Two skills that every Vanguard should consider are Intimidate and Hunker Down. Available before getting too deep into specialization, these skills are both endlessly useful in nearly every combat situation. The massive 40% evasion bonus granted to the soldier chosen by the Vanguard to Hunker down is more or less an effective shield, while Intimidates double whammy of breaking enemy overwatch while simultaneously forcing them from cover is useful both for pushing advances and breaking tight opposing formati

Right out the gate, it needs to be addressed that taking a series that is built around sprinting and diving until you manage to shotgun your opponent into a billion pieces and turning it into a tactics game is a bold m

There is something almost soothing in the brutal simplicity of the Heavy. A fortress on two truly hefty legs, the Heavy is the champion of stalwart defense through carefully applied explosions. Every team needs an anchor, and having an ability literally called Anchor alongside a wide range of area controlling abilities make the Heavy the prime candidate for the

Among the many turn-based tactics staples adopted by the adaptation is the action point system. What can be done on a turn is capped by each soldiers pool of points that must be divvied out between movement orders, weapon attacks, and the use of special skills. While fairly intuitive to more experience players of the genre, the new players coming to the game from the third person shooter forerunner may find themselves a bit overwhelmed by what, on the surface, looks like a fairly restrictive system. While there is certainly enough in-game time to self-teach the finer details of action points, this guide aims to arm new players with a run down on how to best use the action points in combat. From movement and positioning to the basics of point management, this guide gives new players all they need to make their team into an efficient locust-killing mach

No one can put out focused damage like the Sniper. Given the proper space (and ideally elevation) to work, the ranged specialist can inflict heavy damage on any foe, softening up hard targets and mopping up damaged enemies in a single deadly sweep. The skills of the class allow the player to choose their particular flavor of deadly at a dista

Gears Tactics is the latest game in the Gears (or Gears of War , as boomers may call it) franchise. A radical departure for the third-person shooter series, Gears Tactics is instead a tactical, turn-based RPG similar to XCOM or the recently released John Wick Hex . So far, it’s also only available on PC, not the Xbox

It would behoove players to line their soldiers up so they’re in a position to take advantage of enemies getting too close together. Yes, heavies can lay down impressive fire, but a basic Lancer soldier can also take out multiple enemies if players are playing strategically. It’s only useful (or possible) in rare circumstances, but it could be the deciding factor in a close fi

Battlefield commandos of the highest order, scouts are great at getting around and doing the subtle work that other classes just aren't capable of. Fast moving and hard hitting, their unique mix of stealth and explosive skills makes for a hit-and-run technician that can expertly dismantle enemy positions and leave without a scratch (apart from a few powder burns and Locust stai

Currently, Gears Tactics is exclusive to the PC. But if gamers don’t have a computer powerful enough to run the game well, fret not, for a console version is coming this year . The game will come to Xbox One, but it will presumably also come out on the Xbox Series

As players will quickly come to realize, taking cover is the most basic but most important part of Gears Tactics . Cover can keep the player safe from harm's way and can allow the player to hold a point push up on an enemy easier than being out in the o

Unfortunately, this is where Tactics becomes a bit dull. The recruiting system and side characters are mostly forgettable. The tactical variety isn’t the largest either, leaving the player with a handful of options. It isn’t dry by any means, yet after the first 15 hours of the roughly 25-hour campaign, Skill Schools you essentially get the gist of it. This would’ve been negligible in the wake of diverse mission designs, but sadly – this isn’t the c

The Paladin skills more or less create a healer-tank of the Vanguard; picking up Rally, which effectively grants passive healing to squad mates for attacking, and Stand Together, a 10 meter revival burst that simultaneously grants a defensive buff, lets the Vanguard pitch in to the healing effort without cutting in on combat versatility. While effective in its own way, the Assault branch is a lot more situational than the other three, granting buffs to the Vanguard for damage received by both them and their squad ma

Grenadiers are heavy units that can tank a few hits. Similar to wretches, grenadiers will rush friendly units with their shotguns which makes them a lot scarier to deal with than Wretches. However, they have to get close to your units in order to deal damage. Try to take them out from far away, and prioritize attacking these units if they overstep their bou