Thunder Ball

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The Thunder Ball is Marcus Holloway's primary melee weapon in Watch Dogs 2.

Overview

The Thunder Ball is a melee weapon used by Marcus when attacking enemies. During stealth, he mostly strangles his enemies to render them unconscious with the cord of the weapon. During combat, Marcus usually strikes his victim twice in the head, resulting in an non-lethal takedown. A common and special move is when Marcus hits his target three times while spinning the Thunder Ball vigorously before taking them down entirely. This is also the animation that plays out during Online Sessions if a player takes down another player, killing them instantly.

Animations

If an enemy is below Marcus, he will kick the enemy in the face, spin around, and then strike the enemy with the Thunder Ball. If Marcus takes down an Elite, he will attempt to strike him, but the Elite will quickly dodge and try to grab him, but Marcus ends up kneeing him and then striking him in the head, taking him out. If he takes down an Enforcer, he will try to strike him, but the Enforcer will swat him out and attempt to melee him with his rifle, which Marcus dodges. Marcus will then strike him in the head three times. If he takes down a dog, it will try to bite him, but not long before he strikes it in the head, presumably killing it.

If Marcus attempts a melee attack without having a target, he will simply spin the Thunder Ball in his hands, scaring any citizen NPC in the area. Marcus has a unique animation where he uses the Thunder Ball on a running enemy. He hits his target's legs and slides on his knees, and then punches them in the face. It is most likely an alternative to Aiden Pearce's tackle animation in Watch Dogs, where he neutralizes an enemy. Marcus performs the same animation if the player presses the attack button towards a fleeing civilian.

Appearance

The Thunder Ball is a black weight ball with the DedSec logo painted on it, as well as other drawings such as a bomb. This ball is attached to a long, green and purple parachute cord with a ring at the end, for Marcus to hold. He only uses the Thunder Ball on enemies, as he simply punches other NPCs.

Trivia

• In terms of design, the Thunder Ball is a modern day combination between the monkey's fist and the slungshot. The monkey's fist is made purely by tying the end of a rope into a complex, ball-shaped knot (akin to a clenched fist/paw, hence its name), while the slungshot has the same knot packed around/concealing a heavy weight (the "shot").
  • The Thunder Ball was created after months of research, in which Ubisoft eventually went with the idea of a pool ball attached to a rope, a simple concept which led to the Thunder Ball (as revealed in a behind-the-scenes video.)
• There are at least fifteen animations of Marcus' usage of the Thunder Ball.
• It is unknown how and when Marcus built this weapon and how he taught himself how to use it properly without accidentally injuring himself.
• Sometimes Marcus doesn't use the Thunder Ball during takedowns, as he either strangles them, or punches or kicks them once.
• In the mission Motherload, if one executes a melee attack as Wrench, Wrench uses his own Thunder Ball (that does not look much different from Marcus's).
• The name "Thunder Ball" is most likely a reference to the James Bond novel and film Thunderball.
• Sometimes, Marcus could randomly swing the thunderball on an innocent civilian if they are sitting down and in the right position. However it is rare. It is also unknown how or why this glitch exists.

Gallery

The Thunder Ball in its entirety.

The ring at the end of the chain.

Close-up of the opposite side of the ball.

Full image of the Thunder Ball.

Marcus attacking a civilian with the Thunder Ball.