Gears of War: E-Day All Collectibles Guide: All 140 Locations

Track progress in the War Journal

Gears of War: E-Day has 140 standard collectibles spread across five Acts, and every single one of them counts toward the Memories From E-Day achievement (15 Gamerscore). You can grab them on any difficulty, so there is no reason to save this for an Insane run. Here's the short answer on what you're dealing with: Act 1 has 13, Act 2 has 38, Act 3 has 36, Act 4 has 41, and Act 5 has 12. Miss one and you will be replaying chapters, so read the missable warnings before you push forward.

How do you find and track collectibles in E-Day?

Open the War Journal before you start any cleanup. It breaks down your totals by Act and chapter, so you can pinpoint exactly which chapter is short rather than combing through an entire Act blind. A brief audio cue plays when you enter an area containing a collectible, and Tac-Com can highlight nearby items through cover. Use both.

The mistake most players make is treating collectibles as a single linear sweep. Hold the Line alone has 27 of them tucked into apartments, optional objectives, a bank vault, and a story cutscene. Treat each chapter as its own checklist.

One-way transitions are the biggest threat to your progress. These are the hard stops where you cannot go back:

• Hold the Line before linking with Charlie Squad
• The Convoy before dropping through the bridge floor
• Technical Difficulties before the train departs
• One Problem at a Time before boarding the final train

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Act totals at a glance

Act 1 collectibles (13 total)

Act 1 is the tutorial for the scavenging loop. Stop after every fight, check side rooms, and inspect fallen Gears. There are no Hard Cases or Secondary Objectives here, so your only job is these 13 items.

Chapter 1: Emergence (3)

1. Monster Jaw — After the opening street fight, check beside the emergence hole near the newsstand on the right.
2. Bloody Transit Worker's Helmet — In the maintenance tunnels, take the side opening on the left where a torch illuminates a body.
3. Front Page of the Kalona Times — Enter the Cafe and Bakery after the civilian sequence and check the kitchen counter.

Chapter 2: Survival of the Fittest (4)

1. KPD Police Bulletin — On a desk toward the back left of the main police office.
2. Bloodied Police Chief's Badge — On the floor directly below the chief's body on the wall.
3. Army Recruitment Pamphlet — On the rear desk inside the recruitment station.
4. Try On Pilot Helmet — Interact with the third helmet from the left on the display stand.

Chapter 3: A Gear in Need (2)

1. Tomatoes, Canned — In the second warehouse room of the supermarket, check the left-side shelving low to the ground.
2. Broken Lancer Bayonet — After the Tai cutscene, inspect the nearby corpse before taking the exit.

Chapter 4: Back in the Fold (4)

1. Front Page of the Tyran Chronicle — Cut into the right-hand alley near the large bar sign and pick it up from the doorstep at the end.
2. Anti-UIR Propaganda Poster — On the graffiti wall beside the red Major Burger van before the hospital.
3. Landa Memorial Medical Supplies Memo — On the right side of the hospital reception desk.
4. COG Tags: Private Brick Rosso — Behind the police car outside Echo Park, beside the dead Gear.

Act 1 COG Tags location

Act 2 collectibles (38 total)

This is where the game opens into a large district. Hold the Line is the single biggest chapter in the entire campaign at 27 collectibles. Budget real time for it.

Chapter 1: Bravo Squad (5)

1. COG Helmet With Bullet Hole — Before the bridge gate, check behind the bus near the dead soldier.
2. Sniper Goggles — In the western bridge control room, take the left passage to the dead Locust at the far end.
3. Bridge Worker's Lunch Kit — Drop the access ladder on the gantry and turn left toward the work barriers.
4. Thrashball RUSH Magazine — In the eastern control room, on the trolley away from the central controls.
5. Medic's First Aid Kit — After the Heavy Boomer fight, check the lower bridge deck near the burning COG truck.

Chapter 2: Hold the Line (27)

This chapter runs across three parts. The Photograph and Harmonica from Mags' Apartment is awarded automatically by a story cutscene. The War Savings Bond requires the Bank of Tyrus vault to be opened by the story. Lone Wolf must be completed to reach Sergeant Elijah Adams' tags.

