User blog:Sclera1/Locust Horde

Locust are the main enemies in the Xbox 360 game Gears of war.

Locust Horde
The Locust Horde are a collection of various species, most of them are humanoid, while others are distinctly bestial and they come in various sizes and shapes. The Horde inhabited the subterranean regions of Sera, until Emergence Day, when they emerged across the surface in a massive, overwhelming attack against the human population. The Horde's only known objective is the complete and total annihilation of the human population of Sera. The Locust Horde inhabits extensive underground tunnel networks that honeycomb the crust of the planet Sera, known collectively as "the Hollow."

Shown in the first game, but elaborated in the second, it is revealed that there is a subset of Locust known as the "Lambent" Locust, who have been mutated by contact with Imulsion. The Lambent Locust and the unaffected Locust factions are engaged in a civil war, in which the Lambent Locust appear to be successful in driving the Locust out of the Hollow. This leads to the desperate Locust attacks on the COG at Jacinto and the Locust plot to sink COG cities, as they are trying to re-take the surface of Sera to ensure survival.

Locust Horde infantry
Drones

The most commonly encountered enemy are Drones. Wearing little to no protection, they are most commonly equipped with Hammerbursts, though they are sometimes seen with Lancers stolen from COG soldiers. While individually weak, Drones usually appear in large number through Emergence Holes and therefore are foes to be reckoned with.

Drones will also wield Sniper rifles, and these variants utilize Longshots and are weaker then normal Drones.

Grenadiers

Grenadiers wear only leg armor and boots, and wield Gnashers and Boltoks. As their name suggests, they do lob grenades at the player, however, when they do so, they leave themselves vulnerable for several seconds, in which the player may score a head shot on them if they have a Longshot rifle.

There are also Grenadier Elites, which look almost the same save for a red shoulder plate on one arm. They also have a more red hue, as opposed to regular Grenadier who are almost completely white.

Theron Guard and Sentinel

Theron Guards are the elite foot soldiers of the Horde. Completely armored from head to toe, they were heavy-duty helmets immunizing them to headshots. Wielding Torque Bows, Lancers and Shotguns, they are one of the most difficult of the regular enemies to deal with. They are immune to the one shot active reload with the Longshot in Gears of War 1. While difficult enemies, they usually do not appear in numbers greater then three at a time, exceptions including the Imulsion Processing Station and the Train battle in Gears 1. Curiously, the Therons riding Reavers in Gears of War 1 do not wear helmets, revealing them to be exceptionally inhuman, with large teeth, and a slightly green complexion.

Theron Sentinels are the field Commanders for the Locust, and also honor guard for the Locust Queen. The wield the same weapons as regular Guard, save for the helmet, which reveals a small portion of their teeth.

In Gears of War 2, when taking a Theron as a Meat-Shield, their helmets are removed, once again revealing them to be greenish.

Wretches

Small, irritating dog-like creatures that run at you on all fours and slash you with claws. These Locust appear at seemingly random intervals, dropping from ceilings, coming out of cracks and Emergence Holes, and coming around corners. While merely annoying on lower game difficulties, they are formidable on Hardcore and Insane since they appear in large numbers and do increased damage.

In Gears of War 1, a Lambent version of Wretches appeared in Acts 3 and 5. Similar in every aspect, save for they explode when killed, meaning chainsaws and shotgun kills should be avoided.

Tickers

More or less replacing Lambent Wretches in Gears 2, Tickers are, as one character calls them, 'Locust Landmines.' They have a dosage of Imulsion on their backs, making them highly explosive. They run faster than any unit in the game, and will explode once in proximity to you, or when they have taken sufficient damage. Tickers, like Wretches, appear through holes, cracks and around corners, but do not come out of Emergence Holes. On Insane, Tickers appear slightly more frequently then lower difficulties, and do increased damage.

Nemacyst

Nemecysts are mindless creations of Seeders. They only live to commit suicide. Nemecysts are dangerous to helicopters in combot and ram themselves willfully into them.

Berserker

Blind, Berserkers are large female Locust that rely on sound and touch to find you. Immune to all forms of weapons fire except for the Hammer of Dawn, which will then leave vulnerable to normal weapons for a few seconds. Being hit by a Berserker means instant death. They do not appear in Gears of War 2.

Flamer

Equipped with Flamethrowers, these units will run at you, attempting to burn you to death with the damaging Scorcher flamethrower. You can either dispatch them by shooting them, or if you hit the Imulsion tank on their backs, they will explode. Beware though; they will charge you if the tank is ruptured.

Bloodmount

Locust Cavalry. Equipped with Hammerbursts, Bloodmounts ride creatures slightly resembling Zerglings from Starcraft. If the creature gets too close, then it will slash at your claws. Both the driver and steed can be killed separately. If the mount is killed, the pilot will fall off and get back up. If the pilot is killed, then the mount will eventually go Berserk, killing everything around it until you bring it down.

Boomer

The Boomer is a Locust larger than the Drone, but smaller then a Berserker. They are armed with giant blades, Scorchers, Boomshots, Maces and Mulchers(Gatling guns).They are incredibly difficult to kill, the weakest kind, Butchers on Casual, taking at least one full lancer clip to deal with. Most types wear armor, though the Butcher does not. Mulcher and Boomer variants will walk, while Butcher and Flamer Boomer will run. Maulers will run or walk depending on how much fire they are taking. Boomers are not mainstream locust, and usually appear in pairs supporting Locust. Flamer Boomers, like regular Flamers, have a tank that can be ignited on their back. The Grinders are another new kind of Boomer. They are mostly recognized when they yell "Grind" as they start firing. They are armed with only Mulchers.

