Quake Champions characters – all the combatants and their abilities detailed

Quake Champions characters

Everyone’s favourite high-speed gore-fest is making a return in the form of Quake Champions. After its CGI reveal at E3 2016, a gameplay trailer at QuakeCon 2016 and plenty of hours spent fragging foes in the beta, we’ve had a proper look at all of the titular Champions that will be playable when the game launches.

If you’re after more on id Software’s old school mutliplayer shooter, check out everything we know about Quake Champions’ release date, beta and gameplay.

The Champions themselves have both active and passive abilities that are intended to suit each of the different playing styles FPS players tend to gravitate towards. That means there’s going to be a Champion for long-range players, one for agile players who use speed to outwit their opponents and a brutish tank who can out-damage most others in the arena. Conceptually, Quake Champions sounds like a Battleborn-esque MOBA, but the gameplay trailer featuring players sprinting around the map, leaping through the air and delivering gib after beautiful gib shows that this is still very much a Quake game. Phew!

Bear in mind that all the stats and numbers given here are based on what we saw during the game’s beta and are therefore subject to change over the coming months. Without further flim-flamming, let’s go through all of Quake Champions characters:

Quake Champions: Ranger

Quake Champions Ranger

  • Name: Ranger – Slipgate Marine.
  • Health (base/max): 100/100
  • Armour (base/max): 25/75
  • Speed: 320
  • Active ability –Dire Orb: Ranger’s active ability is a glowing ball that can be thrown and then immediately teleported to. The ability is a homage to Quake’s final boss battle, where players have to perform a telefrag to slay Shub-Niggurath. No doubt telefragging with the Dire Orb will become a popular method of dispatch among pros. The Dire Orb also does damage to any foe that it passes through, making it an effective weapon in corridors.
  • Cooldown: 20 seconds
  • Passive ability – Son of a Gun: reduces self damage by 25%, which is ideal for rocket-jumping.
  • Quake debut: Ranger made his first appearance inQuake as Quakeguy. He also reared his massive head inQuake III Arena.

In case you don’t know what this guy got up to in the first Quake game, here’s a quick bio from Bethesda. “Ranger has been fighting for his life ever since he passed through the Slipgate and into the Dreamlands two decades ago. He cut through countless horrors to find four eldritch Runes, and laid waste to the All-Mother, Shub Niggurath, which gave him access to the powerful Dire Orb.

Now, time and delirium have taken their toll, stripping Ranger of his memories and name, leaving a soldier hell-bent on survival. Only a photograph of a family he no longer clearly remembers serves to help him retain some of his hope and humanity.”

Here’s a Champion trailer showcasing Ranger’s abilities and arena style.

Here’s that Dire Orb in action for you:

quake champions ranger dire orb

Quake Champions: Visor

Quake Champions Visor

  • Name: Visor – Cybernetic Clone.
  • Health (base/max): 125/125
  • Armour (base/max): 25/50
  • Speed: 300
  • Active ability –Piercing Sight:Visor’s special ability is essentially x-ray vision, which allows him to see through walls and spot targets without them ever knowing. This should prove especially handy for snipers and defensive players and will likely prove devastating when whoever’s using him gets their hands on a Railgun.
  • Cooldown:45 seconds
  • Passive ability – Grasshopper: Visor is able to strafe jump, which means he can accelerate way beyond his base speed.
  • Quake debut: Visor first appeared in Quake III Arena.

Bethesda have also provided some background on Visor: “To produce the perfect infantry, Moscow’s GRU deployed cybernetics, genetics, and even cloning. The result: tireless operatives impervious to panic or pain, with “manageable” psychopathy. But their senses were dulled—especially sight. The GRU turned to a cryptic American scientist and double agent. Just 3 of 20 subjects returned, each with a grafted mask, inexplicably normal vision, and the ability to see through matter. Attempts to reverse-engineer the mask were fatal, and revealed only a layer of putrefied blood within the mask. Disposal of the casualties remains unconfirmed.

Want a Champion trailer for Visor? Of course you do, watch it below.

Here’s an excellent example of when to employ Piercing Eye:

quake champions visor piercing sight

Quake Champions: Nyx

Quake Champions nyx fathom agent

  • Name: Nyx – Fathom Agent.
  • Starting health: 100
  • Starting armour: 75
  • Speed: 270
  • Active ability – Ghost Walk: using Nyx’s Ghost Walk ability transfers her player into a new dimension, instantly and temporarily making Nyx invincible and immune to all damage. This can be used to escape tense battles, to move behind unsuspecting enemies or to shrug off damage from incoming projectiles.
  • Cooldown: 40 seconds
  • Passive ability – Wall Jump: not to be confused with a wall run, wall jump effectively allows Nyx to double jump in tight areas, once onto a wall, and then again after a short wall run. Its exact role is hard to pin down, but it will surely allow faster, more creative ways of traversing each arena, as well as providing the player with new ways to get the jump on their foes.
  • Quake debut: Nyx is a new character to the franchise and is making her debut in Quake Champions.

