The Bastard or (Russian: Ублюдок) is a carbine that was created from scrap by the Metro dwellers at some point after the Great War of 2013.
Overview
| “ | Submachinegun, 5.45 caliber-It's got poor accuracy and overheats like hell-That's why they call it a "Bastard gun" hahah. | „ |
— Pavel in Exhibition, before giving the Bastard to Artyom. | ||
The Bastard was one of the first Metro-made weapons. It is considerably cheaper to make and maintain than other guns, needing relatively few parts to create, making it ideal for weaponsmiths with few resources. This also explains the high production rates at the Armory and why it is so widely used in the Red Line. This gun, like most, has its ups and downs. It has a high rate of fire and holds 30 rounds of ammunition, but fares poorly for sniping due to very poor accuracy beyond a few yards. It has very high recoil, but can be used effectively for stealth when a more effective stealth weapon is unavailable, since a silencer seems to have little to no effect on damage. The biggest downside to using the Bastard is that it jams and overheats roughly every two mags. However, it is praised for its high rate of fire, which is greater than every other weapon except for the Gatling. Overall, the Bastard is a effective weapon at close range, and should be used for counter-assaults at mid to close range, or for stealth if no better stealth weapons are available.
The name comes from a combination of its tendency to spray on automatic, propensity for overheating, and finicky reloading system; these shortcomings combine to give the weapon its name: It's a real bastard to use. Humorously, the name could quite conceivably have originated from the fact that it's a hybridization of 2 or 3 different guns; the gun has a clear nod towards the Degtyarov PPD-34, but uses modern rifle rounds (5.45mm). In real life, a gun like this would have problems with cycling bullets since the bullets would become dirty or moisturised from being exposed to the elements.
The Bastard is the first automatic weapon Artyom will receive on his adventure, and is surprisingly ubiquitous and effective in spite of the gun having considerable shortcomings. Many players make it a point of personal pride to beat the game with their only automatic weapon being the Bastard.
As the Bastard is a primary weapon it can use both dirty and MGR 5.45x39mm cartridges. However, in general, other primary weapons in the game are more effective and useful; The VSV, Kalash, and Kalash 2012 are all more accurate, generally making them more effective in a given situation, though the Bastard can do more damage per second than the VSV or Kalash with a full magazine when at close range.
Design
It has a design similar to the American M3 Grease Gun (especially the barrel design in Metro: Last Light), British Sten, and the Japanese Type 100, but it mainly draws (in terms of design) from the Soviet PPD-40 and PPSh-41; WWII-era submachine guns that were some of the first guns to be used in Russia's doctrine of providing its rank-and-file with automatic weapons. The feed system seems to be inspired from the feed strips used in the Hotchkiss M1914 machinegun and its derivative the Type 92 machinegun.
It also appears to feature the rear sight of an AKS-74U carbine. Instead of a conventional magazine the Bastard uses a clip which lacks a spring and merely holds the bullets in place while the gun's mechanism feeds the entire ammunition container through the receiver from left to right while firing. The magazine port moves up and down consecutively to align each row of cartridges with the bolt.
While in Metro 2033, it has a dirtier more barbaric look with a wooden grip, in Metro: Last Light the weapon has a slightly cleaner, less ramshackle appearance and has a much wider array of attachments to increase its utility including but not limited to: an AK-74 style polymer stock, an extended barrel, heat sink (keeps weapon from overheating as often), laser sight, optical sights (red dot, two times scope, IR viewing device), and, as in Metro 2033, the silencer.
Tactics and Use
Metro 2033
Despite being widely considered a low-grade piece of kit, the Bastard is far from being a bad piece of weaponry; quite the contrary, it's remarkably effective when used correctly.
Doing so takes a bit more finesse than other guns, though your skills will be well-spent honing your technique. Using the Bastard carries several advantages; it's the first automatic gun you get that can be silenced, it's the first gun you get that can use military-grade rounds, and with patience and practice, the gun can easily carry you through the entire game.
