Gears 5 is using its new Arcade mode multiplayer to create a hero shooter experience

Look, I don’t want to alarm you, but I genuinely and truly want to drive a chainsaw through your sternum and then play hopscotch in your gaping chest wound. In a video game! A video game! Don’t call the cops again! If you’ve never played a few rounds of multiplayer in any of the Gears of War games, then buddy you’ve missed out on something great in life.

Cover-based shooting with finishers that would make Mortal Kombat proud? If that doesn’t sound like a good time to you then you may have to go to the doctor and get a prescription for fun pills. Gears 5 debuts later this year, and with it comes a new multiplayer pursuit in the form of Arcade mode. The idea is simple: Two teams of five players pick their favourite character and race to see who can murder the other team first to the tune of 50 kills.

The big difference here, is that players will be able to pick up skulls which can then be used to purchase upgrades within the weapon skill tree of a character. Kills earn more skulls, more powerful weapons require lots of skulls and these can be cashed in at any time for an upgrade, without having to worry about losing them if you die. Which is great for talentless hacks such as yours truly who always tries to see if his face can stand up to point-blank shotgun blasts.

There’ll even be bounties that allow characters bonus skulls, if you feel like pursuing one character in particular. Essentially a hero shooter, here’s a quick look at the mode and what each character brings to the table for the upcoming multiplayer test that’ll allow you to field five of the titular characters on July 19 and running until July 22. A second period will run from July 26-29.

Hunter – Kait / Swarm Hunter

Kait and the Swarm Hunter are versatile characters thanks to their fast movement and vision-blocking smoke grenades. Their weapons let them catch enemies off guard at range before relocating to avoid being targeted by opponents, or by executing fast flanks on unsuspecting enemies with Incendiaries and Talon.

• Passive: Increased Movement Speed
• Bounty: Execute for an additional Skull
• Loadout: Hammerburst, Talon Autopistol, Smoke Grenade
• Upgrades: Boltok, Incendiary Grenades, Torque Bow

Support – JD / Swarm Drone

JD and the Drone are the backbone of any team, providing critical healing to teammates who kill any opponents you mark while supporting from a distance with his sturdy loadout. While their weapon upgrades are randomized, this gives JD and the Drone more versatility as they move between supporting fights and taking out enemies. Plus, who doesn’t love a little surprise sometimes? This hero character is recommended for new players to give the best variety of power weapons.

• Passive: Spot enemies who damage you. Enemies you spot reward health to killer
• Bounty: Multi-kill for an additional Skull
• Loadout: Lancer, Snub Pistol, Flashbangs
• Upgrades: 3 Random Weapon upgrade slots of varying quality

Heavy – Del / Scion

If you’re all about the big guns, Del or the Scion is the hero for you. While Heavy Weapons make this a slower paced hero than others, their passive ability adds additional health (known as Stim) every time they get a kill. This helps them survive when exposing themselves to engage with Heavy Weapons.

• Passive: Receive Stim(Extra health above the normal maximum) for Kills
• Bounty: Multi-kill for an additional Skull
• Loadout: Hammerburst, Talon Autopistol
• Upgrades: Buzzkill, Mulcher, RL-4 Salvo

CQB – Marcus / Swarm Grenadier

For the bold and the brave, these heroes are all about getting up close and very personal. Their loadout and weapon tree sacrifices range in exchange for some potent close range weaponry. Without many tools to fight at range, their passive allows them to take cover quickly and close the gap. If you see Marcus or the Grenadier pull out Breaker… run.

• Passive: Cover slide speed and distance increased
• Bounty: Execute for an additional Skull
• Loadout: Enforcer, Snub Pistol, Smoke Grenade
• Upgrades: Shock Grenades, Gnasher, Breaker Mace

Sniper – Fahz / Swarm Sniper

Fahz and the Swarm Sniper are for players that love to snipe from a distance thanks to their headshot centric weapons of increasing quality. Both can take hits without flinching while they line up those sweet headshots on opponents that dare to challenge them at range, so keep calm and land your shots to make them truly shine.

• Passive: Immune to flinching when ADS or fully scoped
• Bounty: Headshot kill for an additional Skull
• Loadout: Lancer, Talon Autopistol, Flashbang
• Upgrades: Boltok, Marzka, Longshot

Last Updated: July 17, 2019