Kantus

The Kantus are the Locust high priests in the Horde society, they can revive downed units and summon Tickers at the enemy. They're always equipped with a Gorgon Pistol and ink grenades.

Kryll

The Kryll are a mindless swarm of bat-like Locust that live in underground caverns and only come out in the nighttime. UV lights are fatal to them and make them explode. Kryll attack in sworms and devour anything in their way within seconds. Walking out into the dark during a Kryll invasion means instant death. Because they're unintelligent, they will also eat fellow Locusts.

Locust Vehicles
While not using vehicles in the traditional sense, Locust none-the-less utilize the larger creatures of the Hollow in the same sense. Usually difficult to kill, Locust vehicles are all alive.

Reavers

Locust flyers. Two drones ride in the cockpit. Equipped with gatling guns and rocket launchers, Reavers are seen flying at either High or Low speeds, and are also capable of landing to walk. When walking, they will attempt to smash the player with the large tentacles they are endowed with. They can be killed by any weapon, though heavier weapons will obviously get the job done faster. The Hydra is a bigger and stronger version, equipped with twice the armaments. Only fought once, it was ridden by Skorge after defeating him in the Throne Room. It is unknown if there are more, but the one encountered was killed in an aerial battle.

Seeder

Locust artillery. Seeders have their heads in the ground and fire explosive creatures known as Nemacyst into the air. Nemacyst are seen either floating freely, or will attempt to attack the player directly. Shooting their heads causes them to explode, while hitting the tentacles causes them to lose control and spiral downward. Seeders, unlike Nemacysts, have no defense of their own, but are only vulnerable to the Hammer of Dawn and vehicle mounted weapons.

Brumaks

Brumaks resemble Tyrannosaurus Rex in shape, size and demeanor. Equipped with dual heavy gatling guns, and a rocket launcher battery, they are only vulnerable to incredibly heavy weapons, such as the Centaur Tanks main cannon. Engaging on foot is almost impossible, though it has been done, albeit with difficulty.

Corpser

Although no locust is ever seen riding one, Corpsers are a vital part of the Locust Horde. They dig tunnels and caverns with their gigantic front legs. They resemble massive spider-like creatures with a temper to match and are highly dangerous.

Locust Leaders
General RAAM

General RAAM is the main antagonist and final boss of Gears of War (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker). He is a mostly silent and savage Locust general with a dark cinematic presence. He appears as a large Locust shrouded in Kryll. RAAM is first seen near the end of Act 1, when he kills Kim by impaling him with a serrated sword. He is seen again after the detonation of the sonic resonator, apparently listening to a captured C.O.G. soldier's radio in order to discover Delta Squad's latest plans. His last appearance is in the game's climax, as the final boss; he is killed by Marcus and Dom before they activate the Lightmass Bomb. Even though RAAM was killed in the first game, his character model can be unlocked on Gears of War 2 for multiplayer use through Linked Achievements like Delta Squad's Anthony Carmine and Minh Young Kim; if the player killed RAAM in the final act of the first game, then he will be unlocked in the second game. RAAM is only mentioned once in Gears of War 2 by Marcus and Dom when comparing RAAM to Skorge, saying that Skorge (who cut a tank in half with his double-ended chainsaw staff) "made RAAM look like a goddamn pushover".

Myrrah

In the credits sequence of Gears of War a character called "Myrrah" (voiced by Carolyn Seymour) is listed; however, such a character was never seen during the course of the game. At various times throughout the game, narration is provided by an unknown female character, somehow affiliated with the Locust Horde. Her voice is heard during the opening cinematic, the death of Lt. Kim, and the end-game sequence, as well as during split-screen or online multiplayer when the Locust side loses or wins.

At the beginning of Gears of War 2, Myrrah (referred only as "the Locust queen" by other characters) provides a voice-over introduction discussing humanity's violent nature, adding that though she feels pity for the humans, they brought the war with the Locust upon themselves. Halfway through the game, Delta squad manages to penetrate Nexus, the Locust capital, where the Locust queen is issuing a series of propaganda broadcasts ordering the Locust to fight against the "Lambent Locust". Later on, Delta squad finally tracks down the queen in her palace, accompanied by Skorge, and discovers that she appears to be partially human. She orders Skorge to kill Delta, and escapes during the subsequent battle. During the final cutscene of the campaign, she provides an additional voice-over.

Skorge

Skorge is the main antagonist of Gears of War 2, and serves as the leader of the religious Kantus sect within the Locust Horde. He bears a physical resemblance to the eponymous creature from the 1987 film Predator, and wields a chainsaw staff in combat. During the course of Gears of War 2 he is shown assaulting COG troops, leading the massive Riftworm that is being used to sink cities, and battles Delta squad. Towards the end of the game, Skorge pursues the escaping members of Delta squad on a Hydra. The Gears succeeded in destroying the Hydra, throwing Skorge from his mount; it is uncertain if he was killed.

Locust