Xaero

 

Xaero
Biographical information
Physical description
Gender	Male (enhanced human)
Height	5'10" (1.78 m)
Weight	290 lbs. (131 kg)
Weapons	Railgun, Rocket Launcher, BFG10k
Equipment	Quad Damage, Invisibility
Additional information
[Source]

“	My soul for a true challenge!	”
—Xaero

Xaero is the final boss of Quake 3 Arena and among the most challenging bots in the game. Xaero watches over Arena Eternal, as it kills off the high ranking warriors and waiting for one to stand out to challenge him.

The player faces Xaero in Tier 7 (Tier Z) on its only map "The Very End of You" (q3tourney6), after completing the first 6 Tiers whilst competing with fellow hopefuls.

In all difficulty levels his reaction time is same and a bit below the average but it's still very quick for new players. He also gets mention as "Honored Master", "Mr.X", "Number 1", "Numero Uno", "Baldo" in chat lines. His shiny bald head and enhanced monk body harmonized with death itself.

Description

No warrior of the Arenas Eternal is more sure or more deadly than Xaero. Death and destruction is his mantra and through aeons of victories throughout the Arenas, he has become one with their echoing halls. Still awaiting the lesson of humility, Xaero will only ascend to the rank of Chosen, finding death match Nirvana when and if he finds someone worthy enough to vanquish him.

Strategies

As the last opponent in the eternal arena he is difficult to beat no matter what difficulty one is on. He is incredibly accurate so be wary when he picks up the Railgun like Klesk. Xaero has the same reaction time at all difficulties, but his accuracy and turning speed easily tops other bots. The number one rule to survival is to know exactly where Xaero is at all times. As soon as you make a kill, locate him as quickly as possible, allowing you to know where to hide as you plan your next attack.

• The best strategy to use but often looked down upon is the chicken method. Simply pick up the Railgun stay where you are and rail him. Listen to the respawn sound, and peek on Rocket Launcher spawn from time to time.
• When at the open and you're facing him, crouch and strafe when you feel like he's going to shoot his rail. Crouching in time and strafing opposite side with him; makes you a smaller target, therefore he'll most likely miss his shot and you can counter it afterwards. Better if you can take cover behind pillars.
• Try placing yourself between two pillars at your sides and take a look at the across platform when you fragged him. Retreat and stick close to pillars' behind when you locate him.
• When he rises to reach BFG platform or jump to the other side of the map, you can sneak upon the Megahealth (2 min spawn timer) at the middle of the map by a shuttle platform, or another important item. However that's a very risky attempt at harder difficulties but not impossible. Player have to take a good acceleration and time the moving platform to be a middle stepping stone on their double hop as they attempt a strafe-jump to the Megahealth.
• Two important items spawn in a row at the middle of the map between two gigantic platform; Heavy Armor and Personal Teleporter every 30 seconds. Use air steering (plain strafing to the sides without trying to backpedal or move forward) in an attempt to gather them or Xaero might blow you away to your hazardous death. Try to deny him on mid-air.
• When newly respawned if you keep BFG10k platform closed by shooting the switch, he'll be forced to jump towards you. When that happens, simply go to the other side and continue shooting him.
• As you choke fire at the hovering Heavy Armor/PT spawn in the midst of the arena with a Rocket Launcher, he'll rise for BFG10k instead where you can crush him.
• If he respawn near or jump closer with accelerator pad, simply grab the Railgun then fall to the RL side of the platform to bait him.
• When he's close, use Rocket Launcher to keep him away from Railgun spawn. Don't be afraid to choke fire to weaken him. Do the finishing touch with Railgun or Rocket Launcher.
• If he got his hands on BFG10k stay away from him. You can even try to rise for the BFG after he got it or attempt to pickup more important items. He has a relatively low accuracy with BFG10k; he will always aim directly at you instead of leading the shot or hitting the platform switch until he runs outta ammo with it.
• If he's at the across platform and you're newly respawned, it's wise to evade a direct faceoff and position yourself at the other end of the platform. From a rear angle, middle row pillars will cover a wider area and can be abused to fake your movement better. Stutter steps behind pillar corners can bait him into missing and both accelerator pads provide cover when choke firing. At close combat he can't lead his rail shots quick enough if you circle strafe him fast.
• When he's using his Machine Gun; Xaero is pretty accurate with it too. Instead of trying to get a clear shot with Railgun from up close you better take cover behind a pillar then take your next action according to the situation.
• When he respawns behind you, he'll generally sneaks upon RL spawn but he can try to a surprise attack from your behind by picking up Railgun, keep an eye on the RG spawn always. Leaving him Railgun as you bounce across gets you a shot on your back.

Trivia

• All the bots in Quake III Arena are based on Gladiator Bots of Quake 2, back in the day. It's presumed that Xaero is based on bot Zero, from Gladiator Bots.
• Crash mentions him in her chatlines to prank the player, besides Doom.
• After the player defeats him, a small endgame cutscene is shown about how Xaero finally ascended.