Character classes grant players specialized abilities for Horde and Escape game modes in Gears 5. Classes divided into four separate categories, dependent on their expected role on the field; ''Assault'', ''Tank'', ''Support'', and ''Promotional''.
Through a mixture of their loadouts, abilities, Skill Cards, and perks, each specializes in using certain weapons or performing certain tasks. Below is an overview of each classes' description, starting weapons, Ultimate Ability, and Passive Ability. For more information on Skill Cards and perks, please visit each classes' page.
Assault
Assault classes focus on dealing damage, whether it be close or long range. Depending on the class and setup, they can focus on dealing damage over time, crowd control, defending Taps, and even firing through walls and cover.
Blademaster
The Blademaster is a melee class that cuts through enemies with shocking speed and aggression.
Starting Loadout
Primary: Claw Light Machine Gun
Secondary: Gnasher Shotgun
Sidearm: Talon Autopistol
Grenade: Flashbang
Ultimate Ability - Electroblade
Ability: While active, any enemies struck with melee will be shocked and stunned.
Duration: 15 seconds
Cooldown: 300 seconds
Passive Ability
Kills with melee or bleed damage heal half of your max HP. Resist 30% melee damage.
Demolitions
Raining death from above, the Demolitions class strikes down priority targets with powerful explosive weaponry.
Starting Loadout
Primary: Lancer
Secondary: Boomshot Grenade Launcher
Sidearm: Snub Pistol
Grenade: N/A
Ultimate Ability - Artillery Strike
Ability: Drops five artillery rounds onto each enemy you have marked.
Duration: N/A
Cooldown: 600 seconds
Passive Ability
Mark up to 5 targets and marks last twice as long.
Infiltrator
The tip of the spear, the Infiltrator stays close to the enemy and wreaks havoc with shotguns and stealth.
Starting Loadout
Primary: Retro Lancer
Secondary: Gnasher Shotgun
Sidearm: Talon Autopistol
Grenade: Flashbang
Ultimate Ability - Camouflage
Ability: Become invisible to enemies. Can execute nearby drones.
Duration: 15 seconds
Cooldown: 300 seconds
Passive Ability
Exiting Cloak by firing a weapon deals 10x for that shot.
Marksman
A master of the headshot, the Marksman picks off targets with surgical precision.
Starting Loadout
Primary: Markza Mk 1 Marksman Rifle
Secondary: Longshot Sniper Rifle
Sidearm: Boltok Pistol
Grenade: N/A
Ultimate Ability - X-Ray
Ability: See and shoot enemies through walls with ballistic weapons while active.
Duration: 15 seconds
Cooldown: 400 seconds
Passive Ability
Precision shots penetrate through targets.
Nomad
The eye of the storm, the Nomad is a deadly mobile sniper class that uses Fear to create space for the team.
Starting Loadout
Primary: Markza Mk 1 Marksman Rifle
Secondary: Gnasher Shotgun
Sidearm: Boltok Pistol
Grenade: N/A
Ultimate Ability - Fear
Ability:Put nearby enemies into a state of fear. Enemies under Fear cannot attack and will retreat. Does not affect bosses.
Duration: 7 seconds
Cooldown: 200 seconds
Passive Ability
Deal double damage to enemies under Fear.
Tank
Tank classes are a hybrid between dealing damage and supporting allies, and are often incredibly hard to kill. They can specialize in setting enemies on fire, using heavy weaponry to suppress the Swarm, can summon an exosuit to carve through enemy ranks, and can greatly increase team survivability by drawing aggro or directly shielding allies.
Anchor
The Anchor is a pistol specialist that uses an invincible barrier to outsmart the enemy.
Starting Loadout
Primary: Retro Lancer
Secondary: Markza Mk 1 Marksman Rifle
Sidearm: Boltok Pistol
Grenade: N/A
Ultimate Ability - Barrier
Ability:Deploy an invulnerable shield that moves with you.
