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Team Arena Basics  by Dr.Gibbs January 15, 2003

Weapons

Team Arena offers Quakers a few brand new weapons. These weapons all take team play into account, acting as both useful tools and powerful defensive machines. Take the time to learn your new arsenal, and practice with some bots to get used to handling them in hectic situations.

Prox Launcher

This is a mine launcher capable of reeking mass carnage if used properly. The mines can stick just about anywhere... even on other players. If an enemy steps near one of the mines, it will detonate and send them sprawling into the air. If they aren't detonated, the mines will stay for about 15 seconds before they explode on their own.

This weapon has obvious implications when used for defending a base. You can pick up the Ammo Regen rune and continuously cover your base's well-traveled areas with mines. Stick as many of them as you can in halls, near sensitive items, and around your flag. With enough mines, your enemies won't be able to make their way into your territory without doing themselves a considerable amount of damage.

Your mines won't deal damage to you or your fellow teammates, but they will knock everyone around. In fact, a sizable pile of them will send you higher into the air than any rocket jump can. All it takes is proper timing and an enemy or two - if an enemy walks near you, all of the mines will detonate simultaneously. You don't need to coordinate a jump with the explosions, because you will fly high just by standing.

Nailgun

The new nailgun isn't anything like the nailgun you're probably thinking of if you're a seasoned Quake 1 player. Rather than acting like a machinegun, it fires bursts of nails in a shotgun-style pattern. The nails deal a healthy amount of damage. They travel slowly, but their spread is fairly tight so they're not very hard to aim.

To use the nailgun effectively, you should be as close to your target as possible. The gun won't work well for distances or against anyone who's moving around a lot. Take some time to learn the speed that the nails travel, and understand how to predict where your opponents will be by the time the nails get to them. This weapon is best used in tight hallways or when following a player (such as chasing the carrier of a flag). It can also be effective as a defensive weapon if you remain crouched in a niche or a corner near your flag.

To defend yourself from the nailgun, try to get as much distance between you and your attacker as possible. This may not always be easy to do, so you may have to resort to doing a lot of strafing and praying. Concentrate on horizontal movement - jumping isn't very effective because of the spread of the nails. If possible, try to get on lower ground. As with many weapons, it's more difficult for your attacker to hit you if you're lower than they are.

Chaingun

The chaingun is an entirely new concept in Quake 3, although it has been seen in earlier games such as Doom and Quake 2. This particular model will turn a healthy player into a steaming pile of meat in no time. The only drawback is its extreme hunger for ammo, which is scarce on most maps.

Try not to use the chaingun in normal play - save your ammo for when you'll really need it. Use it while you're following an enemy who has your flag, or when you have to clean out a path for one of your mates. To deal the most damage, simply try to keep the crosshair on your target as much as possible. Remember that being closer helps, as the bullets do have some spread to them.

Avoiding the chaingun is no simple task, because you'll be dead before you have much of a chance to do anything. The best you can do is simply avoiding anyone who has the weapon. Watch your enemies carefully to see what they're using - if you see someone with a chaingun, try to keep your distance from them. If you do find yourself being attacked, jump and strafe as much as you can. Try to dodge behind other players or objects. It won't take long for your attacker to run out of ammo. If you can protect yourself for a even short amount of time, then you have a fair chance of getting away.

Items

Kamikaze

One of the two new items in Team Arena is the Kamikaze. It looks like a skull with a spot of yellow on it, and it's usually located in a hard-to-reach area. Once you pick it up, you can hold it for as long as you like. When used, it creates a giant explosion that kills you immediately. The resulting shockwave moves hundreds of feet in every direction, killing most players within its reach. The farther someone is away from the center, the less damage it will deal to them - but most hits are going to be lethal. It even reaches through solid objects! It's best used when your base is being overrun, or you feel like cleaning up some enemy guards to make a path for one of your buddies. In Overload, you can most effectively use it while standing right next to the enemy skull - it not only deals massive amounts of damage to the target, but also cleans out the entire enemy base.

