Quake 2 also features several items and powerups that you'll need to use to stay alive. Armor and health are important for keeping you
whole, while some of the other powerups are important for progressing through levels or going on mass fragging sprees. Detailed info on
each type of item is presented below.

Health
Armor
Energy Armor
Silencer
Backpacks
Breather
Enviro-Suit
Quad Damage
Mega Health
Invulnerability

Health


Chances are, you're going to get hurt playing this game. Well, not you yourself, but your alter-ego Space Marine self. In order to repair
that kind of damage, you'll need to pick up health items, which are typically easy to recognize. First Aid packs are small boxes with red crosses on
them. They restore 10 health points each, up to a total of 100. Medkits are similar in appearance, but are slightly larger and restore 25 health points,
up to a total of 100. Stimpacks provide only one point of health each, but can be used to boost your health over the normal ceiling of 100, all the way
up to 200. Finally, Adrenaline packs boost your health a full 100 points, up to a maximum of 100.

Armor


Armor reduces, but does not eliminate, damage done by your foes and environmental hazards. It's indispensable to keep you alive,
and often means the difference between victory and defeat. Armor comes in four types. Armor shards boost your armor by one point each,
and can really add up. Flak Jackets provide 25 points to your armor rating. The yellow Combat Suits do much better than that at 100 points.
The red Body Armor is the holy grail of armor in Quake 2, providing you with a whopping 200 bullet-stopping points. Grab them whenever you can.

It's particularly important to keep the Body Armor out of opponents' hands, so if you find one while you still have a full 200 armor, do a little
damage to yourself (with a grenade of rocket), then swipe the armor. You'll be at a much greater advantage with it out of your opponents' reach.

Energy Armor


Energy Armor is a special type of armor that completely absorbs any attacks directed against you. As such, it represents a very
important powerup. However, the armor requires energy cells (the same ones that power your Hyperblaster and BFG 10k) to work, and
drains the cells whenever it absorbs damage from attacks. If you don't have cells to power the armor, you get no benefit from it. Also note
that you can toggle the activation of your Power Armor on and off with the "P" key by default. You might want to do this to save your cells for your weapons.

Silencer


The silencer is an item that will for a time mute the sounds of your weapons so that they are very difficult to hear. While not that important for
the single player game, this has strategic consequence for multiplayer as it keeps opponents from easily locating you by listening to where your
shots are coming from. Still, it's really not all that powerful, so don't put yourself in danger to acquire it.

Backpacks


Backpacks allow you to increase the maximum amount of ammunition you can carry. There's nothing more frustrating than having good
ammo lying all around you and not having any room in your inventory to stock up. Backpacks solve this problem and come in two types:
Bandoleers and Heavy Packs. The difference between the two is a matter of space --the Heavy Packs have more of it and allow you to carry
more than the Bandoleers. Sometimes in multiplayer games when an opponent gets fragged he/she/it will drop a Heavy Pack full of
different kinds of ammo. Snatch it up if you can.

Breather


Breathers allow you to breathe underwater for a period of time. Not too exciting, but good for keeping you alive for long
underwater treks. There are several points in the single player game at which the use of this item will be necessary to finish your mission.

Enviro-Suit


The Enviro-Suit will keep you from taking damage when slopping through toxic waste. Like the Breather, its use will
sometimes be necessary in the single player game, and sometimes it is required to get hard-to-reach weapons on some multiplayer maps.

Quad Damage


The Quad Damage is, without a doubt, the most sought-after item in the game. For a time, this artifact quadruples the damage all
your attacks do, turning a good player into an almost unstoppable fragging machine. You've got to move quickly when you get your
hands on one of these gems, though, since the effect wears off. You will also be marked with a glowing nimbus, which usually causes
people to run away from you as quickly as you can. Combine the Quad with the Chaingun or the BFG 10k if you have it to maximize your carnage.

Mega Health


The Mega Health spikes your health rating an incredible 100 points, up to a maximum of 200. This has obvious benefits, such as allowing you to take
quite a bit more damage before going down. Unfortunately, the effect wears off as you loose about 1 point of health a second until you tick down to
your regular maximum of 100. Make good use of it while you can.

Invulnerability


This incredibly rare item temporarily makes you completely immune to any attacks and environmental forces. As such, it is probably the most powerful item
in the game, and almost guarantees you a few good frags if you can get ahold of one. Beware, however, that the effect will eventually wear off. In addition, you
will be marked with a glowing nimbus that alerts other players to your godlike status and sends them running in every direction.