Duration: 20 seconds
Cooldown: 150 seconds
Passive Ability
Anyone who fires through your Barrier deals +50% damage. Deal +30% pistol damage.
Brawler
A force of nature, the Brawler brings their own powerful melee moves to the table and uses fire to decimate enemies.
Starting Loadout
Primary: Lancer
Secondary: Gnasher Shotgun
Sidearm: Snub Pistol
Grenade: Smoke Grenade
Ultimate Ability - The Train
Ability:Leave a trail of fire while moving. Stagger and ignite nearby enemies.
Duration: 7 seconds
Cooldown: 240 seconds
Passive Ability
Can punch to stun enemies and melee while roadie running to tackle. Killing enemies using the tackle gives stim.
Gunner
Specializing in heavy weapons, the Gunner is equipped to lay down heavy fire and take hits like no other.
Starting Loadout
Primary: Retro Lancer
Secondary: Torque Bow
Sidearm: Snub Pistol
Grenade: N/A
Ultimate Ability - Reflective Shell
Ability: While active, deflect all ballistic damage back to the enemy.
Duration: 6 seconds
Cooldown: 150 seconds
Passive Ability
Heal for 50% of heavy weapon damage dealt.
Pilot
The Pilot uses the powerful Silverback exosuit to survive tough situations and deal devastating damage to the enemy.
Starting Loadout
Enforcer Submachine Gun, Dropshot Munitions Launcher; Talon
Primary: Enforcer Submachine Gun
Secondary: Dropshot Munitions Launcher
Sidearm: Talon Autopistol
Grenade: N/A
Ultimate Ability - Summon Silverback
Ability: Summon and pilot a Silverback on the battlefield.
Duration: 35 seconds
Cooldown: 400 seconds
Passive Ability
Damage you take slowly recharges your ultimate.
Veteran
A one man army, the Veteran is a powerful rifle class focused on the fundamentals of cover based combat.
Starting Loadout
Primary: Lancer
Secondary: Gnasher Shotgun
Sidearm: Snub Pistol
Grenade: Smoke Grenade
Ultimate Ability - Living Legend
Ability: Automatically fire at the heads of enemies in sight. Any allies in cover with you will do the same.
Duration: 20 seconds
Cooldown: 300 seconds
Passive Ability
Take no damage during executions.
Support
Support classes bolster the team in numerous ways; through direct healing, shielding allies through Stim, sowing discord in enemy ranks and boosting Energy gain, regenerating ammo, and making fortifications more resilient and more deadly.
Combat Medic
The Combat Medic is a solid rifle class that you can depend on to bring the team back from the brink.
Starting Loadout
Primary: Lancer
Secondary: Gnasher Shotgun
Sidearm: Snub Pistol
Grenade: N/A
Ultimate Ability - Team Revive
Ability: Instantly revive downed allies.
Duration: N/A
Cooldown: 250 seconds
Passive Ability
+50% health regeneration speed for you and your allies within 10 meters. Deal +30% rifle damage.
Jack
Jack is a one of a kind support bot with the ability to cloak, heal, and stun. His versatility makes him invaluable to the team.
Starting Loadout
Repair Beam: Heal and protect Allies, Spend power to repair fortifications and power taps. Can also give power to Allies being healed.
Stun Beam: Deals moderate damage to enemies, but after a second it stuns them. It can overheat, be careful.
Cloak: When Cloaked, enemies will not react to Jack's presence. Jack Decloaks if he is performing an action or gets too close to an enemy
Ultimate Ability - Hijack
Ability: Take control of an enemy and wreak havoc.
Enemies have infinite reserve ammo for the duration of Hijack. Horde Bosses cannot be Hijacked.
Duration: 20-35 seconds (Dependent on Enemy)
Cooldown: 300 seconds
Passive Ability
Teammates deal +50% damage to your Stun Beam target.
