It may sound like a given, but Tactics truly impresses in its presentation as another quintessential Gears entry. All of the smells and flavors that helped characterize the series are seamlessly translated over. Cinematic cutscenes are smartly interwoven throughout the story, filled with plenty of tension created by the cast of fantastic voice talent. Low, brassy orchestral lines to add to the gritty, dark atmosphere – it’s all th
While Gears Tactics eventually gives the player a plethora of troops and abilities to use in complex firefights, the run-up to getting there is a bit of a chore. Slowly unlocking new moves and increasing your arsenal is a video game staple, but in a strategy game like this, having a diverse range of choices is key to making the combat excit
Despite an in-built effective range limitation, the Sniper can be built to fit a range of different high damage roles with the right formation of skills. For a verified boss slayer, grabbing the Bullseye and Overture skills from the Assassin branch is invaluable. Mixing Overture’s 50% damage boost to the first hit of the turn with the guaranteed critical hit afforded by Bullseye can amount to a truly stunning amount of single shot decimation, comfortably levelling even some of the stronger enemies. For those who want a Sniper more focused on quantity than quality, maxing out the Chain Shot perk is a solid way to go; the extra two actions on a hit offered by the second level of the skill allows the sniper to lay down a wall of fire that sprays like a machine gun and hits like a truck. The more defensive player can follow the Stalker path, specifically taking advantage of the Critical Overwatch passive skill. It may not seem ground-breaking, but the chance to turn overwatch from a deterrent to a straight-up slaughter tool can take cover control to the next le
The game even gives players the gear from fallen soldiers back, so they’ll be able to give the replacement soldier the dead soldier’s great armor or weapons straight away. This only works for random recruits though, letting one of the main characters die in battle will result in a game o
Another staple in the turn-based strategy genre, the Fire Emblem series is another great way to get into the genre. Fire Emblem is much different from Gears Tactics because it is a fantasy game rather than a science fiction game, so it’s less about taking cover plus shooting and more about buffs and debuffs to take down enem
The two opening skills for the support are both incredibly useful in their own right. Empower essentially hands an action point off to an ally, delegating the damage-doing to a more specialized soldier for a net increase in hurt thrown the enemy’s way. Stim is simple and direct healing, a nice pop of 100 points at the skill’s first level. While not exactly overly impressive, that little boost can be game-changing – 100 points of health can mean the difference between a soldier making it out of a crossfire alive or d
In terms of specialization, the Support can easily adopt the roles of effective healer or battlefield commander. For building a Support who is meant to keep people alive, Recovery Patch from and Group Therapy from the Surgeon and Combat Medic branches, respectively, are more or less indispensable. Fitting in with the Surgeon specialization’s focus on passive and continuous healing, Recovery Patch grants a chosen unit healing at the end of each of the next three turns, great for orchestrating the takeover of a specific location or aiding a team mate in a narrow escape. Group therapy, like Stim, is simple but effective, healing the whole party at once. For those more interested in keeping a team in peak fighting form, the Paragon branch’s Lock and Load and Strategist Branch’s Surge are exceedingly beneficial. Lock and Load saves the entire team the hassle of reloading, meaning that an entire turn can be focused on putting down fire, while Surge completely recharges the targets skills and abilities, granting them back their full toolkit immediat
In a game Where Is The Unseen Razor quest troops can be killed permanently, it is both a gift and a curse that the soldiers level very slowly. On one hand, it can make the pain hurt less when a troop is killed and they aren’t insanely str
The problems arise when you get to the late-game, as these side missions are often required to proceed to the next story mission. It can be frustrating to be forced to go complete two of these right when the story is heating
The weapon applications are similarly impressive. Torque Bows, Longshot Snipers, Gnashers – they all hurt just as much as they did in the originals. Even the unique Active Reload mechanic is (somewhat) emulated via the “fast fingers” perk for the Sniper class. Seeing the wide array of Gears weapons in action from a birds-eye view is pretty fr
Luckily, in addition to taking the series into a whole new genre, turn-based tactical shooter **Gears Tactics ** has heartily embraced the idea of free and individualized choice. The game allows players a degree of character customization unheard of in previous entries in the franchise. Players now may choose how their characters look, how they act, and, importantly, how they fight . At the heart of that particular aspect of the game is the skill system. The branching trees grant each of the five classes countless ways to alter their playstyle and combat capabilities, adding active abilities and passive buffs that help shape battles in new and interesting ways. But, with all the available options, what is the best way to go? Which skills come together to craft the perfect soldier? While there is no right answer – player choice is key, after all – there are some skills that just work well together. This guide aims to give a few such combos, breaking down some top skills in each class. From the basics everyone should have to niche ones needed to make a proper specialist, here are some skills a good Cog commander should not be with