Long-Range Combat
Very long-range combat is almost exclusively the realm of the Hammerburst and a few power weapons. Because most of the other default weapons can’t deal enough damage at long range, most long-range firefights are one-sided affairs. One person has a long-range weapon, the other doesn’t, and the person getting shot at is either being suppressed or trying to get completely out of the shooter’s sightline.
If you’re using the Hammerburst or going for long-range power weapons, fully exploit your opponents’ inability to retaliate against you. Mark targets constantly, call out enemy positions when they move out of your sightline, and continually suppress enemies near power weapons and other key areas.
Even if you aren’t using a long-range weapon, marking targets and calling positions is still an extremely important task. Enemies and friendlies stuck in medium- or close-range battle lack the perspective you have on the field, and you can see danger coming well before your teammates can.
Medium-Range Combat
The vast majority of Gears combat takes place in this range band. Almost all of the default starting weapons can fight effectively at medium range, and most power weapons can as well. Medium-range firefights are dangerous. Fighting the targets straight ahead of you isn’t unusually risky. However, when you’re mired in a mid-range firefight, it’s very easy to get flanked and spanked by even a lone enemy, particularly if he carries a lethal power weapon.
If you find that you’re simply trading fire from behind cover with one or more enemies, take a second to evaluate what you’re accomplishing. Are you pinning down targets and allowing a teammate to flank? Are you protecting a key objective or area? If your answer to the last question is no, and you aren’t completely suppressed, get out of there. You can rarely kill an enemy behind hard cover at medium range unless you flank them.
This leads to the next point: medium-range combat from a flank is the second most lethal and the most effective means of attacking the enemy team. If you can engage enemy targets that are behind cover and firing at your teammates in front of them, you can likely down or kill them by the time they realize they’re taking fire from the flank. Even if you don’t kill them, your teammates can finish them off when they break cover to escape.
Positioning is vital in medium-range combat, as is situational awareness. Pay careful attention to where your teammates are in relation to enemy forces. If the setup looks bad, make an effort to reposition yourself.
Close-Range Combat
Close-quarters combat in the Gears universe is brutal, lethal, bloody, and very short. You can take down enemies at close range almost instantly…but the same goes for enemies taking you out. Consequently, fighting at close range is a high-risk, high-reward proposition.
If you do it well, you can top the kill charts and inflict heavy casualties on the enemy team in any mode. If you do it poorly, you can expect to top the death charts, and weaken your team. One-hit shotgun kills, chainsaws, melee, increased accuracy at short distances: all of these contribute to a very fast-paced, very dangerous combat environment. However you feel about CQB, you must learn to deal with close-range fighting. It is unavoidable. You simply cannot expect to stay at mid or long range and fire a rifle for an entire match. Be prepared!
- Use your own Sawed-Off Shotgun. It’s an even fight against an enemy’s Sawed-Off. It can often instantly dispatch a Gnasher user if you use it well.
- Use the Retro Lancer; it excels at eliminating close-range enemies.
- Plant Smoke and other grenades as early-warning alarms or lethal explosives near your position.
- If you’re near the midfield, be sure to scan the area frequently with a full 360-degree sweep.
- Back around a corner and lie in wait with a shotgun, the Chainsaw, a power weapon, or simply wait until the foe’s back is exposed and open fire.
Situational Awareness
So much of Gears combat depends on positioning before an engagement even begins. Thus, situational awareness is not an optional skill; it is vital for survival. Situational awareness simply means using all of the tools at your disposal to stay alert and aware of enemy movement.
- Sight: Enemies at long range, movement behind cover, tracers
- Sound: Weapon fire, reloading, footsteps, speech
- Tac/Com: The positions of your teammates versus known enemies
- Messages: Specific weapon picked up? Teammate killed with a specific weapon?
Recognizing Perfect Active Reloads
When ammo charged with a Perfect Active Reload is fired, it often has a distinct tracer effect, a different sound effect, or another visual indicator that a Perfect Reload is being used. Pay attention to these cues. Rushing headlong into someone with a fully loaded Lancer aiming suppression fire toward your position is suicide. Similarly, watch out for the Perfect Reload on the second shot of a freshly picked up power weapon.
