Drones are the common foot soldiers of the Swarm in the Gears of War series. They are bulky, stocky humanoid creatures with hardened white skin covered in red blotches. Some appear to have chitinous spikes and ridges growing on different parts of their bodies.
Swarm drones are created from humans that have been captured by Snatchers and encased in organic pods. While inside the pods, the subjects' minds are absorbed into the Swarm hivemind and their bodies are broken down, repurposed and transformed into juvenile drones. Barring the presence of an immediate threat, the new drones complete their maturation within a nest and emerge once fully grown.
Drones regularly carry out basic infantry tactics of flanking, dominating the terrain, and setting up ambushes, as well as more advanced tactics. Almost fearless, they know little in the way of self-preservation and almost never retreat. They will usually wield the Hammerburst II battle rifle, the ubiquitous standard infantry weapons of their Locust predecessors. They also fulfill the roles of grenadiers and snipers, armed with frag grenades or Longshot rifles respectively.
Drone sub-classes[]
- Imago - A newly-formed drone fresh out of the nest. Its skin appears white and semi-fluidic, having not had time to harden. Because their skin is still soft, Imagos are weaker than other drones and cannot take as much damage, but they are still ferocious warriors nonetheless.
- Grenadier - Drones that are armed with frag grenades that can be thrown like hammer-flails by a chain or can be planted like mines on the battlefield. They also carry Boltoks, which are Magnum-style pistols with higher caliber rounds and greater accuracy than other pistols.
- Sniper - Drones armed with Longshot sniper rifles. They are not so skilled fighting at close range and will try to avoid confronting Gears up close and personal.