The time has come to talk about Operation 7! This post will cover everything you can expect to see when the operation goes live on Tuesday, May 18.
Trailer
Before you dive into the full post, check out the Operation 7 trailer!
Characters
Hana Cole
Holding advanced degrees in biochemistry, toxicology and chemistry, Hana Cole is a gifted scientist who takes an unconventional approach to solving problems. Joining Colonel Hoffman in his fight against the Swarm, Hana's technological innovations are the secret behind Scorpio Squad's ability to destroy enemy hives from within.
Ukkon
The monster who creates monsters, Locust scientist Ukkon is responsible for genetically engineering many of the creatures that terrorized the people of Sera after E-day. In the early years of the Locust War, he also used Imulsion to create a new breed of biological horrors.
New Map Addition
Ephyra
The burning remains of the once-prestigious Estemont Hotel serve as the focal point of this Ephyra city block. Controlling the hotel is key, but numerous points of entry give ample opportunity to counterattack.
PvP
Some of the changes we're introducing in Operation 7 will automatically refresh existing content. Ranked is also one area where automatic refreshes will extend the experience. For Operation 7, we're introducing Competitive mode to do just that.
Competitive
Competitive is our updated ranked system for Gears 5, bringing leaderboards, more modes to compete in and more.
Gear Points have now been removed and we use a total points system for each playlist. The higher your total points, the better you have been performing. Reaching certain milestones in the leaderboards also grants special rewards, so check the section below for information on that.
Competitive – Leaderboards
As mentioned previously, Competitive will be adding leaderboards across each mode. At the start of Operation 7, we will be adding the following modes to the playlist:
- Control
- Team Deathmatch
- 2v2 Gnashers
- Free for All (8 players)
- Guardian
The flexibility of Competitive will mean we can add more modes over the course of the Operation. In the next two weeks, we'll be adding Execution 2.0 and Escalation.
With each mode having a leaderboard, we will shift to a placement system for each playlist. This leaderboard is seasonal which means they will reset at the start of each Operation.
Oh… and of course you can filter the leaderboard to compare yourself to your friends to see how you are faring against them!
In addition to all of this, you are also able to view each individual player's leaderboard stats and filter them by week/seasonal/lifetime!
A little more on those rewards!
And that is not all! If you finish in the top 1,000 players in any of our Competitive playlists, at the end of a season, you will receive an exclusive Heroic weapon skin reward. Check out the full reward list below!
| Control TDM FFA 2v2 Gnashers Guardian [/tr] |
| OP7 | Loadout Assault Precision Power Power [/tr]
- Loadout = Lancer, Gnasher, Snub, Boltok, Talon
- Assault = Enforcer, Hammerburst, Claw, Lancer GL, Retro Lancer
- Precision = Markza, Longshot, Embar, Torque Bow
- Power = Boomshot, Dropshot, Scorcher, Breaker Mace, Overkill
In Operation 7, the Heroic weapon set you can earn is called Heroic Obsidian. This can be earned if you are in the top 1000 players in one of the competitive playlists at the end of the season. Check below for a preview of it!
One last bit of exciting news to mention about leaderboards is that alongside the seasonal leaderboards, we will also be adding an all-time leaderboard for each mode, this will persist across Gears 5 forever, meaning the top spot is always in play!
PvP – Custom Versus Mutators & Swaps
Back in November 2020, we introduced unique mutators to the Gears 5 campaign as part of the Xbox Series X|S update. We've seen how well these were received, and we are happy to announce we are bringing some of these over to Operation 7- Drop 1 for use in your Versus custom matches!
- Headshot explosion[list]
- Cause an area of effect explosive on death
- Cause confetti to fly around when headshotting an enemy player
- Health regens only in cover
- Health regens on hit
- Health regens on both hit & being in cover
Alongside the mutators, we have also added the ability to weapon swap the following weapons in Custom Versus:
- Pipe
- Snowshot
- Cluckshot
- Cupid's Torque Bow
- Golden Gun
We are so excited to see what custom variants you can produce! Look out for versus event playlists from us in the future featuring some of these mutators.
