Equipment & Technology

A device strapped to a soldier's waist and legs that lets them move in three dimensions by firing anchors attached to wires and propelling themselves with compressed gas. It is the basic tool of all three military branches within the Walls and what makes it possible to strike a Titan's nape.

How it works

The soldier fires two hooked anchors from the box on their hip; these lodge in walls, trees, buildings or a Titan's own body. The reels retract the wire while the gas propels the user, who steers with body weight and the triggers on the grips. Mastering the gear depends on balance, so the trainees' first test is staying suspended in the harness.

Training

In the Training Corps, trainees practice with the gear for years using wooden dummies that imitate a Titan's nape. Eren Yeager initially failed the balance test because the buckle on his belt was broken, a defect that Instructor Keith Shadis later acknowledged.

Limitations

The gear needs high anchor points, so it loses almost all its usefulness in open terrain; that is why the Survey Corps avoids fighting on the plains and seeks out forests or towns. Running out of gas or breaking the blades leaves a soldier defenseless, as happens during the Battle of Trost.

Origin

According to the spin-off “Before the Fall,” the final design is credited to the craftsman Angel Aaltonen, who refined earlier prototypes so humanity could fight back against the Titans.

Notable users: Eren Yeager, Mikasa Ackerman, Armin Arlert, Levi AckermanLevi, Erwin Smith, Hange Zoë, Jean Kirstein, Connie Springer, Sasha Braus, Historia ReissKrista Lenz, Ymir, Reiner Braun, Bertolt Hoover, Annie Leonhart, Petra Ral, Oluo Bozado, Mike Zacharias, Moblit Berner, Marco Bott, Hannes, Kenny AckermanHidden character, Floch ForsterHidden character

Compressed gas cylinders that power the ODM gear. The gas comes from Iceburst stone, a mineral mined inside the Walls, and its consumption determines how long a soldier can keep fighting.

Consumption

Every burst consumes gas, so experienced soldiers like Levi or Mikasa learn to use it sparingly. Mikasa empties her tanks in Trost out of desperation after Eren's apparent death and falls to the ground, unable to move.

Supplies on expeditions

On expeditions, gas and blades are carried in wagons inside the formation. Losing the wagons can force a mission to be aborted, so protecting them is part of Erwin Smith's planning.

Notable users: Mikasa Ackerman, Armin Arlert, Jean Kirstein, Connie Springer, Sasha Braus, Marco Bott, Levi AckermanLevi

Segmented ultrahard steel swords designed to cut the flesh of a Titan's nape. They are stored in two scabbard boxes attached to the gas tanks, from which the soldier draws fresh blades when the used ones break or go dull.

Use

The soldier carves out a block of flesh from the nape, roughly one meter wide and ten centimeters deep, which is the Titans' only known weak point. The blades chip quickly and snap if the cut is wrong, so they are frequently replaced mid-flight.

Manufacture

Only the Industrial City inside Wall Sina has the technology to produce ultrahard steel, which keeps weapons manufacturing under government control.

Notable users

Levi Ackerman and Mikasa Ackerman are famous for their skill with the blades; Levi usually holds them in a reverse grip to slice while spinning.

Notable users: Levi AckermanLevi, Mikasa Ackerman, Eren Yeager, Jean Kirstein, Connie Springer, Sasha Braus, Petra Ral, Oluo Bozado, Mike Zacharias, Hannes

Artillery pieces mounted on rails atop the Walls and operated by the Garrison. They fire solid shot and grapeshot to slow Titans down, though they rarely kill them because they cannot reach the nape.

Defensive use

The cannons are aimed downward to fire at Titans approaching the base of the Wall. Their main effect is to temporarily incapacitate the Titan, which regenerates; that is why the Garrison pairs them with equipped soldiers to deliver the final blow.

Notable users: Dot Pixis, Hannes

Signal pistols that fire colored smoke to communicate over distance without radio. They are the backbone of Erwin Smith's Long-Distance Enemy Scouting Formation and of coordination in urban battles.

Notable users: Erwin Smith, Armin Arlert, Levi AckermanLevi, Hange Zoë, Jean Kirstein

All branches share a short jacket, white trousers and leather straps to hold the ODM gear. The difference lies in each corps' emblem; the Survey Corps also adds a green hooded cloak.

The straps

The belt system wrapping the torso and legs spreads the tension of the wires across the whole body. Without it, the ODM gear's sudden accelerations would injure the user.

The Wings of Freedom

The Survey Corps emblem symbolizes humanity's desire to fly beyond the Walls. Eren has admired those wings since childhood and enlists to wear them.

Notable users: Eren Yeager, Erwin Smith, Levi AckermanLevi, Hange Zoë, Dot Pixis, Nile Dok, Keith Shadis