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Bencarminedeath "Sarge?...I hurt."

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"Fire up your Lancers, Delta!"
Marcus Fenix to his squad

The Chainsaw Bayonet was the standard attachment to the Mk 2, Mk 3 and Marcus' customized Lancer Assault Rifles after the traditional bayonet on the Pendulum Wars-era Rifle became obsolete.

History[]

"These blades are fucking useless, we need something that actually cuts these assholes..."
—Marcus Fenix

Before the Locust War, the Lancer held a standard knife as a bayonet. But, after Emergence Day, the knife had great difficulty piercing the thick hide of the Drone, and sometimes the blade would even break on impact. Consequentially; given the Locusts' penchant for fighting in close quarters, Gears needed another way to fight the Drones in hand-to-hand combat if they ever had to.[1]

Locust War[]

Discovery at Jannermont[]

"We must improvise. The world is full of weapons waiting to be used."
—Tai, brandishing his new weapon.

When Marcus Fenix and his small unit; consisting of Dominic Santiago, Tai Kaliso and Padrick Salton, went to Jannermont investigating reports of a Locust emergence, they engaged a small group of Drones in hand-to-hand combat in a supermarket. The squad almost lost the battle as the knife bayonets were useless; Marcus' even broke off. The Drone he was tackling pinned him to the ground. Tai Kaliso then found a discarded power saw in the hardware aisles and used it to kill the Drone by shoving it deep into his spine and cutting up through his chest, cleaving it in two. Marcus and his squad safely returned to Ephyra and Marcus relayed the idea to his father, Professor Adam Fenix, who began developing prototypes.[1]

ChainsawTheron

The Lancer's chainsaw cutting through a Theron Guard.

Later usage[]

By 14 A.E., the Chainsaw version of the Lancer would be the common rifle for the Coalition of Ordered Governments army and would save many Gears' lives when in close quarters combat. Michael Barrick was even successful in killing a Boomer with the chainsaw.[2]

The chainsaw continued to prove its use during the war, being responsible for saving Delta from the Riftworm when it consumed the King Raven they were on. Delta managed to find the Riftworm's hearts and severed the arteries with their chainsaws, resulting in internal bleeding and eventually death when the final heart was severed. They then used it to cut their way out of the Riftworm's corpse.[3]

During the Siege of Nexus, Marcus Fenix engaged in three chainsaw duels with Skorge, eventually destroying Skorge's chainsaw staff with his Lancer's chainsaw bayonet and forcing Skorge to retreat on his Hydra.[4]

Pros and Cons[]

Pros[]

"Granny had a Chainsaw chat with the vermin..."
Damon S. Baird about Bernie Mataki

Unlike the original Lancer's blade bayonet, the chainsaw won't break while slicing through the thick hide of a Locust.

The individual blades are very sturdy, enough to withstand the force of another chainsaw bearing down on them.

It can also cut through more than just a Drone's flesh. It can cut through parts of larger creatures; like the tentacle of a Leviathan, or a Baby Corpser, as well as wood, thin sheet metal, or wire cables. This was proven when Damon Baird, Augustus Cole and Col. Hoffman used their bayonets to cut wood to repair Vectes Dockyard and the surrounding buildings.[1]

It is also useful for intimidation, especially against thieving Stranded. This was displayed by Bernadette Mataki when she and Delta went to retrieve a broken down truck after they moved to the main base in Jacinto.[5]

Cons[]

"Ughh got some on me, now I got the cooties."
Marcus Fenix, after chainsawing a Locust

It takes a great amount of skill to wield the Bayonet efficiently without the Gear harming or killing themselves or other Gears. Mastered correctly, the skills required can mean victory over a Chainsaw duel with a Lancer-wielding Locust.

Bernadette Mataki had trouble cleaning the bayonet with a toothbrush and getting the remains of a Drone out of the saw.

It makes field-stripping a weapon more complicated; because of the motor, chain, and cogs that drive the saw.

