The Elder God Shrine is the third level of The Elder World. Apart from several more common rooms and corridors, this level has two distinguishable features - a Zombie-infested graveyard and a large maze-like area entirely made in the Wizard level theme. There are several Movable Walls that can be opened inside the maze, creating shortcuts to previously visited areas.
The player must search for the Silver Key and Gold Key in order to proceed. This level brings back the Fiend, Scrag, and Zombie; and also introduces the Spawn. On the hardest skill, this level contains the most enemies in Quake. This level is also extremely long, with passageways spanning great distances. The name is a reference to the Elder Gods of Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, a race of ancient beings who are fighting against the anarchist Great Old Ones (such as Cthulhu).
The "Hydro" sound, usually reserved for idBase Elevators, play for some of the Doors in this level.
Quick Level Completion
- Shoot the window to open the door behind you.
- Go through the door to the right and hit the Button behind the ramp.
- Return and go through the newly opened door in the center room.
- Drop into the shrine and swim to the graveyard.
- Follow the corridor to the left to a Teleporter.
- Once through, go up the Elevator straight ahead.
- At the top, follow the corridor to the left to an intersection.
- Take the left corridor, then take the far corridor at the next intersection.
- Collect the Silver Key and return to the Silver Door.
- Once through, follow the corridor to an alcove with the Gold Key.
- Return to the Gold Door and go through to reach the Arch.
Walkthrough
E4M3 - The Elder God Shrine
Collect the two 15 Health, one to the left and one to the right of the start. Kill the Fiend straight ahead, and collect the Nails and 100 Health. Shoot the window to open the Door behind you. Enter the next room and collect the Shells, two Nails, and Quad Damage. This room serves as a main intersection. Go through the right door as the Doors to the right and straight ahead are locked. Kill the Ogre at the top of the ramp, and the 2 Knights to the side. Collect a 15 Health by the doorway, Shells and 25 Health to the right, and Nails and 25 Health to the left. Collect the Nails in the space behind the ramp. Collect the Green Armor at the top of the ramp, Nails to the left, and Shells to the right. The upper level also contains 2 Doors, which open later in the level to return to this room. Press the Button on the lower floor behind the ramp to open the Door straight ahead from the main intersection. Kill the 4 Knights that spawn after the Button is pressed, and return to the main intersection. Collect the Nails past the door and kill the 2 Scrags. Drop down to the lower floor and turn around to kill an Ogre. Collect the two 25 Health, Shells, and Nails under the platform that you jumped off. Jump onto the shrine of Water, and dive into it. Swim forward and rise onto dry land in a graveyard. Turn right and collect a 15 Health. An open grave in the right corner of this section of the graveyard has a Grenade Launcher. As you do this however, 6 Zombies will raise in this section of the graveyard. Return to the start and go straight to another section with a Quad Damage and 4 Zombies. Return to the start, and kill 4 Zombies that have spawned to the left. Continue to the far left to a mound with a 100 Health. 3 Zombies spawn as the 100 Health is collected. To the left you may start to head more forwards, which as you start to do, kill the Zombie and collect the Rockets in an alcove to the right. Collect the Rockets at the end, and kill the 2 Zombies to the right by a Teleporter leading out of the graveyard.
Collect the Shells to the left, and the Rockets to the right. Kill the Scrag straight ahead to open the Door behind you, which is the Door to the left of the main intersection. Dive into the Water and collect the Nails and a 25 Health to the right, as well as Rockets and 25 Health to the left. Go up the Elevator found in the middle of the Water. At the top collect the Quad Damage to the right by the Silver Door. The windows here are fake walls, and can be walked through into small alcoves (#1). To the left is a 25 Health by the Door leading to the next corridor. Collect the Shells and start heading down the corridor. Eventually you will reach a Door to the left, which leads to an alcove overlooking the start on the left side containing Rockets. Continue down the previous corridor and collect Shells at the end by an intersection to the left and right. Turn right and kill the Knight. Follow the right corridor to a room with a Button on the opposite side wall (#2). Get on the Elevator and drop as it starts to rise to find a Teleporter underneath leading to a platform overlooking the Silver Door room (#3). Return to the intersection in the long corridors and follow the left hallway. To the right is the Gold Door, and windows by the side allowing you to look into the Arch room. Kill the Ogre in the room, and collect Rockets by the Gold Door. Continue to the end of the corridor and collect the Nails at the intersection. Kill the Fiend to the right.
