LAST UPDATE: 04/06/2011
[/b][/u](All new updates will have a NEW![/b] tag beside them)
Latest Update: Will be adding fly-throughs of all the beta maps this week, XBA Gears 3 beta list is up to 16 people!
OFFICIAL RELEASE DATE: September 20th, 2011
I decided to make this thread so everyone here on XBA would have somewhere to go to get all the Gears of War 3 information they could handle. I do plan on updating this thread on a consistant basis until Gears of War 3 is released, so check back often!
Also, feel free to post any new info on Gears 3 that you find, and please let me know of any suggestions you have to make this thread better.
Let's start off with a little QA
QA
Q: When will Gears of War 3 be released?
A: September 20th, 2011
Q: Will there be a Gears of War 3 beta or demo?
A: Yes!!! There will indeed be a beta. In order to guaruntee yourself a spot in the beta you must pre-order the Bulletstorm "Epic Edition" or pre-order Gears of War 3.
Q: When will the beta be released and how can I get it?
A: April 18th for Bulletstrom EE owners, and April 25th for those of you the pre-ordered Gears 3.
Q: Why was "Guardian" taken out?
A: "Capture the Leader" is "Guardian" and "Submission" combined.
Q: Can the leader capture the leader?
A: Yes
Q: Will Gears of War 3 use dedicated servers?
A: The biggest news this far (IMO). Yes, Gears of War 3 will have dedicated servers! No more host advantage! Private matches however will continue to use P2P.
Q: What changes have been made to Warzone and Execution?
A: None, they are unchanged. Why mess with perfection?
Q: Will there be a Limited Edition of Gears 3?
A: Yes, there will be 3 editions of the game. Standard for $59.99, Collector's for $79.99, and the Epic Edition for $149.99. More details coming around E3.
Now to the good stuff:
Weapons
The New Weapons
- The Retro Lancer (aka. the Pendulum Lancer)
Described as the midpoint between rifle play and shotgun play, the Retro Lancer is a high stopping power, high recoil weapon. It is most effective at ranges just outside the Gnasher's effective range usage. Holding the B button allows you to use the bayonet on the front in a roadie run style charge, which lands you a kill if you can connect with your opponent. However, this charge must build up momentum first with at least 4 or 5 steps otherwise landing the charge will just count as a normal melee attack.
- Sawed Off Shotgun
The Sawed Off is a one shot, extremely long reload, extremely high powered shotgun with a wide spread. The Sawed Off has the ability to gib multiple people at once at close range, but it's effective range is very very small (described as almost point blank). The reload is also much longer than expected, and with one shot, it's a make it count kind of weapon.
- The Digger Launcher
A new locust weapon that fires a locust “Piranha-like” creature into the ground, which then emerges and explodes. When fired, dirt is kicked up as it moves along it's trajectory to give an indication of it's attack destination. If you are killed by it, your head explodes.
- The One Shot
A recoilless rifle that can take down almost any enemy in the game with, as the name says, one shot. It's a heavy weapon that needs to be "deployed" to be fired according to recent previews - it also projects a laser where it's going to shoot because it's satellite guided, so your enemy will know when it's aimed directly at them. The One Shot also has a very low ammo count.
- Incendary Grenade
A new grenade from the COG that acts like a molotov cocktail with no warning - it explodes on impact. Throw it on the ceiling to rain fire in front of a doorway, or throw it directly on someone to set them alight.
- The Multi-Turret
A new fixed weapon that can have its four weapon slots traded for almost any weapon you currently hold. By standard, it holds four Pendulum Lancers.
Returning Weapons
- Lancer Assault Rifle
Confirmed to be returning. The chainsaw has now been buffed, and you no longer stumble when revving the saw. Chainsaw kills can now only be stopped in the first few moments of the revving animation, as it now takes time to rev it up to full speed
- Hammerburst Assault Rifle
The Hammerburst remains an accurate semi automatic rifle, but now has the addition of iron sights. This added level of zoom takes you into a first person view for precision shooting - articles have also confirmed that the last shot required to down someone will give you a headshot kill if the last hit lands on the head.
- Gnasher Shotgun
Confirmed to be returning.
- Boltok Pistol
Confirmed to be returning.
- Gorgon Pistol
Returns under the new name "Gorgon SMG", having changed from a burst fire pistol to a fully automatic pistol.
- Grenades
All three types have been confirmed to be returning. The Ink grenade now gives off no warning beeps to make it a little more useful.
