- "KANTUS!"
- —Marcus Fenix, upon seeing a Kantus
Kantus were one of the four primary races of the Locust Horde. Taller and leaner than Drones, the Kantus fulfilled a support capacity on the battlefield with the ability to revive injured Locust with their characteristic chanting. Other than field medics, Kantus were also priests of the Trinity of Worms and used their chanting to lure Rockworms out for hunting parties to slaughter.
History[]
Lambent War[]
The Kantus was members of a Locust remnant known as the Bloodied Vanguard. Which was led by Vold RAAM and Kantus Skorge. The Vanguard’s main goal was to wipe out the Lambent from the Hollows before the exposure of Imulsion pacified the hollows spreading the infection to all Locust Life below the surface. Outmatched and outnumbered the Locust along with the Kantus had to retreat to the surface to commence Emergence Day.
Locust War[]
Emergence Day[]
The Kantus took part in Emergence Day like every other Locust, they surfaced with the Bloodied Vanguard with their mission to colonise the surface leaving behind the Hollows which succumbed to the Lambent. The Kantus were also present during the attack on Halvo Bay one month or six weeks after E-Day.[2]
Evacuation of Ilima[]
A number of Kantus partook in the Evacuation of Ilima, as several were personally slain by Zeta Squad.
Operation: Hollow Storm[]
- "Humans!"
- —A Kantus spotting Delta Squad for the first time
As Delta Squad made progress inside the Hollow, they begin to hear odd chants, screams and growls. When they reach what looks like a temple, they find the source of the strange noises which is a Kantus Priest. As soon as he finds them, he begins to scream and orders his Locust allies to attack the Gears. This Kantus fell at the hands of Delta, but as they killed him, another one appeared from behind a closed door, along with a pack of Wretches, but also failed to stop the Gears, being killed while the Gears took cover behind a Rockworm. As Delta advances more into the Inner Hollows, they encounter more Kantus, but manage to deal with them all. They appeared at the Ilima sinkhole giving support to the ground forces used to clear the city from any remaining humans. They defended the Locust processing center and tried to prevent Delta Squad from leaving Ilima but were killed.
As they returned inside the Hollow, another Kantus prepared an ambush near some docks, aided by several gunboats and Drones. After deploying a beacon inside the Hollow and reaching the Palace with a gondola, they found another Kantus waiting for them with a small number of Drones and Grenadiers. After killing it, they had to choose to go on a lift with a Troika or follow the stairs. After clearing an entire level of Drones, they find another level with several Drones and a Kantus. They were dispatched by the Troika and the humans continued their way below. On the next level, a Kantus, along with Cyclops and Grinders, was dealt with the Troika. Another Kantus, along with a pair of Boomers and some Drones, killed a group of Lambent Drones before they were discovered and killed by Delta. A Kantus ambushed them near another group of Lambent corpses along with a Flame Grenadier. Later on, the Gears took control of a lift with a pair of Palace Guards, two Maulers and a Kantus and they killed all of the Locust just as a Horde of Lambent ran at them. When Delta searched for an alternate route inside the Palace, they found a lift with a Kantus and Palace Guards. They killed this one too and continued their way. Inside a room full of Locust terminals, another Kantus guarded the room with Palace Guards just as Delta arrived and killed them. Shortly thereafter, they would hear a message of Adam Fenix from one of the terminals telling them to sink Jacinto City to drown the Locust.
Siege of Jacinto[]
A single Kantus took post inside the Archives Building during the Siege of Jacinto and possibly led the forces inside it before it was killed by Marcus and Dom. Outside of the building, another Kantus led a small Troika outpost but they were also killed by the Gears. A Kantus ambushed Marcus and Dom as they fell deeper inside the sinkhole and led a small group of Drones before being slain by the Gears.
Post-Operation: Hollow Storm[]
After the Flooding of the Hollows, the Kantus caste was scattered and divided. Two Kantus stragglers orchestrated an ambush for the COG who evacuated to Port Farrall after the Sinking of Jacinto. The Kantus lead a large force during the ambush, but were killed by Pvt. Augustus Cole and Sgt. Bernadette Mataki in the battle.
Eventually, the Kantus reorganized into two separate factions: those who were able to reunite with Queen Myrrah and those that went savage. The Savage Kantus began acting as shamans to their savage brothers while the Queen-aligned Kantus introduced a new subclass to their ranks, increasing their lethality.
