The Locust Horde has emerged from the bowels of the planet Sera. Here's what we know about the foes that will be pitted against Marcus and his fellow Gears.
Drone
Height: 2+ Meters (6.5+ ft)
Weight: 120+ Kilograms (260+ lbs)
Tactical: Tough hide -- use shotgun at close range to terminate. Contray to the "mindless horde" rumors you might hear, they're capable of setting up ambushes, lures, and sniping. When ordered they'll throw their lives away by the hundreds to kill one entrenched Gear. Never seen one lose morale and bolt.
Special Formation: Troika cabal. Three-part team operating a high-rate-of-fire pulse-projectile gun that makes our .50 calibers look like pea shooters. Avoid.
Theron Guard
Height: 2+ Meters (6.5+ ft)
Weight: 120+ Kilograms (260+ lbs)
Tactical: Drone Commanding Officers. Capable of even more advanced battle tactics than the Drones, they are deadly foes in any circumstances.
Boomer
Height: 2.5+ Meters (8+ ft)
Weight: 200-250 kilograms (500 lbs)
Tactical: Larger versions of the standard Drone. They carry powerful weapons, have great physical strength, and are even more resistant to harm than the smaller versions of their own species.
Corpser
Height: Unconfirmed
Weight: Unconfirmed
Tactical: Massive creatures used by the Locust Horde to dig tunnels through the soil, allowing the other members of the Horde to move about undetected. The tunnels also allow the Horde to come up out of the dirt behind the lines of the COG. The Jacinto plains, which are positioned on a huge slab of granite, are the only place on Sera that the Horde cannot-yet-dig through.
Brumak
Height: 12+ Meters (40 ft)
Weight: 10,000 Kilograms (22,000 lbs)
Tactical: Gargantuan monstrosities. DNA analysis indicates these were bred by the Locust Horde from smaller native apes. Extraordinary thick hide. Deadly at close range. Recommend blasting them with high-yield explosives from a safe distance.
Special Note: Drone-mounted armored variations have been reported. Rumors of Brumak carring energy cannon(s) cannot be confirmed, though there have been sightings of Brumak wielding massive arm-mounted ballistic cannons.
Berserker
Height: 4+ Meters (13 ft)
Weight: 360 Kilograms (800 lbs)
Tactical: Genetic analysis reveals this to be the female of the Drone. Uses scent and vibration to detect enemies. Slow, but can build sufficient momentum to smash through walls. With their fused fists they can obliterate armored Gears with a single blow. Usually pissed off -- hence the name. Run.
Butcher.
Butcher are basically the same creature, although the Butcher has less armor and a large meat cleaver used for cutting up Rockworm meat to feed Locust soldiers, although they will not hesitate to do the same to you. The Butcher also has a meat hook in his other hand, but he never uses it.
Wretch
Height: 1.5-2 meters (6 ft)
Weight: 60-80 kilograms (150 lbs)
Tactical: Small, man sized members of the Locust Horde. They are able to climb on almost any surface, like insects. They are very dangerous to Gears that forget to look up.
Bolters are a class of Drones that appear in Gears of War 2. They first appear in Act 1: Tip of the Spear. Like their name suggests, they only wield a Boltok Pistol and are very skilled in its use. They tend to hide behind cover to reload and pop out to fire at the player. They are easily distinguished from regular drones by their better armor, which includes a full helmet and shoulder plates , although they have far less health.
Flame Boomer
A variant of the Boomer encountered in the events of Gears of War 2, the Flamer carries a Scorcher Flamethrower (with fuel tanks on their backs) and is heavily armored. This armor also contains a helmet which must be knocked off via gunfire before a proper headshot can be made, according to COG troops. Another easy way to kill this Locust is by shooting the fuel tanks on their backs, which causes the fuel to ignite and then explode. The only difference between the Flamers and the Flame Boomers is that Flamers will run, while Flame Boomers mainly move slowly.
Animals.
Seeders
Large, insect-like Creatures that launch Nemacysts into the air, flying jellyfish-like creatures that act as flying mines and anti-air interceptors, causing havoc for King Raven choppers through out both games. When Seeders are present in an area, they scramble COG radio frequencies. Nemacyst have the annoying habit of homing in on the player, exploding on impact and injuring anyone around it. Seeders can be killed using the Hammer of Dawn; additionally, Seeders are susceptible to the heavy cannon fire from a Centaur Tank, a Brumak or a Reaver.