Ranking System
- Gears of War 3 will have an XP based ranking system similar to Gears 2, but with unlocks including weapon customisation and multiple skins for characters.
- In a match, you can earn "Ribbons" for things like kill streaks, saving someone's life, killing your nemesis and such. These will earn you extra XP towards your level.
- Your in game accomplishments also count towards "Medals", which are longer term versions of Ribbons that you build towards match over match, such as a medal related to weapon usage. Once a medal is levelled to a certain point, it unlocks a "Title" for use in multiplayer.
- Some Executions will only be avaliable at a certain level. Once earned, you can earn the ability to continue an execution beyond the normal length of time by earning medals with the weapon related to that execution.
- Executions earn you higher XP than a standard kill. Using extended executions earns you more XP for as long as you stand over them, which obviously leaves you extremely vulnerable.
- Epic will store your entire profile data on their own servers to ensure no profile corruptions / rank losses that happened for some Gears 2 players.
- You can level offline, but it is noticeably slower.
Executions
- In the MeriStation TV interview, Cliff says there will be a ton of new executions in the game this time round and there will be an incentive for using them in multiplayer.
- Every weapon in the game has it's own execution, apart from the Snub pistol (which is used for Race Executions)
- Weapon specific executions must now be earned through gaining medals relevant to that weapon. Once unlocked, you can then freely use it to show off to your friends. Until they are unlocked, you'll do the race execution instead.
- After using a weapon specific execution enough, you earn the right to hold the execution button and prolong the execution for around 20 seconds.
- Locust Execution: Rip off their arm, and beat them to death with it
- COG Execution: The punching execution from Gears of War 2 is back, but only for COG players
- The Scorcher: Jammed into the enemies’ torso, the Scorcher is then fired, causing flames to come out of the body through the eyes and mouth.
- Gnasher Shotgun: The reloading catch is unhinged, wrapped around the neck of the enemy and then used to snap the enemies neck. NEW![/b]
- Sawed-off Double Barrel: The reloading catch is unhinged, wrapped around the neck of the enemy and then used to snap the enemies’ neck. NEW![/b]
- Pendulum Lancer: Enemy is knocked onto their knees, has their head positioned and then has their throat cut.
- Longshot: Tap em over the head or use it as a sledgehammer. NEW![/b]
- Boltok: Gunslinger Style! Twirl the revolver before slamming it onto their dome.
- Torque: Put the blade right on their neck and decapitate them.
- Mulcher Execution: slam enemy in the back; knee them in the head. NEW![/b]
- Lancer: Chainsaw is revved and shoved into your opponents exposed stomach. Huge spouts of blood fly. NEW![/b]
- Digger Launcher: Enemy is kicked onto their back as you punt their head from their body. NEW![/b]
- Gnasher: Swing the gun like a golf club as you pop their head for a nice drive.
- Gorgon: Player stand on enemy's shoulder and pistol whips them repeatedly until their head is pulped. NEW![/b]
- Mortar/One Shot: Enemy's head is crushed under the weight and sheer force as you smash it down on them. NEW![/b]
- Players will start off with the basic executions and will need to prove their proficiency with weapons in order to unlock new execution kills. Executions are now worth bonus experience points, so there's more to it now than simply embarrassing your opponent. These special executions are pretty long animations, so there's a risk/reward system associated with it. NEW![/b]
Characters
CoG
Marcus Fenix
Dominic Santiago
Augustus Cole - Thrashball Cole, Bling Cole NEW![/b]
Damon Baird
Samantha Byrne
Anya Stroud - The female COG soldier seen in the "Ashes to Ashes" trailer. We will learn more on her transition from pencil pusher to soldier throughout the books. Cliff describes her as a VERY capable Gear.
Bernadette Mataki - An older female Gear from the series of books.
Jace Stratton - From the Gears of War comic series will be a new integral squad member. He is described as a “young soldier who cares more about the people than the war”. Voiced by Drake.
Griffin - The leader of a rag-tag group of stranded encountered in the game. Voiced by Ice-T
Clayton Carmine - The most beefed up and badass Carmine of the family, and his fate has been decided by the votes made in the "Decide Carmine's Fate" campaign which raised $150,000 for Child's Play.
