All Articles: Quake Champions

Aside from the medieval themes found in the first entry, id Software has always taken great pride in the Quake franchise’s heavy metal aesthetic. And the latest character trailer for Quake Champions puts it on full display once again with the reveal of Galena the Unholy Paladin.

But don’t let her ashen skin and bloody tunic fool you, this priestess is no servant of Satan. Need further proof? She roars, “Even the Devil fears me,” at her fallen opponents:

Galena (Unholy Paladin)
She was four years old when given as an offering to the Celebrants of Volkerh. The talon-priests weaned her on ash-milk and consulted the Gaunt Shepherd to learn her fate. She would live as we do, it whispered, and in so doing would shape herself by the gloaming will of He Who Walks In Blood. Like all children, she watched and imitated. She learned that crying and laughing were no different, so she stopped. She learned that blood is judgment and penance is sacrament. She has grown powerful and grateful. She does not dream of her mother’s world.

Active Ability – Unholy Totem: In the heat of combat, throw down Galena’s Unholy Totem to heal yourself and your allies, or cause devastating damage to your foes. Deadly in Deathmatch and a critical tool in team games to help control pathways and power-ups, the Unholy Totem is a vital weapon in Galena’s wicked arsenal.

Passive Ability – Channeling: Want to get that totem back even faster? Galena’s Passive Ability, Channeling, allows her to eliminate 5% of her Active Ability cooldown every time she picks up a health bubble. Strike down the unbelievers.

Quake Champions is a free-to-play shooter for the PC, and the full version will be available later this year. For now, fans are encouraged to sign up for the Closed Beta, and id Software will send out additional invitations soon.

HAL… The Terminator… Bender… Hollywood loves robots that are also remorseless killing machines. So let’s all welcome Clutch to the fray, as the the “Awakened Automaton” is the subject of the latest trailer for Quake Champions. Bethesda and id Software have also provided the public with a rundown of its rather aggressive abilities:

Clutch (Awakened Automaton)
It was just a mining automaton with limited AI and a force-shield to protect organics and drills. But it was the first to return from the cavern filled with floating ruins and strange markings. Its custodians transferred the data it had gathered to their master neural network. But, after analysis, the network… malfunctioned? Suddenly, Clutch was returning to the cavern as automata began killing organics. Clutch killed them, too, if they were in its path. Once at the cavern, Clutch followed the network’s instructions. A dark mass of writhing tendrils materialized. Clutch stepped into it.

Active Ability – Barrier: Whether you’re in team games and want to protect allies, or just need a quick save in Deathmatch, throw down Clutch’s Barrier Active Ability to block incoming attacks for a limited time. This large force-shield once protected organics and drills in the mines, but in the Arena, it serves as a solid defense against enemy Champions.

Passive Ability – Still Defense: Got some aggressive, rocket-happy bunny-hopper coming at you head-on? With Clutch’s Still Defense Passive Ability, stand strong and gain 20% damage reduction against incoming attacks while walking or standing still. In addition, running forward without changing direction will increase your speed. Handy in the mines, devastating in the Arenas.

Quake Champions’s Closed Beta will reopen this Thursday, April 13, and if you haven’t received an invitation yet, be sure to sign up for a chance to enter the Arena at Quake.com.

You might have to be one of those crazy “90s Kids” to understand, but rollerblading was an extremely popular pastime during Quake III Arena‘s heyday. So it makes perfect sense that id Software decided to make Slash the Roller Queen a prominent playable character in the game.

With Quake Champions set to launch later this year, Slash will return for an encore performance in the Arena. And as part of their latest weekly reveal, the developer has given us a sneak peek at the “X-TREME” character:

Slash (Roller Queen)
It was her grandmother’s music box. Its tiny ice-skater twirled to Swan Lake. She loved it. She couldn’t sleep without hearing its tune. Then she heard it in her dreams. Then always. She would become a skater herself. She would twirl and twirl until the music stopped. But it never stopped. She began to see dark, spidery things. When the clozapine didn’t help, she turned to heroin. In the shooting gallery she met Anarki. He saw things, too. They became inseparable… until the things they saw became real.

Active Ability – Plasma Trail: Activating Slash’s Active Ability leaves a bright trail of destruction in her wake, inflicting damage on enemies careless enough to pass through the wall of pain. Players can also choose to hit their ability button again, causing the trail to explode, inflicting massive damage to Champions in the area. Cut off key paths or encircle enemies or power-ups in a crushing barrier of suffering.

