COG Weapons

The Lancer Assault Rifle is the Coalition of Ordered Governments’ current standard-issue assault rifle for Gears fighting in the front lines. The signature weapon of the COG, the Lancer possesses a fully automatic mode of fire and the iconic Chainsaw Bayonet attachment for melee combat. One of the most popular rifle designs on Sera, the Lancer has seen extensive use since the Pendulum Wars. The Lancer’s long service record comes from its rugged reliability and reputation as a versatile assault rifle. Although intended for mid-range combat, the Lancer is also effective at longer ranges due to its low recoil.

Despite the existence of a Locust Horde counterpart to the lancer, the Hammerburst assault rifle, Locust have been known to use the Lancer. In Gears of War, Theron Guards and Drones use the Lancer against COG Gears. Around 15 A.E, the Cyclops, a newer type of Drone, are exclusively armed with the Lancer. Cyclops have a particular tendency to use the Chainsaw Bayonet.

The idea of changing the original Lancer into the chainsaw bayonet Lancer was the product of Marcus and Adam Fenix, and inspired by a desperate combat maneuver performed by Tai Kaliso. Like Marcus, many Gears were complaining that the original bayonet blade didn’t work well on Locust armor or hide. Marcus informed his father about it this failing in design, and soon after, Adam produced a prototype with a chainsaw bayonet on the Lancer. This made it easy to slice through the Locusts’ thick hides

The Longshot Sniper Rifle was a high-caliber, single-shot, bolt-action sniper rifle. Created by the COG during the Pendulum Wars, it was later used by the Locust Horde.

The Bolo Grenade or the Frag Grenade is the standard fragmentation grenade used by both the COG forces and the Locust Horde. The frag grenade is considered standard-issue COG equipment.

The Bolo Grenade is substantially different from any other previous fragmentation grenade, both in damage and as throwing method. The grenade’s structure consists of an explosive attached to a chain-like extension that is swung around and released when enough momentum is gained to throw it. Its targeting system is also quite different, since it actually maps out a predicted trajectory (the purple line or red line if you are playing as Locust), as well as a finishing point (the distinct purple circle at the end of the trajectory marking). The grenade’s blast radius, however, is extremely small, and the grenade cannot damage foes behind a cover point no matter how close the grenade is to them. Therefore, the grenade needs to be thrown with pinpoint precision to damage, let alone kill, an enemy. The Bolo Grenade is great for flushing someone out of their cover point, however, another important use for it is that it is capable of closing Locust emergence holes.

The weapon’s full potential, however, lies in the ability of the user. When close enough to an enemy, you can melee them with a grenade equipped to stick the grenade onto the enemy. The grenade will beep faster and faster signaling its countdown and detonate afterwards. Once tagged, it is more than useful to get as far as possible before the explosion. This ability in Multiplayer gave the grenade its name, ‘frag tag’, since anyone who attempted to tag a frag grenade on a helpless victim almost always succeeded. In Gears of War 2, players are able to plant the Bolo into walls as a proximity mine, exploding whenever an enemy comes into a certain radius of it. Also in Gears of war 2, if a player is downed while having the Bolo grenade equipped, they can choose to detonate it by pressing RT. This tactic is used to Kamikaze opponents by getting close enough for them to down you, then detonating the grenade, injuring, downing, or killing any opponents in the area. This tactic is great in Annex and King of the Hill matches, but is not recommended in Wingman.

In Gears of War 3, a new execution move was added to the grenade. When a player has a meat shield, that player can frag tag the meat shield and throw him or her at other enemies in an attempt to kill them.