PvP – Custom Versus Progression
Also coming in Operation 7 Drop 1 will be the ability to gain multiplayer progression while playing through custom matches!
This includes the following:
- Multiplayer XP
- Stars granted for time played
- Daily and Tour of Duty Objectives
- Ribbons
While the progression is slightly slower than playing online matchmade matches of Gears, we feel this is still rewarding for those who like to focus on their custom matches.
PvP Tweaks & Crossplay
With Operation 7 Drop 1 we are introducing a Field of View option across all Xbox One devices, bringing console settings in line with PC.
We will be removing the crossplay option across Gears 5. Currently, we see 40% of our players disabling the crossplay option, significantly impacting the matchmaking times for our players on both PC and console.
With the field of view update coming in, the ability to plug a Mouse/Keyboard into your Xbox, plus the frame rate and input lag reduction on the new Xbox consoles we feel we are at a point where the parity between Xbox and PC is almost identical and confident enough in making this change going forward for Gears 5.
PvE
One of the most frequently asked questions we get in Gears 5 is about automatic card scrapping in PvE. We are happy to announce that in Operation 7 Drop 1 we will automatically convert your duplicated level 6 cards into Gear Coins!
If you have any acquired duplicated cards before this update, they will be converted into Gear Coins up to a total limit of 100,000 Gear Coins. Any future cards you acquire that are level 6 and duplicate will be scrapped for Gear Coins.
PvE – Mechanic ultimate change
And that is not all, we have changed the ultimate of the Mechanic. Previously they would deploy a group of electric trackers which became more of a hindrance than a benefit.
We are replacing this with a new ultimate the Mounted Turret. When activated, the engineer will deploy a turret that any player can jump on and use against the enemy.
This change also means that we will be changing the skill card "Bloody Shrapnel" to "Shredder Rounds." This skill card will now cause bleeding damage for any player using the Mechanic's mounted turret.
Note: Your "Bloody Sharpnel" card progress will carry over to "Shredder Rounds."
PvE – Promotional class tweaks
Another frequent question we often see is around the viability of the promotional classes in Gears 5, when Operation 5 released the promotional classes fell to the wayside in terms of their usefulness.
We are happy to share the following changes coming to the promotional classes in Operation 7 Drop 1.
Protector
- Changed Passive from "Every 6th Headshot Drops Pilfer" to "Heal for 50% of bleeding damage dealt and resist 30% melee damage"
- Lowered regeneration delay for Protector's "Regenerative Field" Skill Card to 4.25s for all levels of the card.
- Increased stim gained per second on Protector's "Regenerative Field" Skill Card from 2 Stim per second to 12 Stim per second (Level 6).
- Increased additional damage of Protector's "Gnasher M45 Mod" Skill Card from 30% to 60% (Level 6).
- Increased bleeding damage of Protector's "Bloody Blade" Skill Card from 110% to 130% (Level 6).
- Increased the multiplier of Protector's "Drop Shield Duration" Skill Card from +60% to +100% (Level 6).
- Increased the range of Protector's "Close Range Recharge" Skill Card from 3m to 5m.
- Increased the base duration of Drop Shield from 10s to 15.
- Decreased the cooldown of Drop Shield from 300s to 200s.
- Changed "Critical Damage" Perk to "Damage" Perk.
- Changed "Increased Health" Perk to "Damage Resistance" Perk.
- Changed "Ammo Capacity" Perk to "Increased Movement Speed" Perk.
Architect
- Decreased the cooldown of Hologram from 300s to 150s.
- Increased the base duration of Hologram from 5s to 7s.
- Lowered regeneration delay of Architect's "Regenerative Field" Skill Card to 4.25s for all levels of the card.
- Increased stim gained per second on Architect's "Regenerative Field" Skill Card from 2 Stim per second to 12 Stim per second (Level 6).
- Changed the behavior of Architect's "Hologram Extend" Skill Card from "Snub damage from behind extends ultimate" to "Ballistic damage extends ultimate".
- Changed the behavior of Architect's "Custom Snub" Skill Card from "Deal 60% extra damage with the Snub" to "Deal 200% extra ballistic damage from the side or behind" (Level 6).
