Quake 4/Weapons & Items

In Quake 4, there are 10 weapons that you can obtain normally. These weapons are introduced for your usage in the order shown, and in the PC version, are mapped by default from the keys 1 to 0.

Each weapon also has an upgrade which is usually provided by another marine taking a look at the weapon.

There is also one additional weapon in Quake 4, but is not known to be obtainable through normal gameplay.

Blaster

• A weak semi-auto energy pistol. The primary attack will fire as fast as you click the mouse button.
• Click to attack, or hold primary fire for a charged attack.
• No upgrades.

You start off with this weapon - and this will be the only time you really use it. Its charge-up shot is still pretty weak by comparison to most weapons, but it has unlimited ammo. Only ever should be used as a last-resort or if you want to conserve ammo when fighting weaker enemies.

Machinegun

• Clip size 40, with 260 extra bullets.
• Click to fire; full auto.
• Right-click to zoom. Zoomed shots are more accurrate but are semi-auto.
• First obtained in Air Defense Bunker.
• Upgrades:
  • Extended Clip: Increases clip size to 80 (does not affect maximum ammo capacity). Obtained in Operation: Advantage.

Obtained early in the game and consistently useful throughout; ammo for this weapon is usually plentiful and due to its rate of fire can deal a lot of damage accurately in a short amount of time. The zoom feature also allows it to double-up as a sniper rifle until you get the Railgun.

Shotgun

• Clip size 8, 42 extra shells.
• Fires normally, holding fire button will continue shooting.
• Reloading is done shell-by-shell. You can fire to interrupt a reloading procedure.
• First obtained in Air Defense Trenches.
• Upgrades:
  • Clip Mod: Increases clip size to 10 and reloads in clips rather than individual shells. Obtained in Operation: Last Hope.

Also obtained early-on, this isn't as all-purpose as the Machinegun but is still very useful against crowds of weak enemies or single strong enemies that are a little too close for comfort. Ammo is also plentiful.

Hyperblaster

• Clip size 60, 340 extra shells.
• Powerful, accurate and fully-auto.
• First obtained in Nexus Hub Tunnels.
• Upgrades:
  • Bounce Mod: Enables Hyperblaster shots to bounce off walls. Obtained in <level>.

The Hyperblaster is a very powerful weapon owing to its high damage-per-shot and rate of fire. However this means that it is very easy to get carried away and forget that it has limited ammo. This weapon works best against small groups of enemies which aren't particularly weak, and once the Bounce Mod is obtained, can allow you to damage enemies from behind a safe corner.

Grenade launcher

• Clip size 8, 42 extra grenades.
• Fires a grenade in a parabolic arc which detonates after a set amount of time or on contact with an enemy.
• Grenades have a wide blast radius.
• First obtained in MCC Landing Site.
• No upgrades.

The Grenade Launcher can help with dealing with tricky-to-hit enemies that are behind corners or obscured partly by various objects. Its large blast radius also means that it can damage a lot of enemies for a large amount per shot. Ammo however is not very common, so use it wisely.

Nailgun

• Clip size 50, 250 extra nails.
• Fires nails full-auto.
• Nails have a small splash radius.
• First obtained in Perimeter Defence Station.
• Upgrades:
  • Firepower Mod: Nailgun fires 25% faster and holds two clips at a time - increasing total clip size to 100. Obtained in Perimeter Defence Station.
  • Nail Seeker Mod: Holding right-click will go into a zoom mode. Nails will home in on any enemy in the reticle. Obtained in <level>.

The Nailgun is essentially a closer-range more powerful version of the Machinegun. It doesn't fire as fast but each nail does considerably more damage and with the homing nails makes it virtually impossible to miss. The nails' slow travel time makes this weapon less useful at long range, but at close range it is an ideal weapon against any enemy you face. In particular, this weapon is very effective against bosses and strong normal enemies.

Rocket Launcher

• 40 rockets.
• Reloads after each shot.
• Rockets have a large blast radius.
• First obtained in Strogg Medical Facilities.
• Upgrades:
  • Guiding Mod: Gives the Rocket Launcher a clip size of 3 - can now fire three rockets in quick succession (still reloads rocket-by-rocket). Also, holding down right-click will fire a small green laser which the rockets will track. Obtained in Waste Disposal Facility.

Your arsenal will usually mean that your Rocket Launcher goes overlooked, but it is a very powerful weapon, especially after it gets its upgrade. It's most useful against groups of tougher enemies and bosses, or against single tough enemies which you don't want to go to the hassle of killing using a less powerful weapon. However, be warned that ammo for the Rocket Launcher is quite rare.

Railgun

• Clip size 3, 47 extra slugs.
• Fires a high-velocity slug.
• Can zoom with this weapon using right-click.
• First obtained in Dispersal Facility.
• Upgrades:
  • Penetration Mod: Increases Railgun base damage and enables shots to pass straight through enemies, damaging any enemies standing behind them. Obtained in Data Processing Security.

The Railgun is effectively your sniper rifle. It's slow firing, but high-damage; a single headshot to a lot of enemies is enough to take them down. Most useful in long, narrow paths filled with enemies. Ammo is not particularly rare either, and in a pinch this weapon can be used to systematically take down groups of weak enemies. However against bosses and single tough enemies, the Railgun is not very useful.

Lightning Gun

• 400 Cells.
• Fires a continuous lightning beam.
• Has no clip; does not need to reload.
• First obtained in Recomposition Center.
• Upgrades:
  • Chain Lightning Mod: Increases Lightning Gun base damage and enables lightning to strike any enemy nearby the target. Obtained in Tram Hub Station.

The Lightning Gun is a bit of a special weapon which you probably won't use that often; ammo isn't all that common and its not amazingly powerful; single tough enemies, or after upgrading, groups of small enemies are the best targets to use this weapon on. It can also temporarily shut down enemy <walker> shields.

Dark Matter Gun

• 25 charges, long reload time between shots.
• Fires a very powerful moving ball of energy which sucks in any nearby enemies.
• First obtained in Data Storage Terminal.
• No upgrades.

The DMG is your superweapon which effectively fires a black hole. There are very few single enemies which can survive having one of these pass straight through them, and in most cases weak enemies don't even need to be that close to be killed by the sheer suction of this weapon. The only situation in which this weapon is not effective is against single weak enemies; because it's a waste of ammo. Its ammo is pretty rare, however, so don't overuse this weapon. If you end up not using it at all, remember it in boss fights. For the last level you will be glad you have it.

Napalm Launcher

• Clip size 20, 20 extra fuel units.
• Fires a fireball in a parabolic ark, for weak damage and small splash. Even though it appears the napalm goes downward when it hits something, only the main fireball inflicts damage.
• Not seen in normal gameplay.

The napalm launcher is only available by cheating (e.g. give all in console.)