Part 1 (3 collectibles)

1. Cinema Filmatica Magazine — In the rear office of Iron Coast Motors car dealership, on the counter.
2. A Letter Home — During the Trapped Family objective inside the Last Dollar Store, in the inside corridor.
3. Thrashies Cereal Box — Inside the Timgad Prime station store, on the checkout counter.

Part 2 (18 collectibles)

1. Kalona Postcard — Near the stone bench in the plaza just right of the station exit.
2. Vandalized Salvaging Poster — In the restroom of the Major Burger opposite the construction site entrance.
3. Foreman's Datapad — Ground floor back-right of the construction site, beside the foreman's body.
4. COG Tags: Private Liz Waxman — On the scaffolding outside the apartment building, reached through a shattered window on the second floor.
5. Emgazi Blitz Display Case — Third-floor bedroom desk of that same apartment building.
6. Timgad Refinery Recruitment Poster — Inside the hotel across the river, on the right wall near the elevator.
7. Re: Vibration Complaints — In the live-music venue opposite Amberstone Storage, attached to a door.
8. COG Tags: Specialist Arnold Imhatip — Under the bridge at the crashed-car dead end.
9. Caricature of Colonel Elias Trench — On the lamppost near the COG roadblock and fuel pumps.
10. COG Tags: Master Sergeant Mark Avamor — In the wrecked loading bay opposite the roadblock apartment.
11. Kalona Metro Fare Notice — On the wall inside the Metro entrance near Grind Coffee.
12. Birthday Card With Toy Lancer — On the riverside path reached from the underground car park, near a bench.
13. COG Tags: Specialist Jada Clemmons — Behind the counter inside Grind Coffee.
14. Tales of the Tyran Night Story Book — In the Apartment SOS room at the top of the scaffolding climb, on the table.
15. Major Burger Box — In the back room of the Major Burger near the muster-point objective.
16. COG Tags: Specialist Brendan O'Connell — Among the bodies up the alley left of the muster point.
17. Photograph and Harmonica from Mags' Apartment — Awarded automatically after the story cutscene in Mags' apartment.
18. War Savings Bond — Left side inside the Bank of Tyrus vault once the story opens it.

Part 3 (6 collectibles)

1. Pendulum Wars Victory Flag — At the newsstand at the top of the Monroe Library steps.
2. Child's Monster Drawings — In the back room of the convenience store left of the library steps.
3. Holiday Photos — Beside the bench near the newsstand close to Shelter 09.
4. Muster Point Instructions — On the far wall of the fountain courtyard.
5. COG Tags: Sergeant Elijah Adams — During the Lone Wolf objective, beside the isolated Gear.
6. Portrait of Tomas Dalyell — On the second floor of the Kalona Hotel, between the elevators.

Chapter 3: No Gear Left Behind (5)

1. COG Tags: Private Sal Harkniss — In the tunnel after the Impaler cutscene, beside the executed soldier.
2. COG Tags: Private Siv Strickland — Beside the Gear impaled against the van, just below her body.
3. Bloodied Spike — In the right-hand corner before the golden Gear statue plaza.
4. Ink-Covered Wrench — Left side of the golden statue plaza, beside a body on the ground.
5. COG Tags: Lieutenant Jane Hawkins — Near the covered bodies by the gate at Captain Grey's position.

Chapter 4: Flyboys (0)

No collectibles here. Keep moving.

Chapter 5: Overrun (1)

1. Point Fairlight Datapad — On the crates between the trucks after dropping into the red crater. Check the left side of the hangar before proceeding.

For more on what you can unlock during the Act 2 open-world section, check out the beta rewards guide for context on other E-Day unlock systems.

Act 3 collectibles (36 total)

Act 3 has the single trickiest collectible in the entire game. Commander's Letter Home is filed under Act 3 in the War Journal but is physically found beside a red-lit truck at the Fort Vigil transition into Act 4. If your Act 3 total reads 35/36 after you have swept every chapter, that is why.

