For how iconic the series has become, the ever-expanding Gears of War franchise has, historically, had some issues with customization. Though there is a wild variety in the shapes and forms of the Locust adversaries, ranging from skittering dog-like monsters to cavern-mouthed titans, the Cog heroes tend to fit into two unshakable categories: beef statues clad in sci-fi plate mail for the gents, a svelte, sleeveless form of the same for the ladies. The biggest differences have come in the form of little cosmetics (Marcus has a bandana, Dom… does not) and what weapons the player tends to prefer – of which, to the games credit, there are many. Only our beefiest actors only play the characters in film adaptations and only our beefiest consoles may get secret ports of the titles. Truly, Gears of War has historically been about the beef at the cost of customizat
Strategic options don’t stop on the battlefield. In addition to extensive skill trees per class, Gears Tactics features a comprehensive gear system. From weapon parts to armor pieces to grenades, there’s plenty of items to consider as you strive to build your squad. There’s even fun, non-gameplay affecting cosmetics such as changing your gunmetals, adding color or throwing on a pattern. While you can’t alter the main character’s looks, you’re free to change the looks and features of your other squad mates. Gears of War will always be known as a third-person shooter, but Splash Damage has perfectly adapted its mechanics to a tactics game. What you expect from a Gears game (chainsaw bayonets, bayonet charges, emergence holes, brutal finishers, etc.) is all here with few compromises. This is a Gears game, and it feels exactly right to play.
The Paladin skills more or less create a healer-tank of the Vanguard; picking up Rally, which effectively grants passive healing to squad mates for attacking, and Stand Together, a 10 meter revival burst that simultaneously grants a defensive buff, lets the Vanguard pitch in to the healing effort without cutting in on combat versatility. While effective in its own way, the Assault branch is a lot more situational than the other three, couple Gaming granting buffs to the Vanguard for damage received by both them and their squad ma
While getting around is important, it is vital that the player considers not just that they are moving, but where they are moving. Having soldiers sprint around the field at random is more of a risk than anything; chaotic movement just means more opportunities to get caught alone. A solid first use of points is getting some elevated overwatch. Try shifting a soldier into a position that will allow them to watch over the battlefield and throw them into overwatch. Doing so will lower the risk of more mobile soldiers getting surrounded – making the center of the field a danger to cross can make the opponent think twice about getting into a flanking position. For the remaining soldiers, it is worth spending points to form some triangular traps. Use some points to move and create overlapping fields of fire that cover up the enemy deployments before blasting away. This will pay out in forcing enemy movement away from your troops – by threatening multiple sides of a piece of cover, players can force a well defended enemy to displace, often scoring some hits for that well-positioned overwatch soldier. Importantly, save some points to avoid bunching up. While it is entirely possible to take advantage of a good flank with multiple units, be sure to reserve an action point to put some space between the soldiers you have making the hit. More than one solider side by side is a golden opportunity for a grenade, which can be even more catastrophic if the cover itself gets taken out. By using action points to get some overwatch, triangulate on enemy positions, and keep spacey, players can keep a battlefield handily under cont
When making a level 1 Knight, players will first need to decide if they will be Strength or Finesse based. Strength weapons like two-handed swords and axes are more common, but the few rare spears have added range, making them great for wider area attacks. It also determines which type of armor is worn: heavy plate that offers amazing physical armor, but power magical armor; or leather gear that balances the two armor ty
The Support, as the name suggests, is something of a team-focused class. With their emphasis on abilities that boost or patch up their teammates, having a Support can be the key keeping a squad fighting longer and harder, coming out of tough combats still fresh as daisies that happen to have chainsaw g
In addition to these universal options, players can effectively use skills to boost and stretch skill points. Each of the five classes have skills that add much-needed action points. For example, the Sniper’s chain Shot skill will award the shooter AP for hits; the Support can use Empower to grant bonus points to a squad-mate get their own points for reviving a friend with the Encourage passive ability; and the Vanguard’s Breach skill gives a point to any soldier canny enough to bring down a breached enemy. Spend some time exploring the skill trees to suss out what options will generate the most action points without costing on combat skills, and think about this when setting up team composition – it may be worth having a Support who, while not a damage dealer on their own, can keep every other soldier firing that bit longer with bonus AP. More points means more gunfire – keep the heat up and the battle is the player’s to