Heavy Weapons

Heavy weapons are fairly rare in multiplayer modes, but once found, they can be extremely effective in the right hands. In Horde, they are found on various enemies and become available for purchase once the Fabricator hits Level 3. Grab them whenever possible, but note that your speed is drastically slowed and you become vulnerable out in the open.

Heavy weapons can be blind-fired, but they become much more accurate by holding down the Left Trigger. This plants the weapon on the ground, leaving you considerably susceptible to the opposition. When you’re behind cover, this action rests the gun on the barrier, making you slightly less vulnerable.

You can only use the heavy weapon when equipped. Switch to another weapon to drop the big gun. Empty the gun and it disappears with no way to reload.

Buzzkill

Fires saw blades that ricochet around the environment.

Slot: Heavy

Trigger Type: Auto

Versus Availability: Impact, Reclaimed, Relic

Horde Availability: Fabricator (LV 3), Scion Buzzkill

Weapon Stats (Core)

New to Gears of War 4, the Buzzkill shoots buzz saws as long as the Fire button is held. The blades ricochet around the environment until they hit a target. These sharp, rotating projectiles are lethal, firing at a quick rate for as long as the trigger is held.

Blind-fire into busy, tight confines to clear an area out. Bounce blades around corners or against back walls to down enemies who hide behind cover. Note that even though you are not hurt by another player’s saw blades, your own projectiles do damage after bouncing against a wall.

Mulcher

Powerful chaingun with a high rate of fire.

Slot: Heavy

Trigger Type: Auto

Versus Availability: Lift, Relic

Horde Availability: Fabricator (LV 3), Scion Mulcher

Weapon Stats (Core)

The Mulcher has an extremely high rate of fire as it tears through enemies. The gun takes a second as it spins up, making you vulnerable during this time. From behind cover, hold the trigger down a second before exiting protection to limit this vulnerability. The heavy weapon requires line of sight and suffers from subpar accuracy as range goes up.

Like all heavy weapons, the Mulcher does not get reloaded. It heats up as the trigger is held. A bar in the upper-right corner of the HUD shows the gun’s heat, turning red as it gets close to overheating. If it completely fills, the weapon becomes unuseable until it cools off. By tapping the Right Bumper, you can cool it down immediately. Shoot in spurts to avoid losing operation of the gun.

Take into account where the action is when you come across a Mulcher. Slow movement speed when carrying the heavy weapon bogs you down too much to a travel long distances in a timely manner.

RL-4 Salvo

Rocket launcher fires high-powered projectiles in quick succession.

Slot: Heavy

Trigger Type: Auto

Versus Availability: None—currently only available in Horde

Horde Availability: Fabricator (LV 3), Air Drop, Sentinel

Weapon Stats (Core)

The RL-4 Salvo holds 20 rockets with the ability to fire them in quick succession. The projectiles explode on impact with great power, making the weapon a great choice against groups. Or simply let the explosives fly and hope that you score some kills. Once the ammo is gone, though, the launcher goes away.

The rocket launcher can be effective at long range, but its accuracy does suffer the farther out the projectiles fly. Use the blast radius of the explosive to take out adversaries who hide behind cover. Aim for the top or side of the barrier, or hit the wall just beyond. Lose the heavy weapon when enemies are close, since you could get caught in your own blast.

Tri-Shot

Heavy machine gun that fires three shots at a time.

Slot: Heavy

Trigger Type: Auto

Versus Availability: Reclaimed

Horde Availability: Fabricator (LV 3), Guardian

Weapon Stats (Core)

Firing three bullets at a time, the heavy machine gun has an incredibly high rate of fire, allowing it to tear through most enemies with ease. It can be blind-fired, but mount it on a barrier or on the ground to improve its accuracy. Ammunition is limited, so watch out as it gets low or you may become a sitting duck as the gun disappears. Note, much like the Mulcher, the weapon requires a short spin-up time before it fires.

Shooting the Tri-Shot for extended periods of time causes it to overheat, represented by the bar next to the ammo count in the upper-right corner of the HUD. The weapon’s barrels will shut down one at a time as each one gets hotter. This reduces the damage and the rate of fire. Keeping this heat buildup in check maintains the weapon’s full potential. If it fully overheats, the weapon must cool before it can fire again. Rapidly press RB to immediately lower the temperature.