A guide to Quake Champions after its September 2026 switch from free-to-play to a one-time purchase: what changed, champions, weapons and item control, movement, modes and ranked, settings, and how to actually improve.
Researched September 2026 — current as of the 1.31 Point Release (23 September 2026), following Season 30 (June 2026). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.
Big change (23 September 2026): Update 1.31 moved Quake Champions from free-to-play to a paid application on Steam. All Champions are unlocked for everyone, most vanity content is available to equip, and the Battle Pass, store, microtransactions, Platinum and Shard currencies, loot boxes, daily login rewards, weekly/event challenges, and the Champion shard progression path were removed. id Software says no additional content updates are planned at this time. If you previously played on Steam, the new version appears in your library at no extra cost. Multiplayer, ranked, and the Golden Crown ranked rewards remain.
| Before | After 1.31 |
|---|---|
| Free-to-play with Battle Pass and store | Paid on Steam; existing Steam players get it free |
| Champions unlocked with Shards/Platinum or a pack | All Champions unlocked |
| Cosmetics from Battle Pass, store, loot | Most vanity available to equip via Customization |
| Daily/weekly challenges and login rewards | Removed |
| Seasonal content updates | No further content updates planned |
Notes from the patch:
Every Champion has a unique active ability, passive abilities, and different health, armor, and movement characteristics. Light Champions are fast but fragile; heavy Champions are tanky but slower.
| Champion | Active ability | Style |
|---|---|---|
| Ranger | Dire Orb (fire an orb, then teleport to it) | Well-rounded; great for learning |
| Visor | Piercing Sight (see enemies through walls) | Information, hitscan aim |
| Anarki | Injection (heal) | Light, strong air control |
| Nyx | Ghost Walk (brief invulnerable phase) | Light, wall jump (Controls+) |
| Slash | Plasma Trail | Light, crouch-sliding speed |
| Athena | Mobility-focused kit | Light; max ground speed capped at 750 ups (Season 28) |
| Scalebearer | Bull Rush (charge that damages on contact) | Heavy, bruiser |
| Clutch | Deployable shield | Heavy; dodges including single-tap dodge and a 3-dodge stamina system (Season 28) |
| Sorlag | Acid Spit | Area denial |
| Galena | Unholy Totem (trap totems) | Map control around items |
| BJ Blazkowicz | Dual Wield | Brawler; gains a bit of ammo when activating Dual Wield (Season 28) |
| Doom Slayer | Berserk | Double jump (Controls+); Blood Punch health drops in Berserk (Season 26) |
| Keel | Grenade Swarm | Spam and zone control |
| Strogg & Peeker | Drone-based ability (Peeker) | Scouting and pressure |
| Death Knight | Fire-based area ability | Aggressive area damage |
| Eisen | Deployable turret | Defensive setups |
Movement numbers changed in Season 28: medium and heavy Champions got base movement speed increased to 320 ups, with max ground speeds of 650 (medium) and 600 (heavy). Light Champions Athena and Nyx were capped at 750 max ground speed.
| Goal | Pick |
|---|---|
| Learn fundamentals | Ranger |
| Easy information advantage | Visor |
| Aggressive brawling | BJ Blazkowicz, Scalebearer |
| High-skill movement | Anarki, Slash, Nyx |
| Weapon | Role | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Gauntlet | Melee | Humiliation kills; last resort |
| Machine Gun / Heavy Machine Gun | Hitscan chip damage | Mid-range follow-up |
| Shotgun / Super Shotgun | Close burst | Pairs well with rocket jumps into an enemy |
| Nailgun / Super Nailgun | Projectile stream | Lead your target |
| Lightning Gun | Tracking hitscan | Strongest mid-range DPS if you track well |
| Rocket Launcher | Splash, rocket jumps | Aim at feet, not bodies |
| Railgun | Precision hitscan | Long sightlines; slow refire, so make each shot count |
| Tri-bolt | Explosive bolts | Bank shots and splash |
Combos to learn: Rocket into Rail, Rocket into Shotgun, Rail then LG.
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Mega Health | Biggest single swing in a duel; always time it |
| Heavy Armor | The other big control item |
| Light Armor / Armor shards | Top-ups between big items |
| Health bubbles | Small top-ups |
| Quad Damage | Multiplies damage; changes team fights |
| Protection | Reduces incoming damage |
Timing rule: after a big item is picked up, note the time and plan to be near its spawn when it returns. In ranked Tourney-style modes, item timers may be hidden, so you need to track them yourself.
| Mode | Summary |
|---|---|
| Duel | 1v1; the purest test of item control |
| Deathmatch (FFA) | Chaos; good for warming up |
| Team Deathmatch | Team item control and trades |
| Clan Arena | Round-based, spawn with full stack, no pickups |
| Capture the Flag | Objective; movement and timing |
| Sacrifice | Team objective mode |
| Unholy Trinity | Solo mode (from the store description) |
| Arena Kings | Arena rounds (re-added to Ranked in January 2025) |
Custom games gained options in Season 25: Force Champion, starting weapons, weapon respawn time, active abilities toggles, max health/armor on spawn, Instagib, and more. CTF Tourney and TDM Tourney modes also exist for competitive setups.
Season 29 set these ranking tiers (skill rating):
| Tier | Rating |
|---|---|
| Bronze | 1-599 |
| Silver | 600-1099 |
| Gold | 1100-1599 |
| Diamond | 1600-2099 |
| Elite | 2100+ |
Community-favorite maps include Blood Run, Corrupted Keep, Deep Embrace, Molten Falls, The Longest Yard, Crucible, Burial Chamber, and Cursed Soul. Learn one duel map deeply rather than all of them loosely: where Mega and Heavy Armor spawn, the rocket-jump shortcuts, and the safe sightlines.
Duel is where most improvement happens, and the habits carry into every other mode.
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| Opening spawn | Grab the nearest weapon and armor, then move toward the major item that spawns first instead of hunting your opponent |
| You're ahead (more stack) | Control the next major item, take safe trades, and don't chase into their spawn area |
| You're behind | Break line of sight, collect small health and armor on the way, and ambush the route they take to the next major item |
| Major item about to spawn | Arrive a few seconds early, pre-fire with splash, and make them come to you |
| Even stack, open room | Keep moving, fight at your Champion's best range, and disengage the moment the trade turns |
Habits that win duels:
| Setting | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| FPS | Uncap (limit unlocked January 2025) or cap to your monitor's refresh rate plus headroom |
| Graphics | Low detail, picmip where available, for visibility |
| Enemy colors | Bright, high-contrast |
| Sensitivity | Low enough to track with Lightning Gun smoothly |
| Controls+ | Bind special movement for Doom Slayer, Nyx, Clutch |
Season 30 included network code updates aimed at reducing packet loss.
Is Quake Champions still free? No. As of the 1.31 update on 23 September 2026 it is a paid game on Steam. If you played it on Steam before, you get the new version at no additional cost.
Is Quake Champions shutting down? No shutdown was announced. The update says no additional content updates are planned; multiplayer and ranked remain.
Are all Champions unlocked? Yes, all Champions are unlocked for everyone after 1.31.
What happened to my Platinum and Shards? Both currencies were removed along with the store; most cosmetics are now available to all.
Can I still get Golden Crowns? Yes, by reaching Elite rank. They are hidden until unlocked.
Which Champion is best for beginners? Ranger for fundamentals; Visor for information.