Chapter 1: Stranded (5)

1. COG Army Knife — Take the left fork after the rope descent; beside the body.
2. Fairlight Rifle Range Sign — Inside the outpost on the wall near the blocked gate.
3. Gut-Puncher Grenade Rounds — On crates left of the Supply Cache beside the large warehouse.
4. Prepper's Scavenging Map — Between the generators before entering the substation.
5. UIR Soldier Shooting Target — Behind the substation, propped against the fence.

Chapter 2: Enemy Lines (6)

1. Damaged Gnasher Shotgun — Up the small slope in the large red-lit room.
2. Parchment and Powder Pouch — On crates up the left slope in the Locust supply room.
3. Parchment With Indecipherable Writing — On crates to the right of the subway tracks.
4. Maintenance Worker's Bloodied Flashlight — Follow the dark tunnel away from the crashed trains to the dead end.
5. COG Tags: Private Beth Avila — Down the stairs left of the crashed-train crossing, beside a body.
6. COG Tags: Private First Class Erick Davis — In the sewer basin, immediately left of the final Hard Case.

Chapter 3: Last Foothold (14)

This is the second-largest chapter sweep in the game. Three Secondary Objectives run through this chapter, and two collectibles (Blade-like Projectile during Rooftop Mayday and Heavy Locust Helmet during Lost in the Park) only appear while those objectives are active.

1. COG Tags: Sergeant First Class Robin Hamill — Behind the taxi right of the Kalona Theatre.
2. COG Tags: Corporal Tracy Moore — Back room of the burning building beneath the Skytrain.
3. Colonel Trench's VIP List — On the table inside the command tent at the checkpoint.
4. COG Tags: Private Luis Garcia — Inside the shipping container reached from the ledges near the library fight.
5. Captain Grey's Field Journal — Back-room table inside the library briefing area.
6. Landa Memorial Hospital Evacuation Order — Behind the hospital reception filing cabinet.
7. COG Tags: Specialist Rachel Carnahan — Up the hospital entrance stairs, beside the dead Gear.
8. COG Tags: Private Terrance Sander — Just inside the right-side Police Department entrance.
9. COG Tags: Private Oded Bay — Inside the bloody fountain behind the Police Department.
10. COG Tags: Specialist Bernard Havelock — In the raised tram car reached from the abandoned truck by the pharmacy.
11. Locust Pistol Ammunition — By the four benches on the river side of the library district.
12. COG Tags: Private First Class John Carnahan — Beside the blue-fronted shelter at the end of the main road.
13. Heavy Locust Helmet — During Lost in the Park, beside the police car and dead Boomer at the sinkhole.
14. Blade-like Projectile — During Rooftop Mayday, double back along the first scaffolding after cutting the gate.

Chapter 4: The Convoy (3)

1. COG Tags: Private Rudy Bartholomew — By the burning car over the barricade near the start.
2. Locust Crest — In front of the overturned police car after dropping to the lower bridge.
3. COG Tags: Corporal Kevin Garbor — By the console in the control room after returning to the upper level.

Chapter 5: Desperate Times (5)

1. Bottle of Iron Coast Beer — Take it from the person on the couch in the first interior room.
2. Portrait of Jacob Monroe — Through the wall crawlspace, on the floor left of the Hard Case.
3. Sanctum of the Fallen Memorial Ceremony Program — By the stone planter at the edge of the Reaver courtyard.
4. Locust Spiked Shoulder Pad — Right of the tree after crossing the bridge.
5. Explosive Bolt — At the top of the clock tower, above the required route.

Chapter 6: Desperate Measures (3)

1. Torn Flag of Tyrus — By the wall on the right of the blocked route after entering the fort.
2. Morith Harbor Snow Globe — On the upstairs gift-shop counter.
3. Commander's Letter Home — Beside the red-lit truck at the Fort Vigil transition into Act 4. This is the one that trips everyone up. It counts as an Act 3 entry even though you physically find it at the start of Act 4.

Act 3 boundary collectible spot

Act 4 collectibles (41 total)

Act 4 is the largest act in the game. The priority traps are the train stop in Technical Difficulties (two collectibles, both easy to miss if you stay on the train) and the optional factory objectives in Tough as Nails.