- Renamed "Custom Snub" to "Deception".
Slugger
- Changed the behavior of Slugger's "Heavy Preparations" Skill Card from "115% additional heavy ammo capacity" to "Plant 6 additional grenade traps simultaneously" (Level 6).
- Renamed "Heavy Preparations" to "Lethal Preparations".
- Increased the amount of grenade damage on Slugger's "Modified Frag" Skill Card from 130% to 200% (Level 6).
- Update the description of Slugger's "Modified Frag" Skill Card to accurately state the increased explosive radius per level.
- Renamed "Modified Frag" to "Grenade Proficiency".
- Changed the behavior of Slugger's "Stopping Power" Skill Card from "230% increased stopping power" to "Ballistic rounds penetrate unlimited targets and deal 60% additional damage" (Level 6).
- Renamed "Stopping Power" to "Power Shot"
- Changed the behavior of Slugger's "Tough Skin" Skill Card from "Resist 32% melee damage" to "Resist 32% damage within 15 meters".
- Changed the behavior of Sluggers "Follow Up" Skill Card from "Successive shotgun hits recharge ultimate for 8.5s" to "Active shotgun hits within 10m stun drones for 3s" (Level 6).
- Renamed "Follow Up" to "Impact Receiver".
- Changed Passive from "Damage taken recharges ultimate" to "Resist 50% explosive damage".
- Changed "Shotgun Damage" Perk to "Damage" Perk.
- Changed "Max Health" Perk to "Damage Resistance" Perk.
- Changed "Increased Movement Speed" Perk to "Grenade Resupply" Perk.
- Decreased cooldown of Heavy Hitter from 300s to 200s.
- Swapped loadout slots so that the Gnasher is on the right.
Striker
- Decreased cooldown of Enhanced Melee from 300s to 200s.
- Increased the bleeding damage of Striker's "Bloody Breaker" Skill Card from 55% to 130% (Level 6).
- Increased the damage of Striker's "First Strike" Skill Card from 35% to 100% (Level 6).
- Increased the amount of stim gained from Striker's "Stim Siphon" Skill Card from 23HP to 120HP (Level 6).
- Changed the behavior of Striker's "Team Up" Skill Card from "Resist 32% damage near Slugger class" to "Resist 50% melee damage" (Level 6).
- Renamed "Team Up" to "Melee Armor".
- Changed Passive from "Damage taken recharges ultimate" to "When hit, move 50% faster for 4s"
- Changed the behavior of Striker's "Melee Rush" Skill Card from "Close range damage increases passive by 210%" to "Melee or bleed kills reduce ultimate cooldown by 35s" (Level 6).
- Changed "Max Health" perk to "Damage Resistance" perk.
- Changed "Movement Speed" perk to "Damage" perk.
- Swapped loadout slots so that the Overkill is on the right.
PvE – Three new maps
This Operation drop also sees the release of three new maps for Horde – Atrium, Turbine, and Command. These three maps will be playable via a special Horde Frenzy event to kick off Operation 7!
PvE tweaks
And finally, we are making additional tweaks across the PvE side of the game, check out the list below:
Horde
- Added Lambent Drone, Lambent Grenadier, and Lambent Theron to Horde and Horde Frenzy.
- Fixed an issue where Lambent death explosion did not deal damage to players or enemies.
- Fixed an issue where Lambent units would frequently spawn too close to Locust or Swarm units.
- Wardens that spawn in the context of being a mini-boss will now display the boss locator and health bar.
- Reduced base health of Wardens spawning outside of boss wave to 10,000HP from 15,000HP.
- Rebalanced boss combinations in Horde Frenzy to avoid combining bosses that rapidly invalidate low cover positions (Kestrel, Sentinel, Swarmak, Flock, Wakaatu)
- Matchmaking into Horde Frenzy will no longer frequently place players in Daily Challenge lobbies.
- Added the Flashbang Grenade to the Fabricator.
Escape
- Fixed an issue on Forever where occasionally certain enemies would fail to spawn.
- Fixed an issue on The Blight, The Clock, and The Trap where custom door functionality was not working correctly.
