VORTEX REVIVAL
Vortex is a free-to-play Action-RPG mod for the shooter Quake II, consisting of Player versus Player modes and Player versus Monster modes (including Invasion, which is like a base-defense mode). Every kill you get earns you experience points, which allows you to upgrade your abilities and weapons.
Join Vortex Revival by typing "connect 3.135.21.110:27910" in your Quake 2 console!
In Europe? Join Vortex Refreshed by typing "connect 54.37.74.234:27910" in your Quake 2 console!
Join us on Discord at discord.gg/bX7Updq
Already have Quake 2 installed? Select Files Only and extract into your Quake 2 directory.
To get started playing Vortex, follow these steps.
Install Quake 2 and the Vortex mod here.
Installing with the link above installs Q2Pro for you. Open up Q2Pro.exe and go to the Options tab. In Options, click player setup. Change your name to whatever you'd like to be known as. (Alternatively, you can open the console with the tilde key (~) and type name "YourNameHere".)
After choosing a name, select Multiplayer from the menu, select "Browse Address Book", and connect to "Vortex Revival -- q2vortex.com". (Or open your console and type "connect 3.135.21.110:27910")
Now you're in the game! Use the [ and ] keys to select an option from the main menu, and press Enter to make your selection. After selecting Start your Reign, you'll be given a list of classes to choose from. I recommend taking a look at the classes page to see what each class is capable of.
To upgrade your character, hit the tab key (default) to open up the Vortex Menu (command is vrxmenu in console), and select Upgrade Abilities/Upgrade Weapons. Feel free to take a peek at the other options in the menu, as some may be useful.
RECOMMENDED - You should password protect your account. To do so, type in console (~) "set vrx_password YourPassword u" -- you will have to type this in every time you reopen Quake 2, so don't forget it!
WIP
SOLDIER
The soldier is a primarily offensive class, mostly focusing on using various types of grenades and powered-up weapons to deal damage.
This class is an easy choice for those new to Vortex.
| Ability | Max Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Strength | 20 | Increases physical (weapon) damage |
| Resistance | 15 | Reduces the amount of damage you take |
| HA Pickup | 15 | Increases the amount of health and armor you pick-up |
| Napalm | 15 | Tosses a grenade that continually explodes for about 10 seconds, spewing flames in the process that burn anything that comes into contact (cmd ‘napalm’) |
| Spike Grenade | 15 | Throws a grenade that shoots spikes in all directions for 10 seconds (cmd ‘spikegrenade’) |
| EMP | 15 | Tosses a grenade (cmd ‘emp’) that explodes on impact or when the timer expires, sending out an electromagnetic pulse. The pulse will detonate ammo and disabled anything electrical (e.g. monsters, sentries). |
| MIRV | 15 | Tosses a grenade that explodes on impact or when the timer expires, launching several more grenades that also explode (cmd ‘mirv’) |
| Auto Quad | 1 | Automatically activate Quad Damage upon reaching a 10 kill streak. |
| Auto Invin | 1 | Automatically activate Invincibility upon reaching a 10 kill streak. |
| Grapple Hook | 3 | Familiar to most CTF players, using this skill (cmd ‘+hook’) fires a laser grappling hook, allowing you to swing from ceilings and walls. Adding more points to this skill increases the grapple speed |
Poltergeist
The Poltergeist is a class focused on abilities that allow you to transform into different types of enemies.
Due to the variation in how each of these enemies play, the Poltergeist can just as easily be offensive as defensive.
| Ability | Max Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Berserker | 20 | Morph into a berserker (cmd ‘berserker’). This morph has the ability to sprint with the ‘+sprint’ command. |
| Cacodemon | 20 | Morphs you into a cacodemon (cmd ‘cacodemon’) |
| Parasite | 20 | Morphs you into a parasite (cmd ‘parasite’) |
| Brain | 20 | Morph into a brain monster (cmd ‘brain’) |
| Flyer | 20 | Morph into a flyer (cmd ‘flyer’) |
| Mutant | 20 | Morph into a mutant (cmd ‘mutant’) |
| Tank | 20 | Morph into a tank (cmd ‘tank’) |
| Medic | 20 | Morph into a medic (cmd ‘medic’) |
| Ghost | 99 | Ghost only exists to protect you while you are not yet morphed. |
| Morph Mastery | 1 | Adds secondary weapon modes to your morphs, among other benefits |
| Monster Summon | 1 | Using the ‘monster (type)’ command will spawn a monster of your choosing to fight for you. You can give it commands, telling it to move, stand still, or attack anything it sees (cmd ‘monster move’ or ‘monster command’). You can remove your monsters with the ‘monster remove’ command. If you want to know how many monsters you have, use the ‘monster count’ command. Upgrading this ability makes your monsters stronger. |
VAMPIRE
The Vampire is a typically offensive class focused on absorbing health from the enemy.
