Gears of War: E-Day Beginner Tips: Difficulty, Weapons and Early Mistakes to Avoid
Gears of War: E-Day is out now. Here is how to pick a difficulty, handle the Gnasher's new reload, and avoid wasting the campaign's early supply drops.
Emergence Day hits a city block all at once in E-Day's opening hours. Image: The Coalition.
Gears of War: E-Day launches today on Xbox Series X/S and PC, dropping players back into Emergence Day as a young Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago fight through the first hours of the Locust invasion. The Coalition rebuilt the campaign from scratch in Unreal Engine 5, and a handful of systems, from the Gnasher's reload to the Lancer you start with, work differently than in any previous Gears game. Here is what to know before you drop in.
Pick a difficulty you can live with for the whole campaign
E-Day runs on the four difficulty tiers the series has used for years: Casual, Normal, Hardcore and Insane. Casual is built for players who want the story and the set pieces without much resistance; Normal is the balanced default; Hardcore expects you to use cover and reload timing correctly; Insane removes the margin for error entirely. The useful part for a first run is that difficulty is adjustable per player in co-op, so a squad of four can mix a Casual player with a Hardcore one in the same session without anyone being carried or held back. If you are playing solo and are new to the series, start on Normal. You can always raise it on a later playthrough once you know the encounters.
The Lancer you remember isn't the one you start with
New players expecting the chainsaw-bayonet Lancer from the first hour will be surprised: early in the campaign you're issued a Lancer Mark 1, a weaker rifle fitted with a plain stabbing bayonet instead of a saw. The chainsaw-equipped Prototype Lancer, with a higher rate of fire and more damage per shot, doesn't show up until later in Act 2. Don't write the weapon off in the opening chapters; it's intentionally undertuned to sell the idea that the COG are still improvising gear on Emergence Day itself.
- Hold onto the Lancer Mark 1 for medium range until the Prototype model unlocks; it's still more accurate than the Hammerburst at distance.
- Check COG supply crates after every firefight. They let you swap your current loadout for weapons you've already picked up, so you aren't stuck carrying something you grabbed in a panic.
- Stop for the optional rescues. Freeing trapped civilians or breaking up a Locust hunt off the main path rewards weapon mods you can't get any other way.
Relearn the Gnasher's active reload
The Gnasher shotgun's active reload is no longer an all-or-nothing timing window. It now reloads shell by shell, and stopping partway through leaves you with fewer shells chambered than a full cycle would give you. Magazine capacity is also down to six shells from the eight veterans are used to, which makes every reload decision during a firefight matter more than it used to. Practice the timing in an early, low-pressure encounter rather than the first boss fight.
Jump into Horde Siege once you've finished an act or two
E-Day's new 12-player Horde Siege mode launches alongside the campaign, built around three four-player squads defending the same map at once. It uses four classes at launch, Assault, Breacher, Marksman and Medic, each with its own starting loadout and a piece of Tactical Gear on a cooldown. Difficulty is tied to your class level, so don't queue into Commander or Allfather lobbies on a level 1 class; start on the entry tier and let Energy earned mid-match buy you weapons and perks as you go.
Quick checklist before your first session
- Set difficulty to Normal for a first solo run, or let each co-op player choose their own.
- Don't bench the Lancer Mark 1 early; the Prototype Lancer arrives later in Act 2.
- Practice the Gnasher's new shell-by-shell active reload somewhere low-stakes.
- Check every COG supply crate and chase optional rescues for weapon mods.
- Start Horde Siege on its entry difficulty tier until your class levels up.
E-Day is an Xbox and PC release available day one on Xbox Game Pass, with the full version live now on Steam. For everything else on the prequel's story and setting, see the official Gears of War: E-Day page, the Horde Siege class breakdown, and the game's Wikipedia entry. E-Day carries an ESRB rating of Mature 17+ for blood, gore and strong language, so plan accordingly if you're playing with younger squadmates nearby.