User blog:Vorknkx/Know your ammo!

Well, we did some good work on our Ammo pages today, so I decided to use the last vestiges of my hyperactive energy burst to do a little study on Quake's ammo types.


 * Shells - this is the first type of ammo encountered in the Quake series (since you start Q1 with a Shotgun) and probably the most common as well. Appears in all four games. Dates back to the days of Doom! Always used in shotguns and super shotguns.
 * Nails - Appears in two games (Q1, Q4), and two mission packs (TA and GZ, albeit under a different name). In Q1 they serve the purpose of bullets, while in the other three examples they pack more punch and are considered superior to ordinary bullets. Can acquire tracking properties in Q4. This type of ammo is unique to Quake and does not appear in other id Software series.
 * Bullets - Appears in Q2, Q3 and Q4. In Q1 is replaced by the Nails. Used in machine guns. In Q2 - also used in Chain Gun. Dates back to grand-daddy Wolf 3D (where bullets are the one and only type of ammo), also appear in Doom.
 * Rockets - Appears in all four games. Heavy boom inherited from Doom! In Q1 they also serve as grenades (same ammo for both weapons). In SoA they also serve as prox mines.
 * Grenades - An evolution of the rocket for the sake of realism. Used in Grenade Launchers. Appears in Q2, Q3 and Q4. Their function is taken by Rockets in Q1. In Q2 it can be used as a weapon in its own right (hand grenade) or as ammo in Grenade Launcher.
 * Cells - Always reserved for the big bad energy-based guns in Q1, Q2 and Q3. Powers up the Thunderbolt (lightning gun) in Q1, which gets its own kind of ammo in the sequels. Ammo for the Laser Cannon and Mjolnir in the SoA mission pack. In Q2 it is used in two weapons - hyperblaster (replaced by Batteries in Q4) and BFG (gets its own ammo type in Q3), as well as the Plasma Beam in the GZ mission pack. Also feeds Q2's energy armor. In Q3 - only for the plasma gun. Inherited from Doom (where it fuels the plasma gun and the BFG).
 * Slugs - Always used in Railguns. Q2, Q3 and Q4.
 * Prox - Appears only in two mission packs (GZ and TA). Used in Prox Launchers. Stick to surfaces and explode when someone walks nerby. Not present in SoA (Rockets fill this role). Can penetrate Invulnerability Shield in TA.
 * Lightning - An evolution of the Q1 Cell. Used only in lightning-based weapons (Q3 and Q4).
 * Battery - An evolution of the Q2 Cell. Used in Q4, for the Hyperblaster.
 * BFG Ammo - And another evolution of the Q2 Cell. Used only for the BFG in Q3.
 * Dark Matter Core - Appears only in Q4. Used only in the Dark Matter Gun.
 * Lava Nails - Only in DoE. An evolution of the basic Nails. More powerful and with additional sound effect.
 * Multi-Rockets - Only in DoE. An evolution of the Q1 rocket that creates a multiple shot. Also serves as multi-grenades (just like the basic Rocket).
 * Plasma Cell - Only in DoE. It is the "missing link" in the evolution of the Q1 Cell towards the Q2/Q3 Cell, the Q4 Battery, and the Lightning ammo type.
 * Mag Slugs - Only in TR. Used in Phalanx Launcher, which occupies the same slot as the Railgun.
 * Flechettes - Only in GZ. An evolution of the Nail. Practically the same thing, but with a different name and impact effects.
 * Chain Gun Ammo - Only in TA. An evolution of the basic Bullet. Used only in TA's Chain Gun.
 * The Trap - Only in TR. The weapon is its own ammo.
 * Tesla Mines - Only in GZ. The weapon is its own ammo.
 * Rounds - Only in GZ. LOCKED, accessible only via unofficial patches and/or mods. Ammo for the locked Disruptor weapon.

Weapons that don't use ammo - Axe (Q1), Blaster (Q2, Q4), Gauntlet (Q3, Q4) and Chainsaw (GZ).

I hope you enjoyed this geeky "study" :)

Feel free to suggest more interesting info in your comments.