Operation 8: Drop 1 - Reveal

Hello everyone!

The time has come to talk about Operation 8! This post will cover everything you can expect to see when the operation goes live on Tuesday, August 3rd.

Trailer

Before you dive into the full post, check out the Operation 8 trailer!

Characters

Bernadette Mataki

Sergeant Bernadette "Bernie" Mataki is a legendary sharpshooter who fought for the COG in the Pendulum and Locust Wars. With a caustic sense of humor and an unerring sense of aim, Bernie is a relentless force on the battlefield.

Ketor Vrol

A crusading zealot with a deep-seated hatred of humanity, Ketor Vrol is one of the first Locust and served Queen Myrrah alongside RAAM and Ukkon. Vrol is a high priest of the Locust Horde who leads his people in worshipping the Trinity of Worms, who created the sacred birthright of the Locust: the Hollows.

New Map Addition

Ritual

The Weilehan people once gave tribute to the Wakaatu at these ancient ruins. Controlling both the catacombs and the altar is key to avoiding unexpected flanks.

PvP

In Operation 7, we introduced Competitive mode, bringing with it seven total playlists, each with exclusive Leaderboards.

We're happy to announce that due to overwhelmingly positive feedback we'll be adding Capture the Flag as our eighth and final competitive mode to Gears 5 for Operation 8 going forward. This mode will also have exclusive banners to unlock as well as a new leaderboard to climb!

Alongside competitive updates, we'll be adding more exclusive competitive rewards, some prototype weapons, and more, let's dive in!

PvP – Competitive Rewards

In Operation 7 we gave away the Heroic Obsidian weapon set, which was awarded in batches if you finished playlists in the top 1000. We are still going to be offering this reward with the same criteria, but we'll be rotating through the weapon groups so that players can earn all the weapon skins without having to grind different playlists.

In addition to the above we're still granting the same top 100/1 rewards as last season but with one change: The Grandmaster Gnasher will be swapped out for the Grandmaster Obsidian Gnasher.

For Season 9 of competitive, we'll 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's 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

PvP – Prototype Weapons

Throughout the development of Gears 5, we prototyped different weapons for inclusion in PvP, but, sadly many of them didn't make it into the game.

In Operation 8 we're going to be adding two prototype weapons to custom matches and events so you can try them out, however, they will not be customizable for skins.

Markza MK2

Back in Gears of War Judgment we released a weapon called the Breechshot. As a prototype, the Markza MK2 exists to replicate that weapon's behavior.

The Markza MK2 is a five-round rifle, with the ability to instantly headshot an enemy, its drawback is a slow rate of fire which can cost the player opportunities or even result in their death.

To try and replicate that Gears of War Judgment feel we've also used the original crosshair that was present for Breechshot, which should help to achieve that same gun feel.

Revive Grenade

The Revive Grenade previously existed as the Stim-Gas Grenade in Gears of War Judgment, featuring the ability to continuously heal players inside the blast radius.

We used that as the inspiration for the Revive Grenade, which can revive Down But Not Out (DBNO) players. We imagine it can be a round changer in objective playlists.

We're incredibly excited to get these out to you and we look forward to seeing how you use them in customs!

PvP – Tweaks

Note: Ping will still appear on this scoreboard, this is just a bot game.

• Alongside all the updates above, we have some significant quality of life changes coming to the Versus experience, including some competitive changes.
• We're removing the ability to see the PC Icon in Public lobbies across Gears 5. The icon will remain in place for Custom matches to help maintain esports integrity.
• We've added an option to add a delay to the expression wheel appearing. , tThis can be toggled from instantly to 5 seconds which should help prevent accidental openings of the wheel while in combat.
• You can now toggle off the option to "Yank" a player over cover, sometimes a player will accidentally try to yank while trying to revive a DBNO player against cover which will help prevent this issue from occurring.
• We have updated the Scoreboard to provide more meaningful stats across the board for viewers and players.
  • Execution/Warzone: Kill/Death/Assist, Damage Done, First Bloods, Revives.
  • KOTH/Control: Kill/Death/Assist, Damage Done, OBJ Kills (any player you kill inside the objective.), Caps/Breaks.
  • TDM/Dodgeball: Kill/Death/Assist, Damage Done, Kill Streak (this is your current kill streak but will reset at the end of each round or if you die.), Revives.
  • Guardian: Kill/Death/Assist, Damage Done, Leader Kills, Revives.
  • Escalation: Kill/Death/Assist, Damage Done, Kill Streak, Caps/Breaks.
  • Gridiron/Capture the Flag: Kill/Death/Assist, Damage Done, Touchdowns, Denials.

