The Coalition are by no means done supporting Gears of War 4, as they have just announced all the details on their upcoming March update. This update adds two new maps called Diner and Old Town, alongside the much requested Ranked lobbies feature and a substantial balance change to the Gnasher shotgun.
These PC shooters may not have chainsaw bayonets, but they are pretty good.
Taking over 18 months to develop, Diner is a map that promises two very unique combat experiences. With no extra elevation to give players a height advantage, battles on Diner are split between the wide open parking lot and the claustrophobic diner building. The tightly packed diner interior sets up plenty of chances for 1v1 or 2v2 encounters, as teams vye for control of the central building. The Longshot sniper is also placed inside the diner, meaning players have to take control of the building before they are able to pick out enemies stranded out in the parking lot.
Returning from Gears of War 3, the second map in this update is Old Town. Retaining its asymmetrical elevation and three lane layout, The Coalition have been to freshen up this map by altering the weapon spawns from Gears 3. Between rounds, the central alleyway weapon spawn will change between the Boomshot and the Dropshot, drastically changing player tactics around these power weapons. On the orbiting spawns, the weapons swap between the Overkill shotgun and the Markza assault rifle, forcing players to switch between close and long range combat based on the round.
As for matchmaking, this March update now adds Ranked lobbies to the Core and Competitive playlists. Rather than having to wait for a full queue before starting a match, players are automatically placed into a pre-game lobby, where they can tweak customisation options, select their bounty and vote for a map. Now, if someone leaves, the countdown to game start is suspended, rather than kicking players back to the menu. You also go straight back to this menu at the end of a match, rather than remaking a lobby following each game.
Finally, the other main change in this update is a rework to the Gnasher shotgun. Many players were complaining that in close range battles, they would often miss a kill despite shooting someone at point blank range. This problem arose mainly due to the way shot spread is calculated for the Gnasher, where the bullets actually start travelling a little bit before where the muzzle is.
As such, the bullets had a tendency to spread out before they hit their target, causing a few pellets to miss and an enemy to escape a kill. To stop this issue, The Coalition has moved the bullet start position forward, meaning Gnasher pellets shouldn’t spread out as much when they actually leave the muzzle and you shouldn’t miss at point blank range.
With a Legacy Character, more weapon skins and new Versus/Horde events on the way, there is plenty to look forward to if you’re a Gears player.