The first and foremost task is to identify the Bastard's strengths and weaknesses. It has very poor accuracy when firing on full-auto, and is the only weapon which has noticeable inaccuracy when aiming down the sights. When fired on full auto, the iron sights are almost useless, even at close range. The best place to view the weapon's spread is in the firing range in Exhibition. The Bastard overheats quickly during continuous fire (roughly two magazines), causing the gun to jam and forcing Artyom to pull out the spring on the back (one can notice the steam coming out of the water-cooling jacket). Reloading the Bastard takes more time than other primary weapons. Unlike other primary weapons, Artyom will reload the Bastard faster if the magazine is empty. This is due to the Bastard's unique feed mechanism, which pops up slightly when the box magazine is empty, allowing easier removal. If reloaded mid-magazine, it does not pop up, so the shooter has to pull all unspent cartridges through the rifle before a new magazine can be loaded. In early Metro 2033, if you need to reload and there are still mutants around, it's best to switch to another weapon. The Bastard makes a useful backup when fighting mutants and you don't have time to reload your Duplet. Against human opponents, you can take cover and get your Bastard ready for action.
On the bright side, the Bastard has a high rate of fire, and it's quite accurate when firing in single shots or short bursts. The addition of a silencer does a lot to improve the Bastard. It is slightly more accurate with this attachment, with less recoil, and without reducing the Bastard's damage. Obviously, it also makes the Bastard a silenced weapon, which is useful in the early game when more effective stealth weapons are unavailable or use hard-to-find ammo. In Redux version of 2033, the silencer and other attachment can be customized at the weapon vendor, as long as you have enough MGR. Therefore its recommended to get a silencer and aiming optic for clearer sight picture if you wish to use this weapon for a while.
In both Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light it is recommended to avoid using the Bastard unless in a tight spot, thus conserving your ammo for the better guns later on. Unless you don't want to replace the Bastard for other primary, you will want to conserve ammo.
Metro- Last Light - Bastard Guide (Rework)
Metro: Last Light
The Bastard makes a return in Metro: Last Light, becoming a somewhat uncommon choice for players to use due to the early introduction of more powerful weapons like AK-74M and the RPK-74, in non-ranger difficulty, the bastard is the first automatic weapon Artyom finds shortly after his capture by Reich. In some DLC levels like Kshatriya however, player might have to rely on the Bastard for a while, because heavier weapons are not available at the beginning. The Bastard itself comes with mostly a few changes to its model and animation, yet has newfound excellence in its customisability with weapon mods, that can turn it into a weapon for various ranges and combat situations. Due to the design of the magazine, it is very easy to tell at a glance how much ammo remains and what type of ammo the player is using - making it a wise choice for those playing on the ranger difficulties. For non-ranger difficulty players, this feature is also beneficial because they are less likely to use the MGR by accident.
As with all primary weapons, the Bastard loaded with MGRs is capable of killing almost anything with a single shot on higher difficulties.
Redux version
The Bastard stays largely the same as the Last Light version. In Metro 2033 Redux, arms dealers only sell the standard Bastard, the players have to customize the weapon with attachments themselves. Bastard carbines found in the environment tends to have more than one attachment, unlike the original version.
Attachments
- Silencer
- Reflex sight
- 2x Optical sight
- Infra-red sight
- Heat sink*
- Kalash butt
- Laser sight
*The heat sink attachment cannot be purchased by Artyom in the Metro: Last Light campaign. It can only be found already equipped on weapons in the following levels:
- Facility - After passing through the room with the brutalized Nazi, there is a room of plants before the next group of enemies. To the right of the doorway is a locker that contains the first Bastard with a heat sink (and butt).
- Regina - Three such examples of the weapon are available here, the first two in optional locations: the second room on the left, where you can activate the lights to kill the spiders within, as you enter the room it is on the floor, and the second is further along the tunnel in the next, partially flooded room, again on a corpse. The final version is it the room you must enter in order to restore power to the hermetic door, again as you enter.
- Undercity - Several more examples of the weapon fitted with multiple attachments are available throughout the level, although it is unlikely that a player would not already have their own fully customized bastard by this stage.
The Ranger trainee in Kshatriya, however, is able to buy the attachment from Kuzmich. Artyom also could purchase the attachment in the Redux version of 2033 and Last Light.
Variants and Obtaining
Metro 2033
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Bastard: A standard Bastard with iron sights.
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Bastard with Silencer: A Bastard equipped with a suppressor that cuts down the noise, reduces recoil and eliminates muzzle flash.
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Related Achievements/Trophies
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Weaponsmith (Metro 2033) | 40 
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| Kill at least 1 enemy with each weapon available in the game. | ||
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Gunslinger | Bronze Trophy - 15
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| Kill at least one Enemy with each Weapon available in the game. | ||
Trivia
- The term ублюдок (ubliudok) means "bastard" or "mongrel".