Lambent Pandemic[]
Numerous Queen-aligned Kantus, including Armored Kantus, partook in the Battle of Endeavor Naval Shipyard, trying to stop Delta Squad from finding a submarine that could take them to Azura, using containers, crates and even ships as elevated firing positions. Their attempts, however, were futile and Delta managed to find a suitable submarine and slip away. Later, Delta encountered even more Kantus in their push to disable the Maelstrom device and when they tried to reach Adam Fenix, but again, the Gears succeeded in their mission and reached Adam Fenix. It is unknown if every Kantus on Sera died with the detonation of Adam's Imulsion Countermeasure Weapon atop of Pinnacle Tower or if they evolved into the Swarm.
Notable Kantus[]
Skorge[]
Skorge was the High Priest of the Kantus. His personal equipment consisted of Ink Grenades, a Gorgon Burst Pistol, and his personal staff with chainsaws on each end. Like his Kantus monks, he used his vocal chords to communicate with Rock Worms and even the Locust deity, the Riftworm, which he lead to destroy the cities of Tollen, Montevado, and Ilima. He could summon Tickers and could even perform incredibly high jumps, displaying great agility. He also had a personal Hydra as his mount. Skorge was killed when Delta Squad, riding Reavers, destroyed his Hydra, sending him falling a great height to his death.
Vrol[]
Ketor Vrol was the High Priest of the Trinity of Worms and member of the Locust Council. He served as High Priest during the Lambent War and early Locust War. Vrol was Queen Myrrah's adviser on all religious matters relating to the Trinity of Worms.
Droak[]
Droak was among the first generation of Kantus and was the original High Priest of the Locust Horde.
Scarred Kantus[]
This scarred Kantus led the Locust forces during the Second Battle of Jilane. This Kantus was able to set up an ambush that nearly killed Marcus Fenix, but during the battle, he was killed by Damon Baird and Alex Brand while trying to revive a downed Drone.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
- Kantus is included in the Gears of War 3 HeroClix Toys.
- Kantus comes from Latin cantus meaning 'having been sung' and references its deafening, debilitating and functional battle cry.
- In the Gears of War comic "Barren Part 4", a Kantus is seen screeching in order to revive a fallen comrade. This screeching is translated into the text as Locust Runes. Using the newly released version of the Locust alphabet, the screeching can be translated into the word "RISE" (whether this is what all Kantus say when reviving comrades is unknown).
- While most Kantus explode in a cloud of ink upon death, Kantus do not release this cloud if their body is gibbed by weapons like a chainsaw bayonet or a Silverback minigun, or if they are killed by a headshot.
- In the Gears of War 3 campaign, if a Kantus is killed while its Tickers are active, the Tickers will explode.
Multiplayer[]
- In Gears of War 2 multiplayer, the Kantus Monk is a playable character for the Locust Horde. It is unlocked once you beat Chapter 2 of Gears of War 2 on any difficulty.
- The Kantus is unlocked for multiplayer in Gears of War 3 after getting the gold Medic medal.
- In Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, the Kantus is an unlockable multiplayer character, available after reaching Level 7.
- The Kantus is a playable character in Gears of War 4, available in the RAAM Emergence Gear Pack.
- In Gears 5, The Kantus is a playable multiplayer character, available as part of Operation 2.
Multiplayer Skins[]
Controlling a Kantus[]
- The Kantus is a second-tier creature in Gear of War 3 Beast Mode, available for $975. It is armed with a Gorgon Pistol and an Ink Grenade, can regenerate the health of nearby allies and raise the fallen with a scream, but cannot take cover and cannot be healed. In addition, the Kantus cannot heal the following creatures: Wild Tickers, Tickers, Serapede, Savage Corpser, Berserker and Armored Kantus. Also, upon death, a Kantus unleashes an ink cloud.
- While playing as the regular Kantus in Beast mode, there are no extended executions. Even if Y is held down, a curb stomp is still performed.
- The Kantus is a first-tier playable character in Gears of War: Judgment's OverRun mode. Both medic and combat support, they're capable of strafing, taking cover, chain-healing allies and resurrecting fallen Locust players. In this game mode, a Kantus can heal almost all of its allies, even other Kantus, with the sole exception being the Serapede.
Appearances[]
- The Rise of RAAM
- Gears of War: Judgment
- Gears Tactics
- RAAM's Shadow
- Gears of War: Ultimate Edition (Multiplayer only)
- Barren
- Gears of War 2 (First appearance)
- Jacinto's Remnant
- Gears of War 3
- Gears of War 4 (Multiplayer only)
- Gears 5 (Multiplayer only)