RAAM
From Gears of War
- "Serve the Queen!"
- — RAAM
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
General RAAM was a mostly silent and savage, yet unrivaled, Locust general with a dark presence. The blood of billions (soldiers and innocents) are on his hands, both directly and indirectly. Once a Theron Guard, the cunning and ambitious RAAM usurped the military leadership of the Locust Horde through skill and intellect. He is the only known being able to control the Kryll. He possessed great strength (possibly even greater than that of Boomers), able to wield a Troika machine gun by hand with ease. RAAM also wielded a serrated blade at times, which he used to impale Lieutenant Kim. He was also seen killing a Gear with a Boltok Pistol after listening in on Delta Squad's plan to launch the Lightmass Bomb into The Hollow, by using data contained in Adam Fenix's Estate (therefore, he was able to send his troops there before Delta Squad arrived). He was encountered on the Tyro Pillar, a cargo train, heading into Timgad Valley and a huge pit of Imulsion. It was here that the notorious Locust general met his demise at the hands of Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago, with the help of a King Raven helicopter, commanded by Colonel Victor Hoffman, and with turrets controlled by Damon Baird and Augustus Cole, while he was attempting to prevent the detonation of the Lightmass Bomb.
Contents |
[edit] Appearance
RAAM appears as a hulking Locust general, and stands almost a meter and a half from a fully grown human and a normal Locust drone with pronounced facial features, bony eyebrow ridges, and large orange, sunken eyes. He is taller than a Boomer and larger and has a constant snarling expression upon his hideous face. His bottom lip overlapped his top lip, and he had long, sharp teeth that bent back towards his face. Raam also had thick, grey skin and a black triangular marking on the top of his head. He has a porcine nose and wears a black variant of the Theron Guard armour. The Locust general also has long, black fingernails, and large, muscular limbs.
[edit] From grub to General
RAAM only spent one year as a Drone and quickly proved himself in the elite Theron Guard. Cunning and ambitious, within only a few short years he usurped the military leadership of the Locust Horde[1]. It is unknown his role in the Human-Locust War, but he lead his troops personally leading his troops in the Lightmass Offensive. His role during the battle was making sure Gears officers were killed and to make sure the "ground walkers" will not used their weapon of mass destruction. After killing Lt.Kim outside the tombs of unknown soldiers, he'd discover the Human plan with the Lightmass bomb. Leading his forces to the train carrying the bomb, he had his men dump the Gears in front of the moving train[2]. After Delta-One boarded the train and killed every single Locust troop they encountered, They engaged in gun battle with him only ending being killed in a hail of gun fire in which his defeat lead to the destruction of the outer hollows and millions of his kinsmen dying, but also gave his people hope in the form of the Rift Worm.
[edit] Personality and Traits
RAAM was a well qualified general that rose through the ranks with ease and won the Queen Myrrah's favor. Like all Locust, he has no respect for Human prisoners and had them executed[3][4]. He executed one with a headshot after using his radio to listen in on his enemies plans. Even after Sgt. Fenix and Dom cleared out the Tyro Pillar of all other Locust presence, he stood his ground and fought both Delta-One until his death at their hands.
[edit] Legacy
It seemed his failures spelled the certain doom for the Locust Horde. With the destruction of the Outer Hollows, and losing millions of grubs, and most likely turning the tide of the Locust Civil War, in favor of the Lambent, leaving Nexus under siege. But his successor Skorge was able to used the awaken Rift Worm and lead the counterattack against Jacinto City and was able to do more damage with his underground weapon then RAAM's military tactics.
[edit] Defeating RAAM on insane
[edit] Single Player
On single player the battle is almost impossible, as the player has got to do all the work. Grab the Lancer, Torque Bow and as many Grenades and as much ammunition as possible. After picking up the Torque Bow, wait before exiting the car. After a minute or so the Torque Bow will respawn. Pick up these bolts (for a total of 12) and proceed out the door to face General RAAM.
As soon as the fight begins, run to the furthermost single cement block on the farthest right (by the four blocks in a square formation). Once at this block, wait for RAAM to approach. Keep facing to right while behind the block, and he will eventually get stuck, if it doesn't happen the first time keep on running around it until it does. Once RAAM is stuck, blindfire a Torque Bow bolt into his chest and then quickly switch to the Lancer and empty a clip into him. After reloading the Lancer switch back to the Bow and repeat until out of ammo, death, or until General RAAM is killed. Getting a perfect reload will help greatly with the Torque Bow but is not necessary with the Lancer as the added damage will wear off before it can be used.
Another strategy involves a similar preparation, acquiring a full clip of Torque Bow bolts, before proceeding. Once the fight begins, shield yourself until you can maneuver past him to the platform where he originated from (this largely involves using Dom as a decoy). Hit him with a Torque Bow to scatter the Kryll, then unload on him with the Chain Gun. If you can get to the cannon, this makes the fight very short.
Note: If out of Torque Bow Bolts, use the Grenades; angle them off the curved wall of the car so they will land at RAAMs feet and scatter the Kryll. When blindfiring the Torque Bow make sure not to shoot it into the block or you will explode!
[edit] Co-Op
RAAM is much easier to defeat on co-op.
[edit] Multiplayer
RAAM is available as a player in Gears of War, and is the leader during Assassination. He is also an unlockable character in Gears of War 2, if the player has received the A Dish Best Served Cold achievement, acquired after killing RAAM on the Hardcore difficulty. In order to acquire RAAM, you must sign into Xbox Live after obtaining the A Dish Best Served Cold achievement.
[edit] Quotes
- "Serve the queen!"
- — Starting the final battle and a multiplayer match
- "Dieeee!"
- — Right before the final battle
- "Besiege!"
- — Ordering Kryll to attack
[edit] Behind the Scenes
RAAM was the main antagonist for the first Gears of War and final boss.
[edit] Trivia
- Contrary to popular belief, RAAM is pronounced RAHM (similar to the Egyptian sun god 'Ra' with am 'M' on the end), not RAM, (as in battering ram.)
- RAAM is the Leader for Assassination in Gears of War but is replaced with Skorge for Gears of War 2.
- RAAM's armor itself resembles the armor of a Theron Guard except his armor is black instead of red.
- RAAM appears smaller than his original height in multiplayer but is still taller than most other COG and Locust soldiers.
- In the Gears of War strategy guide, it says that General RAAM killed Adam Fenix.[citation needed]
- Oddly, in Gears of War 2, Marcus and Dom reference RAAM by name, despite having never heard his name in the first game.
