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This article appeared in Quake  

Magnum upgrade! You now deliver four times the pain!

Quake manual


Appearing throughout Quake, the Quad Damage is a Powerup that amplifies a weapon's damage by a factor of 4 (quadruples) for 30 seconds. With it, even the most basic of weapons (such as the Axe) can do incredible damage, usually able to take out a target with one or two shots. To counter its power, the player with this powerup has a blue glow, and makes the distinctive chord sound when firing and losing power.

The Quad Damage looks like a large gray rotating letter Q (often assumed to be the Quake logo). When the player activates it, their vision takes on a tint the same color as the Powerup, and their face becomes wide-eyed and crazed-looking as long as the Powerup is in effect.

Strategy

In Quake, the Quad Damage is found around the maps in Single Player and Multiplayer. In Single Player it is usually found before or in an area of a lot of enemies. It is activated on pickup and thus the player is advised to plan ahead and only pick it up in a situation that really calls for it. Note that the effect wears off at the end of the level, meaning it cannot be transferred to the next level. It can be useful at taking down stronger enemies but it is also useful with weaker enemies as the Shotgun becomes deadly, and thus can be used instead of the Nailguns, Double-Barrelled Shotgun and Rocket Launchers (saving ammo). Usage of powerful weaponry whilst the Quad Damage is activated is usually overkill, even the Shotgun will be more prone to Gib enemies, and weapons that inflict splash damage will also hurt the player more just as much as the enemies. It is therefore advised to use weaker weaponry to conserve the ammo for more powerful weapons.

In the Multiplayer, the Quad will light up anybody that has it, allowing other players to see them and run away before the holder sees them.

Trivia

  • Originally, the Quad Damage was simply called the "Quake Power".
  • Unlike the Pentagram of Protection and Ring of Shadows, it does not have an equivalent in classic Doom games and Doom 3 (although it does operate like Heretic's Tome of Power by increasing weapon power).
  • The Quad damage is also available in Doom 2016.
  • The sound when the Quad Damage is taken came directly from the Nine Inch Nails synthesizers; there were cases when that sound would be played for thirty seconds at a concert prior to the release of Quake. This sound was highly sped up for Quake.

Timeout Messages

  • Quad Damage is wearing off

Appearances

Sounds

Sounds
Somebody acquiring Quad Damage
Quad Damage being utilized
Quad Damage expiring

Gallery

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