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[]
The Boltok 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 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.
It was manufactured by the Locust Horde and saw use among a variety of Drone types. Most notably, it was used by the Bolter[2], a class of Drone that exclusively used the weapon in aggressive, cover-to-cover ambushes. It was also be found in the arsenal of Locust ranging from the Grenadiers, to the elite Theron and Queen's Guard. It was even the sidearm of the infamous General RAAM, who used the handcannon to execute COG prisoners[3] as an alternative to using his knife or snapping their necks.
Despite initial protocols against using and keeping enemy weapons, this handgun was starting to find favor with many Gears in the COG, chosen for its accuracy and power. Marcus Fenix; Augustus Cole, Clayton Carmine, and Victor Hoffman were just some of the Gears that were known to use Boltok Pistols.
During the Destruction of Halvo Bay, Colonel Ezra Loomis of the Onyx Guard carried a Boltok as his personal sidearm, first using it to kill a Locust Drone that was attacking Augustus Cole. Its power was further demonstrated by Loomis using it to kill a Boomer with a surprise headshot, and finally using it to execute General Karn following his defeat.
During the Lightmass Offensive general RAAM used a Boltok Pistol to execute an Unidentified captured Gear in the original game by shooting him in the head.
During Operation: Hollow Storm, Corporal Dominic Santiago reluctantly used a Boltok Pistol to euthanize his wife Maria in an act of mercy after she had been tortured beyond saving.
The Boltok, like many of the weapons in the Locust arsenal, would be used by the successors of the Horde, the Swarm, following their emergence some twenty-five years after the former's defeat.
A Bolter Drone with the Boltok.
Gameplay[]
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 Sawed-Off/Gnasher, or a long range weapon like the Longshot, especially to finish off an enemy hit with the sniper rifle. If a perfect active reload is achieved, the damage of the weapon itself will not increase but rather its rate of fire will.
The Boltok Pistol is the starting weapon of Leslie "Mac" Macallister in the Escape mode featured in Gears 5.
Executions[]
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, despite the apparent lack of a trigger guard.
In Gears 5, multiple executions that feature the Boltok are introduced;
- Pistol-Whipped Execution: The user handily flips the Boltok; grasps the barrel, and swiftly brings the grip down upon the victim's head, decapitating them.
- Rapid Fire Execution: Each of the downed victim's arms and legs are shot off via the user fanning the hammer of the Boltok - with the fifth and final shot blowing the victim's head off, after which the user holsters the pistol with a flourishing spin.
Behind the scenes[]
- In the first Gears of War, the Boltok was powerful enough to dismember targets and bodies with a single shot. However, in Gears of War 2, this effect was limited only to headshots. This was later reversed in Gears of War 3 and since then, it has remained a signature aspect of the weapon.
- In the demo of Gears of War 3, the Armored Kantus were initially able to dual-wield two Boltoks. By the game's release, they instead use two Gorgon SMG's, likely for balancing reasons.
- The Boltok's reload animation in Gears of War was shared with the the Snub Pistol, despite both pistols utilizing entirely different reloading mechanisms.
- An interesting note is that the Rapid Fire Execution would be next to impossible to do with the Boltok, as the revolver has no external hammer to operate.
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