Here’s some background lore from Bethesda lore Nyx and her abilities. “Harnessing the energy of the sacred Fathom Orb, Nyx’s people – the Melem – have learned how to “Ghost Walk.” By doing so they temporarily phase-shift themselves into another dimension, allowing them to bypass threats. But even the peaceful Melem call upon warriors when the need is great. As a Fathom Agent, Nyx is one of the Melem’s most skilled assassins, and an incredibly adept Ghost Walker.

“When the Fathom Orb was breached by an attacker, Nyx was sent to the Orb to stop the insurgent and prevent a non-Melem from learning the Ghost Walk ability. But as soon as she touched the Orb she was pulled out of her world and ended up in the Dreamlands, an extradimensional realm where champions from the waking world are trapped in eternal battle.”

Nyx has also got her very own trailer, which you can watch below.

Here’s an example of her Ghost Walk in action:

quake champions characters nyx

Quake Champions: Scalebearer

Quake Champions characters Scalebearer

  • Name: Scalebearer – Galactic Warlord.
  • Health (base/max): 150/200
  • Armour (base/max): 25/150
  • Speed: 300
  • Active ability –Bull Rush:Scalebearer’s primary ability is a sort of super-charged straight line sprint that kills everything it makes contact with. Bull Rush doesn’t quite make the player invincible, but it does reduce damage taken from incoming fire while active.
  • Cooldown: 30 seconds
  • Passive ability –Heavyweight: it doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to guess that Scalebearer is a heavy chap. He’s so heavy in fact, that if you deal damage just by brushing past your enemies at high speeds or landing on them. This is only activated once you surpass 400 speed.
  • Quake debut: Scalebearer is a newcomer to the series and as such is making his first appearance in Quake Champions.

Here’s the official character lore from Bethesda. “As a warlord of the marauding Greiss, he conquered countless worlds, plundering technology to strengthen his armies. But defeat by a reclusive, phase-shifting race led to his exile. Obsessed with vengeance, he discovered their power source: an ancient shrine with a seething sphere of liquid within. When at last he slaughtered its guardians and entered, the sphere consumed him – and he vanished. He awoke in a bizarre, brutal realm, transformed by arcane energy. Now he seeks a way back, to regain his command and wield his newfound might.”

Scalebearer now has his own Champion profile video, which you can watch below to see his abilities in action.

Here’s Scalebearer’s primary ability in use:

quake champions characters scalebearer

Quake Champions: Anarki

Quake Champions Anarki

  • Name: Anarki – Transhuman Punk.
  • Health (base/max): 75/75
  • Armour (base/max): 25/50
  • Speed: 320
  • Active ability – HealthInjection: Anarki’s active ability allows him to instantly heal himself and recieve a permanent maximum health boost. After using Health Injection, Anarki also gets a speed boost that lasts for five seconds.
  • Cooldown: 45 seconds
  • Passive ability – Hoverboard Air Control: Anarki is already one of the fastest Champions in the game, but the hoverboard means he can actually gain speed as he strafe-jumps. In addition, his hoverboard awards a special passive ability that allows players more control in mid-air to turn sharply and chase down enemies or escape those who dare follow him up a jump pad.
  • Quake debut: Anarki is a returning character fromQuake III Arena.If he plays anything like he did in Quake III Arena, he’ll be one of the faster characters in Quake Champions and will frustrate players to no end.

Here’s Anarki’s official bio. “Anarki’s rebellion began with the usual self-vandalism, but he craved something greater, and found it in transhumanism. Addiction, injury, disease… Why tolerate flesh if he could replace it? Using family riches, he underwent increasingly extreme cybernetic surgeries. After a microelectrode pierced his pineal gland, Anarki perceived a surreal, alien reality breakthrough! He eagerly sought more procedures, ignoring the insomnia. Each strengthened his perception of the hidden realm. But only once he met a girl who saw it, too, was he sure he could reach it.”

Here’s a Champion trailer showcasing those abilities:

Here’s how Anarki’s Health Injection looks in use:

quake champions characters anarki

Quake Champions: Clutch

Quake Champions clutch

  • Name: Clutch – Awakened Automaton.
  • Health (base/max): 150/150
  • Armour (base/max): 50/100
  • Speed: 280
  • Active ability – Barrier: what character-based shooter isn’t complete without a tank class. Clutch’s barrier can temporarily deflect all incoming damage and block enemies from passing through it. Clutch can shoot through the shield, but to stop this from being too overpowered the barrier will deactivate for a short amount of time with each shot.
  • Cooldown: 40 seconds

  • Passive abilities – Still Defense: Clutch gets a 20% damage reduction boost when standing still, which can be used to gain an advantage over aggressive, speedier Quake Champions characters like Slash and Anarki.Acceleration: running forward without changing direction will rapidly increase Clutch’s movement speed.
  • Quake debut: Clutch is a new character making its first appearance in Quake Champions.

