Quake Champions: Complete Guide (Post-1.31, Paid Version)

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.

Quick Start

• Everything is unlocked now. Don't worry about grinding for Champions; pick the one that fits your movement style.
• Item control wins games, not aim alone. Mega Health and Heavy Armor timing decide duels and team fights.
• Learn strafe-jumping and bunny hopping. Speed is survival. Every Champion's movement is different (see below).
• Learn three weapons first: Rocket Launcher (splash and rocket jumps), Lightning Gun (tracking), Railgun (hitscan precision).
• Play the modes you enjoy, but practice in Duel or bots. Duel teaches item timing and positioning faster than anything else.
• Turn on the settings pros use. Uncap FPS (limit unlocked in January 2025), lower visual clutter, use enemy colors.
• Rank up for Golden Crowns. Reaching Elite (2100+ skill rating) earns that Champion's Golden Crown.
• Check Controls+. Special movement binds (Doom Slayer double jump, Nyx wall jump, Clutch single-tap dodge) live in the Controls+ menu.

What Changed in 1.31

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:

• Third-party and merit items (e.g., AMD Ruby Nyx, Twitch Rocket Launcher, Nvidia Pulsar Railgun, QuakeCon Belts, Golden Crowns) are hidden unless you already own them.
• Golden Crowns can still be earned by reaching Elite in ranked.
• Customization moved to the top navigation of the Main Menu.

Champions

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.

Good first picks

Goal | Pick

Learn fundamentals | Ranger

Easy information advantage | Visor

Aggressive brawling | BJ Blazkowicz, Scalebearer

High-skill movement | Anarki, Slash, Nyx

Weapons

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.

Items and Power-ups

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.

Modes

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.

Ranked

Season 29 set these ranking tiers (skill rating):

Tier | Rating

Bronze | 1-599

Silver | 600-1099

Gold | 1100-1599

Diamond | 1600-2099

Elite | 2100+

• Skill ratings and leaderboards have been reset multiple times (Seasons 28 and 29).
• Reaching Elite earns that Champion's Golden Crown; each Champion has its own crown.
• Spawn logic was updated in Season 29 to spread players out rather than favor spawns near teammates.

Maps

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 Fundamentals

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:

• Say the timers out loud (or in your head): "Mega at 2:35, Heavy at 2:50." When you pick up an item, add its respawn time immediately.
• Deny, don't just take. Picking up an item your opponent needs is often worth more than the stack itself.
• Know your Champion's stack. Light Champions have lower base health and armor, so item control matters even more for them.
• Watch replays of your losses and note where you were when each Mega spawned.

Team Modes

• TDM: stay together, trade kills, and rotate as a group between the big items. A lone player carrying Quad into three enemies is a gift.
• Clan Arena: there are no pickups, so every round is about positioning, damage trades, and not over-peeking. Focus-fire the lowest-health enemy.
• CTF: assign roles (carrier, escort, defense), and use rocket-jump and ability routes for fast flag runs.
• Sacrifice: a team objective mode built around capturing and holding; coordinate timing so your team pushes together instead of trickling in.

Settings

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.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Standing still. Stationary players eat rockets. Keep strafing.
• Ignoring items. Fighting without armor or health control means losing to average aimers.
• Using the Railgun at close range. Switch to Shotgun or LG.
• Chasing kills into bad positions. Disengage and take items instead.
• Neglecting abilities. Cooldowns are free advantages; use them.
• Only playing FFA. Duel and team modes teach much more.

Advanced Tips

• Rocket jump routes matter: learn one route per map that reaches Mega or Heavy Armor faster.
• Sound whoring: listen for item pickups and footsteps; it tells you what enemies have.
• Pre-fire corners with splash weapons.
• Trade intelligently in team modes: fight together, focus one target.
• Use custom games with bots to practice routes and movement.

FAQ

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.

Sources

• Quake Champions 1.31 Point Release (Steam news, 23 Sept 2026)
• Season 30 Update (Steam news, June 2026)
• Season 29 Update (Steam news, Feb 2026)
• Season 28 Update Notes (Steam news, Nov 2025)
• Seasons 26 and 27 Update Notes (Steam news, June 2025)
• 2025 Mid-Winter Update (Steam news, Jan 2025)
• Quake Champions Season 25 (Steam news, Dec 2024)
• Steam store page: Quake Champions