• We've made the following changes to competitive mode scoring:
  • Players who are playing solo will now get a 25% boost to their score at the end of a competitive match (up from 15%)
  • Players will now receive 5,000 points for a victory in all team-based competitive modes.

• We've added the Relic Weapons into the Swap All and Custom Match weapon swaps list.

PvE

Throughout Gears 5 we have run multiple events across the game for Horde such as Nexus Siege, Escape from Kadar, and more.

We're happy to announce that at the start of Operation 8 we'll be adding all these event modes to Custom Games!

This will mean you can experience the Locust returning with Nexus Siege on a map such as Ephyra or mix it up with the Wakaatu on Ritual!

All the events you can now select from are listed below:

• Boss Rush – Survive 10 waves against bosses only.
• Escape from Kadar – Survive 10 waves against Niles' creations.
• Horde Mania – Survive 25 waves with a short build period.
• Horde Roulette – Survive 10 waves of random enemy combinations.
• Jingle Juvies – Survive 20 waves of joyous Jingle Juvies.
• Mad Man's Monsters – Survive 20 waves against the Mad Man's Monsters.
• Nexus Siege – Survive 10 waves of Locust with no Fabricator.
• Predator Hunt – Survive 10 waves and battle the Wakaatu with no Fabricator.

Finally, we've also addressed the issues that stopped us from adding Turbine and Atrium to Horde custom games, you can expect to see these in at the start of Operation 8.

Tour of Duty

With a new Operation comes an all-new Tour of Duty with exclusive content to gather. See the full list below!

Basics – 2,000 Gear Coins on completion

Team Medic Revive 150 Teammates All 5 Carnage Do 10000000 Damage All 5 Body Count Get 10000 Eliminations All 5 Finish Them Kill 4000 Enemies All 5 Marksman Hit 500 Headshots kills All 5 Executioner Perform 150 Executions All 5

Weapons – 2,000 Gear Coins on completion

Lancer Carnage Deal 250000 Damage with the Lancer All 5 Gnasher Body Count Get 250 Eliminations with the Gnasher All 5 Pistol Carnage Deal 150000 Damage with the Snub, Boltok, or Talon All 5 Big Boom Body Count Get 100 Eliminations with the Boomshot, Dropshot, or Frag Grenades All 6 Blazing Carnage Deal 100000 Damage with the Scorcher or Incendiary Grenades All 6 Marksman Body Count Get 100 Eliminations with the Longshot, EMBAR, or Torque Bow All 6

Tour of Duty Specialist – 3,000 Gear Coins on completion

BattlewornComplete 200 Rounds of Versus, Waves of Horde, or Acts of EscapeAll 5 Drop EmGet 100 DownsAll 5 Splish SplashDo 50000 Damage with Incendiary and/or Shock GrenadesAll 5 Active LivingGet 150 Active Reload KillsAll 5 Double DipperGet 20 Double Kills in Versus MatchesVersus 5 Do Your PartGet 100 Assists in Versus MatchesVersus 5 Sending a MessageGet 25 Executions in Versus MatchesVersus 6

