Gears of War 3 Walkthrough

Horde

Horde has undergone some major changes from its Gears 2 incarnation. There is a greater emphasis on teamwork and base control. You'll want to stick together with your team to increase chances of survival. A lone wolf might score some kills, but in the end won't have the proper protection to outlast the many waves of Locust and Lambent.

You start with a small sum of $1000, but gain more by killing enemies and completing objectives. You can also give money to your teammates by placing your crosshairs on them; use this to pool for a single powerful upgrade. Sometimes it's better to quickly build a strong Turret, rather than spread around dozens of weaker Spikes.

Also, you can spend your personal cash to respawn after dying. This starts at $1500, but increases as you progress along the waves.

Command Posts

Each map has between 3-5 Command Posts in which to set up your base of operations. You can only build Fortifications that are in close proximity to your Command Post. The first Command Post is free, but the rest will require a good sum of cash at $2000. Choose your position wisely, as you'll need to make sure you have adequate cover. For example, on Checkout you may want to avoid making your first Post at the Photo Center, as it is very open and right smack in the middle of the map. A better alterative is to hunker down in Electronics, which only has a few openings and is close to a Mulcher spawn.

In some cases, being in the center of the map can be fairly useful. At Old Town, setting your base in the Market gives you rather secure cover. The Locust have to come through a few small openings and can be shot through the short walls on the east and west sides of the market square. On other maps such as Hotel, there isn't a clear best spot. Both the APC and Garden Spawns are far too open, while the Lobby has several places to build spikes, but has too many far off entrances.

Still, having well built spikes and turrets should be enough to overcome a Command Post's tactical position.

Fortifications

There are five different Fortifications you can purchase with your earned cash. As you spend more on a particular ability, it will slowly level up and become stronger. At first you'll only have access to the lowly level 1 Spikes, but gain the new Fortifications by spending more money on the earlier defenses. You will keep all of your accumulated unlocks for future Horde games, so feel free to grind and spend to your heart's content.

First off are Barriers (starting as Spikes, but upgrades include Wires). These will slow down and damage approaching enemies. These are great for deterring melee enemies such as Butchers and Wretches. However, Barriers won't do much against ranged Locust such as Drones armed with Lancers or Longshots.

The second set of Fortifications are Decoys. These dummies will draw enemy fire until they are destroyed. At higher levels the Decoys are more durable and convincing, attracting more enemy attention and leaving you free to blast the Locust from behind.

Next you'll gain access to Retro Lancer Turrets (Which can upgrade to Lancer and Troika versions). These bad boys have a good rate of fire, but leave you grounded and a key target for snipers and Boomers. The Turret also has limited ammo and can be destroyed by enemy attacks. The turret is great in a defensive pinch, such as a boss wave, but most of the time can be left alone.

The fourth Fortification is the automated Sentry. This will defend a small area and actively shoot at the first Locust that comes into range. This is great for covering areas of the map your team can't currently reach. The main weakness of the Sentry is its limited range, making it a prime target for Longshot and Hammerburst users.

The final Fortification is the Silverback Minigun, an exoskeleton mech that is armed with rapid-fire machineguns and rockets. This is great for taking on large slow bosses, such as the Brumak. The Silverback costs loads of dollars, so be sure to save it for just the right occasion.

Weapons and Bonuses

At the start of the match you'll only be equipped with your default Loadout. To gain extra weapons and ammo crates on the map you'll need to spend money. Your purchase is only good for one weapon, and you will need to spend more cash to grab a second or third spawn of that much needed Scorcher or Frag Grenade. Despite most items costing a pretty penny, the Boom Shield is still free.

Besides spending money (and looting the items off of dead Locust), some bonus waves will reward dollars or supply drops for completing a particular objective. These typically include making a number of Executions or getting a set amount of kills in a short time. As with other aspects of Horde, working with your team and planning out these bonus tasks will hasten their completion.

Other waves include boss waves where Myrrah will unleash some of the strongest enemies. These can include multiple Berserkers, Brumaks, Gunkers, and Reavers and Corpsers. Single large bosses, such as the Brumak, are actually fairly easier to deal with than storms of strong Gunkers or Berserkers. Keep your money saved up for Silverbacks and Turrets to help defend against these ominous threats.