Operation 2 launches for Gears 5 next week on December 11th (pending certification) and brings with it new modes, maps, characters, and loads more. It’s the largest update to Gears 5 yet and looks quite impressive. You can find the full details on the main Gears of War site here along with a summary below!
Free for All
Free For All is back and better than ever as the biggest Versus mode in Gears history. Fourteen players will battle against each other in a holds barred fight to be the first to 30 kills.
Free For All will initially be launched as a featured playlist with the launch of Operation 2, and will convert to a Ranked mode in early January.
FFA in Gears 5 keeps it simple – core tuning (not Arcade tuning), standard loadouts and quick respawns. To dominate in FFA, you’ll need to master the fundamentals while taking advantage of any weapon pickups on each map. To support fights this big, we’ve created three brand new maps built specifically to support a great FFA experience, each with their own distinct style of gameplay.
Pit
This mining excavation frozen in time features huge slides that funnel combat into a dangerous central pit. Venture into the depths of the Pit to be rewarded with the best weapon pickups – if you can survive.
Core
A claustrophobic battle in the heart of a machine with fights that will be defined by bridges separating the two main sections of the map.
Nethercutt
This sprawling maze features large landmark rooms that create fierce points of contention and plenty of mayhem.
Arcade Blitz
Arcade Blitz is a fast paced objective mode, where hills move quickly and points can only be captured by standing within the hill.
This is an Arcade mode, so choose a character whose passive abilities and weapon upgrade trees will help drive your team to victory. Do you take a more survivable Character and focus on capturing rings, or do you play a more defensive Character and keep your opponents away from the hill? The choice is yours.
Arcade Blitz will be available in Custom Lobbies and the Arcade Quickplay playlist alongside Arcade Deathmatch.
2v2 Gnashers
Grab a friend and warm up that Gnasher – 2v2 Gnashers is back in Gears 5!
2v2 Gnashers is all about intense duo duels where hitting shots and covering your teammate is all that matters. To serve these deadly duels, two maps will be returning for 2v2 Gnashers.
Boxes
The OG showdown in the middle of War Machine. Positioning is everything to come out on top of this intense fight.
Foundation Mid
Fights in Foundation Mid leave you nowhere to hide – risk going wide in Closed or fight pillar to pillar in Open.
2v2 Gnashers will be a ranked playlist with competitive tuning. One more thing, more maps are coming in future Operations.
New Characters
Lizzie Carmine, Baird, Jermad (for the first time ever in a Gears game), and the Locust Drone join multiplayer in Operation 2 with Kantus set to be added in January as well!
New Maps
Allfathers Arena
Set in an old coliseum dedicated to the founding members of the COG, Allfathers Arena is now destined to once again be filled with the sound of battle!
Available in Horde and Versus, this unique arena is home to an exciting, never-before seen feature in a Gears map. The middle of the map showcases three dynamic areas – the Room, the Field and the Hall. Each area has three different cover configurations, resulting in a total of 27 possible map layouts, each a new way to fight. Be prepared to learn fast if you want to survive the Arena.
Lift
Lift is returning Gears 5, with improved lighting and texture quality, as well as a few new changes. The best of Lift and Lift Apex have been combined to make the perfect version of the map. The most notable improvements include the popular “Top Rocks” area’s return to the battlefield and changes to the control room shutters, which now start closed and can be freely controlled by players.
There’s a load more coming as part of Operation 2 including additional improvements, notable updates to the Tour of Duty rewards, Escape additions, and more. You can find the full update from The Coalition here.
Our Take
It’s fantastic to see such meaningful updates to two of our favorite multiplayer games of 2019 in Modern Warfare and Gears 5. We certainly can’t wait to jump and get to gibbing!
