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Complete Gears of War: E-Day walkthrough covering all 5 Acts, 26 chapters, combat tactics, and boss strategies for Kalona's fall.
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Gears of War: E-Day Best Weapons Tier List
Every weapon in Gears of War: E-Day ranked for Versus, Horde Siege, and Campaign, with loadout tips for all skill levels.
Gears of War: E-Day Ultimate Class Tier List: Best Horde Siege Ranked
Ranked breakdown of all four Horde Siege classes in Gears of War: E-Day, with pros, cons, and top picks for every squad role.
Gears of War: E-Day Best Builds Guide for All Four Classes
Best Horde Siege builds for every class in Gears of War: E-Day, covering loadouts, weapon mods, and armor choices.
Gears of War: E-Day is a prequel set 14 years before the original game, following Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago through the opening hours of Emergence Day in the city of Kalona. The campaign runs 28 sections total: a Prologue, 26 chapters across five Acts, and an Epilogue. Expect roughly 14 to 16 hours on a first playthrough, longer if you're hunting collectibles and secondary objectives. The combat here demands patience over aggression, and if you rush in expecting the same muscle memory from older entries, the Locust will punish you for it fast.
Here's the short answer: 28 sections, five Acts, and a Prologue and Epilogue bookending the story. Each chapter averages 30 to 40 minutes when you factor in collectible hunting. Pure story runs sit closer to 14 hours; completionists pushing for every Hard Case, Supply Cache, and secondary objective should budget 16 hours or more.
The campaign is not open world. You move through Kalona in a structured order, but several Acts contain larger arenas and optional side routes that reward exploration. Secondary objectives in particular unlock weapon customization resources you'll want for the tougher late-game chapters.
Gears of War E-Day Bravo Squad chapter select screen
The full campaign structure breaks down like this:
| Act | Chapters |
|---|---|
| Prologue | Underground tunnel sequence |
| Act 1 | Emergence, Survival of the Fittest, A Gear in Need, Back in the Fold |
| Act 2 | Bravo Squad, Hold the Line, No Gear Left Behind, Flyboys, Overrun |
| Act 3 | Stranded, Enemy Lines, Last Foothold, The Convoy, Desperate Times, Desperate Measures |
| Act 4 | Hope and Ruin, Technical Difficulties, Tough as Nails, Signals, Paths Diverge, Critical Failure |
| Act 5 | One Problem at a Time, Ghost Town, Storm Clouds, Resolute, The Fall of Kalona |
| Epilogue | Post-story sequence |
The game opens underground. A tremor kills the tunnel lights, and you follow the route toward a stopped train before the sequence deposits Marcus and Dom into Kalona as Emergence Day begins. There's no branching here, just follow the path.
Act 1 is four chapters of street-level survival. The route takes you from the initial attack through Police HQ, a recruitment center rescue, the Pay N Save defense, and finally City Hall. Act 1 Chapter 3 (A Gear in Need) is where you first encounter Tai Kaliso, and Chapter 4 ends with the Brumak boss fight outside City Hall.
Collectibles are lighter here (three in Chapter 1, four in Chapter 2), so Act 1 is a good opportunity to get comfortable with the cover system before the chapter structure opens up.
Act 2 is where the campaign expands significantly. Marcus, Dom, Mags Carter, and Lucas Reyes form Bravo Squad and receive orders that take them from Legacy Bridge through a chain of COG positions, into the search for Charlie Squad, and eventually to the airfield.
The route: Legacy Bridge, stadium FOB, Octus Way Station, All Father's Plaza, Charlie Squad rendezvous, Raven deployment, airfield.
Chapter 2 (Hold the Line) is the longest chapter in the Act and contains six named secondary objectives: The Vanguard, Trapped Family, Apartment SOS, Lost in Translation, Black Raven Down, and Lone Wolf. It also has 27 collectibles spread across a large section of Kalona. Plan to spend real time here.
For players planning to tackle co-op, check the Gears of War: E-Day co-op guide for split-screen rules and the full breakdown of 4-player online setup.
Act 3 is six chapters and the most structurally varied Act in the game. Bravo gets separated from the main COG force west of Kalona, pushes through Fairlight Outpost, drops into the Locust tunnel network, fights a Corpser, and eventually retreats toward Fort Vigil via the stadium evacuation and a convoy bridge.
Route: Fairlight Outpost, Locust tunnels, Cooper Station, stadium, convoy, Fort Vigil.