Tactician
- Tactician's ultimate no longer has +50% increased duration in Horde.
Demolitions
- Fixed an issue where Demolition's "Gambit" Skill Card was not allowing the correct number of planted grenades.
Combat Medic
- Intervention will now revive multiple downed players simultaneously.
Tour of Duty
A new Operation means a new Tour of Duty! Before we dive into the reward for each category, we wanted to let you know that we have changed a few daily challenges across Gears 5.
- Arcade daily challenges have been removed
- The challenge for "Assists in a single versus match" has been removed.
- The challenge for "Assists in versus" has been removed.
- Damage dealt challenge changes:[list]
- 1 star: Increased from 15,000 to 25,000
- 2 star: Increased from 35,000 to 50,000
- 3 star: Increased from 70,000 to 75,000
- 1 star: Increased from 25,000 to 100,000
- 2 star: Increased from 50,000 to 200,000
- 3 star: Increased from 70,000 to 300,000
- 1 star: Decreased from 15,000 to 10,000
- 2 star: Decreased from 37,500 to 20,000
- 3 star: Decreased from 70,000 to 30,000
- 1 star: Decreased from 7 to 5
- 2 star: Decreased from 15 to 10
- 1 star: Increased from 10,000 to 15,000
- 2 star: Increased from 22,500 to 30,000
- 3 star: Increased from 35,000 to 40,000
[/list]
We of course have the medal categories returning for another Tour with new challenges to take on, see the full list below!
Basics – 2,000 Gear Coins on completion
| Name | Description | Mode | Stars | [/tr]
| Team Medic | Revive 150 Teammates | All | 4 | [/tr]
| Marksman | Hit 500 Headshots kills | All | 5 | [/tr]
| Executioner | Perform 150 Executions | All | 5 | [/tr]
| Finish Them | Kill 4000 Enemies | All | 5 | [/tr]
| Body Count | Get 10000 Eliminations | All | 6 | [/tr]
| Carnage | Do 10000000 Damage | All | 6 | [/tr]
Weapons – 2,000 Gear Coins on completion
| Name | Description | Mode | Stars | [/tr]
| Dropshot Body Count | Get 100 Eliminations with the Dropshot | All | 4 | [/tr]
| Gnasher Carnage | Deal 200000 Damage with the Gnasher | All | 5 | [/tr]
| Lancer Body Count | Get 250 Eliminations with the Lancer | All | 5 | [/tr]
| Hammerburst Carnage | Deal 100000 Damage with the Hammerburst | All | 6 | [/tr]
| Torque Bow Body Count | Get 100 Eliminations with the Torque Bow | All | 5 | [/tr]
| Boltok Body Count | Get 50 Eliminations with Boltok | All | 4 | [/tr]
Into the Jungle – 3,000 Gear Coins on completion
| Name | Description | Mode | Stars | [/tr]
| Into the Jungle | Complete 200 Rounds of Versus, Waves of Horde or Acts of Escape | All | 5 | [/tr]
| Wear Em Out | Get 50 Downs | All | 4 | [/tr]
| Up Close & Gnashty | Get 25 Executions with the Gnasher | All | 5 | [/tr]
| Head of the Herd | Get 15 Kills as the Leader in Versus Guardian Matches | Versus | 4 | [/tr]
| Pack Mentality | Get 100 Assists in Versus Matches | Versus | 5 | [/tr]
| Stalk Your Prey | Get 20 Kills with the Longshot | All | 4 | [/tr]
| Tip of the Spear | Get the First kill 10 times in Versus Matches | Versus | 6 | [/tr]
Top of the Food Chain – 5,000 Gear Coins on completion
| Name | Description | Mode | Stars | [/tr]
| Efficient | Get 20 Double Kills in Versus Matches | All | 5 | [/tr]