Tour of Duty Master – 5,000 Gear Coins on completion

KilljoyGet 5 Ring-Breaks in a single Versus MatchVersus4Busy BeeGet 3 Triple Kills in Competitive Versus MatchesVersus5Show OffGet 5 Executions in a single Versus Match 3 timesVersus5GoonGet 5 or more Kills without dying in a single Versus MatchVersus5TryhardScore 5000 Points or more in 25 Competitive Versus MatchesVersus6Eager BeaverGet the First kill 10 times in Versus MatchesVersus6BullySurvive 25 Waves of Horde and/or Acts of Escape on Inconceivable Difficulty or HigherPVE6

Escape – 5,000 Gear Coins on completion

Escape Attempts Survive 50 Acts of Escape Escape 4 Escape Carnage Do 3000000 Damage in Escape Escape 5 Escape Body Count Get 1000 Eliminations in Escape Escape 5 Boss Hunter Get 30 Boss Eliminations in Escape Escape 5 Hivebusters Survive 10 Acts of Escape as Lahni, Keegan, or Mac Escape 5 Scion Hunter Get 50 Scion Eliminations in Escape Escape 5 Escape Master Escape 10 Hives on Master Difficulty in this Operation Escape 6

Horde – 5,000 Gear Coins on Completion

Wave Survivor Survive 150 Waves of Horde Horde 4 Horde Carnage Do 6000000 Damage in Horde Horde 5 Horde Body Count Get 3000 Eliminations in Horde Horde 5 Boss Hunter Get 30 Boss Eliminations in Horde Horde 5 Power Horder Collect 1000000 Energy in Horde Horde 5 Locust Hunter Get 200 Locust Eliminations in Horde Horde 5 Horde Master Survive 50 Waves of Horde or Frenzy on Master Difficulty Horde 6

Versus Basics – 3,000 Gear Coins on Completion

Quickplay Veteran Win 10 Classic Quickplay matches Versus 5 Versus Carnage Do 1500000 Damage in Versus matches Versus 5 Season Slaughter Get 5000 Eliminations in Versus Versus 5 Versus Medic Revive 50 Teammates in Versus Matches Versus 5 COG Victories Win 25 Versus Matches as COG Versus 5 Swarm Victories Win 25 Versus Matches as Swarm Versus 5 Ring Master Capture 100 Rings in Versus Versus 5

Competitive – 3,000 Gear Coins on Completion

Competitive Veteran Win 20 Competitive Versus Matches Versus 6 Competitive Slayer Get 200 Eliminations in Competitive Matches Versus 5 2v2 Gnasher Veteran Win 15 Rounds of Versus Competitive 2v2 Gnasher Matches Versus 5 Free-For-All Veteran Get 100 Eliminations in Competitive Free-For-All Matches Versus 5 Control Veteran Win 15 Rounds in Competitive Control Matches Versus 5 Guardian Veteran Win 20 Rounds of Competitive Guardian Matches Versus 5 Execution Veteran Win 5 Matches of Competitive Execution 2.0 Versus 5

Versus Events – 3,000 Gear Coins on completion

Event Veteran Complete 1000 Rounds of Versus Weekly Events Versus 4 Event Eliminator Get 250 Eliminations across any Versus Weekly Events Versus 5 Event Executioner Get 10 Executions across any Versus Weekly Events Versus 5 Event Marksman Get 30 Headshots across any Versus Weekly Events Versus 5 Event Winner Win 50 Rounds of Versus Weekly Events Versus 6 Event Champion Win 10 Matches across any Versus Weekly Events Versus 6

All the stars earned from the dailies and medals will go towards earning the following rewards in the Tour:

