CQC Championship: Difference between revisions

The '''Close Quarter Combat Championship''', abbreviated as '''CQC '''or '''CQC Championship''' and sometimes referred to as '''Arena''', is an arena combat mode in [[Elite Dangerous]] and the only game mode in the stand-alone release '''Elite Dangerous: Arena'''. It can be accessed from the main menu under Start → Arena. The Arena mode is available to anyone who owns the full base game, Elite: Dangerous.

CQC consists of 3 game modes: Team Deathmatch, Deathmatch, and Capture the Flag. Ships available to pilot are the [[F63 Condor]], [[Sidewinder MkI]], [[Eagle MkII]],<ref name=":0">[https://support.elitedangerous.com/kb/faq.php?id=147 What is the Close Quarters Championship (CQC)?], 2015-06-16 13:53 GMT</ref> and the [[Imperial Fighter]],<ref>[https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=199470 Ships 1.5 beta update - Patch notes ]</ref> with unlockable, customisable [[CQC Championship/Loadouts|loadouts]].<ref name="Dev0207">[https://community.elitedangerous.com/node/215 Dev Update (02/07/2015)]</ref>

In-universe, CQC Championship is a combat simulation made available by [[Utopixx Entertainment]], a [[Federation]] company.<ref>[https://community.elitedangerous.com/galnet/uid/289d3107159c63abf2b197520776393f8414b579 Sol Unplugged?]</ref>

CQC is mostly separate from the shared galaxy of Open Play, Private Group, and Solo Play, aside from some CQC rewards which carry over to the galaxy.

The stand alone version of Elite Dangerous: Arena was withdrawn from sale on February 10th, 2017. Please note that this does not mean Arena/CQC is no longer available, just that it is no longer available to be purchased as a separate stand-alone game.  According to Frontier, "Elite Dangerous: Arena continues to be available and supported as part of the wider Elite Dangerous game." <ref>https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/328697-Elite-Dangerous-Arena-Removal-From-Sale</ref>

By participating in CQC matches you gain experience to rank up. The max rank is 50.<ref name=":1" /> You also, separately, increase your [[Pilots Federation#Ranks|Pilots Federation CQC rank]].<ref name="Dev0207" />

Below is a table of the experience required for each rank increase.

{| class="article-table mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" border="1"

Below is a table of the rank Icons.

{| class="article-table mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" border="1"

=== Unlocks ===

[[File:Elite-CQC-Condor.jpg|thumb|200px|The Condor in CQC]]As a player ranks up they unlock more ship loadouts and alternative modules (such as weapons and armour) to customise those loadouts with. There are a variety of modules, each of which have their own pros and cons. For example, at rank 44 an [[Overcharged Beam Laser]] for [[/Eagle Loadouts/]] is unlocked, which works like a [[Beam Laser]] but has higher damage at the cost of an increase in heat gain.

! [[Sidewinder MkI]]

! [[Eagle MkII]]

=== Prestige ===

 

After reaching max rank 50, a player is able to reset their ranks back to rank 1 and lose all unlocks in order to get one Prestige ranking. This Prestige rank increases the amount of [[credits]] one earns after each match and the player receives an icon next to their name in both CQC Championship and in the main game mode. Gaining a Prestige rank gives the player a permit to [[CD-4311917/Attilius Orbital|Attilius Orbital]] starport in [[CD-43 11917]].<ref name=":1" /> The max prestige is 8.

[[CD-43 11917]] is the home of elite pilots of [[CQC Championship|CQC]], the Prestiges.

 

[[File:Elite Dangerous Pilot Tutorials - CQC|thumb|right|200px|Official CQC Tutorial by Frontier Developments.<ref group="nb">The tutorial video is now slightly outdated. Team Conflict has become Team Deathmatch, and loadouts are now also customisable.</ref>

]]

 

In Team Deathmatch, the first team to reach 25 kills, or the team with the most kills when the timer runs out, wins.

In Deathmatch, the first player to get 750 points, or the player with the most kills when the timer runs out, wins. Players earn 100 points for a kill, and 50 for a kill assist.

In Capture the Flag, the goal is to steal the opposing teams flag and return it to your flag base. You can only capture it while your flag is present, so defending your flag is key. The first team to 3 captures wins.

* [[Asteria Point]].<ref name=":1">[https://community.elitedangerous.com/node/263 Dev Update (27/08/2015)]</ref>

* [[Elevate]].<ref>[http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=dcbf6b86b4b0c7d1c21b73b1e&id=e9afe6364d Elite: Dangerous Newsletter #81]</ref>

* [[Cluster Compound]].<ref>[https://community.elitedangerous.com/node/222 Peek of the Week | Elite: Dangerous Community site]</ref>

* [[Ice Field]].<ref name=":1" />

* [[Orbital Junction]].<ref group="nb">Orbital Junction is not in the game. It may have just been a work-in-progress version of Elevate, with different lighting.</ref><ref>[http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=dcbf6b86b4b0c7d1c21b73b1e&id=767e619118 Elite: Dangerous Newsletter #80]</ref>

There are four power-ups available in the arenas. All the power-ups are not necessarily in every arena. They can be seen on the scanner one as a grey icon. Each power-up type is differentiated by its colour, hologram icon, and the name when targeting it.

Listed below is what each power-up is:

;Blue - Stealth Mode: Become harder to detect or target, like [[Silent Running]] but without losing [[Shield Generator|shields]] or gaining heat.

Each match has a 15 minute time limit to complete your goals and at the 10, 5 and 1 minute, and 10, 5-1 second marks a notification on the top right UI panel will display with a narrator telling the player how long is left.

If you fly out of the arena bounds, the 20-second self-destruct countdown will start. It does not overheat your ship (unlike the self-desctuct procedure triggered manually from the right-hand panel) and can be aborted by flying back into the arena.

Once your shields are down, they will start recharging, draining the energy from the SYS capacitor. Unlike the main game, shields immediately gain 90% strength when recharging is completed (as opposed to 50%).

===The $100,000 CQC tournament===

On 13 November 2015, [[Frontier Developments]] announced the first CQC tournament. Qualifying heats started in early 2016. There were separate tournaments for PC and Xbox One, with a prize pot of $15,000 USD split between them ($7,500 USD prize pot for each final).<ref>[https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=199427 The $100,000 CQC tournament – Everything you need to know.]</ref>