Minh Young Kim - Multiplayer only
Anthony Carmine - Multiplayer only
Benjamin Carmine - Multiplayer only
Tai Kaliso - Multiplayer only
Dizzy Wallin - Multiplayer only
Richard Prescott
Locust
Drone
Sniper
Grenadier
Grenadier Elite
Theron Guard
Theron Sentinel
RAAM - Multiplayer Only
Kantus
Skorge - Multiplayer only
Flame Grenadier
Beast Rider
Cyclops
Savage Grenadier
Savage Theron
Locust Hunter
Queen Myrrah
Snow Theron
Maps
Cliff confirmed in the MeriStation TV interview that Gears of War 3 will include some old Gears of War 1 favorites that we didn't see in Gears of War 2. Here are some of the new maps that have been officially announced:
- Mercy
As seen in the first Beast Mode footage, this is a map with a symmetrical map set in a courtyard of sorts.
- Thrashball - Beta Map[/color]
Symmetrical map with a scoreboard in the middle. This can be shot down to produce a change to the middle of the arena with the metallic remnants left behind from the explosion. Visual identifiers (such as downed helicopters) have been used to help identify where you are on the map.
Thrashball Fly-through NEW![/b]
- Overpass
Set in Jacinto as the city began to sink. After flooding for a while, the map dynamically changes its surroundings by beginning to sink into the Hollow. This map also contains the “multi-turret”.
- Checkout - Beta Map[/color]
A new map set in a deserted shopping mall.
- Trenches - Beta Map[/color]
A desert based map inlcuding trenches with a large hill in the middle - control the hill, control the map. Sandstorms sweep periodically to help teams make an advance on the hill under some cover. A one shot sits firmly at the top of the hill.
- Old Town - Beta Map[/color]
Described as a European like town with cobblestone streets and "chickens"
Gametypes
Warzone / Execution
Both are returning unchanged.
Team Deathmatch - Beta gametype
Team Deathmatch with a Gears style twist - your team spawns with 20 lives, and each death on your team takes a life away from that pool. Once all lives are expired, you can no longer respawn. If you are consistantly dying, you will be spawned nearer to your teammates or take slightly longer to spawn to counteract any potential issues of one person draining a team of lives.
Capture the Leader - Beta gametype
Guardian meets Submission - the leader now cannot be killed, but instead must be meatshielded for 30 seconds to gain the victory. Leaders can struggle using the B button at certain intervals to put off the captives aim. Leaders also gain leadership vision through the Tac/Com, which allows them to see both friend and foe. The new leaders are Queen Myrrah for the Locust, and Chairman Prescott for the COG.
King of the Hill (Revamp) - Beta gametype
King of the Hill has been revamped into a merge of Annex and King of the Hill. The objective now is to hold a ring until your score for that ring hits 100% (the enemy capturing the ring only increases their percentage captured for the ring, and does not decrease your teams percentage). Once one team hits 100% captured, they gain a point and the ring moves. KOTH now uses the Wingman spawn locations to prevent spawn blocking.
Wingman
Confirmed to be returning, but now involves FOUR teams of two rather than FIVE teams of two.
- "Un-announced" mode hinted at by CliffyB in the Gears of War 3 Epic Games studio tour NEW![/b]
Miscellaneous
-Character Movement Speed (CMS) has been increased back to Gears 1 speed for multiplayer.
-There is an Events Calender in game that lists all upcoming XP events ect for Gears
-Photo mode from Gears 2 is not included in Gears 3
-The "Training Grounds", a bot based mode designed to ease people into Gears multiplayer, can now be played in co-op
-Players can now vault over cover and kick an enemy to down him. It is unclear what the effect of this is in multiplayer
-You can now chainsaw a Lambent enemy then kick them away towards enemies before they explode, a departure from the Gears 1 lambent wretches which exploded in your face if you chainsawed them
-A meatshielded enemy can now be picked up and grenade tagged, then kicked towards enemies.
-Your reticule will now bloom to reflect the current accuracy of your weapon. It should be noted that in the E3 demo, the bloom is significantly larger if you are moving, even at a slow pace
-As seen in the E3 demo, players can now charge an enemy with the Pendulum Lancer and ram a bayonet into their chest. It is not yet confirmed if this is in multiplayer
-Stationary turrets are shown in a screenshot for Beast mode in the GearsofWar.com media section. Whether these are used in other modes is unknown
-Steve Jablonsky returns as the composer for Gears of War 3. Jablonsky composed the music for Gears 2 and big action films such as Transformers.
- Tapping X now revives and holding X picks up a weapon
- Tapping Y picks up an enemy as a meatshield, holding Y does a weapon specific execution.
