Getting Started

Regardless if you're a player new to first person shooters entirely or a seasoned Quake veteran, the following advice is helpful for a fresh install:

• Rebind your weapons to keys that are quickly and easily accessible.
• Adjust your graphics settings for visibility and stable performance.
• A small difference in skill and knowledge can mean a large point difference on the scoreboard.

Gameplay

To introduce some terminologies of the game, an in-control player is the player who has the advantage in fights and is controlling the points of interest in the game. The out-of-control player is the disadvantaged player. The victor is not always the one with the superior aim, but typically the one who can use the map to his or her advantage.

Common Server Categories

There are various configurations and game modes available. Thus, it can be easy to get the wrong impression of what the game is about because of various custom settings in place by a server administrator. The following section introduces two configurations that best represent Xonotic then two popular categories.

Standard Settings

Xonotic's default settings, i.e Normal Servers category on the server browser, have no conditions and limits on picking up items and typically only have the core selection of weapons. This setting is appropriate for most game modes except Duel (1v1) and Race CTS . It is considered an approachable gateway for players new to arena shooters; however because of the lack of restrictions on item pick ups and the presence of power ups, it is biased towards the in-control player in matches with a small amount of players. Although it is considered the Official setting, it is not used for tournaments and events.

XPM (Xonotic Pro Mode)

The common setting on Duel servers- XPM places conditions on when health and armor items can be picked up. Health and armor can only be increased above 100 by quantities of 5 (shards) and 100 (Megas). In Duel, power-ups such as Strength is disabled for fairness to the out-of-control player, but for other modes such as Team Deathmatch, it may be available.

XDF (Xonotic DeFrag)

A movement focused mode that lifts the speed limit and permits the player to accelerate as fast as the game physics and their skills permit. Additionally, the physics are modified to give a stronger feedback on bread-and-butter techniques such as strafe jumping, and to deincentivize simply holding jump and forward. Typically, instead of explicit competition, players seek to improve their best times.

Instagib + Hook

A mutator where gameplay is centric around two weapons, the Vaporizer and Grappling Hook . Players are killed within one shot and typically maps are vast open areas. From the nature of the mutator, there are no items to control.

Guides and Tutorials

• Halogenes Newbie Tutorial , a popular and comprehensive guide for new players introducing items, weapons and recommended client side configurations.
• A Strafe Jump Lesson for Xonotic , YouTube video demonstration instructing how to do a basic circle jump and strafe jump.