Reavers.
Large, flying creatures about twenty times the size of a drone. They are saddled up and ridden by a Beast Rider as well as a passenger Drone (or Theron Guard), who guns down enemies, usually with a Torque Bow. They play an essential role in the Locust offensive as fire support and harassers, and are able to impale Gears with their tentacles. Reavers have very weak armor, and in both games can be killed easily by Troika machine guns or heavy fire to the stomach.
rank 5 needed)
Corpser.
Corpsers are immense Locust beasts which appear to be somewhat arachnid. Their heads appear almost humanoid except for their insect like eyes, and they wear multi-lensed helmets similar to those worn by Brumaks. Corpsers have eight thick rock camouflaged legs that guard their vulnerable underbellies, which is the only vulnerable part of their body besides their mouth. The Locust Horde uses Corpsers to dig tunnels through the soil of Sera, allowing the Horde to move about undetected, even as far as behind COG lines. Corpsers are often seen moments before Locust attacks, and they are often seen leading the Locusts out of the ground on Emergence Day. The Jacinto Plateau, which comprises granite and marble, is the only place on Sera that the Horde can not dig through quickly which made it suitable for the COG's main Headquarters.
Rank 5 needed)
Brumaks are huge Monsters with extraordinarily thick hides. They often grow to 12 meters in height and tend to weigh around 10,000 kilograms (22,046lbs). They were apparently bred by the Locust Horde from smaller native apes and are lethal at close range. Their head-gear resembles the Corpser's helmet, but their bodies have more in common with humanoids than arachnids. Brumaks are capable of carrying a rocket launcher and a Gatling gun on their back, in addition to two high-caliber autocannon-like guns on the forearms; they have also been rumored to carry energy beam cannons to kill at a range. Their strength can be compared to a Corpser's.
High priest only)
During the last cutscene of Gears of War what appears to be a subspecies of Reaver or a new species all together is shown. It looks like a Reaver but it has jaws like that of a Rhinoceros Beetle. Even though in Gears of War 2, it is confirmed that the anonymous rider is Skorge, Queen Myrrah's bodyguard and leader of the Kantus, at the end of Gears of War 1, the rider looks much more like a Theron Guard.
In the Official Gears of War 2 guide it is confirmed that the Hydra is a mutated Reaver, possibly as a result of Imulsion exposure. After the showdown in the Palace you fight it in a mid-air boss fight, Skorge mounted on its back. The Hydra is the third largest known animal in the game and even surpasses the mighty Brumak in size and possibly power, only dwarfed by the Lambent Brumak, which is easily the size of a large building, and the gargantuan Rift Worm.
Rank 3 needed)
Bloodmounts.
The Bloodmounts are usually kept in a cage until the riders choose them. They carry a single rider (a Beast Rider or Palace Guard) on its back for gun support. It has two legs which it uses as claws to attack the player, but it really walks on its hands and attacks with its shriveled feet. Once the passenger has been eliminated it will run at you and maul you. This also occurs if and when you cause enough damage to its head, where the Bloodmount will attempt to claw it's helmet off, sending the beast into a violent rage.
Rank 2 needed to coordinate)
Tickers.
This type of Locust seems to resemble a small rodent with long front legs. It is a walking bomb that will detonate when it gets close to an enemy, though there is a slight delay between ignition and explosion thus giving the player plenty of time to kill it. As its name suggests, it emits a 'ticking' sound. The new Kantus can call upon these to help defend itself against an assault. Players can melee the Ticker to knock it into the air, and 30 melees on Tickers will bag the "It Takes a Lickin'" achievement. Tickers are also one of the few Locust in campaign that will deliberately go up to you and finish you off when you're downed on Casual or Normal difficulty.
Rank 5 needed)
Torture Barge.
The Barge is actually a massive living creature coupled with Locust technology, used by the Locust to transport/torture Locust troops and Human captives respectively, and is an essential part of crossing the Hollow in Gears of War 2. The only way to destroy the barge is to use the Brumak's heavy machine guns (or presumably any other heavy weapon) to destroy its legs, which it uses in tandem with a gas-filled body to crawl along the ceiling of the Hollow.