The underground sections in Chapters 2 and 3 (Enemy Lines and Last Foothold) are where the flanking AI is most aggressive. Snipers hold long sightlines in the tunnel exits, and Boomers advance relentlessly in the stadium section. Prioritize Sniper Drones the second they appear. Leaving one active while you handle ground troops is the fastest way to a game over.
Chapter 3 (Last Foothold) has 14 collectibles, the highest count of any single chapter in Act 3. Colonel Trench's VIP List is one of the more searched collectibles in this section.
Act 4 pushes through damaged sections of Kalona toward Prospect Bay. Transit routes fail early, the local power grid is down, and Bravo has to restore long-range communications before a refinery emergency redirects the mission again.
Route: Kalona streets, Octus Way, Prospect Bay, power station, weather station, refinery.
The mistake most players make in Act 4 is treating the power station section (Chapter 2: Technical Difficulties) as a linear corridor. The space is larger than it looks. Scout before engaging, and use the extra room to avoid getting flanked from the side passages while you work toward the power restoration objective.
Act 4 contains six chapters (Hope and Ruin through Critical Failure), and the communications equipment in Chapter 4 (Signals) has a prerequisite: the power station needs to be online first. If the comms equipment won't respond, you've missed a step in the power restoration sequence.
Act 5 opens with Bravo on an automated train moving away from Kalona. The squad reverses course, survives Ghost Town, reaches the Raven's Nest, gets the ship Resolute out of dry dock, and attempts to raise the east bridge for the evacuation route.
Route: Return train, Ghost Town, Raven's Nest, Resolute dry dock, east bridge controls.
The flood-control sequence before Resolute's launch has a jammed third valve that stops progress. It's not a bug. You need to approach it from a specific angle after clearing the guards on the upper platform.
After the east bridge controls briefly raise the bridge and then fail, Bravo crosses the deck and encounters the Impaler. That fight leads into the Skytrain route, a detonator sequence, and the final confrontation before the Epilogue.
This is worth knowing before you start, especially if you've played any earlier entry in the series. Several classic close-quarters mechanics are gone.
| Removed mechanic | What replaces it |
|---|---|
| Chainsaw Dueling | Lunging system for gap closing |
| Meat Shields | Environmental cover and spacing |
| Grenade Tagging | Standard grenade throws, choke-point control |
| Vault Kicking | Enhanced character mobility for repositioning |
| Yank and Shank | Rage meter for high-impact aggressive pushes |
The Rage meter builds through sustained mid-range fire. Save it for boss stagger windows or moments when you've been pushed completely out of cover and need an immediate out. Don't burn it on standard Drone packs.
Mid-range is the correct engagement distance for almost every encounter. Getting too close causes Locust to leave cover and swarm you. The AI adapts to your positioning, so staying mobile between cover points at mid-range is the core loop that makes everything else work.
The campaign has 22 achievements tied to it. Most are secret and unlock automatically by progressing through each Act. The ones that require active effort:
For the full list with unlock conditions and Gamerscore values, the Gears of War: E-Day achievements guide covers every requirement.
Gears of War E-Day campaign achievement unlock screen
The campaign supports 2-player local split-screen (console only, one copy of the game) and 4-player online co-op (each player needs their own copy). In co-op, each player picks from the four Bravo Squad members: Marcus Fenix, Dominic Santiago, Mags Carter, or Lucas Reyes.
Hosts can set lobbies as Private or Public and add browser tags for playstyle and voice chat preferences.
For everything on how co-op affects progression and what carries over between sessions, the co-op campaign guide has the specifics.
How many chapters are in Gears of War: E-Day? There are 26 numbered chapters across five Acts, plus a Prologue and an Epilogue, for 28 campaign sections total.
How long does the campaign take to complete? A first playthrough runs roughly 14 to 16 hours depending on difficulty and how much time you spend on secondary objectives and collectibles.
Is Gears of War: E-Day a prequel? Yes. The game takes place 14 years before the original Gears of War, covering the opening hours of Emergence Day in Kalona.
Can you play the campaign in co-op? Yes, up to four players online or two players via local split-screen on console.
What happens after the Epilogue? Campaign completion, Insane difficulty runs, Horde Siege, and Versus requirements all remain available post-credits. Check the achievements list to see what's left.
For more on the full game, the Gears of War: E-Day strategy guides collection covers every system from builds and weapons to Horde Siege and seasonal challenges.
