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This article appeared in Quake II  

This provides improved protection against energy weapons. While it is being used, it drains energy from your cells when damaged.

—Quake II Manual

Energy Armor

Power Shield (sometimes also referred to as Energy Armor or Power Armor) is a protective item found in Quake II. It gives the wearer additional protection in a similar way as conventional armor, but it is powered by cells. The general principle behind the shield is to reduce the amount of damage suffered to a wearer's health/armor from incoming attacks, at the cost of consuming some of the wearer's cells. It takes effect against most other sources of damage as well, such as fall damage, slime and lava, although it doesn't help against drowning in water. It can be switched on/off at will, allowing the shield to be activated for more difficult fights, or deactivated if the player prefers not to have their cells drained by the shield while using cell-based weapons such as the BFG10k or Hyperblaster. Some Strogg are equipped with a Power Shield as well.

It should not be confused with the Power Screen, although they have some similarities (the Power Screen functions in a similar way, but it has a lower absorption rate, and it only protects its user against attacks coming from the front).

In the 2023 remaster, the mechanics of the Power Shield (and the Power Screen) have been altered to make energy weapons more effective against them. Furthermore, there is an option in the remaster to allow the Power Shield to be activated automatically, or when a certain amount of cells are available. In any case, the player still has the option to switch it on and off manually.

Effect for the player[]

The general principle of the Power Shield is to reduce the amount of damage inflicted to your health/armor, at the cost of consuming some of your cells. The actual mathematics behind this mechanic depends on the weapon. Some weapons are energy weapons, and some are not.

Against non-energy weapons, one-third of the impact of a weapon is suffered by the player's health/armor, another one-third is suffered by the player's cells, and the final one-third goes to waste. For example, a rocket fired by an Iron Maiden or Tank, or a railgun fired by a Gladiator, deals 50 damage. If no power shield is in effect, the player will suffer 50 damage, distributed between their health and armor. But with an active power shield, the player only loses 16-17 health/armor, and loses 16-17 cells; the remaining 16/17 damage goes to waste.

Energy weapons deplete twice as many cells as non-energy weapons; the final "third" of the impact is suffered by the player's cells instead of going to waste. For example, a hit from a Tank's blaster normally does 30 damage; against an active power shield, one-third of that 30 damage is applied to the player's health/armor, and two-thirds are suffered by the player's cells, so the player loses 10 health/armor and 20 cells.

However, there is a curious flaw in the mathematics. There seems to be a minimum of 2 cells lost every time the Power Shield takes effect, no matter how weak the weapon, which means weapons which inflict a large number of hits dealing small amounts of damage (such as the Parasite's tube with its continual damage, the Shotgun Guard whose weapon fires many individual pellets, and rapid-fire weapons of Machine Gun Guards, Flyers etc. These weapons can deplete the Power Shield's cells more quickly than one might expect, since at least 2 cells will be lost with each hit, even against weapons that only deal 1 damage. For example, a Shotgun Guard normally deals 18 damage to a player's health/armor with a full hit (comprising 9 individual pellets that deal 2 damage each), but with an active power shield the player instead suffers 9 damage to their health/armor and loses 18 cells on top of that. Likewise, a volley of blaster bolts from a Flyer comprises eight shots dealing 1 damage apiece, but if the full volley hits a player with an active power shield, they will lose 16 cells.

A player can collect multiple suits of Power Shield throughout the single-player campaign (the original Quake II campaign includes more than ten), but there is no benefit to having more than one - except perhaps if playing in co-operative mode so you can pass one to a teammate who doesn't have it yet.

Effect for the Strogg[]

Power Shields are used by the following enemies:

  • Beta Class Gladiator: 250 health and 250 cells
  • Beta Super Tank: 1500 health and 400 cells
  • Gunner Commander: 325 health and 200 cells
  • Black Widow Guardian's first form (Nightmare difficulty only): 5000 health and 500 cells
  • Black Widow Guardian's second form (Nightmare difficulty only): 5800 health and 750 cells
  • Strogg Megatank*: health varies depending on difficulty setting, plus 400 cells
  • Commander*: 2000 health and 250 cells

*The Strogg Megatank and Commander are boss enemies in Call of the Machine, based upon a Beta Super Tank and Tank Commander respectively.

Furthermore, the Black Widow Guardian has the ability to activate a new power shield in response to certain power-ups used by the player - consult the Widow's own page for details.

As with your own Power Shield, the Strogg power shields are more susceptible to attacks by energy weapons. For example, a Beta Gladiator can be killed with around 26 hyperblaster shots or 11 Ion Ripper shots (effectively dealing slightly more than 500 damage, due to numbers being rounded down), but a Railgun needs eight shots and a Super Shotgun or Rocket Launcher needs seven, effectively needing to deal roughly 750-800 damage, since a chunk of that damage goes to waste thanks to the power shield. Your energy weapons are those that use cells for ammunition; the Hyperblaster, BFG10k, Ion Ripper and Plasma Beam, as well as the Blaster and Phalanx Particle Cannon. The blaster bolts fired by the Defender Sphere are also energy weapons. Furthermore, the Disruptor weapon (introduced in the 2023 remaster) completely bypasses the target's Power Shield.

In the Call of the Machine expansion, some (but not all) Beta Class Gladiators in Call of the Machine are encountered without their usual Power Shield.

Locations[]

The first opportunities to collect a Power Shield in each single-player campaign are as follows:

Campaign Location
Quake II Detention Center
The Reckoning Outer Compound
Ground Zero Research Hangar
Quake II 64 Organic Storage
Quake II PSX Detention Center
Call of the Machine Way of the Marine (the only campaign containing one is OPERATION: Ruined Earth)

Trivia[]

  • It is sometimes incorrectly stated that the Power Shield is more effective against attacks coming from the front than attacks hitting the user's back. However, the code disproves that - there is no directional check for Power Shield. The reason for this misconception is likely caused by confusion between the Power Shield and the Power Screen, which is similar to the Power Shield but only protects its user against attacks from the front, and does nothing against attacks to their rear. In the original game the player had a Power Shield but no Power Screen, and the only enemy with either item was the Brains who had a Power Screen, perhaps leading players to believe they were the same thing.
  • The item's name as presented in-game is "Power Shield", but it is sometimes referred to in the manual by the name "Energy Armor" as well, and occasionally it is called "Power Armor".

Gallery[]

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