THE ART OF GEARS
by iice cold
Welcome ladies and gentlemen to The Art of Gears! First and foremost, this is a WORLD CLASS Gears of War 2 competitive multiplayer guide, with the most effective skillsets and strategies for the Guardian gametype, and of which have been tested in LIVE multiplayer competition spanning 6+ years. If you're interested in knowing more about the guides author, IIICE COLD, or any other basic information about the guide itself, please visit the Frequently Asked Questions section of the web page:
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
CHAPTER 1
THE GOLDEN RULE OF THE GEARS
Unfortunately for players seeking to master Gears of War 2 competition, I will not be giving a detailed explanation of the games basics such as how to fire, get into cover and aim your weapon. The purpose of this guide is to help transition players (already familiar with the game) into an elite player. Gears of War 2 is one of the only Gears of War titles (out of 4) that features a full length instruction manual; which is where brand new players can learn fundamental gameplay mechanics and button inputs. With that said, let's talk a little bit about the opening scene of the Campaign during an interaction between Marcus Fenix and B. Carmine.
Shortly after the opening scene, the protagonist of the games campaign (Marcus Fenix) is tasked with training a brand new recruit, B. Carmine, of which is the video games first playable section. One of the very first things that Marcus teaches Carmine, just after Tac Com instruction, is the "Golden Rule of the Gears", which is to:
TAKE COVER OR DIE
All four of the Gears of War video games are considered cover-based third-person shooters, therefore it is absolutely vital to have an extensive understanding of the games cover system and mechanics in order to play at a high level. There is a wide range of maneuvars that you're able to do in Gears of War 2 with the cover system, both natural and unnatural. Some of the techniques a player can use with the cover system include:
1) Swat Turn
2) Cover Slip
3) Evade/Roll out of cover
4) Wall bouncing
5) Mantle
6) Taking cover via orthodox means (by pressing the A button)
7) Taking cover via unorthodox means
Performing an evade (also called a roll) while in cover is done by simply holding the joystick to the left or right, while you are in the orthodox cover position, and then tapping the A button. Performing a mantle, similar to the improvised "mantle kick" of Gears of War 3, is performing by holding the up directional input (while in cover) and then pressing A. Mantling, however, can only be done in certain areas of the game since it is basically a leaping maneuvar over small objects. The swat turn is actually something that has appeared in many other video games, with my first time seeing it being in Splinter Cell (2): Pandora Tomorrow for the original Xbox. This maneuvar is simply done by positioning yourself at the very edge of a cover point and holding a directional input towards an adjacent cover point, then pressing A. The swat turn can be an excellent juke move and confusion tactic in competition, but (unfortunately) it has it's limitations online -- since even a minor degree of lag can deem the tactic completely innefective. Number 2 on the list (above) is the cover slip. This is done by positioning yourself at the edge of a cover point, holding up on the joystick, then pressing A.
The mechanics mentioned above are some of the games natural mechanics, of which were placed into the game by the developers on purpose. "Wallbouncing", however, is the manipulation of the games natural cover based gameplay mechanic; which I will be talking about in just a moment. Before I talk about wallbouncing, let's briefly talk about what it means to use the cover mechanic in both an orthodox and unorthodox way.
The cover system in Gears of War 2, at its most basic and fundamental level, lets you position yourself into cover by simply approaching a cover point and pressing the A button. Using this system in an orthodox sense, however, has many limitations including reduced mobility and exposing yourself to an opposing player when you were trying to remain concealed -- both of which I will demonstrate in the video just below this paragraph. It's important to understand that when you get into cover using the orthodox method, you are (literally) attaching yourself to that cover point. If you use cover in an unorthodox sense, however, you can increase your mobility and conceal yourself while attempting a surprise ambush on an unsuspecting player. To provide yourself with cover using an unorthodox method, you simply position yourself behind the cover point that you want at an angle that blocks off the opposing players vision and/or bullets.