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This article appeared in Quake II  

Q2 Weapon Chain Gun
Chaingun
Production information
Technical specifications
Damage Per Hit
  • 8 [SP]
  • 6 [MP]
Maximum Ammunition

200 rounds

Fire Mode

Automatic

Ammunition Type

Bullets

Rate of Fire

Up to ~28/s

Usage
Era(s)

Quake 2

[Source]
The chain gun makes mince meat out of your enemy, but requires an insane amount of ammunition. The long spin up and spin down time makes the chain gun most effective for sustained attacks.

—The Quake II Manual

The Chain Gun is a multi-barrelled automatic weapon that is capable of immense firepower in a matter of moments. It is a hitscan weapon and uses the relatively common bullets for its ammunition, like the Machine Gun, and each individual shot delivers the same amount of damage, but it is capable of firing at a much faster rate.

Upon first pulling the trigger, it will initially fire at the same rate as the Machine Gun, but if the trigger is held down, then after a moment it'll spin up to full speed and unleash a hail of bullets. At top speed, it'll fire around 28 bullets per second. It also has a spin-down delay - once you release the trigger, it'll continue to fire bullets for a moment thereafter. If the trigger was only pressed once without holding it at all, it'll fire a stream of nine bullets (or ten in the 2023 remaster) and then stop.

Strategy[]

Single Player[]

  • The Chain Gun can demolish every type of enemy in short order - in the original game, its overall damage output when firing at full speed is the highest of any weapon in your arsenal, with only the Hyperblaster and BFG10k coming close, although the BFG10k can surpass it when firing against multiple targets at once, and in the 2023 remaster the new Disruptor weapon surpasses it. Even Tank Commanders fall to sustained Chain Gun fire in a matter of seconds. If you're in a room with multiple tough enemies or you expect a trail of alerted enemies to blaze through the halls, the Chain Gun is the weapon to use. It can be a good choice against bosses as well - especially when under the effects of Quad Damage.
  • Due to the spin-up and spin-down mechanics of the Chain Gun, there is some skill involved in knowing when to pull the trigger and when to stop in order to use ammo most efficiently. Against more dangerous foes, one tactic is to take cover and start firing roughly a second before actually emerging from cover into their view, in order to start spinning up the gun so that it is firing at full speed when you emerge - this will waste a few bullets at first, but allow you to deal higher damage during the period when you and the enemy are visible to each other and therefore expose you to less return fire, so it's a trade-off). Likewise, with skill and practice you can get the hang of when to release the trigger so that the subsequent sputter of bullets after you release the trigger would finish off your target, without continuing to fire after they're dead and thereby wasting ammo.
  • With practice, it is possible to fire a stream of 38 bullets consistently - to achieve this, release the trigger just after the Chain Gun starts spinning up. This delivers just over 300 damage, which is enough to kill anything less than a Gladiator.

Multiplayer[]

  • The Chain Gun is a beast in MP. It can take out even the most heavily-armored target in a matter of seconds. It has a somewhat-focused spread, which makes it even deadlier. If a map has this weapon, try to memorize possible juke paths like boxes, balconies or ledges to take cover and run along ramps or stairs to throw their aim off. Taking cover will work against it, but not for long if you can't keep the distance.
  • If you see somebody with it, run away and try to hit them with splash damage as you're running. They'll tear you up in a matter of seconds if they can catch a clear sightline. If you don't have any eligible weapon to drop them, care to cook a few hand grenades to block their pathway as you take cover. Try to pick its ammunition pack whether you have the weapon or not, whenever available.
  • Peekshots against Chain Gun works great. Try to retaliate with Railgun or Rocket Launcher after you take cover at medium to long distance. Once you retreated behind cover near a possible flank, prefire a few rockets around the corner then toss a grenade to fake your intentions if available. If they expect you from front, risk a rocket jump else a strafe-jump stunt to flank them from behind instead.
  • If Chain Gunner is charging at you however, better answer would be either Shotgun or Super Shotgun. Try to get a higher ground to take cover easily and peek shot at them. If that's not an option just circle them after a wide angled retreat behind a cover and crouch between your shots by the hopes of not getting perforated before you can take another shot at them.
  • If you have to fight somebody that has it, try to trick them into constantly warming up the Chain Gun without actually firing it by taking cover and peeking out. This gives you a lot of time to score some hits, but is pretty risky. While this tactic will usually work on the uninitiated, experienced players will NOT fall for it nearly as often. A way to counter this tactic is to keep the barrels spinning by tapping as you chase the target, and fire while enemy is in sight or heard. Although this will sometimes waste some rounds and quite difficult to master, you will be better prepared.

Gallery[]

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