Drone intestines would get all over the Gears which could lead to diseases; this also led to more Gears wearing goggles or helmets, as shards of bone could also spray into the Gear's face.[5]

Due to the Lancer's chainsaw bayonet; Gears were unable to steady the rifle when resting it on a hard surface, this makes the weapon harder to aim in this circumstance, but it could be rested on the magazine as an alternative.[5]

The chainsaw bayonet can jam or clog up from overuse while in battle, which causes a huge disadvantage while in close combat.

Gow-2-cole-chainsaw-duel

Cole dueling with a Theron in multiplayer.

Multiplayer[]

The bayonet's instant-kill property makes it a useful weapon in multiplayer, especially in Execution. Its warm-up time is still present, reducing its usefulness outside surprise attacks. One problem many people encounter is being shot or hit whilst the chainsaw is revving up, which causes the bayonet to lower. There are three Lancer executions over the three games, all of which result in an insta-kill. One comes from the back of the enemy where the Lancer is turned upside down, cutting the enemy in half. Another execution is one from the front where you will cut the enemy's neck to the bottom of the stomach, causing decapitation. The third one is a brand new execution exclusive to Gears of War 3, where you can flip a downed enemy on their back and insert the chainsaw into their chest, chopping up their innards in a bloody and gory fashion.

Behind the scenes[]

Glitches[]

In Gears of War, you can chainsaw yourself but you won't actually die. To do this, first have a weapon like a Longshot sniper rifle or a Torque Bow equipped, and then find a Lancer on the floor and quickly tap B to melee and then press X to pick up the Lancer. If you do this fast enough, your character will start spraying blood all over the screen and a chainsaw sound will continue for a short time.

In Gears of War 2, when a character is interrupted while chainsawing a foe, the chainsaw audio effect will continue playing until complete. For reasons unknown, if a player attempts to chainsaw an idling enemy at his spawn, a duel will automatically ensue, although it is still a certain kill for the player who is actually playing. This is actually because a player only needs to have their Lancer out and facing the enemy to engage in a chainsaw duel; it is a common misconception that they need to actually hit the 'B' button to start the duel. They only need to button-mash once the duel actually begins. Another glitch is that a player will find themselves chainsawed.

In RAAM's Shadow, if a cutscene is triggered while the player is being chainsawed by a Locust armed with a Lancer, the player will be completely unharmed with no sign of the attacker once the cutscene is over.

Gow-cogear-chainsaw-locust

A COG Gear sawing a Locust from behind.

Trivia[]

  • In Gears of War; Gears of War 2, and Gears of War 3, there is a Content Filter Feature, which changes the bayonet sequence. Instead of the enemy being messily cut in half, the chainsaw will emit sparks as it slices through the enemy before he drops dead, body intact.
  • When using the chainsaw bayonet (holding down the B button), one can press the Right Trigger. This makes the chainsaw's engine rev.
  • If one gets shot while revving the chainsaw, the player will lower his/her bayonet by flinching.
  • If you chainsaw a person the common way, it is much slower than a duel version. The common way takes around 5–10 seconds, while a duel version cuts through much faster.
  • In Gears of War 3; 4, and possibly Gears 5, if you have a meat shield from a downed Drone, if an enemy tries to chainsaw you, they will instead chainsaw through your meat shield and you will be able to regroup; shoot, and kill them while they are executing the meat shield. This tactic's the only way to save yourself if you don't have the chainsaw bayonet equipped.