Recruit I Coins 2000 Recruit II Weapon Skin Ghillie Camo Loadout Set Recruit III Coins 750 Recruit IV Weapon Skin Sandglass Precision Set Recruit V Character Skin Hivebuster Dizzy Private I Coins 1000 Private II Coins 1000 Private III Weapon Skin Ghillie Camo Power Set Private IV Coins 1000 Private V Character Skin C Company Bernie Corporal I Coins 1000 Corporal II Weapon Skin Ghillie Camo Assault Set Corporal III Coins 1000 Corporal IV Iron 100 Corporal V Weapon Skin Sandglass Power Set Sergeant I Coins 1250 Sergeant II Iron 100 Sergeant III Coins 1250 Sergeant IV Weapon Skin Ghillie Camo Precision Set Sergeant V Character Skin Savage Scion Officer I Coins 1500 Officer II Weapon Skin Sandglass Assault Set Officer III Coins 1500 Officer IV Blood Spray Reaper Bloodspray Officer V Weapon Skin Sandglass Loadout Set Lieutenant I Coins 1750 Lieutenant II Iron 100 Lieutenant III Coins 1750 Lieutenant IV Weapon Skin Predator Feathers Precision Set Lieutenant V Expression Mind Blown Expression Captain I Coins 2000 Captain II Coins 2000 Captain III Weapon Skin Predator Feathers Power Set Captain IV Coins 2000 Captain V Mark Bird of Prey Mark Major I Coins 2250 Major II Coins 2250 Major III Iron 100 Major IV Coins 2250 Major V Character Skin Islander Tai Colonel I Coins 2500 Colonel II Coins 2500 Colonel III Weapon Skin Predator Feathers Assault Set Colonel IV Coins 2500 Colonel V Expression Guitar Solo Expression Major General I Coins 2750 Major General II Coins 3000 Major General III Weapon Skin Predator Feathers Loadout Set Major General IV Coins 3500 Major General V Iron 100 General Character Skin Trinity Vrol

Re-up

Operation 8 will also see us increasing the total number of re-ups in Gears 5, as we go from 50 to 60. Just like before each new re-up grants an exclusive reward that can only be attained from that re-up!

XP Curve per re-up

The list below contains the amount of XP per level required in the specific re-up

Re-Up 50 Re-Up 51 Re-Up 52 Re-Up 53 Re-Up 54 Re-Up 55 Re-Up 56 Re-Up 57 Re-Up 58 Re-Up 59 Re-Up 60 6875 7175 7475 7775 8075 8375 8725 9075 9425 9775 10125

Rewards List

• Re-up 51: Space Race Precision Set
• Re-up 52: King $#?@ Blood Spray
• Re-up 53: Space Race Assault Set
• Re-up 54: Crown Mark & Triumph Banner
• Re-up 55: Heroic Karn
• Re-up 56: Wipe Hands Expression
• Re-up 57: Space Race Power Set
• Re-up 58: Golden Crown Blood Spray
• Re-up 59: Space Race Loadout Set
• Re-up 60: Heroic Kait

Achievements

For Operation 8 we're adding 17 new achievements across Gears 5, totaling an additional 500 Gamerscore. Details are below:

Achievement NameGamerscoreRequirementLegendary Operator100Reach Legend 25 in an operationA Real Gear50Reach Re-Up 50Re-Up Mastery50Reach Re-Up 60Seriously 5.0 Chapter 215050 Re-ups
Finish Campaign on Inconceivable
Master all 32 Escape Hives
Master all Horde maps in 50 wave and Frenzy modes
Get all PvE classes to level 20In Total Control10Win a Control and/or KOTH match on 10 different mapsEvent Planner5Win 10 matches in Versus EventsBack In Style15Win 10 matches of ExecutionGrave Consequences5Win a Versus match on TombDestroyed Beauty5Win a Versus match on EphyraLast Rites5Win a Versus match on RitualBernie is Back10Win 5 Versus matches with BernieTrusted Advisor10Win 5 Versus matches with VrolChamber of Horrors5Complete a match of Horde Frenzy on AtriumTake Command5Complete a match of Horde Frenzy on CommandBreezing Through5Complete a match of Horde Frenzy on TurbineTotal Annihilation70Do 400,000,000 damage in Horde or Escape

XP Event

To celebrate Operation 8, we're happy to announce that from Friday, August 6 to Monday, August 9 we'll be running a triple XP boost event, this will also include Character XP!

This will go live at 10:00 AM PDT, so be sure to get your grind ready!

And that's it for our Operation 8 reveal. Keep an eye out for next week's This Week in Gears post which will contain the patch notes.
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