Boltok Pistol

Boltok Pistol
Product information
Manufacturer	Locust Horde
Type	Magnum Revolver
Technical specifications
Size	Small
Damage Per Hit	High
Magazine Size	6 rounds
Maximum Ammunition	Varies 30 rounds (GOW) 42 rounds (GOW2, GOW3, GOWJ) 36 rounds (GOW4)
Fire Mode	Semi-Automatic
Ammunition Type	Cartridge
Operation	Double-Action Revolving Cylinder
Accuracy	Low to Medium
Range	Short to Long
Usage
Era(s)	Locust War Lambent Pandemic Swarm War
Counterpart	Gorgon Burst Pistol Snub Pistol
Affiliation	Coalition of Ordered Governments Locust Horde

The Boltok Pistol was the standard-issue sidearm of the Locust, specifically the Drones. The pistol continues the Locust weapon-design philosophy of creating weapons with an emphasis towards brute force.

History

It is a high-caliber, double-action revolver with a 6-round capacity, a side swing chamber and an enclosed hammer. It is heavier, slower to fire, and holds half as much ammunition as the COG-issue Snub Pistol, but does unequivocally more damage per shot and has exceptional stopping power. 

The Boltok is used mostly by the Locust and can cause a significant amount of damage. The Boltok fires significantly slower than the Snub, but it packs an incredible amount of power. A single shot from the Boltok was capable of decapitating a target, a testament to its stopping power.

There were specific Drone types that wielded the Boltok. It was mostly used by the Bolter, a class of Drone exclusively armed with the weapon, but sometimes was also used by the Grenadier class, Theron or Queen's Guards. Even the famed General RAAM used the weapon to execute a COG prisoner in the Hollows.

It was soon adopted by many Gears in the COG, chosen for its accuracy and power. Marcus Fenix; Augustus Cole, Dominic Santiago, Clayton Carmine, and Victor Hoffman were just some of the Gears that used a Boltok as their chosen sidearm.

During the Destruction of Halvo Bay, Colonel Ezra Loomis carried the Boltok as his personal side-arm, using it to great effect to kill a Locust Drone that was attacking Augustus Cole, kill a Boomer with a surprise head-shot, and execute General Karn after his defeat.

A Bolter Drone with the Boltok.

Use

The Boltok can be zoomed in to achieve better accuracy at longer distances. Shooting enemies in the head 2-3 times will result in a headshot. If playing in Arcade or Horde 2.0 with the Super Reload Mutator on, then a single shot to the head of most enemies will instantly take their head off. This is an excellent weapon to pair with a Boom Shield or Meat Shield, a close range weapon like the Retro Lancer, or a long range weapon like the Longshot, especially to finish off an enemy hit with the sniper rifle.

Behind the scenes

• Instead of a damage boost, the Boltok's rate of fire is increased if a player achieves a perfect active reload.
• The execution of the Boltok is as follows: the user flips the Boltok, grabs the muzzle, slams the handle on the enemy's head, flips the gun again, and spins it around the finger - in the style of a Gunslinger.
• In the Gears of War 3 demo, it is shown that the Armored Kantus dual-wields Boltok Pistols. However, in the actual release, he dual-wields Gorgon SMGs instead.
• The effect of the Boltok on enemies changes between Gears of War 1 & 2. In Gears 1, the kill shot can 'pop' the target's torso. In Gears 2, the weapon can now only pop heads. In Gears of War 3 and 4, however, the 'torso popping' has been re-instated.
• In the first Gears of War, the Boltok's reload animation looks the same as the Snub Pistol.
• The Boltok Pistol is the starting weapon of Leslie "Mac" Macallister in the Escape mode featured in Gears 5.

Appearances

• Gears of War: Judgment
• RAAM's Shadow
• Gears of War (First appearance)
• Gears of War: Ultimate Edition
• Gears of War 2
• Gears of War 3
• Gears of War 4
• Gears 5