A Ton of New Content
Operation 8 Drop 2 update has arrived for Gears 5, and here’s the full list of changes and fixes added with this patch.
This update brings along with it a ton of brand new content that should keep every player entertained. The content drop includes 5 new characters, 2 new maps, new weapons and competitive rewards, and the final Operation for Gears 5 ever.
Here’s everything included in the Patch Notes:-
CHARACTERS
MICHAEL BARRICK
Corporal Michael Barrick is a former Stranded who set aside his distrust of the COG to join the military. From battling General RAAM with Zeta-Six to fighting alongside Marcus Fenix in Delta Squad, Barrick became one of the COG’s most legendary Gears during the Locust War.
ALICIA VALERA
Private Alicia Valera is a Gear who specializes in reconnaissance warfare, risking her life to gather critical intel before the battle. Serving with the Zeta-Six squad during the Locust War, she raced to evacuate her home city of Ilima before it was overrun by General RAAM’s horde.
OSCAR DIAZ
Oscar Diaz is the leader of the Riftworm Village, one of the last Outsider communities left standing after incessant attack by the Swarm. A former Gear, and uncle to Kait Diaz, Oscar is a warrior who will sacrifice anything – including himself – to defend the people under his watch.
RAGER
The Rager is a wiry, aggressive Grub. Similar in appearance to a Locust Drone but with a distinctively ferocious edge, the Rager rushes into battle with minimal armor and maximum savagery.
NEW MAPS
VILLAGE
This Weilehan fishing village sits eerily abandoned after a recent Swarm attack. Scattered huts and a small dock area give players ample opportunity to push forward and ambush the enemy.
DAWN
The Outsiders have repurposed this abandoned mining colony into a thriving village. Two defensive structures define the landscape – the high ground of the bar, and the entrenched mine.
PVP – COMPETITIVE REWARDS
As you all jump back into Season 8 of Competitive, we wanted to remind you of the rewards from this Operation.
If you finish in the top 100 this season you will be granted the Grandmaster Obsidian Gnasher.
For Season 9 of Competitive, we will then swap the Obsidian Gnasher out for the Grandmaster Bloody Gnasher.
We are also adding new banners to earn for each of the Competitive modes in Operation 8 so make sure to keep an eye out for that!
So just to recap, here is how the Competitive rewards will now work:
- 100k points – Playlist Mark – 100k
- 500k points – Playlist Mark – 500k
- 1 million points – Playlist Master Banner
- If you finish in the top 1,000 – Some weapons from Heroic Obsidian Gnasher set.
- If you finish in the top 100
- Playlist Grandmaster Banner
- Trinity Skorge
- Grandmaster Obsidian Gnasher
- Golden Heart Bloodspray
- If you finish the season as the top player
- Golden Gnasher Bloodspray
Note: After Season 9 we will not be granting the Top 100 rewards anymore, so make sure you get them before then!
Playlist Grandmaster Banner
Trinity Skorge
Grandmaster Obsidian Gnasher
Golden Heart Bloodspray
Golden Gnasher Bloodspray
PROTOTYPE WEAPONS
On the release of Operation 8, we introduced two prototype weapons, these weapons were developed throughout Gears 5 but did not have the final polish.
We are happy to announce we are releasing one final prototype weapon, the Hammer of Dawn.
Note: Prototype Weapons will remain in Custom Versus only and will not have any customizable skins. When they were created, they were intended for PvP and we would need extensive work to bring them over to PvE.
HAMMER OF DAWN
A staple across the Gears franchise, the Hammer of Dawn targets an area and unleashes a deadly barrage, do not be near it!
PVP TWEAKS
We’ll also be adding the following tweaks in Operation 8 Drop 2 for PvP!
- We will be adding “Fully Loaded” versions of Control, TDM, and FFA to Custom Versus (this allows you to set most weapons as loadout weapons and to toggle melee in addition to the normal mutator options).
- Additional Medal groups for PVP and PVE focused on ribbon-based medals (1 group for PVP and 1 for PVE).
- Bullet penetration mutator added as an option to all Custom Versus modes.
- We will be updating the rate of XP gain for PVP to be in line with Inconceivable Horde.
BEYOND OPERATION 8
Back in May, we announced our plans to move to Unreal Engine 5 with Operation 8 being the final Operation for Gears 5.
To clear up some specific points regarding Gears 5 going forward:
- Once Operation 8 ends, the game will move into a phase of automation, where the following will happen.
- Tour of Duty – Will reset going forward. See below for the list of rewards you can expect with each Tour of Duty:
This will also come with a set of medals which will refresh at the end of each Competitive and Tour refresh going forward, see below for the full details.
- Tour of Duty – Will reset going forward. See below for the list of rewards you can expect with each Tour of Duty:
BASICS
Completion Reward: 2000 Gears Coins
WEAPONS
TOUR OF DUTY SPECIALIST
Completion Reward: 3000 Gears Coins
TOUR OF DUTY MASTER
Completion Reward: 5000 Gears Coins
ESCAPE
HORDE
VERSUS BASICS
COMPETITIVE
Completion Rewards: 3000 Gears Coins
Finally, we are reducing the stars per rank in this Tour of Duty and we’re increasing the stars awarded for each daily objective completed by 1.
See the list below for the ranks and stars needed for each rank in this Tour of Duty:
POST DROP 2
While this update marks the final content update for Gears 5, we will still refresh Gears 5 up to the holidays. This will also involve more events for you to participate in and get special rewards for.
We will also be looking to update the store with “Essential Drops,” with the end goal to have the store full of all previously released content, with some exceptions such as the top character skin awarded in each Tour of Duty and exclusive promotional content. Keep an eye out as we will be announcing when we are doing these significant store drops.
XP EVENT
To celebrate Drop 2, we will be running a double XP (+Character XP) event with free Boost from Friday, September 17 to Monday, Sept 20. This will go live at 10:00 AM PDT, so be sure to be around!
This marks the end of everything that is coming to Gears 5 with Operation 8 Drop 2. The coalition promises more updates and new patch notes coming next week.
Gears 5 is available right now on the Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam and Xbox Game Pass.
- This article was updated on November 9th, 2021
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