Like other titles that are part of the turn-based strategy genre (ie. XCOM), Gears Tactics relies on various mission types that have their own mechanics, and you’ll need to complete a number of these to level-up your soldiers. Since our previous guide detailed the basics of combat, then it’s time to check out the missions and objectives in the campaign.
Note: For more information, check out our Gears Tactics guides and features hub.
Gears Tactics: Mission types
As for missions outside of a handful of unique examples, most of those in Gears Tactics will be of similar varieties. These include story missions (to progress the campaign) and side missions. For the latter, you’ll need to finish two or three of these just to unlock the next story mission which, oftentimes, has the same mechanics too.
Likewise, main mission completions net you a skill refund point so you can respec character skills. However, you might also want to check out our character recruitment guide first for some tips.
Control
There are two control points and you need to capture them in order to earn supply points each turn. You’ll need 10 supplies to win (shown via the progress bar at the top of the screen). The enemy can also capture an area that you’re not defending, and you’ll fail the mission if they get four supplies. The control point can be contested if it has both friendlies and hostiles, and no supplies will be given to either side.
Tips:
- Checkpoint – Once you get five supplies.
- Locust enemies will continue to spawn each turn until the mission is completed, so it’s possible to get overwhelmed if you’re not prepared.
- The Heavy and Sniper classes are awesome to have in these missions. The former’s got a Mulcher with a ton of ammo, perfect for Locusts that’ll swarm control areas. The latter, meanwhile, is single-handedly the best class in Gears Tactics.
- Control missions are also great for leveling up via kills due to unlimited spawns.
Scavenger
The goal is to open three (out of five) available loot chests on the map to make the extraction point appear. Beware, though, because Nemacysts will be dropping from the sky each turn, obliterating anyone in the red zone. Locusts will also spawn ahead of you to block your path.
Tips:
- Checkpoint – Once you open two or three chests.
- Nemacysts target both friend and foe. You can bypass some Locust enemies to make a break for a chest or extraction point, tricking the AI into getting blasted by death from above.
- You may not be able to grab all the chests, but if you’re able to, Scavenger missions are the most rewarding ones in Gears Tactics. Five chests plus rewards from the main and side objectives will mean a lot of loot.
- Scouts and Vanguards excel in this mission type due to speedy, run-and-gun abilities.
Rescue
There are two Locust torture pods on the map. You’ll have to eliminate hostiles and then open the pod to free the prisoners inside. You’ll usually have 15 turns to free both prisoners, and the extraction point appears afterward.
Tips:
- Checkpoint – Each time you free a prisoner from a torture pod.
- Once the extraction point appears, additional Locust will spawn to prevent your escape.
- Rescued troopers will appear in your recruitment pool.
- The first Rescue mission you complete (Act 1 – Chapter/mission 4) lets you obtain Augustus Cole. He’s a DLC character if you pre-ordered Gears Tactics.
- The Support class is wonderful to have here as backup since it can provide additional AP for your squad’s moves.
Incursion and Sabotage
Both Incursion and Sabotage missions in Gears Tactics play similarly. You’ll have to interact with an object on the map (such as a gate or a bridge) to get to the next area:
Of course, you’ll have to kill all enemies that have spawned. Once done, either the large cache (Incursion) or Imulsion crate (Sabotage) have to be interacted with, then you’ll need to head to the extraction point where more enemies have spawned.
Tips:
- Checkpoint – You get your first checkpoint after you’ve interacted with an object (either a vehicle, gate, or bridge). The second checkpoint is after you’ve planted the bomb on the Imulsion crate or opened the supply cache.
- In some cases, it’s possible for the cache/crate to get accessed automatically once you defeat all hostiles.
- I tend to avoid these mission types because they can take a while compared to others as they have more Locusts than usual.
Side objectives and modifiers
Lots of missions in Gears Tactics will have a main objective (the focal point such as “opening three crates” in a Scavenger run) and a side objective that nets you an additional reward. Some side objectives include:
- Deploy with at least one type of soldier class.
- Deploy without fielding a certain class.
- Don’t use frag grenades or stims.
- Finish the battle in less than X number of turns.
- Don’t take damage during your turn; you can still take damage when it’s the enemy’s turn.
Additionally, there will be some modifiers that are active. Some can be helpful and some can be very restrictive:
- Cooldowns of abilities or grenades reduced by X turns.
- Increased damage dealt via overwatch.
- Reduced action points.
- Increased enemy health or movement range.
There may even be certain mission restrictions that limit you to only one or two units as opposed to having all four slots available. Lastly, once you finish Gears Tactics‘ campaign, you’ll be able to play “veteran” side missions and regular missions on a loop. There’s not much difference here since it’s just an endgame grind to get more equipment.
Gears Tactics is available via Steam and Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass for Windows. For more information, check out our guides and features hub.
