Locus

"Bolt-action sniper rifle. 1-hit kill to the chest and above."

- Multiplayer description of weapon.

The Locus is a bolt-action sniper rifle featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops III.

Campaign
The Locus is the signature weapon of Rachel Kane (with the exception of "Sand Castle"), being fired in an unusual semi-auto configuration not seen in normal gameplay. In "Sand Castle", Maretti uses a laser-guided version to shoot the player as they overload the generators and can even hit them if they're cloaked. The Locus is also used by 54i snipers and can be picked up for use (excluding Vengeance).

Report
The Locus "Version 09" (v.09) is one of the many production variations in a series of highly customizable rifles which combine the latest in materials engineering with a time-proven, reliable bolt-action design.

''The Locus series has been engineered to minimize environmental variables such as temperature and humidity to guarantee accuracy in the most extreme operating environments. While there are many versions of the Locus rifle, any of them can be quickly identified by their unique twisted barrel design.''

''The Locus v.09 is built for portability and mobility, making it an excellent choice for operation on the move over rough terrain. Although reliant on a bolt-action operation, ergonomic and mechanical optimizations allow for quick, smooth cycling with minimal movement of the rifle itself.''

Coupled with a ballistics computer and good optics, the Locus is capable of unwavering accuracy and reliable performance under extreme conditions.

Specifications

 * Ammo: 8.6x70mm
 * Length: 1150mm
 * Weight: 5.4kg
 * Barrel: 650mm
 * Production Years: 2056 - Present
 * Country of Origin: Germany

Multiplayer
The Locus is a bolt-action sniper rifle which can kill any enemy with one shot to the upper torso, neck, and head. This one shot kill area isn't as big as the SVG-100's, but nonetheless the Locus has the second largest one shot kill zone of all sniper rifles.

The Locus' rate of fire is poor. Being a bolt action weapon, this is to be expected, firing at 57 RPM, or just under one shot per second. This fire rate can be improved through Rapid Fire.

The Locus' accuracy is superb. The sniper scope is unobstructed and the center point is clear. The idle sway on the Locus is the lowest in class, with only ten degrees of idle sway. The Locus' recoil is unimportant, as the Locus' recoil resets between each shot, even with a low centerspeed value of 750. However, crouching or going prone will increase the Locus' centerspeed, helping the player keep track of where the enemy goes.

The Locus has good handling traits for the sniper rifle. It has the fastest aim speed, taking 340 milliseconds to aim. The hip-fire spread is huge, like on the other sniper rifles, and reloads are an acceptable speed for a sniper rifle, taking 2.45 seconds to Reload Cancel the weapon, or 3 seconds to reload cancel the Locus when it is empty. It is ill advised to reload after a shot, however, as the Locus will still need to perform its chambering action.

The Locus has a generous magazine capacity, holding ten rounds per magazine. The Locus is the beneficiary of a humongous starting ammo loadout, with sixty rounds total, or six full magazines, available to the player when spawning in. Scavenger should be avoided with the Locus at all times.

The Suppressor has no damage penalties to the Locus, only concealing the player's position. In more aggressive roles, this isn't as useful, as the player is more likely to be physically spotted, but when traditionally sniping, this can be very useful against stubborn enemies who don't keep a record of where enemies are/were.

One of the greatest advantages of the Locus is its small idle sway, so the Ballistics CPU isn't a complete mandate, but can reduce idle sway to a minimum if desirable.

Fast Mag makes the Locus' reloads considerably quicker, and this can come in handy to prevent the player from getting caught while reloading. It's not as useful in traditional sniping roles however, as usually the opposition is far enough away that the player can usually reload the Locus with or without Fast Mag.

FMJ usually doesn't help the Locus much statistically, but it can aid in getting one shot kills against enemies through cover. This is particularly useful if the enemy conceals their center mass with thin pieces of cover, not demanding the player to meticulously aim for the head or neck.

Extended Mags increases the magazine capacity to fourteen rounds, and increases the starting ammo loadout by twelve rounds. Extended Mags allows players to sustain combat for longer and have more ammunition at their disposal, should the player be trigger happy or live for a very long time.

Rapid Fire is powerful on the Locus, increasing the fire rate to 60 RPM. While the numerical difference is quite slight, it is a major bonus given the Locus' abysmally slow rate of fire to begin with. Being able to ready another shot with much greater speed can help the player lose less gunfights.

The optical attachments can be used to fit a sight better suiting the player. The ELO sight gives the Locus a great close range optical attachment with minimal zoom, a perfect fit for aggressive players.

Attachments

 * Recon Sight (unlocked at weapon level 2)
 * Suppressor (unlocked at weapon level 3)
 * Ballistics CPU (unlocked at weapon level 4)
 * Varix 3 (unlocked at weapon level 5)
 * Fast Mag (unlocked at weapon level 6)
 * FMJ (unlocked at weapon level 7)
 * Thermal Sight (unlocked at weapon level 8)
 * Extended Mags (unlocked at weapon level 9)
 * ELO (unlocked at weapon level 10)
 * Rapid Fire (unlocked at weapon level 11)
 * Stock (unlocked at weapon level 12)

Zombies
The Locus appears in Zombies, where it can be obtained from the Mystery Box in the maps Shadows of Evil, The Giant, Der Eisendrache, Zetsubou No Shima, Gorod Krovi, and Revelations. The Locus can also be found in Harvest Pods in Shadows of Evil, should the player be lucky. The Locus can also be found in a plant in Zetsubou No Shima.

Its high penetration can make it devastating when grouping, and the clear scope can make it viable even without attachments. ELO can turn the weapon into a close-range destructive force, whilst the Fast Mags can allow the freedom of not needing to buy Speed Cola, instead preserving the slot for a more useful or wanted perk. Its bolt mechanism allows for the sight to settle between shots, and also means that rounds won't be wasted often. With 110 total rounds, the Locus has a higher capacity than the SVG, and only suffers from a slightly lower damage output. The hipfire radius is relatively tight for a sniper rifle, but it is still recommended to ADS as the radius is large compared to an AR or even a shotgun.

When upgraded via the Pack-a-Punch Machine, it becomes the Arrhythmic Dirge and gains a damage increase, an increased magazine capacity, and more reserve ammo.

Trivia

 * If the player selects the Locus as their primary weapon, the character pulls the bolt back, and a round can be seen ejecting from the chamber, but the ammo count will not go down.
 * When the Locus bolt is pulled back, the shell that comes out is gold in colour and considerably smaller than the silver bullets shown in the magazine and chamber.