- Lieutenant Kim will not be playable in the beta; will possibly be in the retail version of Gears 3, although Rod said he “might not make it in”
- The melee system is based on height.
- You earn nothing if you reach 100 in the beta. Nothing said about bonus if you reached 100 in Gears 2
- Everything in the epic edition will be what's in the limited collector’s edition, plus more. Rod advises people to get the epic edition. The epic edition is extremely limited.
- Australia/South East Asia will have a dedicated server
- It is unlikely that Epic will go to Germany for promotions due to content restrictions
- Rod doesn’t care what level you are at, as long as you have the Veteran
achievement in Gears 2 (comment made for those who had their profile erased)
- Rod said that there are a lot of changes to Horde mode
- A full sized replica retro lancer is in the making
- Clay Carmine will have a unique voice and will not sound like his brothers
- Some characters will have costume variants, not all
- Epic will most likely hold promotions in the UK at launch
- The Leader deviants out if crushed by the scoreboard
- Not all of the weapons will be available in the beta
- 13 playable characters in the beta. 5 per side, plus leaders (2), plus thrash ball Cole
- Epic Edition contents will be released sometime around E3 or Comic Con
- Worldwide release on 20th, 2 day release in Japan
- No dueling if two people clash with retro Lancers
- Dedicated servers will be spread around the world equally
- If you’re in Mexico, the only way to get into the beta is through the BS
epic edition
- Shoot out of Roadie Run delay is between Gears 1 and 2.
- Skorge is dead
- If someone with a retro lancer charges someone with a revved chainsaw, chainsaw wins
- Possible DLC skins for the weapons
- Tai tortured skin will not be available
- If two people charge each other with the retro lancer, both die
- Old maps from gears 1 and 2 will not be in the retail version of Gears 3, possible DLC
- Number 1 played map in Gears 2 is Blood drive (surprise)
- Possible hint to more animated skins
- Look for quality matches in the beta
- Gears will most likely be at Pax Prime in August
- There will most likely be midnight launch exclusives
- Possibility: First non preview (early access week?) week: TDM, next week King of the hill, last week CTL
- Ribbons and metals are in the beta
- Possible throwback skins to Gears 2
- Golden weapons will make a return (duh)
- Gears 3 will not be on two discs
- There will be a penalty for people who leave the game early
- Armored Kantus in MP TBD (to be determined)
- We will not be able to get the Epic Staff the liquid skin
- Flaming retro lancer TBD
- Wingman will make a return, 4 teams instead of 5
- Next seriously achievement is more realistic (not a million kills or something) and across all modes
- Social matches make a return, called public
- Boltok is the same as the Gears 2 Boltok
- Griffin will be playable in MP
- Epic edition is massive?
- The matchmaking in gears 3 will be very different to the matchmaking in gears 2 (re-amped matchmaking)
- Baird will have his goggles in gears 3
- More creatures for beast mode will be revealed around E3
- Chickens are killable in Old Town, you can kick them
- Epic will possible use 3D in the future
- No horde specific maps
- No UIR characters (Union of Independent Republics)
- Plenty of changes made to the bots
- Campaign is the biggest campaign epic has ever created
- Will there be an Easter egg to make everyone have Dom beards? No comment.
- Shotgun is consistent with lesser range (opinions from others who have played)
- Torque Bow in the beta (sweet)
- All weapons (except for a couple of surprises) will be in the beta
- Will the silverback be in multiplayer? TBD
- One shot execution is similar to mortar execution (dropping it on players head)
- If you roll too much there is no benefit (I’m assuming RR will be faster?)
- Mulcher execution: slam enemy in the back; knee them in the head (sweet)
- All modes of play affect your ranking
- There will be more books to the series
- User generated content? no.
- Will Adam Fenix be a playable Character? Possibility
- Jungle map in gears 3? No, depending how you define jungle
- Cannot play as stranded in MP, can kill them in beast
- Will maps have rain? TBD
- Dark maps in Gears 3? Possibly
- Mantle kick, sawed off shotgun combo = the best
- Will private matches have customizable options? Yes
- No Palace guard in Beast Mode
- Your reticule will now bloom to reflect the current accuracy of your weapon. It should be noted that in the E3 demo, the bloom is significantly larger if you are moving, even at a slow pace. This is ONLY a visual representation of what Gears 2 has now. Moving has always affected accuracy, now we see how. NEW![/b]
- Retro Charge must be built up to full charge or running into a player only damages them. Once charged, opponent can only make slight turns and can be avoided. NEW![/b]