Appearances[]

References[]

The Weapons and Equipment of Gears of War
Human
Melee Weapons Chainsaw Bayonet · Combat Knife · Commando Knife · Machete · Powersaw
Rifles Designated Marksman Rifle · EMBAR Railgun · Enforcer Submachine Gun (Shock variant) · GZ18 Markza Sniper Rifle (Marksman variant) · Hunting Rifle · Musket · Longshot Sniper Rifle · Mark 1 Lancer Assault Rifle (Police variant) · Mark 2 Lancer Assault Rifle (Custom variant) · Mark 3 Lancer Assault Rifle (GL variant) · UIR Belt-fed Machine Gun
Shotguns Gnasher Shotgun · Overkill Shotgun · Sawed-Off Shotgun
Sidearms MX8 Snub Pistol · Talon Autopistol · Zapper
Grenades Beacon Grenade · Bolo Grenade · Cytostatic Gas Grenade · Flashbang · Incendiary Grenade · Molotov Cocktail · Shock Grenade · Smoke Grenade · Stim-Gas Grenade
Heavy Weapons Auto-Turret · Booshka Grenade Launcher · Buzzkill · Chain Gun · COG Machine Gun · Cryo Cannon · Dropshot Munitions Launcher · Laser-Guided Rocket Pod · Longspear Rocket Launcher · Mortar · Mulcher · One-Shot · Rocket Launcher · Salvo Rocket Launcher · Scorcher Flamethrower · Silverback Rocket Launcher · Stomper · Tripwire Crossbow · Tri-Shot Chain Gun · Twin-Barrel Turret · UIR Machine Gun · UIR Minigun · Ultra-Violet Turret · Vulcan Gatling Gun
Super-Heavy Weapons Asp SAM Turret · Ball Turrets · Brader · Defence Missile System · High Velocity Main Cannon · Flechette Guns · Fortress Artillery Cannon · Industrial Staple Gun · Kestrel Missile Launcher · Mega Mech Gatling Gun · Naval Gun · Pariah Cannon · Railgun · Torpedo · UIR Artillery Battery · UIR Anti-Air Turret
Weapons of Mass Destruction Hammer of Dawn · Imulsion Countermeasure Weapon · Lightmass Bomb · Lightmass Missile · Nuclear Missile · Venom Bomb
Equipment Adrenaline Injector · Barrier · Blow Torch · COG/UIR Ammo Crates · Cloak · COG Armor · COG Tag · Fire Extinguisher · Gas Mask · Gut-Puncher · Propane Tanks · Pulse · Remote Targeting System · Stim · UIR Armor · UIR Tag
Other Bow · Flash · Hijack · Shock Trap
Locust/Swarm
Melee Weapons Butcher Cleaver · Breaker Mace · Combat Knife · Crystal Tooth Bayonet · Dual Chainsaw Staff · Explosive Flail · Serrated Knife · Staff · Tremor Hammer
Rifles Breechshot · Claw Light Machine Gun · Hammerburst Assault Rifle (Gorgon variant) · Hammerburst II
Shotguns Elite Sawed-Off Shotgun
Sidearms Boltok Pistol · Gorgon Submachine Gun
Grenades Bolo Grenade · Ink Grenade · Kryll Grenade
Heavy Weapons Boomshot Grenade Launcher · Canker · Digger Launcher · Multi-Turret · Nemacyst · Reaver Chain Gun · Torque Bow · Troika Heavy Machine Gun (RAAM's variant)
Super-Heavy Weapons Brumak Rocket Launcher · Wrist-Mounted Chain Gun · Brumak Rocket Mortar · Corpser Mine Layer · Hydra Missile Pod · Hydra Rocket Pod · Locust Defense Tower · Reaver Rocket Launcher · Siegebeast Catapult
Weapons of Mass Destruction Riftworm
Equipment Boom Shield · Imulsion Explosive Canister · Imulsion Injection Harness · Immune System Booster · Locust Ammo Crates · Locust Armor · Locust Emblem · Swarm Armor · Thumper · Torture Pod
Other Ticker
Easter Egg Weapons
Melee Weapons Elemental Cleavers · Fish Stick
Rifles A Real Gun
Shotguns Raging Buccaneer
Sidearms Despicable You · Memento Mori
Grenades Dom's Toms
Heavy Weapons Cluckshot · Trackshot
Other Relic Weapons
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