Gears 3 Beta Report: Volume 2
Week two got off to a great start by including two new maps, a new game type and one new weapon. If you checked out volume one, you know how things stand regarding the new weapons. For this one, I’m going to go over the most important changes. If you have played a lot of either game’s multiplayer, there are certain things you’re going to have to understand in Gears 3. Otherwise, you’re going to die... a lot.
No more one man armies!
This is definitely the most important thing to be aware of. Charging in by yourself hoping to gun down an entire team will not work anymore. This is largely due to the improvements on the lag front and how effective team shooting is because of it. Stick with your team and help them whenever you can – don’t be a kill hog!
Use your rifles
The shotgun is no longer king by any stretch in the Gears 3 beta. You gain a massive increase in accuracy when you’re in cover, and due to the addition of dedicated servers, the rifles are a real threat. Mastering the Retro Lancer will make you a very dangerous adversary, and if you pace your shots right you can overcome the intended short-range of the weapon. The Hammerburst and Lancer function how they would under host conditions in Gears 2. If you’re going to survive in the beta, you need to learn how to use the rifles effectively.
Dedicated Servers
Without a doubt, this is the biggest change in Gears 3 – this addition is pretty much the root of every other change to the game. Leading your shots is gone, the effects of wall bouncing have been significantly reduced (unless you’re up against terrible players) and hip shooting rifles can be very effective. The addition of dedicated servers removes a lot of the major problems from the previous games and the randomness that plagued past games is mostly gone here. There are times where you will simply get screwed over, but they happen a lot less. The gameplay is much more reliable than it ever was before.
Communication
Second only to the above, communication is extremely
important now. If you communicate constantly with your team and coordinate your
efforts, it is very hard for a team that isn’t doing so to contend with. This
goes hand in hand with not trying to be a lone warrior because if you come across more
than two enemies by yourself, the odds of you surviving are very low.
Don't let this happen to you! Use your team and communicate to avoid chainsaw spin removal surgery...
Weapon Balancing
Epic has really done a fantastic job here; every weapon has its use. So be sure to try out all of them and find which situations they are useful for, and odds are if you’re dying more than you think you should, you’re trying to rely on a single weapon too much. At the moment, the Retro Lancer is the closest thing to an all round weapon, but it is very hard to use effectively at very long ranges.
That about covers the most important changes so far in the beta – volume 3 will go over the maps that are available. As always, be sure to tear up the comments with your experiences so far and what you think of the Gears 3 beta.