| Relentless | Get 15 Kills or more in 3 Versus matches | Versus | 5 | [/tr]
| Determined | Get 75 Ring Breaks in Competitive Matches | Versus | 5 | [/tr]
| Explosive | Get 50 Kills with Explosive Weapons | All | 5 | [/tr]
| Ruthless | Get 25 Executions in Versus Matches | Versus | 5 | [/tr]
| Elite | Score 5000 Points or more in 25 Competitive Versus Matches | Versus | 6 | [/tr]
| Dominant | Win 1 FFA Matches | Versus | 5 | [/tr]
| Ferocious (Hidden) | Get 3 kills in a single round in Competitive Execution | Versus | 6 | [/tr]
Escape – 5,000 Gear Coins on completion
| Name | Description | Mode | Stars | [/tr]
| Escape Attempts | Survive 50 Acts of Escape | Escape | 4 | [/tr]
| Escape Body Count | Get 1000 Eliminations in Escape | Escape | 5 | [/tr]
| Superior Tactics | Complete 10 Acts of Escape as Gabe, Sid, or Mikayla | Escape | 4 | [/tr]
| Relentless Support | Survive 30 Acts of Escape as Combat Medic, Mechanic, Robotics Expert, or Tactician classes | Escape | 5 | [/tr]
| Boss Hunter | Get 30 Boss Eliminations in Escape | Escape | 6 | [/tr]
| Quick, Deadly, Accurate | Get 100 Headshot Kills in Escape | Escape | 5 | [/tr]
| Escape Master 7 | Escape 10 Hives on Master Difficulty in Operation 7 | Escape | 5 | [/tr]
Horde – 5,000 Gear Coins on Completion
| Name | Description | Mode | Stars | [/tr]
| Wave Survivor | Survive 150 Waves of Horde | Horde | 4 | [/tr]
| Horde Carnage | Do 6000000 Damage in Horde | Horde | 5 | [/tr]
| Assault Body Count | Get 200 Eliminations in Horde as Blade Master, Demolitions, Infiltrator, Marksman, or Nomad classes | Horde | 4 | [/tr]
| Cole Trains Run on Whole Grains | Survive 60 Waves of Horde as Hana or Cole | Horde | 4 | [/tr]
| Against All Odds | Survive 50 Waves of Horde on Insane Difficulty or higher on Atrium, Command or Turbine | Horde | 5 | [/tr]
| Locust Hunter | Get 200 Locust Eliminations in Horde | Horde | 5 | [/tr]
| Boss Hunter | Get 30 Boss Eliminations in Horde | Horde | 6 | [/tr]
| Horde Body Count | Get 3000 Eliminations in Horde | Horde | 5 | [/tr]
Versus Basics – 3,000 Gear Coins on Completion
| Name | Description | Mode | Stars | [/tr]
| Quickplay Veteran | Win 10 Classic Quickplay matches | Versus | 4 | [/tr]
| Versus Medic | Revive 50 Teammates in Versus Matches | Versus | 4 | [/tr]
| COG Victories | Win 25 Versus Matches as COG | Versus | 5 | [/tr]
| Swarm Victories | Win 25 Versus Matches as Swarm | Versus | 5 | [/tr]
| Ring Master | Capture 100 Rings in Versus King of the Hill or Control Matches | Versus | 5 | [/tr]
| Season Slaughter | Get 5000 Eliminations in Versus | Versus | 6 | [/tr]
| Versus Carnage | Do 1500000 Damage in Versus matches | Versus | 6 | [/tr]
Competitive – 3,000 Gear Coins on Completion
| Name | Description | Mode | Stars | [/tr]
| Competitive Veteran | Win 20 Competitive Versus Matches | Versus | 6 | [/tr]
| Team Deathmatch Veteran | Get 200 Eliminations in Competitive Matches | Versus | 4 | [/tr]
| 2v2 Gnasher Veteran | Win 15 Rounds of Versus Competitive 2v2 Gnasher Matches | Versus | 5 | [/tr]
| Free-For-All Veteran | Get 100 Eliminations in Competitive Free-For-All Matches | Versus | 4 | [/tr]
| King of the Hill Veteran | Win 10 Rounds in Competitive King of the Hill matches | Versus | 5 | [/tr]
