Quake III Arena Guide

One of the most vital things in a Team Deathmatch, is the timer. Simply type cg_drawtimer 1 to show it. This nifty little thing will help you with respawn times. Also make sure you have Team Overlay on.

Respawn Times
Quad (and other powerups) - 2 minutes
Weapons - 30 seconds
Armour - 25 seconds
Health - 35 seconds
Note: These are the default times for respawns. Some servers that hold clan matches may have different ones.

Here is a good tip: When you are killed from a distance, or crater, always go back to where you died. This way you can normally get your weapon back. Try to get an enemy to follow you by flashing the gauntlet at them. Once you regain your weapon they will be in for a shock.

Here are some basic skills which to an experienced team player will come as second nature, but which most of us should bear in mind at all times.

- Stay back! Dont get too close to the enemy. If you get too close, this means that other team members cannot fire at the enemy to back you up, as they may hit you. Getting too close is likely to get you teamkilled.

- Make sure you are aware of what weapons your team mates around you are carrying. Try not to get closely involved in battles when there are team mates around you with better weapons. Remember not to run in front of team mates with better weapons. Using the gauntlet in some situations can be effective, but make sure if there are any other players in close proximity with better weapons, get out of the way so that they can kill the opponent without killing you too.

- You don't have to fight to the death! If you are low on health, and think you can escape, then do. Your team mates are there to help you.

- Don't run straight from one battle into another. This is a sure way to get killed, as you will most likely be low on health. Stock up on health, armour and ammo in-between.

- If you know the enemy is holding a particular location, don't run in there at all. The chances of you alone taking over the location or getting any kills are very slim against 3 or 4 enemies - don't give away a kill in this way. Wait for your team to regroup and storm together, or get the quad

I would like to stress the importance of the Quad in any match. Frequently you will hear people talking about a match like this:
"Who will get the next quad?"
"If they get the next quad they'll win"
Games are lost and won on frags picked up from gaining the Quad. For this reason, you must ensure your team gets the Quad as often as possible in a match. To stand the best chance of getting the Quad, all players in a team should learn to time the Quad. You should aim to group all players in the Quad room at least 25 seconds before spawn - so that you get to and protect the room before the other team starts to arrive. When you are holding the Quad room, don't stand where the Quad spawns. You will be the main target for fire from the enemy.

When you have the Quad:
Remember, you are not invincible. In fact, you will probably draw more fire from the enemy when you have the Quad, because the enemy will want to kill it.
- If you dont have a good weapon, don't run around trying to kill people with a bad weapon. Find a weapon first even if it means wasting a few seconds of Quad.
- If your team mate has got the Quad, don't get in his way! If he kills you, the Quad has been wasted. However, this does not mean that the Quad man does not need backup. It may help to run behind the Quad bearer.
- If the enemy has the Quad, don't run with your back to him. Fire at the Quad bearer from a distance. The Quad is often the key to victory so don't be too sparing of your own life if you think you can kill the enemy Quad bearer.

So, while holding the Red Armour and securing the Rocket Launcher is important, it's Quads that win games, and you must do everything you can to gain control of it. This means every team member should make it their top priority to know when the Quad will spawn and provide assistance in the Quad room.

Quad timing
If the quad spawns at 0:40, and you pick it up at 0:50, then it will respawn again at 2:50, but, you will hear it spawn at 2:51-2 so there are either 1 of two tactics you could use to get it. If you happen to pass by, look at the clock and say, "Hey wait a minute, quad is in 20-30 seconds and being the camping fool I am, I might just camp so that no other little cable bashing big breakfast crew can get it" A good tactic.

e.g. I am at the rocket launcher. Quad is in 20 seconds, and I am approximately 20 seconds away from it if I run. Run! And make a courageous leap past the enemy who may be camping it, steal, then run off laughing, kill them or die. Either way you win because they don't get quad, they may get whooped or they can just eat your dust if you decide to be scared, an honourable thing! But the timing is vital.

Attacking in pairs
Now, it may be obvious who is the stronger of the pairs with maybe a little look at them or at overlay, to see who has the most armour, health and weapon. If you are the weaker of the pair, it may be useful (for the greater good) If you can get closer to the enemy, as to distract him from the stronger one, because I do see it in matches, they ignore the weaker one and pick off the stronger one. So make them pay attention and furthermore whoop their ass!

The stronger or weaker
Based on the above, you may find it useful to ignore the weaker one and hit the stronger one, killing him, and then take the other one out, simply done. However, if you were slightly less well equipped, you may decide to go for the amazingly skilled way of getting very very close to the weaker one, dancing around him and getting him killed by the nearby and overconfident stronger person. Tough tactic, but it works in the war of attrition.

Make sure you keep an eye on what is being said. We often find that when something important is being said, some players do not see it because they are too busy playing, or someone is flooding the chat buffer with nonsence. Every time you hear that beep sound, glance to the top of your screen to see what it's about. Every player must get used to this. It may be preferable to warm up before a match begins, but in my opinion it is better to stand still and talk in team-talk to discuss tactics. This means players will stay calm and not get hyped up before a match. After tactics are decided upon, then players can start warming up.

Some important things to note about chatting are:
- Don't get involved in any arguments. If you get chat fragged or lag fragged do not shout "LAME" or start an argument about it. You will often come across players who think it is funny to chat frag people. Do not lower yourselves to their level and do not chat frag back. If it is a problem then talk to the enemy team captain *after* the match, or in a league game talk to the admin. As a team, your reputation is just as important to as the match results. We do not want to be known as an akward clan, and everyone should take defeat gracefully, and take winning just the same.
- Only say things which are necessary. If you are looking at the keyboard for a bind then you may be killed. Keep your binds close to your movement keys and only use them when mandatory. Also, if people read pointless things they will get distracted and may miss important things.

The most important thing to remember in a TDM game, is don't lose hope. If you think you will lose then you probably will. Even if you start losing in the match, don't stop trying. I often see clans who are losing, rush into battles to try and get frags. The truth is they forget about armour and weapons, so more often than not they are killed.

Special thanks to the defunct clan -ViR-