The Lancer is a weapon manufactured by MegaCorp in Going Commando and Going Mobile. It is a long-range pistol with a decent rate of fire that fires explosive energy bolts to damage enemies.
The Lancer can be upgraded to the Heavy Lancer, a rifle that fires slightly weaker energy bolts but with a rapid rate of fire. The Heavy Lancer can, in turn, be upgraded to the Mega Heavy Lancer and the Ultra Heavy Lancer in challenge mode.
History
Going Commando
The Lancer was available as one of two default weapons for MegaCorp commandos, along with the Gravity Bomb. It could be upgraded to the Heavy Lancer by using the weapon. The Heavy Lancer was seen twice in the story. Firstly, it was used by Ratchet to free the experiment from the thief on Siberius; it was later used by Ratchet to free Angela Cross from the Giganto Mech.
In challenge mode, it could be upgraded to the Mega Heavy Lancer from any vendor.
Going Mobile
The Lancer returned in Going Mobile, with a slightly different appearance (appearing more similar to the N60 Storm).
Characteristics
The Lancer is a silver metallic pistol with red decorations and a red trigger. Its nozzle and its barrel glow orange, the same color of the energy bolts the weapon fires. It features red and black wires from the back to the nozzle.
The Heavy Lancer appears wildly different. It is an assault rifle with a left-hand grip at the back and a longer circular nozzle. The orange energy highlights still appear on the weapon, though decorations are blue instead of red.
Combat
The Lancer initially begins with a medium rate of fire that does moderate damage to enemies. It can automatically target enemies, and is most easily used while strafing. It is a very versatile weapon that can be useful against any type of enemy. When upgraded to the Heavy Lancer, it deals slightly lower damage, but its rapid rate of fire makes it a more powerful weapon.
While the Lancer and Heavy Lancer begin as useful weapons, they are heavily outclassed as the game progresses (particularly around reaching Joba). The Heavy Lancer's damage does little to keep up with the more powerful enemies that the player will encounter later on, and it has very little utility. Therefore, it becomes redundant in the late stages of the game.
In Going Commando, the shock mod and lock-on mod are available at Slim Cognito's platinum bolt weapon modifications shop. The shock mod shocks enemies close to those hit by the Lancer's blasts, while the lock-on mod locks onto a target when 
and 
are held down simultaneously. While the lock-on mod is only a minor improvement, the shock mod can make the Lancer much more effective. However, in both cases, the Lancer is likely to have been outclassed by the time of purchasing these mods, so the player may choose to purchase mods for different weapons instead.
In Going Commando, if the player solely uses the Lancer from the beginning of the game up to and including the Swamp Monster I boss on Oozla, it will be upgraded to the Heavy Lancer.
Behind the scenes
As seen in some beta versions and screenshots from the game, the Lancer's shots were green or blue along with some parts of the weapon itself.
Curiously, the Heavy Lancer's model is used in cutscenes on Siberius and Snivelak, irrespective of whether the player has upgraded the Lancer by that point.
Ratchet's Lancer-looking weapon in Deadlocked
The Lancer's model was used in weapons in Deadlock. Captain Starshield seemed to have used a modified version of the Lancer when he was a gladiator in DreadZone. Later, Ratchet uses a lighter Lancer-looking weapon against Ace Hardlight in a cutscene.
Appearances
- Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando Template:1st
- Ratchet: Deadlocked
- Non-canon