Games
Tackling Gears 5's campaign on harder difficulties can prove quite challenging, but we’re here to give you all the combat tips you need. Plus, we look at which weapons will help you the most!
From its not-so humble beginnings as an action blockbuster on the Xbox 360, Microsoft’s Gears of War series – now simply called ‘Gears’ – is back with its fifth and most explosive outing. From a challenging and visually stunning cinematic campaign that can be played alone or with friends to a multiplayer suite that features the now classic co-op Horde mode, Escape, and Versus.
There’s plenty on offer, and if you plan on tackling the story in either the Experienced or Insane difficulty settings – prepare to be put to the test. With that in mind, we've put together the following combat tips to help you study up and ensure your chainsaw swipe is one step ahead of the incoming Swarm.
Prepare to Engage at Close and Long Range
Sitting behind cover and popping up every now and then, usually when an enemy is reloading, to fire off rounds from a distance might seem like the best and surest way to survive. This isn’t the case, in Gears 5 you’ll need to master both close and long-range combat.
Only being able to carry two main-weapons (outside of pistols and grenades) means that you should always be kitted out for these two combat realities. A long-range weapon like the Lancer or the updated Lancer GL assault rifle, and a close-range alternative like the Gnasher or Overkill shotgun. With each requiring a different playstyle, the Lancer being the purest stay-behind-cover weapon of choice and the shotgun forcing you to master the dodge-roll and quick-fire blast. Once you’ve come to terms with close and long-range combat, blending the two by moving between cover to ambush is the next step.
Melee Finishers are More than Popcorn Moments of Violence
In terms of style, Gears of War is a cover-based third-person shooter. And the series that defined the combat we now get to see in titles like Ubisoft’s The Division. Where Gears differs is that getting up close and personal with your foe (as seen above) is a key part of combat strategy.
In this ready mode, simply walking up to an enemy will trigger a very messy chainsaw execution...
The now staple and iconic Lancer assault rifle comes equipped with a chainsaw, which when holding a button revs the cutting tool in preparation for direct contact with the Swarm. In this ready mode, simply walking up to an enemy will trigger a very messy chainsaw execution. Something that is not only immensely satisfying to watch but has strategic value too. Splitting enemies in this way, or via regular melee swipes if you don’t have chainsaw in-hand, nets you a bonus ammo drop. Handy for conserving firepower and restocking your most used weaponry when shiny ammo crates becomes scarce.
Enemies with Explosives – Find Them, Target Them, and Remove Them from the Equation
Several weapons, both heavy and those in the form of the crossbow meets grenade that is the Torque Bow, tend to leave anyone and anything they get in contact with into a fine red mist of flying chunks of meat. Explosive damage in Gears 5 is very real and should always be at the top of your list when facing off against an incoming wave of attackers or sneaking up on a group.
Simply put, explosive splash damage and direct hits will force a wipe and restart on the account of you, well, no longer being in one piece. The chain of events should then read something like this - take out Swarm snipers wielding Torque Bows first, be aware of explosive enemies that rush towards you at all times, and then heavies wielding Boom Shots or Dropshots. Gears 5 tends to throw all this at you often at the same time on a regular basis, so spotting the biggest threats and neutralising them will become priority number one.
Jack of All Trades
Something that plays perfectly into the redesigned and now controllable character found throughout the Gears 5 campaign – your robot buddy Jack. As you equip and discover and test out new Jack abilities throughout each Act of the story, learning to properly use just about all of Jack’s high-tech tools becomes a necessity.
Flash is great for that mid-battle advantage, blinding a group of enemies that are close together...
Approaching enemies or trying to assess an incoming wave is a breeze with Pulse, with visible outlines making it easy to spot the bigger threats and their positions. Flash is great for that mid-battle advantage, blinding a group of enemies that are close together in order to get out of cover to apply some meaningful damage. These two abilities, in addition to Shock Trap which works in a similar fashion to Flash as a means of crowd control, should always be called upon whenever they’re not on cooldown. With Jack in tow Gears 5’s difficulty becomes far more manageable, as the helpful robot adds a tactical element to the simple firepower and precision shots previous entries called upon.
Stay in Cover and Blind-fire
As this guide has already talked about the difference between close and long-range combat, there’s also the matter of enemies that sit somewhere in-between. The mid-range threat.
When behind cover, instead of waiting for enemies to get close enough to melee them or run off to find their own cover – blind-firing both guns and grenades can be a quick way to thin out enemy numbers. Or to simply whittle down some of that thick leathery Swarm exterior. Blind-firing grenades is perhaps one of the greatest things to remember that you can do when it comes to Gears of War combat. Normally, aiming and throwing a grenade in Gears with any sort of accuracy takes a lot longer than aiming down the barrel of your Lancer. But when ‘blind-fired’ from behind cover, it’s a great way to clear out threats before they get too close.
The Very Best Weapons to Use and the Ones to Avoid
Gears 5 has a lot of weapons you can wield but you’re limited by what you can carry (even with beefy biceps) – so lets breakdown the best weapons to use. And the weapons that are, at best, a last-resort.
Long Range: The best weapon here is the series staple Lancer or the new Lancer GL which ditches the chainsaw for a few rocket powered grenades that pack an explosive punch. Next to that the Markza single shot rifle is a great choice. Interestingly, another great long-range weapon is the powerful and accurate Boltok pistol. As for the worst at long-range combat, these would be the Hammerburst and the Retro Lancer, both pretty bad choices that continue to be so in Gears 5. Also, the Torque Bow takes far too long to aim which means it’s usage on the higher difficulty settings is limited at best.
Short-Range: The best weapon for short-range combat in Gears 5 is hands-down the Overkill shotgun – as it fires one round when you pull the trigger and then another when you let go. If you fire off two rounds in quick succession on a single foe, well, there’s nothing quite like it. The other shotgun, Gnasher, which made its debut in the very first Gears of War game should be viewed as the shotgun to use until you find the Overkill. Although designed for close-range combat the Talon auto-pistol, becomes useless when playing on Experienced or Insane.
Heavy Weapons: Taking the top spot here is the fan favourite Boomshot, which makes an explosive return in Gears 5 and is great for clearing out groups of enemies thanks to its splash damage. As for one time use heavy weapons, the Mulcher is still the weapon of choice for mounting on cover to take on Swarm foes that rush your position. The Dropshot continues to have limited uses (outside of being able to break the ice and send enemies into a liquid end) with the Tri-Shot proving to still be a not-as-good Mulcher.
For more gaming and gaming culture coverage, follow @RedBullGames on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook.