Chapter 1: Hope and Ruin (13)

COG Tags: Sergeant Major Hank Rustin are awarded automatically by the opening cutscene, so do not waste time searching for a body.

1. COG Tags: Sergeant Major Hank Rustin — Automatic story award at chapter start.
2. Message From the Coalition — At the memorial before leaving through the broken wall.
3. COG Tags: Specialist Betsy Barnes — At the first intersection after the bridge, beside the crashed truck.
4. Regalia Hotel Guest VIP List — On the hotel reception desk.
5. Dispute Magazine — By the open door of the crashed van behind the hotel.
6. Anniversary Card and Tickets to Khindago — In the ruined apartment above the restaurant; climb the right-side ledges.
7. Handwritten Letter in Vasgari — In Cooper Commons, beside the artwork behind the market stalls.
8. COG Tags: Specialist Harrison Alexieff — Top of the right-hand steps in Cooper Commons.
9. Statuette of Roman Kalona — On a stand in the ruined gift shop at the bottom of Kalona Square.
10. COG Tags: Specialist Dale Maddoc — Beside the dead Gear in the courtyard left of Kalona Square.
11. Blood-Splattered Ulk Plushie — Behind the car in the alley after the Kalona Square gate.
12. COG Tags: Specialist Mei Aoi — Behind the ambulance at the sinkhole left of the opera house.
13. Lighter, Darker Opera Program — On the upper opera-house balcony reached through the wall opening.

Chapter 2: Technical Difficulties (2)

Leave the train at the stop. Both pickups are gone once the train departs.

1. COG Tags: Sergeant Aman Landry — Step off at the red-lit station stop and grab the tags before reboarding.
2. NO 80 Graffitied Poster — On the platform wall opposite the required exit.

Chapter 3: Tough as Nails (14)

The Imulsion Blast Charge requires a manual pickup from the opened container after completing Special Cargo. It does not register automatically.

1. Letter Regarding Armadillos — On the back-room desk in the building beyond the wall opening.
2. R.I.G. Component — Inside the train car by the fence and portable toilet.
3. Young Artists Night Poster — On the wall along the left-hand route from the district entrance.
4. COG Tags: Lance Corporal Calder Hunt — On the warehouse roof beside the dead Gear.
5. Refiner's Union Jacket — Between crates in the building during Special Cargo.
6. Imulsion Blast Charge — Inside the container opened at the end of Special Cargo; pick it up manually.
7. COG Tags: Lieutenant Jacob Palma — Behind the central train carriage after Fire in the Hole.
8. Seradyne Factory Closure Sign — On the wall just inside the rear factory entrance.
9. Blurry Photo of Locust Attack — In the small room beside the blue van near the loading bay.
10. Severed Jack Bot Head — At the back wall of the red-brick warehouse.
11. COG Tags: Lance Corporal Dalia Avdol — Across the collapsed walkway at the rear of the loading bay.
12. Maranday Apple Brandy Bottle — On the rooftop reached by the rope opposite the power station.
13. COG Tags: Corporal Goran Ducaine — Upper floor of the garage, beside the dead Boomer.
14. Port of Kalona Docking Registry — On the console at the top of the communications tower.

Chapter 4: Signals (5)

1. Infinity Mints — Behind the counter in the fuel-station kiosk.
2. Signed Kalona Eagles Cap — At the fork by the bridge; approach from above or climb from below.
3. Pair of Binoculars — At the round overlook tower after the shooting range.
4. Photo of Lucas — On the downstairs noticeboard inside the communications station.
5. Lucas' Radio — On the central console in the same station.

Chapter 5: Paths Diverge (2)

1. COG Tags: Specialist Aniyah Musa — Turn around at the chapter start and check the right side.
2. COG Tags: Specialist Ava Wilson — At the end of the upper-right bridge in the rail yard.

Chapter 6: Critical Failure (5)

1. Allfather Bust — On the back-right desk in the first building.
2. Gas Mask — Beside the body before the pipe section.
3. Tyran Business Monthly — In the dark lower room.
4. Memorandum to Dr. Elliott — On the office noticeboard.
5. Dalia Fabbri's Journal — At the back-left of the room with the green schematics.

