Claymore Mine

"This makeshift, directional, anti-personnel shrapnel mine is completely inferior to its pre-war counterpart but is still indispensable in the narrows."

- In-game description

The Claymore Mine (not to be confused with mines from Sam's Story) is a piece of equipment Artyom can find, purchase, and use in Metro: Last Light as well as Metro Redux.

Overview
The metro-produced Claymore explosive device is likely inspired by the U.S. Army's M18 Claymore Mine, and/or its Russian counterpart, the MON-50. It differs from its pre-war cousins in that it has an open front, which allows the player to see its plastic explosive and its bolts, nuts, and screws which serve as shrapnel. Though not military-grade, this homemade Claymore mine can still inflict serious damage to whoever triggers it.

Use
Claymore Mines are placed in front of the player, from where they produce a laser beam pointing in the direction where Artyom was looking. Should an enemy get close to the laser or touch it, the mine will explode. Since it is a directed anti-personnel mine, anything standing behind the mine will be safe from any damage. Any enemy standing within the cone of the explosion, however, will suffer heavy damage. Since the Claymore is not common, they are best used in defensive situations. Claymores only target enemies - friendly NPCs and Artyom himself will not trigger the mine. However, if Artyom is too close when the mine goes off he will take some damage.

The mine is a powerful weapon thats useful against any enemy, though it is especially effective against mutants who often charge towards Artyom, their weak undersides directly exposed to the blast. Regular enemies caught in the blast will most likely be killed instantly, while stronger enemies suffer heavy damage, sometime they will be stunned for a few seconds. For obvious reasons, it is a useless stealth weapon, you can use it however, as a powerful distraction, since the enemies are highly likely to investigate the explosion. Also its an excellent way to keep the enemy from flanking your location.

Where it excels in in combat with the boss enemies, especially on Ranger difficulties. In fights that can normally take hundreds of bullets to end, a few claymores can swiftly dispatch the boss, or at least make combat a lot easier. The Bog Shrimp can be stopped with one or two mines, triggering the scripted Demon attack, while the Big Momma can be killed with two, one in each area. The Bear is the toughest of all the bosses, but a claymore can stun it long enough for the Watchmen to jump on its back, exposing its weak-spot.

Locations
Artyom can buy the mines at all Metro station vendors after Bolshoi, as a part of the equipment. They can be found free on the surface in the airplane crash at the swamp, and more can be found in the level afterwards. Later on, more of them can be found in Bridge level, which can be useful against the mutants that Artyom will face.

In the Tower Pack DLC, many levels start with Claymores already set up in strategic locations - they prove extremely helpful in thinning the numbers of enemies.

Trivia

 * Although Claymore Mines are sold at shops and can be found outside the safe zones, no NPC will use it against Artyom as they seem to prefer the more conventional wired traps.
 * It is strange that the mine is not more expensive, considering the price of laser sights in the Metro. Since the mine is home made, one would think using two laser sights as well as a mechanism to detonate the mine would cause it to be considerably more expensive. Alternatively, they could be made with civilian laser pointers rather than military laser sights.
 * Another strange aspect of the Claymore Mine in this game is its use of assorted metal bits and pieces as improvised shrapnel, given the fact that steel ball bearings used as ammunition by the Tihar and the Hellbreath are available for cheap in the Moscow Metro (real-life Claymore Mines do in fact use steel balls as purpose-made shrapnel, albeit with a diameter of only 3.2mm for each ball instead of the 15mm diameter of "ammunition-grade" ball bearings seen in the games). Using those instead would make the Claymore Mine more effective while not likely increasing the cost by much.

Противопехотная мина