Mechanic
The Mechanic is an engineer class that can construct a solid defense with speed and efficiency.
Starting Loadout
Primary: Enforcer Submachine Gun
Secondary: Overkill Shotgun
Sidearm: Repair Tool
Grenade: N/A
Ultimate Ability - Turret
Ability: Summon a powerful mounted turret.
Duration: 20 seconds
Cooldown: 200 seconds
Passive Ability
Build new fortifications at a discount, and carry fortifications faster.
Robotics Expert
The Robotics Expert is a master of machines, capable of building defenses that are extremely difficult to break.
Starting Loadout
Primary: EMBAR Railgun
Secondary: Overkill Shotgun
Sidearm: Repair Tool
Grenade: N/A
Ultimate Ability - Reinforce DR1
Ability: Summons a DR-1 that targets enemies. This DR-1 is always armed with a Tri-Shot and will prioritize any enemy marked by the player.
Duration: 40 seconds
Cooldown: 300 seconds
Passive Ability
Build new fortifications at a discount, and carry fortifications faster.
Tactician
The Tactician brings leadership to the team by marking targets and restocking ammo when needed.
Starting Loadout
Primary: Hammerburst II
Secondary: Boomshot Grenade Launcher
Sidearm: Snub Pistol
Grenade: Flashbang
Ultimate Ability - Resupply
Ability: Regenerates ammo for nearby allies.
Duration: 10 seconds
Cooldown: 300 seconds
Passive Ability
Anyone who kills your marked target gains 5 seconds of Ultimate recharge.
Promotional
Promotional classes were originally tied directly to crossover characters, such as Sarah Connors and Emil. Their loadouts are similar to other existing classes across all roles, albeit with different Ultimate and Passive Abilities, fewer skill cards, and other twists. For example, the Protector has a similar passive and a few similar Skill Cards to the Blademaster; however, while the Blademaster specializes in roaming and flanking, the Protector's strength lies in staying entrenched and defending allies at close range.
Architect
The Architect is an engineer class that uses deception to manipulate the enemy.
Starting Loadout
Primary: EMBAR Railgun
Secondary: Enforcer Submachine Gun
Sidearm: Repair Tool
Grenade: N/A
Ultimate Ability - Hologram
Ability: Deploys a holographic decoy that moves directly forward, drawing enemy fire.
Duration: 7 seconds
Cooldown: 150 seconds
Passive Ability
Build new fortifications at a small discount, and carry fortifications faster.
Protector
The Protector is a melee class that can turn the fight in their favor by placing a powerful dome shield.
Starting Loadout
Primary: Markza Mk 1 Marksman Rifle
Secondary: Gnasher Shotgun
Sidearm: Talon Autopistol
Grenade: N/A
Ultimate Ability - Drop Shield
Ability: Activates a protective Drop Shield that prevents any projectiles from passing through.
Duration: 15 seconds
Cooldown: 200 seconds
Passive Ability
Heal for 50% of bleed damage dealt. Resist 30% melee damage.
Slugger
The Slugger is a powerful shotgun specializing in crowd control and stopping power.
Starting Loadout
Primary: Lancer
Secondary: Gnasher Shotgun
Sidearm: Boltok Pistol
Grenade: Flashbang
Ultimate Ability - Heavy Hitter
Ability: All hits with ballistic weapons will knockback enemies and deal +50% damage.
Duration: 20 seconds
Cooldown: 200 seconds
Passive Ability
Resist 50% explosive damage.
Striker
The Striker is a melee class focused on crowd control.
Starting Loadout
Primary: EMBAR Railgun
Secondary: Enforcer Submachine Gun
Sidearm: Repair Tool
Grenade: Flashbang
Ultimate Ability - Enhanced Melee
Ability: Melee hits will knock back enemies and deal +50% damage.
Duration: 20 seconds
Cooldown: 200 seconds
Passive Ability
When hit, move 50% faster for 4 seconds.