In Infamous 2, several varieties of Bolts were introduced. While many have different dynamics, most share similar traits such as low damage but low energy consumption.

Primary

• Alpha Bolt: The Alpha Bolt is the basic bolt power. It has no specific bonuses, with low damage, low range, high rate of fire, and good accuracy.

Level 1

• Pincer Bolt: The Pincer Bolt is a cunning bolt power. It fires a trio of bolts that arc through the air before converging onto a single target. Each bolt has as much power as an Alpha Bolt and has a very low rate of fire, but it also has a weak homing ability and good accuracy. (Unlocked by: performing a "Take Down" 6 times.)
• Artillery Bolt: The Artillery Bolt is a bolt power designed for long range. It fires a larger bolt that is affected by gravity and travels at a slower speed. It also has a slightly lower rate of fire, but does slightly more damage and has up to three times the range of the Alpha Bolt. (Unlocked by: Performing a "Climbing Assault" 5 times.)

Level 2

• Magnum Bolt: The Magnum Bolt is a variation of the original Lightning Bolt, available to Cole after acquiring Champion rank. It launches a condensed blast of lightning that does triple the damage and traveling speed of the Alpha Bolt, but it also has the slowest rate of fire. (Unlocked by: Performing 10 Head Shocks)
• Skull Bolt: The Skull Bolt is a powerful variation of the Alpha Bolt, available to Cole after acquiring Outlaw rank. It has improved homing ability, and headshots automatically trigger an electric explosion that deals twice the damage of normal headshots. (Unlocked by: Performing a "Hit Clueless Enemy" 5 times)

Level 3

• Bolt Stream: The Bolt Stream is available to Cole after he acquires Hero rank. It fires homing bolts that are weaker than the standard Alpha Bolt, but at double the rate of fire and energy consumption. Perfect for quickly charging conductive surfaces for use with Electric Drain. (Unlocked by: Performing a "Stick it to the Man" stunt 10 times)

• Scythe Bolt: The Scythe Bolt is available to Cole after he acquires Infamous rank. It fires a wide spread of five interlinked bolts, with a greater range and accuracy than the Alpha Bolt, but with a lower rate of fire and level of damage. It is also capable of recharging drained objects such as lampposts or fuse boxes back to full charge in one shot, if shot at close range, making it useful for recharging Cole's energy in a pinch. (Unlocked by: Performing a "4-in-1-Blow" stunt)

Other

• Missile Bolt: A powerful cross between the Alpha Bolt and Alpha Rocket that Cole only uses during his first and final battles with the Beast. It acts in much the same manner as the Alpha Rocket, but has a longer range and smaller blast radius, in addition to electrifying any conductive surface instead of just movable objects. Cole does not take damage if he stands near a Missile Bolt when it explodes. After the first battle, this bolt is permanently replaced with the Alpha Bolt as Cole's default bolt attack. During the second battle, Cole only uses this bolt if the Beast grabs him or after the RFI is fully charged.

Trivia

• Unlike the first Infamous, the bolts in Infamous 2 allow the player to see the skeletal systems of people and enemies, caused by the shock.
• When Cole obtains the Magnum Bolt in Festival of Blood, it reacquires its original rate of fire from the first inFamous game.
• Unlike in Infamous, where the bolts were streams of lightning, the bolts in inFamous 2 are projectile spheres rather than true lightning bolts, with the exception of the Magnum Bolt. They also consume energy cores at about fifteen bolts per core, with the exception of Bolt Stream (consumes energy at double the normal rate).
  • This can be explained by the fact that the Beast had drained Cole's powers in the beginning of the game, which also made him lose some of his more advanced powers such as Precision and Megawatt Hammer.
• When using Pincer Bolt, the targeting system seems to be able to tell the distance between Cole and the object/enemy he is targeting, allowing the three separate bolts to always converge at the exact spot you aim at at the moment you fire it (or otherwise converge after traveling a set distance). This makes it somewhat inaccurate for enemies who move very quickly.
  • In the first Infamous there is an exploit in the game where the player can use Lightning Bolt on any metal and then quickly suck up the energy to regain power for Cole. In the sequel, Cole needs a small fraction of a battery core to use Bolt, so the player must do it before Cole runs out, reducing its effectiveness as the player must plan ahead to avoid running out of power.
• While crouching, the Scythe Bolt has the same animation as Blasts.
• Unlike other offense-type powers, bolts do not have any Cryokinetic or Napalm variations.
• If used in conjunction with the Hero rank ability Bolt Recharge, Bolt Stream may actually recharge Cole's energy if it continuously hits an enemy.