Gears 5 (Gears of War 5) comes with a never before seen mode called Escape. It is a mode designed to test your survival skills, resource management, and team coordination. There are some battle royale elements to it but it is still so different that comparing the two won’t be fair. Our Gears 5 Escape Mode guide will discuss everything you need to know about the mode, how to play, tips and tricks, ultimate abilities, characters and more.
Gears 5 Escape Mode – Can You Survive?
The idea of this game mode is pretty simple, you and your team must run to survive and escape from a Locust Hive. The team is made up for 3 playable characters (Mac, Lahni, and Keegan) who must coordinate an escape plan while killing the attacking Locust and did we mention, there is a Venomous Cloud of gas moving towards you.
The game starts when a snatcher grabs you and puts you and your team inside a pod but this was your plan all along. They wish to turn you into one of their own. So you wake up, escape the pod and plant the gas bomb. You wake up in first-person and the first teammate to press X on Xbox One controller will start the round.
Gears 5 Escape Mode Difficulty Settings and Rewards
Gears dropped its usual Normal, Casual, and Hardcore difficulty settings. In Gears 5 you can more inclusive difficulty settings such as Beginner, Intermediate, Experienced, Advanced, etc. based on the mode you are playing. Playing on higher difficulty means you’ll face tougher enemies and harder situations on the map. However, it also means more rewards. You can get rare Skills cards and more for your efforts in Gears 5 Escape mode.
Gears 5 Escape Mode Ultimates
There are 3 playable characters in Gears 5 Escape Mode. The new game mode brings brand new characters to the mix. Each character has its own ultimate ability. In this section of the guide, we will discuss each Escape character and their ultimate abilities.
Leslie “Mac” Macallister
Mac is seeing revenge from the Swarm after it wiped out his hometown. Mac is a tank and is able to absorb plenty of damage. Moreover, his passive ability is that the damage he absorbs helps recharge his ultimate.
Ultimate Ability – Mac can put out a Barrier which is invulnerable and deploys in front of him. The barrier also moves with him so you aren’t stuck in one position.
Lahni Kaliso
Lahni is a Scout and is in the Coalition of Ordered Governments army. She is also a veteran of the Locust War. Hence, she is going into the Locust Hive in Gears of War 5 Escape mode.
Ultimate Ability – Lahni can use an electrically charged knife to get instant melee kills. Her passive ability is one-in-five kills dropping pilfer pickups.
Jeremiah Keegan
Jeremiah Keegan is a Corporal in the Coalition of Ordered Governments army and just like Lahni, he is a veteran of the Locust War. He is the leader of the team leading the attack on the Locust Hive in Gears of War 5 Escape Mode.
Ultimate Ability – Keegan is a supporting character who’s ultimate is dropping additional ammo for his teammates.
Escape Mode Tips and Tricks
Your main goal is to destroy everything that’s in the Hive with a gas bomb. The bomb contains venom poison so what you don’t kill, the poison will kill for you. But keep in mind that the gas will not only kill the Hive but also you and your team. If you are too slow the gas will catch up to you. The bomb explodes in 60 seconds so you have a minute to get as far away as you can and then keep avoiding the gas.
When you escape the pod, the enemies won’t be aware of this. You can kill many enemies in one minute but try to perform as many stealth kills as possible before the gas bomb explodes and everyone is aware of your presence.
The main reason behind this is to preserve ammo which is a big deal in Gears 5 Escape mode. Ammo management is key to success here so avoid using ammo to kill enemies before the bomb explodes. Make sure to mark enemies before a melee kills as it lets you deal more damage.
Escape mode is a great way to get comfortable with weapons you don’t usually play with. Your favorite weapon will be out of ammo most of the time but you can pick up weapons from downed enemies. You can also share weapons with your teammates, just drop it for your teammate to pick up.
There are ammo areas around the map so do some exploration, the gas takes some time to reach you. These packs only give you ballistic ammo so don’t expect grenades etc. If you can’t find ammo, keep switching weapons by picking up enemy weapons.
In Escape mode, you can carry one sidearm, one primary, and one secondary weapon. We suggest keeping at least one shotgun with you. The map isn’t huge and there tight spaces and area, a shotgun to the head can deal significant damage. Shotguns are also a good way to damage the Flock and Leaches. You can use Overkill to deal significant damage to both these enemy types.
When a Flock charges jump out of the way to avoid damage. Keep a track of its location to avoid being surprised by its attacks.
During the later part of the match, you will come across enemies that explode when they die, they are called Poppers and are new to the Gears universe. Do not melee kill these enemies and keep your distance. They love to explode near you.
How to Kill the Warden
The best way to kill the Warden is to Freeze him using the Cryo Gun. It is found in a safe room or as an enemy drop. Find the Cryo Gun and use it against not only Warden but other big enemies. Once frozen, attack the head to deal as much damage as possible. Avoid his melee attacks as they are one-shot-kills. When avoid Cryo freeze he will attack so the best way is to use the Boom shot.
This marks the end of our Gears of War 5 Escape mode guide. If you need more help with the game, check out our Relic Weapons, Horde mode, and collectibles guide.