Invulnerability

The Invulnerability is another very useful item, albeit not quite as destructive. It's basically a floating purple globe. They're hard to find, but they can prove to be very useful under certain situations. When you use it, it gives you about fifteen seconds of invincibility - that is, nothing can hurt you. The only catch is that you are unable to move while it is in effect. One thing you can do, however, is aim and shoot at people - which makes the item an exceptional choice for defensive moves. It can also be useful if you're falling into the void, as it will freeze your fall and allow you to do some damage to your enemies.

Powerups

All of these powerups are floating around each base. These are similar to the runes seem in many mods... you can only hold one at a time, and you can only pick up the ones that are on your base. If you're on an important mission, you shouldn't ever leave your base without getting one of these - many other players will have them, and the last thing you need is to be on the dead end of an unfair advantage.

Guard

This guy cranks your health and armor up to 200, and keeps your health up by regenerating it at a fairly quick rate. It's best use is for capturing flags in CTF or skulls in Harvester. Because it makes you much harder to kill, you can concentrate on moving to your target instead of protecting yourself. This buys you time, which is a very important asset when you're making a run. Just remember that it won't regenerate your armor. If you're guarding your base, you may also want to think about picking one of these up - it will help you stay alive longer than your aggressor.

Ammo Regen

This sweet little powerup is great for players on the offensive, such as those watching another player's back or anyone going for a run in Overload. It will continuously replenish all of your ammo to the amounts you get when first picking up each weapon. For example, the rocket launcher gives you 10 rockets when you first pick it up - so if you have 3 rockets, the Ammo Regen will give you one rocket at a time until you are back up to 10. It's only drawback is the fact that the ammo usually comes more slowly than the gun can fire - you can run out, so don't get too cocky. It can also be useful to players who are guarding their base, as it allows them to concentrate on their task rather than finding more ammo.

Doubler

Double your pleasure, double your fun... this powerup doubles the amount of damage you dish out. To be fair, this includes any damage you might do to yourself. In other words, don't attempt any rocket jumps unless you absolutely need to. The best use for the Doubler in any mode of play is for someone who is going for a damage run in Overload. If you're playing another game, it can be useful for guarding a base - you'll be able to eliminate any pesky infestations twice as quickly. If you're running a flag or something similar, you can use it to attack players more efficiently - although, a more defensive powerup would be a better choice. You don't want to waste any time attacking players when you could just concentrate on moving.

Scout

This powerup gives you a little adrenaline rush and allows your character to run and shoot significantly faster. Really, it's only use is for players making a run with a flag or skulls in Harvester. It's not so great for anyone who doesn't need to be moving quickly, because it cheats you out of any advantages you would have been able to gain from another powerup. If you have Scout, don't try to fight your attackers - instead, use your speed and run away as quickly as possible. This buys you plenty of time as long as you're careful. If you do need to fight, you'll at least be able to fire faster.

Gameplay

Harvester

This is an intense mode of play that keeps you on your toes. When you join a Harvester game, you'll want to note the location of the "skull factory" (usually near the middle of the map). Whenever anyone dies, a new skull appears here that matches their team's color. Whenever you run through this area, you can collect any number of skulls from an opposing team by simply walking over them. You can also remove your own team's skulls by touching them in the same manner - once you walk over them, they disappear.

This may sound simple, but there's a catch: you must plant these skulls in your enemy's base in order to score one for your team. For every enemy you kill, a new skull will appear in the middle - but the victim will respawn inside of their own base, making it that much harder for you to capture their skull. It's surprisingly well-balanced. Teams will only win based on the number of skulls captured, so fragging a lot of enemies isn't going to do you much good if you can't follow through with the rest of the task.