After some background information on this curious Champion? Here’s what id Software have provided. “It was just a mining automaton with limited AI and a force-shield to protect organics and drills. But it was the first to return from the cavern filled with floating ruins and strange markings. Its custodians transferred the data it had gathered to their master neural network. But, after analysis, the network… malfunctioned? Suddenly, Clutch was returning to the cavern as automata began killing organics. Clutch killed them, too, if they were in its path. Once at the cavern, Clutch followed the network’s instructions. A dark mass of writhing tendrils materialized. Clutch stepped into it.”

You can watch the Clutch’s Champion trailer below.

Here’s Clutch’s Barrier ability in action against Visor:

Clutch barrier quake champions characters

Quake Champions: Galena

Quake Champions galena

  • Name: Galena – Unholy Paladin.
  • Health (base/max): 100/100
  • Armour (base/max): 25/75
  • Speed: 280
  • Active ability – Unholy Totem: Galena’s primary ability lets her place a healing totem that gradually heals her and any teammates within its radius. Of course it wouldn’t be very Quake to have a straightforward healer character, so Galena’s Unholy Totem also deals lethal damage to any enemy Champion that crosses its path.
  • Cooldown: 40 seconds
  • Passive ability – Channeling: this passive ability lets Galena redeploy her Unholy Totem by chipping a fraction off its cooldown timer with every health bubble walked over.
  • Quake debut: Galena is a new character and is making her debut appearance in Quake Champions.

Here’s some official background lore for Galena. “At just 4 years old, Galena was given to the Celebrants of Volkerh, talon-priests who shaped her into a powerful weapon. From then on, she lived in the Dreamlands. By watching and imitating her elders, Galena learned from a young age that blood is judgment and penance is sacrifice.

“Now she has grown strong, and no soul in the Arena is safe from her wrath.”

There’s also a trailer for Galena now, so you can see the Unholy Paladin at her fragging best. Watch it below.

Here’s her Unholy Totem in action:

quake champions galena

Quake Champions: Sorlag

Quake Champions sorlag

  • Name: Sorlag – Sorg Flesh-trader.
  • Health (base/max): 150/150
  • Armour (base/max): 50/100
  • Speed: 270
  • Active ability – Acid Spit: Sorlag’s Acid Spit primary ability was shown off at PAX East 2017, and as the name suggests, it lets the player shoot acid at their foes – it’s incredibly useful for ground control and locking down pickups. Sorlag will get her very own reveal trailer and lore insight on 24 May 2017.
  • Cooldown: 40 seconds
  • Passive abilities – Bunny Hop: when jumping forward Sorlag moves farther than other Champions. Acid Fiend:we’re still not sure what this passive adds to Sorlag’s formidable arsenal, but judging by the name it has something to do with her active ability.
  • Quake debut: Sorlag is a returning character from Quake III Arena.

Quake Champions: Slash

Quake Champions characters Slash

  • Name: Slash – Roller Queen.
  • Health (base/max): 100/100
  • Armour (base/max): 0/25
  • Speed: 310
  • Active ability – Plasma Trail: Slash’s Plasma Trail primary ability lets her leave a damaging electric trail behind her wherever she goes for a few seconds. This can be used to cut off pathways or deter other players from chasing her. Better still, Slash can trigger that trail to explode on a whim, killing anything caught in its wake. It’s the ideal ability for shaking enemies off you tail or taking control of key map points.
  • Cooldown: 30 seconds
  • Passive ability – Crouch Slide: Slash’s passive ability lets her drop to her knees while running without losing any speed – this makes her a smaller target, but also temporarily boosts her turn speed allowing her to surprise tailing players.
  • Quake debut: Slash is another Quake III Arena favourite and is making her sophomore appearance in Quake Champions.

Here’s the official background lore for Slash. “It was her grandmother’s music box. Its tiny ice-skater twirled to Swan Lake. She loved it. She couldn’t sleep without hearing its tune. Then she heard it in her dreams. Then always. She would become a skater herself. She would twirl and twirl until the music stopped. But it never stopped. She began to see dark, spidery things. When the clozapine didn’t help, she turned to heroin. In the shooting gallery she met Anarki. He saw things, too. They became inseparable, until the things they saw became real.”

Bethesda have also seen fit to give Slash her very own Champion trailer, which you can watch below.

Here’s a snippet of her Plasma Trail ability in action:

quake champions slash plasma trail

What other former Quake characters would you like to see in the game? Let us know in the comments below.