The Spotter seems to be a Locust drone who looks out for a gunner who is manning a Troika. The first (and possibly only) mentioning of a spotter is in the fourth chapter of Gears of War, when Delta-One is confronted with a Troika, though not for the first time. Marcus says "there's a Spotter, on the right", to which Kim responds "take him out first". There are always two Locust at a Troika, one manning the Troika and the other can be assumed as the Spotter.
In Gears of War 2, sometimes a Drone will man a large spotlight, blinding Gears as well as making nearby Drones and Gunners aware of your presence. This can be assumed to be a spotter. They generally have lower health and will operate the spotlight, much like a Troika, but without the constant hail of bullets.
History[]
Destruction of Halvo Bay[]
A Spotter was able to sneak inside the courtroom where Kilo Squad was on trial for their actions, along with an assortment of Drones, armed with a Lancer Assault Rifle. He killed several Onyx Guards before charging at Augustus Cole. Cole grabbed a Lancer to defend himself from the Spotter. Just as he was about to cut through the Lancer, Col. Ezra P. Loomis shot him dead with his Boltok Pistol while the rest of the Drones were killed by the Onyx Guards.
Lightmass Offensive[]
The first time a Spotter is encountered is near the corpses of some Gears left to ambush anyone that got close enough to be killed along with a Gunner, however Delta-One managed to flank them both. The next time a Spotter appears (and the only mentioning of one) is at the storage of a building Delta Squad needs to pass through. It gave advisement to a Gunner on where to hit, however they were soon killed by the Gears. Another one helped a Gunner at a staging area Delta went through and was quickly killed. Again, a Spotter gave support to a Gunner on a Troika near a bridge Delta passed through by using the remains of a car as a shield, both the Spotter and the Gunner fell at the hands of the Gears. Another one gave advice to a Gunner at a point between Checkpoint One and Checkpoint Two but was quickly killed.
After a long time without an appearance, one appeared at the East Barricade Academy, providing support to another Gunner in keeping two of the members of Delta Squad at bay. However, the other two managed to flank them. Another one helped the two Gunners that assisted the Theron Sentinel in one of his ambushes but soon fell to the hands of the Gears.
Operation: Hollow Storm[]
Several Spotters aided Gunners inside the Hollows, ambushing Gear squads after they were deployed, and protecting the Locust Staging Ground and the Locust Forward base from Delta Squad. Despite their best efforts to stop the Gears from reaching Nexus, they were killed.
Combatting a Spotter[]
Often, all the player must do is snipe them off their nest, which is often unflankable and in elevated positions. If you do not have a Longshot at your disposal, it is recommended that you use a long-range weapon, such as a Hammerburst or Boltok Pistol, or a grenade.
In the rare cases that they can be flanked and forced out of their nest, it will behave much like a normal Drone or occasionally will wield a Lancer.
Behind the scenes[]
Multiplayer[]
- The Locust Spotter is a playable character in Gears of War 3, unlocked at level 20.
- In Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, the Spotter is an unlockable multiplayer character, available after reaching Level 23.