Hello everyone! The time has come to talk about Operation 7 – Drop 2! This post will cover everything you can expect to see when the operation goes live on Tuesday, June 29. [h1]Trailer[/h1] Before you dive into the full post, check out the Operation 7 – Drop 2 trailer! [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWl5KVy2_Ns][/url] [h1]Characters[/h1] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35210771/0493c633f27dfe17103757a3fcb5cfbbe753832d.png[/img] [h1]Jasi Tak[/h1] Jasi Tak is an expert pilot whose laid-back attitude belies a fearless spirit. When Colonel Hoffman requested Tak's help, he was eager to give his all to help Scorpio Squad in their fight against the Swarm. [h1]COG Commando (Sanguino & Akagi)[/h1] The COG Commandos are elite special forces soldiers who went from fighting humans in the Pendulum Wars to fighting Locust after E-Day. They take whatever the enemy throws at them in stride – these soldiers are the best of the best, and they know it. [h1]New Map Additions[/h1] [h1]Mercy – 5 v 5[/h1] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35210771/49196d3cc63dbe002d0446cc709725a61e246027.jpg[/img] After decades of rest, Mercy's town center is once again under siege. A large balcony in the center dominates combat around the sanctuary, where outmaneuvering the enemy is key to victory. [h1]Mercy – 2 v 2[/h1] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35210771/9a3a5cb904e961ef436602561d2c47658b5b5449.jpg[/img] Outmanoeuvring the enemy is key to victory in Mercy's claustrophobic Sanctuary. [h1]PvP – New Event Mode[/h1] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35210771/54cc866b6fb620564151a846961d496f7a644fd8.jpg[/img] To kick off Operation 7 – Drop 2 we are going to be introducing a new mode to Versus: [b]Capture the Flag[/b]. In Gears 5, Capture the Flag is a variation of Gridiron, with the following changes. [list][*]Players now respawn after being killed. [*]Elimination victories are disabled. [*]Touchdowns are now worth 4 points (previously 2). [*]Touchbacks are enabled – taking your flag to your own Endzone returns it to the center of the map. [*]The Endzone capture counter no longer decays after a flag capture is interrupted, allowing you to chip away at the capture time. [*]The flag spawn delay has been removed. [*]The Round time has been increased. [/list] Additionally, we have a special medal group for this event, details below: [table][tr][td][b]Medal Name[/b][b][/b] [/td][td][b]Requirement[/b][b][/b] [/td][td]Stars [/td][/tr][tr][td]CTF Champion [/td][td]Complete 10 Rounds [/td][td]4 [/td][/tr][tr][td]CTF Body Count [/td][td]Get 50 eliminations [/td][td]5 [/td][/tr][tr][td]CTF Carnage [/td][td]Do 25,000 damage [/td][td]5 [/td][/tr][tr][td]CTF Veteran [/td][td]Win 5 matches [/td][td]6 [/td][/tr][/table] Should you complete the medal group you'll be granted the Pink Phantom Weapon Set! We cannot wait to see what you all think when this mode launches at the start of Drop 2! [h1]PvP – More Custom Options[/h1] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35210771/dad882990ff0120018c132be4fec72238c293211.jpg[/img] At the start of Operation 7, we released updates to Custom Versus that brought in special mutators and visual effects! We have seen how much you have enjoyed the variations since then and we are happy to tell you about the following updates! [h1]Swap All Weapons[/h1] This option allows you to swap all weapons on the map and players loadout to any single weapon in the game, including event weapons like the Golden Gun or Cluckshot. This allows you to live your dream and have a match where everyone uses the pipe! [h1]Freeze Damage Mutator[/h1] This mutator is now available in Custom Versus, all damage is converted into freeze damage, and dealing enough damage will provide your enemy a frosty death. [h1]Event Hats[/h1] This option will allow you to enable many of our past holiday/special event hats in your Custom Versus matches. [h1]More modes added to Custom[/h1] We have also added the following modes to Custom,[b] Brawl[/b], and [b]Control: SSG[/b] (Shotgun Snub Grenades). [h1]PvP – Co-Op vs AI[/h1] We have used this update as an opportunity to make the following changes to Co-Op vs AI. [list][*]We have updated the matchmaking criteria to make latency searching in Co-Op vs AI more reliable. [*]We have swapped Brawl and Control in place of TDM and KoTH in our Co-Op vs AI playlists. [/list] [h1]PvP – Top 100 Competitive Rewards[/h1] In addition to all the above, we will also be bolstering our competitive rewards for our top players! If you happen to finish in the top 100 at the end of a season, you will be provided with the following rewards: [h1]Golden Heart Bloodspray[/h1] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35210771/1c09555027f727287f7c9499f0ddbb167293af98.jpg[/img] [h1]Grandmaster Banner – Playlist (this would say Execution for example)[/h1] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35210771/62bafbb78c66f329b272aefe5a1d55ab17397f8e.jpg[/img] [h1]Grandmaster Gnasher[/h1] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35210771/2e6b7638c61885e5207ea2c1bbd29dcdd5f30f10.jpg[/img] [h1]Trinity Skorge[/h1] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/35210771/ff7a693b7d728dabf47e4a51338ab34a21e589b4.png[/img] And if you are the cream of the crop and finish at the very top of a competitive leaderboard, you'll receive the prestigious [b]Golden Gnasher Bloodspray[/b]. These rewards will be available each competitive season going forward in Gears 5. [h1]PvE[/h1] We're starting things off for PvE in Operation 7 – – Drop 2 with a new event! [h1]Event: Horde Mania[/h1] Horde Mania is an event with fast, intense waves and an extremely short build time. Your team will feel the pressure of near constant action across 25 waves. All the maps will be in rotation during this event, and we can't wait to see just how messy this will get! Alongside the event, drop 2 also brings with it more balance changes across PvE in Gears 5. [h1]General[/h1] [list][*]Changed the behavior of the Super Charged mutator from "reduced ultimate cooldown" to "reduced cooldown while doing damage" to resolve an exploit with Jack's ultimate. [*]Reduced the amount of freezing damage dealt from the "Freezing Grenadiers" mutator. [*]Reduced the damage resistance of the "Heads Up" mutator on boss creatures. [*]Fixed an issue where Palace Guards and Flame Grenadiers could not be stunned or affected by Fear. [*]Fixed an issue where Palace Guards and Flame Grenadiers would regenerate health even if "Enemy Regeneration" was not an active mutator. [/list] [h1]Horde[/h1] [list][*]Fixed an issue where flying enemies would get stuck inside interior spaces on Bunker. [*]Fixed an issue where the wave would not end if all players went DBNO if a Palace Guard or Flame Grenadier was present. [*]Rebuilding the Fabricator will now correctly remove 4000 power. [*]Added the Smoke Grenade to the Fabricator. [*]Grenades will no longer trigger the effects of The Hammer, Armored Shot and Serrated Edge. [/list] [h1]Marksman[/h1] [list][*]Passive will now correctly penetrate enemy targets. [/list] [h1]Slugger[/h1] [list][*]Slugger's "Power Shot" Skill Card will now correctly penetrate enemy targets. [*]The damage bonus from Slugger's "Power Shot" Skill Card will no longer be lost while using Heavy Hitter. [*]Slugger's "Tough Skin" Skill Card now correctly gives resistance to ballistic weapons only. [/list] Operation 7 Drop 2 releases on June 29, and we are looking forward to it! See you there! In the meantime, have a wonderful week everyone, and watch our socials for more.