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"You need a Longshot. Reloading's a pain in the arse, but it'll stop a truck."
Bernadette Mataki to Dilland Jonty, during a recon mission on Vectes[2]

The Longshot Sniper Rifle was a high-caliber, single-shot, bolt-action sniper rifle. Created by the Coalition of Ordered Governments during the Pendulum Wars, the Longshot was used even seventeen years after Emergence Day. While created by the COG, it is used by the Locust Horde, like most COG weapons. It is also used by a few Stranded groups.

History and Use[]

Longshotscop

The sights of the Longshot.

"Look ma, no face."
Marcus Fenix, upon obtaining a headshot with the Longshot

The origins of the Longshot Sniper Rifle dated back to the Pendulum Wars, manufactured by the COG for its Gears to counter the UIR GZ18 Markza. With the Gnasher Shotgun and Lancer Assault Rifle providing closer ranged firepower, the Longshot allowed Gears to metaphorically "reach out and touch someone". With its competent scope, long barrel, and precise but powerful ballistics, the Longshot shifted the rules of combat drastically, allowing a skilled sniper to remain uninjured or even unseen during firefights.

With a well-placed headshot, the Longshot was capable of dispatching a variety of opponents easily; even if a headshot was inconvenient or otherwise impossible at the time, it was still capable of inflicting critical damage to the target regardless of hit location. If you do manage to strike a Drone in the head, however, the round will cause the Drone's head to burst into pieces.

In Gears of War 3's single-player Campaign mode, if one were to arm two Gears each with this weapon, along with any combination of the two aforementioned weapons; the Retro Lancer, a Boomshot or Torque Bow, can simultaneously keep the target pinned down whilst the other person/people flank and provide an explosive surprise/ambush when the snipers are busy reloading.

Gow-locust-sniper-2

A Locust Sniper with the weapon.

Multiplayer[]

Among the other weapons in multiplayer, this weapon is recommended for long range kills. If opposing players are not careful, they could be killed instantly with a single headshot. It is particularly useful in taking out AI-controlled units, as they don't tend to move often, especially on lower difficulties. The Longshot is also good against players using weapons like the Mortar and Hammer of Dawn, as the user has to stay still or move slower to use the weapon, making them susceptible to a headshot.

Players wielding a Gnasher Shotgun perform similar tactics, thus giving a sniper a better chance to either "down" or kill them. With the use of Active Reload, a single shot could down an enemy, though this was changed in Gears of War 2, in which it simply does more damage when landing a headshot (useful for taking out some of the stronger enemies, i.e. a Boomer or Grinder). It may be a sign of good team structure if at least one teammate is wielding a sniper rifle. Snipers are vulnerable to attacks from the side or behind because of their limited field of vision, especially while using the scope to zoom in on enemies.

Occasionally make a 360 degree sweep of your surroundings to avoid being caught off guard by another player who is trying to flank you while you are scoped. You can also bring up your Tac/Com to locate your teammates on the map. If your entire team has relocated, but you cannot see any enemies, consider relocating to stay with your team and avoid being cut-off from them. Even if you do not score headshots, direct body shots still deal support damage and can assist teammates fighting at close range. This can be just as helpful as killing the target yourself if it saves them from a shotgun rush.[3]

A Gnasher Shotgun, Lancer, or Hammerburst best complements the Longshot to compensate for its shortcomings at close range. A disadvantage to the user of this weapon can be their online position in a match. The host of a match can fire this weapon as they would in local single player though people connecting to this host will have to deal with latency. Another disadvantage for players is the Longshot's length, as an observant player can see part of the rifle poking out of cover.

Gow2-dizzywallin-sniping

Dizzy Wallin with the weapon.

The Longshot is the only weapon that can hit a target in cover when other weapons can't. For example, a player in cover is sometimes immune from fire at certain angles even though you can clearly see them. The Longshot will ignore these restricted angles and headshot someone deep in cover, as long as you can see their head. The Longshot is also known for "corner shooting" where players for example pick up a sniper for the building and then they hide behind the pillars of the building but not taking cover on the cover. While holding down the Left Trigger, slightly move the rifle's barrel to the corner of the cover, protecting your head and allowing you to snipe at the same time.

In Gears of War 3, when someone aims the Longshot at the player, light is emitted in the form of a glint as a warning to a potential target. Longshots do not collect ammo from ammunition boxes in the campaign.

Execution[]

The Longshot's execution involves flipping the sniper rifle so that the barrel is in the player's hands, then smashing the stock of the rifle onto the enemy's back, breaking it. This execution was introduced in Gears of War 2.

Gears Tactics[]

The Longshot is the primary weapon of the Sniper class. It has a very long range and narrow overwatch cone.

Base Stats[]

  • Damage: 250
  • Crit Chance: 20%
  • Crit Damage: +125%
  • Range:
  • Ammo Capacity: 3

Behind the scenes[]

  • When in third-person mode, the lens caps of the scope are still on.
  • It was ranked Number 3 on Gears of War's "Top 5 Weapons." [1]
  • When in cover, switching directions from left to right or vice-versa while not aiming will change the bolt handle from one side of the gun to the other when the character switches hands, which should be impossible due to the construction of the weapon. Also, when a player leans a direction in cover, the bolt appears to be switched. This is also noticeable on every other weapon, as the shells come out of opposite sides.
  • There is a glitch in the first Gears of War that allows the player to appear invisible and can only be done with the Longshot. While aiming the rifle, melee and zoom at the same time. If done correctly, the player will be back in third person but their body will not be there. The guns on their back and waist are still present and seem to float on an invisible being. This works in multiplayer as well as in campaign mode. Other players can still see those under the effect of this glitch, however, and the invisibility can only be noticed by the person controlling the invisible character. Invisible players can still be downed or die, as well as take cover, pick up weapons, switch weapons, shoot, roll and melee. Aiming again with the Longshot will cancel the effect.
  • If the Horde Command Pack is downloaded, the command center will have the option to take out random enemies with sniper teams in Horde 2.0.
  • For a time, this was the only weapon in the Gears of War games that had a stock; all other weapons appeared to be devoid of them, except the original design for the Mk 1 Lancer that appeared to have a folding stock. However, it has since been joined by the Breechshot, Markza and Custom Lancer.
  • In Gears of War, a shot from the Longshot to anywhere on an enemy was enough to kill them instantly. However, in later games, a head shot is required for a single shot kill.
  • In Gears of War and Gears of War 2, more Longshot ammo can be picked up by finding a regular ammo pack like with any other gun in the game. In Gears of War 3 and Gears of War: Judgment, this is no longer an option. Instead, the player can only find more ammo for the Longshot by finding another Longshot, generally one dropped by a fallen enemy. This makes ammo for the Longshot rarer in the later games. In contrast, the Markza in Gears of War Judgment can be reloaded by picking up a regular ammo pack like the Longshot originally could.

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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