Turn to the left at the end and collect the Shells in the next corridor. Turn left into the next corridor and collect the Yellow Armor. The Wall to the right opens to reveal an alcove with 4 Zombies, 15 Health, 25 Health, and the Ring of Shadows. Continue down the corridor to a hallway to the left, leading to the left of the last intersection with Nails in between. Follow the corridor of the last intersection and collect the Nails at the end. Turn left to access a door leading to an alcove overlooking the start on the right side containing a 100 Health. Return to the Yellow Armor corridor and continue to the end. To the left is a new explosive enemy called the Spawn. The Door to the left is the right door of the ramp room, and returns you to the ramp room if you have any need to go back. Instead follow the corridor to the right and collect a 15 Health. Turn left and start to walk down the next corridor on the far right wall, as the Floor will start to move as you walk across, dropping you into the Lava if you are not fast enough getting across. Kill the 2 Knights, one to the left and one to the right, at the end. Collect the Grenade Launcher in the middle of the room, 25 Health and Rockets to the left, as well as a 25 Health and Nails to the right. A Door has opened in the middle revealing an alcove with the Silver Key. Return to the Silver Door and go through it. Turn right at the end of the corridor and kill the 2 Knights. As you start down the corridor, turn to the right to a 15 Health and a Spawn. As you continue down the corridor, collect the Gold Key and kill a Knight. Turn right at the end, and follow the corridor to a Door, the right door of the ramp room. Return to the Gold Door and kill the Scrag beside it. Open the Gold Door and kill the Ogre in the final room. Exit by the Arch.
Differences from Easy to Normal
- 2 Knights don't spawn in ramp room when Button is pushed
- Fiend spawns in main intersection when Door to shrine room is opened
- Fiend spawns in main intersection a half a minute after Door to shrine room is opened
- A half a minute after Fiend dies in main intersection, 2nd Fiend spawns
- A half a minute after 2nd Fiend dies in main intersection, 3rd Fiend spawns
- 2nd Ogre under platform of shrine room
- Zombie to left of graveyard start
- 4th and 5th Zombie spawn when 100 Health is taken
- 2nd Zombie in right alcove of graveyard
- 3rd and 4th Zombie at exit of graveyard
- Fiend works, spawns at exit of graveyard
- 2nd Scrag in Silver Door room spawns after Scrag dies
- After 2nd Scrag in Silver Door room dies 3rd and 4th Scrag spawn
- After 3rd and 4th Scrag in Silver Door room dies 5th and 6th Scrag spawn
- Spawn at doorway to left alcove over start
- Knight to left of first intersection of long corridor
- 3rd and 4th Zombie in (#2)
- 2nd Ogre by Arch
- Fiend to left of parallel hallways entrance in lower hallway
- Spawn to right of end of upper hallway of parallel hallways
- Fiend replaces 2 Knights by Silver Key
- 3rd Knight in hallway to Gold Key
- 2nd and 3rd Knight by Gold Key
- 2nd and 3rd Scrag by Gold Door after Gold Key collected
- 2nd Ogre by Arch after Gold Key collected
Differences from Normal to Hard/Nightmare
- 2nd Fiend in starting room
- 3rd Nails in main intersection
- 2nd and 3rd Ogre on upper floor of ramp room
- 3rd and 4th Knight return in ramp room when Button is pushed
- A half a minute after 3rd Fiend dies in main intersection, 4th Fiend spawns
- A half a minute after 4th Fiend dies in main intersection, 5th Fiend spawns
- A half a minute after 5th Fiend dies in main intersection, 6th Fiend spawns
