Gears of War shows us that when mankind is backed against a corner by hostile mutated forces the gears of industry kick in and mankind will create some terrifying weapons to fight back. Whether it’s a gun that fires saw blades or an assault rifle with a built in chainsaw the entire Gears of War franchise has some powerful and brutal weapons for players to add to their arsenal.

Some weapons are deadly for their efficiency against groups, others for high damage, and some for how simple it was to obliterate large or heavily armored foes.

10 Buzzkill

The Buzzkill is a terrifying weapon that fires saw blades after a small charge up. These blades will then bounce around tearing through any enemies that happen to be in their path. This makes the Buzzkill an incredibly useful weapon to have when firing upon enemies under cover as you can pinball the saw blades around obstacles to get them.

The reason it ranks so low on the list is that it’s very easy to get yourself killed with this weapon if you don’t angle your shots properly, think playing racquetball with a sawblade and you get the idea.

9 Boomshot Grenade Launcher

A pump action grenade launcher, the Boomshot is a powerful weapon that the player can use to lob grenades at the enemy. This gun hurls an explosive shell that detonates upon impact, this explosion fires out smaller bombs in a cluster to cause a second explosion in a wider radius.

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The nice thing about this weapon was that even if the player missed with the initial explosion the wider second explosion would usually do the trick. Like the Buzzkill it’s easy for players to kill themselves with this gun.

8 Dropshot

Techically a mining tool according to the franchise’s lore, the Dropshot shoots a drill bit that will follow a straight line until the player releases the trigger. Once the trigger is let go the drill bit will drop and drill into whatever object is below it. Once burrowed into the object the drill bit will explode.

It’s a great weapon for attacking shielded enemies like Sentinels, but it does require some rather precise aiming and timing to fully utilize. Without the final explosive effect this weapon would rank much lower for how much talent is required in using it.

7 Silverback

The Silverback is a powerful metal suit the player can wear into battle. Boasting heavy resilience to gunfire, explosions, and armed with weapons like the minigun Mulcher and a rocket launcher, this is a powerful weapon.

The only downside is that the Silverback seems designed to be a defensive weapon. It can run at a decent pace, but the Mulcher is bare bones and the rocket launcher is only available when the suit is stationary. It’ll take a while for enemies to kill you, but there are faster ways to kill your enemies.

6 Longshot Sniper Rifle

Perhaps one of the most satisfying moments in Gears of War is obtaining headshots with the Longshot Sniper Rifle. This powerful bolt action sniper rifle is a beast at long range, capable of taking down many enemies with a well-placed headshot. Even if players miss the headshot and hit something less vital it still does a lot of damage.

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The only downside to this weapon is the obnoxious reload time and its limited usefulness in close quarters combat. When the enemy is hundreds of yards away the player has the advantage, when the enemy is charging mere feet away the Longshot becomes more cumbersome.

5 Digger Launcher

This nightmare fuel of a weapon is a type of grenade launcher that releases a small creature known as a Digger. This Digger looks like a small spiky worm with a grenade strapped to it. This creature will burrow through the ground towards the nearest enemy, pop out of the ground and explode. It can also be fired in the air where the creature will burrow into the targeted enemy before exploding.

It’s a powerful weapon that is very easy to use making it a strong entry for number five. The only reason it doesn’t rank higher is because the following weapons are simply more powerful and the Digger can still get the player killed by the explosion.

4 Hammer of Dawn

While the other weapons on this list are handheld devices that can be wielded in multiplayer, the Hammer Of Dawn is a powerful orbital weapon that fires a laser at the enemy from space. It was designed as a deterrent for politicians wishing to wage war, but would ironically later be used as a tactical weapon in those same wars.

The reason it ranks fourth is that the enemy was able to find a way to counteract the Hammer Of Dawn by using Seeders to fire their Nemacyst which would then disrupt targeting using their ink. It also requires a targeting laser to paint an enemy long enough for a shot to be fired off. It’s a powerful weapon, but one that sees limited use and can be easily disrupted.

3 Torque Bow

One of the more fun weapons in the game, the Torque Bow is a Locust weapon that fires explosive tipped arrows at the enemy. It’s very satisfying to fire one of these arrows at a moving target and see the enemy explode in a shower of gore.

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The reason it doesn’t rank higher is that there is a bit of a charge up to fire the arrow properly. If the gun isn’t charged long enough the arrow can fall close to the player and possibly kill them in the explosion. Once players begin the charge there’s no way to cancel so they are committed to firing the weapon even if the enemy is downed by an ally.

2 Gnasher Shotgun

This brutal shotgun sees a lot of use in multiplayer and for good reason. It fires nine pellets in a cone shaped spray that makes aiming almost irreleveant. As long as you’re pointing in the general direction of the enemy when you pull the trigger odds are they’ll be hit. In close quarters combat this is a fierce weapon.

The reason it doesn’t take the number one spot is because you need to be in close quarters combat to get the full use of this gun. It does have a long range for a shotgun, but it’s lethality drops off as the pellets travel.

1 Custom Lancer (Chainsaw Gun)

The upgraded version of the Lancer Assault Rifle, this iconic weapon is easily the most powerful gun in the game. As an assault rifle it can fire off rounds accurately and very quickly at a good range. The upgraded version has low recoil which make it great for long range engagements.

In addition to handling enemies at medium to long ranges, the gun also has a built in chainsaw bayonet which makes it frightening in close quarters. This gun can handle enemies at any distance and makes the player a threat even if the clip runs empty.

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