Passive Ability – Crouch Slide: Slash is already super mobile, but by crouching while running, she’ll use her skates to go into Crouch Slide, allowing her to move full speed while crouching and whip around corners smoother and faster than other Champions.

Access to Quake Champions’s Closed Beta will be available for the first batch of selected participants beginning tomorrow. If you’d like a chance to receive an invitation sometime in the future, be sure to sign up for the game’s Closed Beta at Quake.com.

We still don’t know when its Closed Beta will begin, but Bethesda and id Software recently deployed another Character Trailer for Quake Champions. This time around, fans will get a chance to meet “Anarki the Transhuman Punk,” a drug-addled lover of heavy metal and hoverboards:

Anarki (Transhuman Punk)
Anarki’s rebellion began with the usual self-vandalism, but he craved something greater, and found it in transhumanism. Addiction, injury, disease… Why tolerate flesh if he could replace it? Using family riches, he underwent increasingly extreme cybernetic surgeries. After a microelectrode pierced his pineal gland, Anarki perceived a surreal, alien reality breakthrough! He eagerly sought more procedures, ignoring the insomnia. Each strengthened his perception of the hidden realm. But only once he met a girl who saw it, too, was he sure he could reach it.

Active Ability – Health Injection: Taking too much damage? Good thing for you Anarki is well-versed in various performance enhancing … treatments. Use the Health Injection Active Ability to give Anarki a quick heal mid-match. Juice it up, baby!

Passive Ability – Hoverboard Air Control: Anarki’s hoverboard is a brutal bonus. Anarki is already one of the fastest Champions in the game, but the hoverboard means he can actually gain speed as he strafe-jumps around the Arenas, reaching a ludicrous velocity. In addition, his hoverboard awards a special Passive Ability that allows players more control in mid-air to turn sharply and chase down enemies or escape those who dare follow him up a jump pad.

Three Champions have been revealed so far, and Anarki will join Nyx the Fathom Agent and Scalebearer the Galactic Warlord on the battlefield in Quake Champions when it launches later this year.

A new trailer from Bethesda Softworks and id Software recently unveiled “Burial Chamber,” another Arena set to be included in Quake Champions. While previously-released video footage of the free-to-play shooter had some similarities to last year’s Doom reboot, this Arena looks like it was teleported in directly from the bowels of Hell:

Arena: Burial Chamber
The bones of a massive beast decorate the entry to this massive tomb. Hazardous platforms at the Perilous Outcropping dot the sea of lava, providing an ideal sniping spot for those skilled enough and brave enough to make the leap. With its winding tunnels and low ceilings, the claustrophobic grave sites of the Molten Underground offer up the opportunity for heavier Champions to do some serious splash damage, while the Lava Falls could provide an excellent chokepoint for skilled tacticians. Just be careful to avoid being pushed into the lava, which is a prevalent threat throughout the map.

Quake Champions will be available later this year, but the developers are currently seeking participants for an upcoming Closed Beta. If you’re interested in trying out Quake Champions before its official release, you can sign up for a chance to receive an invitation at Bethesda.net.

Sometimes you just need to throw your weight around…

Bethesda Softworks has released a new trailer for Quake Champions, and this time they’ve shone a spotlight on Scalebearer the Galactic Warlord. Using his size to control the battlefield, Scalebearer can crash right through other Champions with his “Bull Rush” Active Ability or crush them under his feet with his “Heavyweight” Passive Ability:

Scalebearer (Galactic Warlord)
This warlord of the marauding Greiss plundered the technology of countless worlds to strengthen his armies. But defeat by a reclusive, phase-shifting race led to his exile. Obsessed with vengeance, he discovered their power source: an ancient shrine holding a seething sphere of liquid within. When at last he slaughtered its guardians and entered, the sphere consumed him – and he vanished. He awoke in the Dreamlands, a bizarre, brutal realm, transformed by arcane energy. Now he seeks a way back to the waking world to regain his command and wield his newfound might.

Active Ability – Bull Rush: The galactic warlord’s active ability, Bull Rush, will let him charge head on against foes in Quake Champions, clobbering your opponents with full force.

Passive Ability – Heavyweight: Scarebearer’s Heavyweight passive allows him to use his extra weight to crush his enemies. Spot an enemy Champion approaching? A well timed rocket jump landing will crush opponents below your feet.

If you’re interested joining the Quake Champions Closed Beta, you can sign up for a chance to receive an invitation to test out the upcoming free-to-play PC game at Bethesda’s official website.