Lancer

The MK1 rewards getting close enough to manage its recoil. The prototype gives you a more sustained stream of fire and the chainsaw finishing attack. Check the model name when picking up a rifle: the attachments are part of two different weapons.[2]

Bravo encounters the prototype at Oria Stadium in Act 2, Chapter 2, when Marcus and Dom meet Tai and Theta Squad. The improvised design joins a rifle to an old chainsaw: a brutal response to an enemy that ordinary bayonets struggle to stop.[1]

Marcus carries a conventional bayonet in the opening reveal. The campaign then follows the development of the chainsaw weapon that becomes a series icon. In the June developer podcast, The Coalition explains that the grocery-store incident involving Tai and a broken bayonet has been moved earlier from the books to fit this origin story.[3][4][5]

Treat the chainsaw as a finishing option against a Boomer. Keep firing from cover first, then close in when it is weakened. Boot Camp teaches the combat controls, and Combat Training gives you a multiplayer map and small Locust encounters to practice on.[2][7]

Campaign Supply Caches let you change weapons and equip upgrades. One upgrade shown in the August campaign preview reloads the weapon after a chainsaw kill, connecting close-range executions with sustained gunfire.[1]

In Horde Siege, class progression unlocks mods and Weapon Parts pay for them. Successful extraction banks the parts found during a mission. Versus disables these mods and gives players equal starting equipment.[2][7]

For launch, The Coalition set Prototype Lancer damage between the two August beta weekends and reduced Lancer MK1 damage. The September 30 tuning notes supersede the beta's damage balance; they do not publish final numeric damage values.[8]