- A half a minute after 6th Fiend dies in main intersection, 7th Fiend spawns
- 3rd Ogre under platform of shrine room
- 2nd Zombie to left of graveyard start
- Zombie to right of graveyard start
- 3 Zombies spawn to left of graveyard start when Grenade Launcher is taken
- After 5th and 6th Scrag in Silver Door room dies 7th and 8th Scrag spawn
- After 7th and 8th Scrag in Silver Door room dies 9th and 10th Scrag spawn
- After 9th and 10th Scrag in Silver Door room dies 11th and 12th Scrag spawn
- Shells by Door leading to long corridor
- 2nd Knight to left and 2nd Knight to right of first intersection of long corridor
- Scrag in (#2)
- Spawn to left of parallel hallways entrance in lower hallway
- Fiend behind Wall that moves when Yellow Armor in upper hallway of parallel hallways is collected
- Shells to left of parallel hallways entrance in lower hallway
- 2 Knights by Silver Key return
- Quad Damage in right alcove after Silver Door
Secrets
| Secrets | ||
|---|---|---|
| (#1) |  |
The Silver Door room has 2 windows that can be walked through to collect a 25 Health in each, or two 25 Health total. |
| (#2) |  |
Press the Button on the opposite side of the square room's entrance of the long corridors. As the room lowers, kill the 2 Zombies. Collect the Green Armor, Shells, Double-Barrelled Shotgun, Nails, and Quad Damage. Take the Elevator in the middle of the room, and press the Button at the top to open a Wall to the square room. |
| (#3) |  |
Drop off the Elevator of (#2) as it rises to find a Teleporter underneath leading to a platform overlooking the Silver Door room. Collect the two 25 Health, Rockets, Nails, and Red Armor. |
Enemies
| Type | Count | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | Normal | Hard/Nightmare | ||
| Zombie | 26 | 34 | 39 | |
| Knight | 12 | 12 | 18 | |
| Scrag | 4 | 11 | 18 | |
| Spawn | 2 | 4 | 5 | |
| Ogre | 4 | 7 | 10 | |
| Fiend | 2 (3) | 9 | 15 | On Easy skill level a Fiend doesn't spawn. |
| Total | 50 (51) | 77 | 105 | |
Glitches
- In Deathmatch, the text saying the window must be shot in the start room still appears.
- On Easy, a Fiend at the exit of the graveyard cannot spawn as 2 Zombies are in same spot, plus there is a missing trigger.
- It is possible, but difficult, to use the side ledges beside the starting window to access the alcoves overlooking the starting room.
- It is possible to perform a Grenade Jump from the Silver Door room to access (#3).
Deathmatch
E4M3 - The Elder God Shrine (Deathmatch)
Differences
- Nailgun in starting room
- No 100 Health in starting room
- Only 2 Nails in main intersection, and no Quad Damage
- Double-Barrelled Shotgun by Button in ramp room
- Ring of Shadows in shrine room
- Nailgun in right alcove of graveyard
- Grenade Launcher by silver doorway
- 2 Cells in (#2)
- Thunderbolt at (#3)
- Super Nailgun in upper hallway of parallel hallways
- Floorplate moves Floor over Lava
- Thunderbolt replaces Silver Key, Quad Damage in left alcove, and Ring of Shadows in right alcove
- Rocket Launcher replaces Gold Key
- Ring of Shadows in right alcove after silver doorway
- Rocket Launcher by Arch
Spawn Locations
- By Button in ramp room
- Right alcove overlooking starting room
- Silver doorway room
- Platform overlooking shrine room
Differences in Quake 64
- In the ramp room with knights and ogres, there is a secret button hidden behind the ramp. This opens a door in (#3) which reveals the portal exit to E4M8: The Nameless City since E4M5: Hell's Atrium is not present in Quake 64.
Screenshots
Pre-release
External Links
| E4M2: The Tower of Despair | Quake Levels | E4M4: The Palace of Hate |