It has the highest health of any class and can become very difficult to kill.
| Ability | Max Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Vampire | 15 | Recovers health based on a percentage of weapon damage to a target’s health. For example if you attack someone and deal 100 damage, causing their health to drop by 50 points, you might “steal” up to 50 points (assuming 100% vampire rate). If all damage is absorbed by armor, vampire is not triggered. |
| Ghost | 15 | Adding points to this skill increases the chance that damage taken is reduced to 0 |
| Life Drain | 15 | Life drain is a curse that rapidly steals health from a target (cmd ‘lifedrain’) |
| Flesh Eater | 15 | Bites anyone or anything that gets too close, inflicting damage and recovering your health |
| Corpse Explode | 15 | Causes the corpse you are looking at to explode (cmd ‘spell_corpseexplode’ or ‘detonatebody’). Adding points to this skill increases damage and explosive radius. |
| Mind Absorb | 15 | Periodically tries to steal power cubes from nearby targets, causing damage based on the amount of powercubes stolen. |
| Ammo Steal | 15 | Look at another player and use this skill (cmd ‘ammosteal’) to steal a percentage of their ammo. |
| Cloak | 1 | After standing still for a few moments, your character will become invisible. |
MAGE
The Mage is an offensive class with a range of very powerful magical abilities.
The Mage can deal a very high amount of damage, but is relatively easy to kill compared to other classes, particularly at higher levels.
Mage abilities tend to have a very high Power Cube cost.
| Ability | Max Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Magic Bolt | 15 | Fires a magical bolt (cmd ‘magicbolt’). Adding points increases damage |
| Nova | 15 | Use the ‘nova’ command inflicts magical damage to anything nearby |
| Bomb Spell | 15 | Using ‘bombspell forward’ will cause a trail of explosions in the direction you are pointing along the floor. Using ‘bombspell area’ will cause bombs to fall from the sky over the area you target. Finally, ‘bombspell’ will curse a target, causing bombs to fall on them until the spell ends, they die, or you die |
| Force Wall | 15 | Using ‘forcewall solid’ will create a wall of energy where you point that nobody but you (and your teammates/allies) can step through. Using ‘forcewall’ will spawn a wall where you point that will burn anything touching it. Increases to this skill will increase the hp/damage of each wall, respectively. |
| Chain Lightning | 15 | Use ‘chainlightning’ to fire a bolt of lightning that will jump from one target to another (up to 3 hops), inflicting damage |
| Meteor | 15 | Drops a meteor from the sky where you point, causing massive explosive damage and burning on impact (cmd ‘meteor’) |
| Fireball | 15 | Launches a fireball that explodes and burns on impact (cmd ‘fireball’) |
| Lightning Storm | 15 | Causes lightning strikes at the area you point at (cmd ‘lightningstorm’) |
| Teleport | 1 | Use the ‘teleport_fwd’ command to teleport in the direction you are pointing. |
ENGINEER
The Engineer is a typically defensive class primarily focusing on building and maintaining devices that deal damage to the enemy.
| Ability | Max Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Proxy | 15 | Spawns a proxy grenade that explodes when an enemy gets too close (cmd ‘proxy’). You can remove proxy grenades with the ‘proxy remove’ command. |
| Sentry | 20 | Spawns a single sentry gun that fires bullets and rockets at targets within its sights (cmd ‘sentry’). You can rotate the sentry gun with the ‘sentry rotate’ command. Alternatively, you can spawn up to 2 mini-sentries with the ‘minisentry’command. Use the ‘sentry remove’ command to remove your sentry gun(s) |
| Supply Station | 15 | Spawns a supplystation (cmd ‘supplystation’) that will create health, armor, and ammo for you periodically. A timer is displayed on your HUD indicating when the next spawn will occur. Adding points to this skill increases the spawn-rate |
| Laser | 15 | Spawns a laser (cmd ‘laser’) that inflicts damage to anything that crosses it. Adding points increases the laser’s damage output and cumulative maximum damage it can deal before it expires. Lasers can be removed with the ‘laser remove’ command. |
| Magmine | 20 | Spawns a magmine (cmd ‘magmine’) that pulls anything within range toward it, making them an easy target for you. Adding points increases the pull effect and increases the durability (health) of your magmine. |
| Caltrops | 15 | Throws caltrops on the ground which cause damage and slow anyone that steps on them (cmd ‘caltrops’). They can be removed with the ‘caltrops remove’ command. |
| Autocannon | 15 | Creates an autocannon (cmd ‘autocannon’) that will fire at anything that crosses its sights. Must be aimed with the ‘autocannon aim’ command and periodically reloaded with ammo by touching it. |
| Detector | 15 | Creates a detector that sounds an alarm if an enemy gets too close (cmd ‘detector’). If an enemy activates the detector, they glow yellow and all projectiles are redirected toward them (they become magnetized). Use ‘detector remove’ to remove them. |
| Decoy | 15 | Spawns decoys around yourself. (cmd 'decoy') |
| Antigrav | 1 | Antigrav boots allow you to jump higher. (cmd 'antigrav') |
KNIGHT
The Knight is a class that can only use the Sword.
