Dark Matter Gun

In Quake 4, the Dark Matter Gun is a very powerful Weapon that fires balls of Dark Matter that can kill most enemies in 1 hit and most stronger enemies in 2 hits. It can also deal large amounts of damage against bosses. When fired, the dark matter core slowly travels through the air, until it hits a wall. Most enemies will be sucked into the small black hole and killed off whilst larger enemies will take a second shot to kill. On contact with a wall, the Dark Matter will explode dealing damage to nearby enemy caught in the blast radius.

On the terms of blast on impact and slow projectile speed, it resembles a BFG10k from a previous installment of the series. The Dark Matter Gun appears to be another experimental Strogg weapon, as the mounted variant is used only by Makron and Stroggified Voss and the man-portable variant used by the player can be found only once throughout the game; you will find it on your first visit in Data Storage Terminal.

Single Player

 * In single player, the Dark Matter Gun is very effective against all types of enemies. It can kill multiple weak enemies in one shot, and can take down a medium or strong enemy in a few shots. When fighting strong enemies, make sure that the projectile has enough room between an enemy and the wall behind it, or the black hole will do little damage or not enough to kill.
 * The gun has a long and noticeable cool-off and reload period between shots, so be ready to hide or run if you fire and there are a lot of enemies in the room or just switch to other weapons, after the fight you can switch back and let it cool down and recharge, the recharge process will restart if interrupted.Shot00051.png
 * Ammo is rare, each core gives you 5 shots, so make sure to conserve it for strong enemies or groups of weak ones. Though its not necessary, the Dark Matter Gun should be saved for boss fights, especially in the final level, this weapon can make those difficult battles a little easier.
 * In large area or outdoors, this weapon require the direct hit to deal maximum damage, if you miss, the enemies can easily get out of the damage radius. The projectile travels a little slower than most others in game, thus is easy for the enemies to dodge at medium range. Wait and fire at your foe when they are close to maximize your chance, or get at close as you can to get a clear shot. In tight quarters or corridors however, this weapon is extremely effective, especially multiple foes are faced.

Multiplayer

 * Rate of fire is doubled in Multiplayer and the projectile travels significantly faster in cost of reduced damage. Still, the Dark Matter Gun user will be vulnerable to attack right after he fires the weapon.
 * In Multiplayer, the Dark Matter Gun can kill an unarmored and healthy player in one shot if it hits them or they absorb enough damage from the explosion. In addition, it can harm nearby enemies.
 * If you see someone with the Dark Matter Gun (though this is not common), try to go into an area that has a lot of places to hide. Similar to the effect of BFG10k, you will start taking damage as soon as you see the projectile. This will make it easier to hide from a Dark Matter blast, especially if you're trying to avoid the actual black hole. If you can see the projectile, you will most likely get hurt. After the enemy has fired and the black hole is gone, use the downtime between shots to attack the enemy with your strongest weapons, such as the Rocket Launcher or Railgun, use Lightning Gun if you are close enough.

Trivia

 * The Dark Matter Gun is the opposite of the BFG10K in terms of principle, as the BFG10K destroys everything in its path while the Dark Matter Gun sucks in everything and explodes on impact.
 * The Dark Matter Gun, along with Grenade Launcher and Blaster, are the only weapons that never receive upgrades.
 * Another weapon, which is very similar to its design is the Singularity Cannon from Red Faction Armageddon. Probably basing on this schematic during the development.
 * The Type-12 Pulse Weapon in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin has a very similar principle of killing its target; the projectile also sucks in enemies near it and explodes.