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This article appeared in Quake II  

Q2 Weapon Hyper Blaster
Hyperblaster
Production information
Technical specifications
Damage Per Hit
  • 20 (SP)
  • 15 (MP)
Maximum Ammunition

200 rounds

Fire Mode

Automatic

Ammunition Type

Cells

Rate of Fire

10 shots per second

Usage
Era(s)

Quake II

[Source]
A hyper blaster is an energy chain gun with no spin up delay. Its high rate of fire is incredibly effective at destroying the enemy and depleting your energy cells.

—The Quake II Manual

In Quake II, the Hyperblaster (named Hyper Blaster in the manual) is a rapid-fire weapon that fires a stream of energy projectiles. Its overall damage output rivals that of the Chain Gun - it has a lower rate of fire than the Chain Gun spinning at full speed, but it deals more damage per unit of ammunition. However, it fires projectiles whereas the Chain Gun is a hitscan weapon. Incidentally, the Hyperblaster's rate of fire is the same as that of the Machine Gun, but it deals considerably more damage per shot.

Similar to the Chain Gun, the Hyperblaster has a "cool-down" delay that occurs after several repeated shots; after you stop firing, you'll be unable to use it for a few moments. So, while it is effective in sustained combat, a player can make themselves vulnerable if they stop firing prematurely, before enemies are defeated.

The Hyperblaster uses cells, therefore competing with the BFG10K and Power Shield for its ammunition.

Strategy[]

Single Player[]

  • The Hyperblaster is a good all-round weapon with a strong damage output and high rate of fire. It's useful for the same general scenarios in which you might use the Chain Gun. Compared to the Chain Gun, it isn't a hitscan weapon so it's less useful against smaller or moving targets, but it can deliver sustained continuous fire for longer - the full 300 bullets will be depleted by the Chain Gun in a little over ten seconds, whereas the full 300 cells would last thirty seconds of continuous hyperblaster fire. The overall damage output of the Chain Gun spinning at full speed is higher than the Hyperblaster, but not by much. The Hyperblaster also has the advantage of no spin-up delay, meaning it immediately starts delivering its full damage output whereas the Chain Gun takes around a second to spin up to full speed.
  • Its main downside is that it competes with the BFG10K and Power Shield for its ammunition, and cells are relatively uncommon, whereas bullets for the Chain Gun can be found more frequently. Once you have the BFG10K and Power Shield you might find you prefer to save your cells for those instead, and rely on the Chain Gun when a high-damage rapid-fire weapon is needed. However, the Hyperblaster does have some advantages over the BFG10K - notably, it is more ammo-efficient against individual targets. A single BFG10K shot can kill a Gladiator or anything weaker than that, but expends 50 cells to do so, whereas the Hyperblaster can kill that same Gladiator using only 20 cells. By the same token, it would take two BFG shots - i.e. 100 cells' worth - to kill a Tank, but the Hyperblaster can get the job done in 38 cells, less than would be expended by a single BFG shot. As a counter-argument, the BFG10K may become more ammo-efficient when firing at multiple targets at once.

Multiplayer[]

  • In MP, the Hyperblaster is able to cut down a target in no time, even if he has Body Armor, as it is able to bypass either all or a good part of an opponent's extra defenses. As usual, being able to predict where your enemy will be and good circle-strafing skills can turn this weapon into a beast.
  • If you're fighting somebody that has a Hyperblaster, try to make it so that they have to stop firing for a few seconds, such as getting out of his sight long enough so that he has to stop firing to prevent wasting ammo. When you don't hear him firing, go up and attack him. Hopefully you'll inflict enough damage to kill him. If not, he'll be weak enough for you to finish him off when he gets started.

Trivia[]

  • On the worldmodel, the carry handle on top is pointing backwards. The first-person model is pointing forwards.
  • In the PSX version of the game the hyperblaster has a different sound than the PC and N64 versions of the game. The sound is also used for the enemies that have blasters as weapons like the Icarus and Flyer.
  • As mentioned above, the Hyperblaster has the same rate of fire as the Machine Gun - ten shots per second. The Ground Zero mission pack introduces two new rapid-fire automatic weapons - the ETF Rifle and the Plasma Beam, both of which also have the same rate of fire. However, the Hyperblaster is the most powerful of the four, dealing 20 damage per shot - compared to 15 for the Plasma Beam, 10 for the ETF Rifle and 8 for the Machine Gun.
  • There are many instances where a particular weapon is available to both the player and the Strogg, but the player's version is more powerful. The Hyperblaster is the most extreme example of this; the player's Hyperblaster deals 20 damage per shot, whereas the Hyperblaster Guard in The Reckoning deals only 1 damage per shot (the same as the weapons fired by the Flyer and Technician, which also appear to be hyperblasters)

Gallery[]

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