Rebreather

In Quake II, the Rebreather is a powerup that contains a 30-second oxygen supply. Normally, a player would start suffering drowning damage after being underwater for about ten seconds, but this is no problem if a player has activated a Rebreather. If the player is still underwater when the 30-second oxygen supply runs out, the player will be treated as though they just jumped into the water, meaning they have around ten seconds to find some air to avoid the threat of drowning again.

In the 2023 remaster, a player who is underwater without an active Rebreather (or Environment Suit, which also provides an oxygen supply) will get a few gulping sounds as a warning and then start drowning after the third gulp sound, giving a helpful prompt to activate a Rebreather if they have one.

Strategies[]

Single Player[]

• There aren't many areas where you need to use a Rebreather, strictly speaking. There are three underwater sections which are long enough that a player will take some drowning damage traversing them without a Rebreather (or Environment Suit), listed below. Other underwater areas can be traversed without taking damage if you know where you're going... but admittedly, players who aren't familiar with the levels could be well advised to keep a Rebreather handy in case they get lost underwater and start drowning.
  • the Torture Chambers (Quake II) contains a long underwater tunnel, and there's a Rebreather to be found just before entering it
  • the Waste Sieve (The Reckoning) contains another long underwater tunnel, and a Rebreather can be found shortly before entering it
  • the Water Treatment Plant (The Reckoning) contains a secret area which involves swimming through two very long underwater pipes. There is a Rebreather in the upper level of the area containing the entrance to the pipes.
• Besides these three cases, there are situations where the player doesn't strictly need a Rebreather to traverse an underwater area without suffering drowning damage, but must fight Barracudas or Gekks during the journey. A Rebreather would allow the player to focus on fighting these enemies without needing to worry about their oxygen at the same time. Examples of this include:
  • the large water tank in the Warehouse (The Reckoning), inhabited by Barracudas
  • the long underwater tunnel in the Badlands (The Reckoning) inhabited by Barracudas
  • the long underwater section in Heavy Water (Call of the Machine) inhabited by Barracudas and Gekks
• Bear in mind that you don't need to activate the Rebreather immediately - you can jump into the water first and swim for a few seconds before activating it; the drowning damage won't start happening for about ten seconds. In the 2023 remaster, a player who is underwater without an oxygen supply will get a few gulping sounds as a warning and then start drowning after the third gulp sound, giving a helpful prompt to activate a Rebreather. If the player wishes to get the longest possible time out of their Rebreather without suffering any drowning damage - which is useful in the Water Treatment Plant's secret area due to the length of the underwater pipes - this is the best way to do it.

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Gallery[]

Rebreather in Quake 2