If you aren't in good shape, do not collect skulls from the factory. When you die, any skulls you happen to be carrying will disappear forever - so let someone more capable handle the task. Don't let poor health stop you from heading toward the middle, however, as you can still remove your own team's skulls to prevent your opponents from scoring. If you do decide to pick up some enemy skulls, run like crazy to the enemy base. If attacking is necessary, strafe jumping and orbiting are musts. Don't bother with frags - your priority is to return the skulls. If an enemy has a large weapon, use the Prox Launcher to scare them away.

Defending your base is fairly easy in this game. Your main goal is to not let enemies with skulls touch your flag spot. Find a good weapon and plant yourself in a defensive position. Remember to only aim at those who are carrying skulls - empty-handed players aren't nearly as much of a threat. Once you're guarding, don't leave for any reason. If you die, for example, your skull will appear in the center - but leave the cleanup job to those who are trying to make runs on the enemy base, rather than trying to return it yourself.

Overload

This is perhaps the most simple mode in Team Arena, yet it actually presents quite a challenge. At each base, there's a giant metallic skull with a certain amount of health that's indicated by the colored lights surrounding it. Your job is to destroy the other team's skull before they get yours. Teamwork is critical, as you need to have a good balance of players who are guarding your skull and those who are attacking the enemy's base. The skulls will regenerate when they're not being attacked, so you should never ease off an offensive. A team will score every time the enemy's skull is destroyed.

If you choose to be one of the attackers, you need to get to the other team's base as quickly as you can, ignoring anyone that you might meet along the way. You don't want to be delayed or risk dying, so leave the defense up to your teammates. Once you're in and you see the enemy's skull, start firing everything you've got. Keep your aim on the skull without worrying about the other team. Make yourself as hard to hit as possible, but do not attack any players - you only have so much time and so much ammo, and every shot you use on another player is a shot you've wasted. Try to hit the skull from as far away as possible - the closer you are, the more likely you are to be fragged.

If you're making a run, you'll want to bring a good weapon with you. The best weapons to use are the rocket launcher, chaingun, plasma rifle, and the prox launcher. Avoid using weapons like the machinegun, grenade launcher, shotgun, gauntlet, and railgun. If you find yourself stuck with a bad arsenal by the time you arrive at the enemy's base, concentrate on protecting your teammates rather than attacking the skull yourself. Don't ever try to make a run alone, as you won't be able to destroy the skull by yourself. The more, the merrier - just don't forget to leave someone behind to guard your own base.

Defending your base presents quite a challenge - especially if your opponents carry out an organized attack. Pick a place that gives you visibility to your skull without making you obvious to attackers. Pick off the people who try to get close to the skull, or run out of your hiding spot and search for them if they're attacking it from far away. Time is critical, so use something big - the faster an attacker dies, the more points your skull will come out with. You can safely use weapons like the railgun, as the attackers will likely be concentrating on the their target rather than moving defensively.

One-Flag CTF

One-Flag CTF quite simply CTF with one flag. The flag is silver-colored to indicate neutrality, and it's usually located near the middle of the base. Pay careful attention to this: in order to score, a team must deliver the flag to their enemy's base. Other than that, the game isn't played much differently than classic CTF.

Grabbing the flag is a little easier since you don't have to venture into the enemy's base to get it. It's the actual capturing part that's difficult, since it has to be done on enemy territory. As a carrier you'll be highly visible, so you need to stay on the defensive. Don't try to attack players who are attacking you - instead, concentrate on moving to your destination as quickly as possible. If you do die, the flag will be dropped wherever you land - since you're running in the opposite direction of your opponents, dropping the flag isn't that big of a deal. It will be returned to its original location if no one tries to pick it up.

Defending your base is a little tougher here than in normal CTF, simply because you have much less of a chance to do it. In classic CTF, even if an enemy got a hold of your flag, you still have a chance to kill him and return it. With only one flag, all the carrier has to do is touch your flag post and the enemy team will score. There is one advantage to this, however: only one player is a true threat. Instead of warding off entire groups, you only need to worry about the one who's carrying the flag.

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