The Knight is a tanky class, and has very high armor and health compared to most other classes.
A well built knight can be very difficult to kill.
| Ability | Max Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Armor Upgrade | 10 | Each point in this skill increases the amount of damage your armor can take (note: it does not affect absorption). |
| Regen | 15 | Recovers health over time |
| Power Shield | 15 | Protects the front of you with a shield (cmd ‘use power screen’) that redirects damage to power cells. If you run out of cells, the shield turns off and must be re-activated. Adding points to this skill increases the amount of damage each cell can absorb. |
| Armor Regen | 15 | Slowly regenerates armor |
| Exploding Armor | 15 | Use the ‘armorbomb’ command to toss body armor that explodes if touched or its timer expires. You can set the timer by specifying it (in seconds): armorbomb #. The minimum time is 2 seconds, and the maximum is 120. You can remove armor bombs with the ‘armorbomb remove’ command. |
| Beam | 20 | Use 'beam_on’ and 'beam_off' to fire a laser beam, inflicting energy damage at anything near your crosshair. Does not use power cubes. Alternatively, you can set "alias +beam beam_on" "alias -beam beam_off" and bind +beam to a key. |
| Plasma Bolt | 15 | Launches a concentrated bolt of electrified particles that bounce and cause explosive damage on impact (cmd ‘plasmabolt’). Beware that if you fire this at a wall, it might bounce right back and hit you! |
| Shield | 1 | Activates a shield in front of you that blocks all damage, but you can’t attack or use abilities while it’s deployed. (cmd 'shieldon' 'shieldoff' -- Alternatively, you can set "alias +shield shieldon" "alias -shield shieldoff" and bind +shield to a key.) |
| Boost Spell | 1 | Using the ‘spell_boost’ command will slingshot you in the direction you point. Does not use power cubes. |
CLERIC
The Cleric is a typically offensive class with abilities that provide various buffs to allies and debuffs to enemies, as well as some abilities dealing directly in attacking.
| Ability | Max Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Salvation Aura | 15 | This aura (cmd ‘salvation’) uses powercubes while activated, reducing damage received. It is more effective at reducing magical damage (e.g. damage taken from monsters or spells) than physical damage (weapons). It will also protect nearby allies or teammates. |
| Holy Freeze Aura | 15 | This aura (cmd ‘holyfreeze’) slows the movement speed and firing rate of anything that gets close to you. Adding points increases the movement and firing penalty of anything frozen by your aura, and increases the aura’s range/radius. |
| Healing | 15 | Gradually restores health and armor for a period of time (cmd ‘heal’ or ‘heal self’) |
| Bless | 15 | Use ‘bless’ or ‘bless self’ (if you want to use it only on you) to increase damage (magical and physical) and movement rate for a brief period of time |
| Yin Spirit | 15 | Creates a spirit that flies above you and destroys corpses that recovers health and armor (cmd ‘yin’) |
| Yang Spirit | 15 | Creates a spirit that flies above you and fires a blaster bolt periodically at your enemies (cmd ‘yang’) |
| Blessed Hammer | 15 | Throws a magical hammer that spirals around you, inflicting massive magical damage on anything it touches (cmd ‘blessedhammer’) |
| Deflect | 15 | Using this skill will cause some attacks to deflect off of you, moving back in the opposite direction (cmd ‘deflect’ or ‘deflect self’). Adding points increases the chance of deflection. |
| Lower Resist | 15 | Reduces the physical and magical resistances of your enemy (cmd ‘lowerresist’) |
| Double Jump | 1 | Allows you to take a second jump while mid-air |
NECROMANCER
The Necromancer is a class primarily focused around using curses and summoning monsters to fight enemies.
