. If you’ve come across a camper or sniper on the other hand…
Quake Champions Nyx
Sorlag
- Ability: Acid Spit — Sorlag spits streams of acid blogs dealing damage and applying continuous poison effect to any opponent they hit. If the blob hits any surface, it will explode leaving an acid puddle. The puddle will poison any enemy that steps into it.
- Health: 150
- Armor: 50
- Speed: 290
Although she has a starting slow speed, Sorlag gets faster with each successive jump, so now there’s a reason behind those players who inexplicably hop everywhere instead of running.
Acid Spit is, of course, a decent backup attack if you are having trouble hitting an opponent with your gun, but don’t forget you can set it as a trap to damage anyone running through a doorway. Soften up first with the acid, then let loose with the rocket launcher to finish the job.
Quake Champions Sorlag
Clutch
- Ability: Barrier — Clutch raises an impenetrable shield in front of itself that blocks any projectile. The shield will be deactivated for a small period of time for each shot clutch fires.
- Health: 100
- Armor: 100
- Speed: 290
Although large and bulky, Clutch has a step up over the Champions on the twitchy dodging, since the robot can dash any direction by double tapping a movement key.
Barrier is also nifty for staying alive — especially against someone who thinks they are about to kill you instantly with the quad damage upgrade — but don’t forget the barrier fades if you fire off a round, so be sure to have something like the rocket launcher equipped when using the ability. A combo of Barrier + machine gun is actively useless, since the shield will be down the whole time you are firing.
Quake Champions Clutch
Galena
- Ability: Unholy Totem — Galena places a totem that heals her allies and damages her enemies. The totem will vanish if an enemy triggers or destroys it. When it heals an ally it will become inactive, but reactivates when another totem is placed.
- Health: 100
- Armor: 25
- Speed: 300
Putting Galena’s totem in a high-traffic area can really mess with the enemy as they have to waste time going around it or deactivating it (time during which you should be mowing them down). The cool down for her Unholy Totem ability is reduced anytime you grab a health pickup, so be on the lookout if you want to keep laying them down!
Quake Champions Galena
Slash
- Ability: Plasma Trail — Slash can leave a plasma trail behind her. The trail deals damage to any enemy who stepped on the trail. When the ability button is pressed for the second time – the trail explodes, dealing damage to nearby enemies.
- Health: 100
- Armor: 25
- Speed: 310
Slash can dodge attacks with her crouch slide by crouching just as she lands from a jump, making it difficult to effectively aim against her. Couple that quick movement with Plasma Trail and you can make people dearly regret chasing after you.
Quake Champions Slash
B.J. Blazkowicz
- Ability: Dual Wield — Thanks to his time spent as a duel-wielding badass in the waking realm, B.J. is able to effectively duel-wield any weapons in the game, making him twice as deadly when his active ability is triggered.
- Health: 100
- Armor: 25
- Speed: 310
B.J. has one of the most useful abilities in the game, but it isn’t even a triggered effect. Just get out of combat for a few seconds and he automatically starts healing damage, which means your frag to fragged ratio will go way up, since everyone else has to look for health packs. Time your Dual Wield wisely for when an enemy can’t get away, and even a lame gun like the starting machine gun can deal some serious damage.
Quake Champions B.J. Blazkowicz
Quake Doom Slayer
- Ability: Berserk — The Doom Slayer releases his rage upon his enemies, relentlessly beating them to death with his bare hands. For 6 seconds he will pummel enemies for massive amounts of damage. If the ability is used again, Doom will lunge at his enemy for one massive blow.
- Health: 125
- Armor: 25
- Speed: 310
Wait, what now? I thought I was playing a new version of Quake and not the reboot of Doom? Yeah, turns out Bethesda being involved has an upside here, since now you get the Quake Doomguy looking just like his rebooted counterpart from one of the best shooters of 2016.
He’s got high starting health, armor, and speed, so this is a good starter Champion to learn the game. The Doom Slayer can also double jump for more evasive tactics. His Berserk ability works just like in Doom, so while that means you have to get into melee range, if you do get close enough to hit, anything you touch is going to die.
Quake Champions Doom Slayer
Those are all the characters currently available in Quake Champions! Which one are you most looking forward to playing, and for those who got in on Early Access, what’s your preferred Champion to use?
