Weapons... they are well what quake 3 itself and all first person shooters are obviously based on, but using them affectively and knowing the weapons like the back of your hand is something that alot of people tend to ignore. But when you are looking at everyway to help improve your gameplay you need to learn every detail about how the game works in a way you could say you are trying to run before you have learned the walk.
So the point of this article is to fill in the gap of your knowledge and give some pretty detailed information about the weapons (thanks kr-misery) and how they can be best used in various situations, enough talk lets get into it !
Weapon Statistics
Below I will list all of the weapons in quake 3 with there damages, reload times plus spawn times. And of course a little picture so just to make sure you know what they look like =).
Weapon Spawn Times
TDM: 30 seconds
CTF/FFA/1on1: 5 seconds
Through your game play you have probably noticed that not every gun does every job and even some guns have a greater advantage at certain ranges and or situations, in this section I will go into abit of this. Gauntlet
At very close range this can be a deadly weapon if you can hit your opponent so unless you are desprite or out of ammo or just wanting to shame your opponent try not to use this as it can leave you a sitting duck even at close range if your enemy bounces you around with a rocket launcher so use it wisely and it can be a deadly weapon. One other good note I will make is this is good to ambush players just outside teleporters such as on q3dm13 below the red armor waiting through there can suprised and really hurt your opponent.
Machine Gun
This along with the gauntlet are the only weapons you start with when you respawn, so in many cases you will find yourself using this weapon alot, but even after gaining other weapons it can still be very usful. Why may ask... well for one it is a fast firing weapon which is almost instant hitting and can cause a steady stream of damage. Although it not be so good at taking down the pumped up opponents it is a very usful weapon at taking them considerably down or fighting off a enemy just enough for you to get armor or control of a game.
In other situations when you have taken down your enemy alot sometimes it can be rather hard finishing off your enemy in alot of cases this can seperated the good from the best and a win from a loss, so when this occurs the machine gun is a perfect gun because of its near instant hitting so you can use it even at range to finish those chickens off and help stamp control over the level.
Shotgun
By many the shotgun is rather underated which is definatly not deserved to be placed on this weapon, if used correctly can be very usful. How to use it you may ask well the shotgun unlike any of the other weapons works differently as the range decreases between the player and the target the damage increase plus it is more accurate and again like the machine gun can be very good at finishing off players at medium to close range but also VERY good at taking someone highly pumped up down very fast in only a few shots.. but do not get to cocky with this weapon so give yourself alittle room for pellets missing, or your shot missing etc again before I move on I must stress this guns usfulness at close range.
Grenade Launcher
This weapon is abit of a wierd one, it is a very inaccurate weapon with small variations in its true direction and its rather high bounce, but with its high damage if you get a direct hit can cause a quick and large amount of damage. Also because of the relative damage, rate of fire and randomness can be good for "spamming" your trail and maybe keeping the enemy off your tail just enough to get away or protect a item from the enemy until you can grab something before running in.
Rocket Launcher
Well this weapon is a pretty versatile weapon. It can range from long range weapon to keep the enemy away or distract them from aiming the rail effiectivly, to covering your ass when fleeing or just general rape with its good damage, splash damge and speed of the fire rate. When aiming this weapon it is best to try not to aim at the player themselfs but more so at walls and the ground below the player as aiming directly at the players head makes it alot easier to dodge and it is better to do some damage than none this also helps to put the other player off and helping your attack to gain the advantage over the opponent. Also one other note with this weapon with the relatively large splash damage there has been a widely known bug that the rocket launchers splash damage can get through small platforms and can be very usful when attacking from below because while you maybe in cover the enemy is not safe if you have the suitable area and tracked the enemy while confusing the enemy as he/she looks around to try and know where you are shooting from giving you a advantage when stalking your prey.
Lightening Gun
Probably one of the most obsecure weapons in Q3 and if used correctly can be very effective. Using it well is another matter, probably the best way to lock on so to speak is to use a technique known as straft aiming, this basically means use the mouse to get the general height etc and use the staft keys to keep you in line, this way is alot more steady and can be if used right alot more accurate way of fighting. This weapon is generally most affect at a medium range as to close can leave you open to attacks from various weapons some which will make keep the beam on the enemy very difficult.
Rail Gun
The trusty rail gun, one of the most favoured weapons in the game as a proud way of a player to show off his aim and alot of the time this can get in the way of playing smart as it is not the best weapon for the job, it is a very good weapon at far range but as you get closer it becomes alot more dangerous to use as the risk to taking enemy damage increases with other weapons. This weapon is a very good way of getting back into the game with its high damage can put someone fully stocked down to very little and help bring you back into the game, for this purpose it is very usful.
Plasma Gun
Another of the very much underestimated weapons of the game, this gun can be very good for many different tasks, its damage if learned how to aim right can be deadly also with its fast firing rate and distracting balls of plasma can be very good against a railer and putting him off his or her aim on you giving you the chance to grab that armor, or escape but also as a general weapon this is best used at a close to medium range as the further you get away the easier it is to dodge but again it is still good to distract the enemy with.
BFG
Well this weapon an't really in any tdm or 1on1 maps used etc , but if you get the pleasure of using one of these babies in the game , you have a ultimate weapon of destruction , fast firing, high damage, high projectile speed, and blast radius make it a combo of many good weapons in the game, it just kicks ass =).
Weapon Switching
Many people have speculated about if there are any ways to speed up changing of weapons and alot calls have been made about players, to my knowledge there is nothing to do this but what I believe many of you may not know and may have tricked you is your speed of changing depends on a few things. IF you have fired the weapon and if it has reloaded, so in theory if you have a weapon that is reloaded you can change pretty much straight away, this is why firing a rail at close range is a gamble because you cannot change quickly but if you fired say a machine gun you can change pretty much straight away because of the quick reload.
Also for when walking around levels pick a weapon good for the area you are in, rail is generally better in wider areas and a rocket launcher for the more close in hall ways this way you are alot more prepared for that suprise that maybe lurking around any corner.
Conclusion
Well this is the end of the first part of the series of weapons, next article I will go into more which weapons are best against what are certain ranges and alittle plus a whole lot more until then.....
