The Stack — Game Guide

In Basics of Play, we introduced you to the concept of always gearing up before fights so that you stand a better chance to survive. Here we hope to teach you HOW to gear up and introduce you to the health and armor pick-ups that will keep you alive.

While aim plays an important role in Quake Champions, sometimes surviving comes down to who was most prepared for the fight. Suppose you encounter an enemy with equal skill; what may ultimately set you apart from your opponent is what we call your stack. A player's stack is comprised of their total health and armor combined, defining how much damage they can take before being fragged. Let’s take a look at the most important items to pick up to maintain a healthy stack and ensure that you are ready for combat.

If at any time you’re wounded, seek out the nearest health. All health pick-ups are blue. These Small Health pick-ups are readily available throughout the arena. They restore one container, and respawn 15 seconds after pick-up.

There is almost always one nearby, so try to refill your health between or even during fights – but beware, your opponent will also know the temptation and may be baiting you to pick up the item. Try not to enter fights if you are low on health.

Health


	To have the upper hand, you want to be sure to locate, pick up, and control the Mega Health. When you pick up a Mega Health, four health containers will be restored, increasing your health by up to 100 points, including up to three containers above your max health. However, any additional health that the Mega Health grants you above your max health is temporary and will slowly decay, so make use of that extra health and play more aggressively. Mega Health respawns in 30 seconds, so pay attention to when you picked up the Mega Health to determine when the next one will become available.

To have the upper hand, you want to be sure to locate, pick up, and control the Mega Health. When you pick up a Mega Health, four health containers will be restored, increasing your health by up to 100 points, including up to three containers above your max health. However, any additional health that the Mega Health grants you above your max health is temporary and will slowly decay, so make use of that extra health and play more aggressively. Mega Health respawns in 30 seconds, so pay attention to when you picked up the Mega Health to determine when the next one will become available.

Armor


	The other half of your stack is your armor. Unlike health, a player never spawns with full armor, so you can immediately begin picking up armor after you spawn. All armor items are green and come in three forms. Light Armor will restore one armor container, and respawns in 30 seconds. More importantly, a suit of Heavy Armor will restore four armor containers, increasing your armor rating by up to 100 points, including up to three containers above your max armor. Like the Mega Health, the Heavy Armor is a major item with a 30 second respawn time.

The other half of your stack is your armor. Unlike health, a player never spawns with full armor, so you can immediately begin picking up armor after you spawn. All armor items are green and come in three forms. Light Armor will restore one armor container, and respawns in 30 seconds. More importantly, a suit of Heavy Armor will restore four armor containers, increasing your armor rating by up to 100 points, including up to three containers above your max armor. Like the Mega Health, the Heavy Armor is a major item with a 30 second respawn time.

Lastly, following combat, each fallen combatant will drop three Armor Shards. Armor Shards provide 5 armor points each, a small boost to your armor pool to provide you a bit of protection and reward for your success in combat. Even when you are already at max armor, Armor Shards can also be collected to increase your armor stack, granting you temporary protection, much like the Heavy Armor – so try to get in a habit of collecting those armor shards.

Each arena has at least one Mega Health and one Heavy Armor. Players who learn the location of these items, and when they respawn, guarantee themselves a healthier stack, and a great deal more success in combat.