Promising a jump-in/jump-out style experience, the standard Gears 5 team deathmatch has evolved into what is now called Arcade mode. Unlike previous games, players will be selecting a specialized hero character, each with their own passive abilities, loadouts, upgrade tree, and kill bounty. The tech test will feature these five heroes to pick from:

Hunter Class - Kait / Swarm Hunter

Passive: Increased Movement Speed Bounty: Execute for an additional Skull Loadout: Hammerburst, Talon Autopistol, Smoke Grenade Upgrades: Boltok, Incendiary Grenades, Torque Bow

Support Class - JD / Swarm Drone

Passive: Spot enemies who damage you and grant health to allies who kill the enemy spotted. Bounty: Multi-kill for an additional Skull. Loadout: Lancer, Snub Pistol, Flashbangs Upgrades: 3 Random Weapon upgrade slots of varying quality

Heavy Class - Del/Scion

Passive: Kills grant a stim. Extra health above the normal maximum. Bounty: Multi-kill for an additional Skull Loadout: Hammerburst, Talon Autopistol Upgrades: Buzzkill, Mulcher, RL-4 Salvo

CQB Class - Marcus/Swarm Grenadier

Passive: Increased cover slide speed and distance Bounty: Execute for an additional Skull Loadout: Enforcer, Snub Pistol, Smoke Grenade Upgrades: Shock Grenades, Gnasher, Breaker Mace

Sniper Class - Fahz/Swarm Sniper

Passive: Immune to flinching when aiming down the sights or fully scoped Bounty: Headshot kill for an additional Skull Loadout: Lancer, Talon Autopistol, Flashbang Upgrades: Boltok, Marzka, Longshot

As teased above, skulls are a key mechanic in Arcade as they allow players to upgrade during a match. They’re not streak rewards either as they’re retained whether the player has died or switches to a different class. Each elimination awards a skull to that player, with bonus skulls earned from completing the bounty tied to that specific class.

Players will also discover during the technical test sessions that Arcade mode features a few more tweaks not present in the other multiplayer modes. For example, headshot damage is boosted which gives every weapon an opportunity to pop an enemy head. In addition, slide cancels have a longer cooldown and wall bounces have been removed entirely in an effort to keep the gameplay firmly centered on the cover to cover action.

Gears 5 will launch on September 10 for PC and Xbox One.

Source: Gears 5