Gears of War 3 Designer Offers Up Some Beta Strategy

The Gears of War 3 beta has been releasing in waves, but today marks the time when anyone who’s preordered the game can join the fun. If you’re a newcomer, you may want to prepare with a little light reading. In an interview with ArsTechnica, Gameplay Designer Lee Perry offered some tips.

Perry says one of the mechanics players haven’t quite caught on to yet is the ability to spot enemies. By clicking in the thumbstick when highlighting an enemy, that enemy’s position is sent to your entire team. The move is similar to the spotting mechanic in Bad Company 2, and considering the reference, the tactic will be invaluable to expert teams.

In the game’s “Capture the Leader” mode, the spotting mechanic, combined with the game’s tactical view (called Tac/Com and accessed via the left bumper), allows players to deepen their strategy. “If you’re the leader, in Tac/Com you can see the enemies through the walls. A good leader should be calling out the locations and actions of the enemies, spotting people, and playing intelligently based on his advantage. Ultimately, even if players just use it as an offensive tool, it’s still super fun. Smoke grenades plus leader vision … good stuff,” said Lee.

For complete beginners, Lee offers five simple tips: take the time to aim, stick with your team, spot enemies, practice with the sawed-off shotgun, and work in wingman pairs so you can shoot at preoccupied enemies. Sounds like good advice to me, and Gears 3 seems like a much more tactical game than previous entries. Consider me excited.