It can be both offensive and defensive, but leans towards the former.
| Ability | Max Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Monster Summon | 20 | Using the ‘monster ’ command will spawn a monster of your choosing to fight for you. You can give it commands, telling it to move, stand still, or attack anything it sees (cmd ‘monster move’ or ‘monster command’). You can remove your monsters with the ‘monster remove’ command. If you want to know how many monsters you have, use the ‘monster count’ command. Upgrading this ability makes your monsters stronger. |
| Hellspawn | 20 | Spawns a flying skull that chases enemies and uses a short-range lightning attack. You can recall your hellspawn with the ‘hellspawn recall’ command or remove it with ‘hellspawn remove’. |
| Plague | 15 | Creates a poisonous cloud around you that infects anything within range |
| Amp Damage | 15 | Amplify damage is a curse that greatly increases the amount of physical damage a target takes (cmd ‘ampdamage’) |
| Cripple | 15 | Does damage equal to a percentage of a target’s maximum health. Adding points increases the percentage of damage dealt (cmd ‘cripple’). |
| Curse | 15 | This curse (cmd ‘curse’) makes it very difficult for your target to aim (their view is tossed around like they are drunk) |
| Weaken | 15 | This curse (cmd ‘weaken’) slows your target, increases damage taken, and reduces damage dealt by your target |
| Conversion | 15 | Upgrading this skill increases the chance you will convert a monster to your side (cmd ‘convert’). Converted monsters will remain on your side for a period of time. When the time runs out, they will convert back to their original owner (unless the owner has created more monsters already). |
| Jetpack | 1 | As the name implies, this skill allows you to fly using the +thrust command (bind x +thrust). The skill uses powercubes quickly, so use it judiciously. |
SHAMAN
The Shaman is a class focused around spawning totems that provide various sorts of buffs and debuffs.
It can just as easily be offensive as defensive.
| Ability | Max Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Fire Totem | 20 | Creates a totem (cmd ‘firetotem’) that tosses flames at nearby enemies. You can remove your totem with the ‘totem remove’ command. |
| Water Totem | 20 | Creates a totem (cmd ‘watertotem’) that has a freezing effect on nearby targets that slows them down and reduces their damage. You can remove your totem with the ‘totem remove’ command. |
| Air Totem | 20 | Creates a totem (cmd ‘airtotem’) that absorbs 50% of the damage you take while you are in-range of it. Adding points to this skill increases the totem’s natural absorbed damage resistance and increases its health. You can remove your totem with the ‘totem remove’ command. |
| Earth Totem | 20 | Creates a totem (cmd ‘earthtotem’) that increases physical damage of teammates/allies within range |
| Dark Totem | 20 | Creates a totem (cmd ‘darktotem’) that gives nearby teammates/allies vampire ability. You can remove your totem with the ‘totem remove’ command. |
| Nature Totem | 20 | Creates a totem (cmd ‘naturetotem’) that heals nearby teammates/allies. You can remove your totem with the ‘totem remove’ command. |
| Fury | 15 | Upgrading this skill increases the chance that you might trigger fury’s bonus (increased damage, resistance, and regeneration) |
| Haste | 5 | Increases weapon refire rate (weapons fire faster) |
| Super Speed | 1 | Use ‘+superspeed’ to activate this skill and double your movement rate. Uses power cubes very quickly. |
| Totem Mastery | 1 | Increases totem health |
ALIEN
The Alien is a class focused around spawning small biological structures and using abilities like Acid and Spike to deal damage to enemies.
It can just as easily be an offensive class as a defensive one.
| Ability | Max Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Spiker | 15 | Spawns an organism that fires spikes at enemies that get too close (cmd ‘spiker’ and ‘spiker remove’). |
| Obstacle | 15 | Spawns an organism that does massive damage to anything it comes into contact with. It will automatically cloak itself after idling (cmd ‘obstacle’ and ‘obstacle remove’). |
| Gasser | 15 | Spawns an organism that emits a poisonous cloud when an enemy gets too close (cmd ‘gasser’ and ‘gasser remove’) |
| Healer | 15 | Spawns an organism that rapidly heals friendly units that it touches (cmd ‘healer’) |
| Spore | 15 | Throws a spiked organism (cmd ‘spore’, ‘spore remove’) that bounces on the ground and is attracted to enemies it sees. Can move ordered to move where you point (cmd ‘spore move’), and come back to you when idle (cmd ‘spore recall’). |
| Acid | 15 | Fires a blob of acid that inflicts damage on anything it touches, and acid burns (cmd ‘acid’) |
| Spike | 15 | Fires spikes that stun and cause damage on impact (cmd ‘spike’) |
| Cocoon | 15 | Spawns an organism that if you touch, cocoons you for a period of time. While cocooned, you are healed and when you exit, you get a damage and resistance bonus |
| Wormhole | 1 | Create a wormhole (cmd ‘wormhole’) that you can jump into and move around like a ghost. While in the wormhole you can’t be harmed and are invisible. You can move between walls, and exit at any time using the same command. You can’t stay in the wormhole indefinitely, however. |
WEAPON MASTER
The Weapons Master is a class that does not have any of its own class abilities. It is primarily an offensive class, focused on upgrading weapons far beyond what other classes are able to.
This class is an easy choice for those new to Vortex.