Special bolts

Special bolts are rare collectibles in the Ratchet & Clank series, appearing in all games aside from Deadlocked. They are larger bolts which are only found in locations that are hard to find and/or reach, or as rewards for certain challenges.

Special bolts include gold bolts, platinum bolts, titanium bolts, and hero bolts. Their appearance varies by game, though they are used to either to purchase certain extras, or upgrades and modifications to weapons, depending on the game.

Ratchet & Clank (2002)
There are 40 gold bolts hidden in each of the locations. They are used to purchase gold weapons from a gold weapons room on either the Gemlik Base or in Novalis in challenge mode. Many are accessible on the first visit, while others can only be acquired after revisiting the location later with a required item.

Going Commando
40 platinum bolts are found throughout each of the locations. They are used to purchase weapon mods from Slim Cognito on Endako, Boldan, and Tabora. Many are found hidden in secret areas, though others are found as reward for arena combat, hoverbike racing, or space combat missions.

Up Your Arsenal
40 titanium bolts are found throughout each of the locations, with some being rewards for Annihilation Nation challenges, VR Deck challenges, and for collecting all 100 tokens in a Qwark vid-comic. Rather than used for weaponry, these are used to purchase skins from the menu.

Ratchet & Clank (2016)
28 gold bolts are found hidden throughout the locations, including two along the hoverboard race tracks, with one as a reward for the optional mission "Find a way to the top of the waterfall" on Pokitaru. These are used to unlock extras. Extras are not purchased individually, rather, the number of gold bolts collected determining how many extras the player has unlocked. Gold bolts are also required to unlock vaults in the Insomniac Museum, though the first vault is unlocked after completing the game.