| Guardian Veteran | Win 20 Rounds of Competitive Guardian Matches | Versus | 5 | [/tr]
| Execution Veteran (Hidden) | Win 5 Matches of Competitive Execution 2.0 | Versus | 5 | [/tr]
Versus Events – 3,000 Gear Coins on completion
| Name | Description | Mode | Stars | [/tr]
| Event Champion | Win 50 Rounds of Versus Weekly Events | Versus | 5 | [/tr]
| Event Victories | Win 10 Matches across any Versus Weekly Events | Versus | 5 | [/tr]
| Event Eliminator | Get 250 Eliminations across any Versus Weekly Events | Versus | 5 | [/tr]
| Event Veteran | Complete 100 Rounds of Versus Weekly Events Matches | Versus | 4 | [/tr]
| Event Executioner | Get 10 Executions across any Versus Weekly Events | Versus | 4 | [/tr]
| Event Marksman | Get 30 Headshots across any Versus Weekly Events | Versus | 4 | [/tr]
All the stars earned from the dailies and medals will go towards earning the following rewards in the Tour:
| Rank Name | Reward Name | [/tr]
| Recruit I | 2000 Gear Coins | [/tr]
| Recruit II | Bone Engraving Loadout Set | [/tr]
| Recruit III | 750 Gear Coins | [/tr]
| Recruit IV | Submerged Precision Set | [/tr]
| Recruit V | Hivebuster Gabe | [/tr]
| Private I | 1000 Gear Coins | [/tr]
| Private II | 1000 Gear Coins | [/tr]
| Private III | Bone Engraving Power Set | [/tr]
| Private IV | 1000 Gear Coins | [/tr]
| Private V | Drill Master Clayton | [/tr]
| Corporal I | 1000 Gear Coins | [/tr]
| Corporal II | Bone Engraving Assault Set | [/tr]
| Corporal III | 1000 Gear Coins | [/tr]
| Corporal IV | 100 Iron | [/tr]
| Corporal V | Submerged Power Set | [/tr]
| Sergeant I | 1250 Gear Coins | [/tr]
| Sergeant II | 100 Iron | [/tr]
| Sergeant III | 1250 Gear Coins | [/tr]
| Sergeant IV | Bone Engraving Precision Set | [/tr]
| Sergeant V | Hollow Storm Sam | [/tr]
| Officer I | 1500 Gear Coins | [/tr]
| Officer II | Submerged Assault Set | [/tr]
| Officer III | 1500 Gear Coins | [/tr]
| Officer IV | On Swords Bloodspray | [/tr]
| Officer V | Submerged Loadout Set | [/tr]
| Lieutenant I | 1750 Gear Coins | [/tr]
| Lieutenant II | 100 Iron | [/tr]
| Lieutenant III | 1750 Gear Coins | [/tr]
| Lieutenant IV | Venom Burn Precision Set | [/tr]
| Lieutenant V | Loser Expression | [/tr]
| Captain I | 2000 Gear Coins | [/tr]
| Captain II | 2000 Gear Coins | [/tr]
| Captain III | Venom Burn Power Set | [/tr]
| Captain IV | 2000 Gear Coins | [/tr]
| Captain V | LOL Mark | [/tr]
| Major I | 2250 Gear Coins | [/tr]
| Major II | 2250 Gear Coins | [/tr]
| Major III | 100 Iron | [/tr]
| Major IV | 2250 Gear Coins | [/tr]
| Major V | Crimson Skorge | [/tr]
| Colonel I | 2500 Gear Coins | [/tr]
| Colonel II | 2500 Gear Coins | [/tr]
| Colonel III | Venom Burn Assault Set | [/tr]
| Colonel IV | 2500 Gear Coins | [/tr]
| Colonel V | Finger Wag Expression | [/tr]
| Major General I | 2750 Gear Coins | [/tr]
| Major General II | 3000 Gear Coins | [/tr]
| Major General III | Venom Burn Loadout Set | [/tr]
| Major General IV | 3500 Gear Coins | [/tr]
| Major General V | 100 Iron | [/tr]
| General | Regenerating Ukkon | [/tr]
Operation 7 drops May 18, and we are looking forward to it! See you there – in the meantime, have a great week everyone, and watch our socials for more.
TC