Act 5 collectibles (12 total)

Two of the final three collectibles in The Fall of Kalona are story-granted and cannot be missed. The only physical hunt in Act 5 is the 10 items before that chapter.

Chapter 1: One Problem at a Time (1)

1. COG Tags: Private Lorin Galvin — On the left before passing through the wall opening.

Chapter 2: Ghost Town (3)

1. COG Tags: Specialist Wallace Teale — At the end of the train tracks, right of the climbable slope by the container.
2. Clinical Trial Medication — At the hospital's upper level, in the rear walkway cabinet.
3. COG Tags: Master Sergeant Joseph Kopec — In the apartment overlook, behind you after passing through the wall opening.

Chapter 3: Storm Clouds (0)

No collectibles. Keep moving.

Chapter 4: Resolute (5)

1. COG Tags: Enola Tabaaha — Downstairs near the start, on the left side of the lower floor.
2. Captain's Log — On the shelves to the left in the control room.
3. Decommission Plans — On the boiler-room workbench.
4. COG Tags: Arthur Palarmo — After climbing the ladder, turn around and check the crushed Gear.
5. Kalona Skyline Sketch — At the top of the yellow crane ladder, beside the crates on the right.

Chapter 5: The Fall of Kalona (3)

1. COG Tags: Sergeant Alton Hau — On the upper bridge near the toll booth, behind the burnt-out car beside the red barrier.
2. COG Tags: Bryce Valen — Awarded automatically after the Impaler sequence.
3. Carlos Santiago's COG Tags and Photo — Awarded automatically during the credits after the final cutscenes. There is no physical pickup.

What does collecting all 140 unlock?

All 140 standard collectibles complete the Memories From E-Day achievement for 15 Gamerscore. Any difficulty qualifies. The four campaign completion categories each have their own achievement, and none of them overlap:

The For Whom the Bell Tolls achievement is separate again. It requires beating the campaign on Insane difficulty AND achieving 100% completion on any difficulty. Those two conditions do not need to happen in the same run, so a collection sweep on Normal followed by an Insane story run is the smarter order.

For a full breakdown of every achievement and how to unlock each one, the Gears of War: E-Day achievements guide covers all Gamerscore targets including For Whom the Bell Tolls.

Cleanup: what to check when you are stuck at 139/140

Do not replay an entire Act before checking the War Journal chapter-by-chapter. Most stuck totals come down to a handful of known problem spots:

Chapter Replay works for all standard collectibles. Keep your primary save intact and replay only the specific chapter the War Journal flags as incomplete.

Frequently asked questions

How many collectibles are in Gears of War: E-Day?

There are 140 standard collectibles across five Acts: 13 in Act 1, 38 in Act 2, 36 in Act 3, 41 in Act 4, and 12 in Act 5. Hard Cases, Supply Cache items, and Secondary Objectives are tracked separately.

Do COG Tags count toward the 140 total?

Yes. COG Tags are standard named collectibles and count toward the 140 and the Memories From E-Day achievement like any other item.

Can you go back for missed collectibles?

Yes, through Chapter Replay. Identify the incomplete chapter in the War Journal, replay it, and grab the missing item. Your overall total will update. Keep a note of Hard Cases separately since the chapter-local display can look misleading in replay even when your overall Act total is correct.

Do Hard Cases count toward Memories From E-Day?

No. Hard Cases are a separate counter tied to the Relax. I'm the Map. achievement. They do not contribute to the 140 collectible total.

Do you need Insane difficulty for Memories From E-Day?

No. Any difficulty qualifies. Insane is only required for the campaign-completion half of For Whom the Bell Tolls.

Which chapter has the most collectibles?

Hold the Line in Act 2 has 27, making it by far the largest single-chapter sweep in the game.

For everything else you need to get the most out of the campaign, the full Gears of War: E-Day strategy guides collection covers Hard Cases, Secondary Objectives, co-op, achievements, and more.