- Due to the design of both the magazine and the receiver, it seems impossible to eject spent cartridges after firing them, yet the box clip will not contain the empty shells and the telltale sound of a shell casing hitting the ground can be heard after firing. It's possible that the ejection port, along with the cocking handle, might be behind the magazine, but exactly how this would work is anyone's guess.
- The bolt might remove the round from the clip, making it possible that a spring ejector may be tossing the casing on the bolt's rearward travel.
- This is the only weapon in the game that has two idle animations.
- When left idle, Artyom either will fiddle around with the select-fire switch until it falls off, and quickly slot it back into place. Or, Artyom will play with the Bastard gun, tossing it up and down three times. As he tosses it the third time he tosses it too high up and as he looks up, the bastard gun falls down onto his hands again.
- The Metro 2033 Redux version of Bastard is very similar to the one found in Last Light version, also it accepts a wider variety of attachments.
- The reload animation in Metro Last Light and the Redux versions is slightly different from the one in Metro 2033, in that an incomplete magazine will roll back into the position of the nearest round upon the magazine guide/well being slammed on by Artyom's fist, instead of fitting immediately into place upon being shoved into the weapon.
- In Metro 2033, the English dub refers to the Bastard as a submachine gun. This is incorrect as the gun fires rifle cartridges which at the least makes it a carbine. Russian dub refers to it as "автомат", or an "assault rifle". The game puts Bastard in assault rifle class despite the fact that it is a carbine.
- The iron sights are likened on Imfdb to a crude attempt at a Partridge sight similar to those used on Glock pistols. The crudeness is rather visible considering how impractically far apart the rear sights are.
- For a personal weapon, it is odd that the Bastard would have features such as a water-cooling jacket and a semi-disintegrating magazine as these features are commonly seen on machine guns. It's possible that the Bastard was initially designed as a cheap replacement for machine guns, seeing as how weapons like the DShK are no longer being produced.
- In Last Light and Last Light Redux, Artyom will quietly mutter "shit", or "Черт" (damn in Russian), when the gun overheats.
- So far, this is the only weapon that the player can keep in their inventory in the Metro series that will overheat after sustained use.
- In Metro 2033, both versions of Bastard have a trade-in value of 53 MGRs.
- Like many of the weapons in Metro, the Bastard is made out of parts, some of which can be identified.
- The standard barrel shroud is a flashlight.
- The magazine slot appears to be a electrical box.
- The vent port for when the bastard overheats is made out of what appears to be a pinball plunger, nut, and electrical knob.
- The pistol grip is made from a AK-74 or AK-74M. The receiver appears to be made from either a blank or broken AK-74 receiver, judging by the numbers clearly edged into it.
- The forward handgrip appears to be the handle of a kitchen knife or machete.
- In reality, the silencer would be useless, as the rounds in the clip are not sealed inside the barrel, which would cause the sound and flare to escape between the bullet and the clip.
- However, Metro Redux confirms that the Bastard has a chamber, since you are now able keep a round chambered in the gun. That means the cartridge is sealed inside the chamber, which would allow the use of a silencer.
- There is also a special stockless version only found in Dry Station in Metro 2033 Redux.
- The Bastard can be used to help destroy the Red Tank's wheels and drive system for the D6 battle in Metro: Last Light. Its weakness for spraying on full automatic seems to help destroy it easier than using the Preved.
Bugs
- If the player cheats and buys a silenced Bastard in the shop on Exhibition station before receiving one in the armory (Which is impossible under normal conditions), he or she will be indefinitely locked out of using any other primary weapons and will not receive ammo, gas mask, filters, universal charger and a medkit from Pavel. It is still possible to finish the game, but the player is severely crippled in the long run. This bug can only be fixed by restarting the game and visiting the armory first.
Gallery
| Weapons of Metro 2033 | |
|---|---|
| Melee | |
| Handguns | |
| Primary Weapons | |
| Secondary Weapons | |
| Explosives | |
| Emplacement Weapons | |
| Attachments | |
| Weapons of Metro Last Light and Metro Redux | |
|---|---|
| Melee | |
| Handguns | |
| Assault Rifles | |
| Sniper Rifles | |
| Shotguns | |
| Pneumatic Weapons | |
| Heavy Weapons | |
| Explosives | |
| Emplacement Weapons | |
| Attachments | |