How many difficulty modes are in Gears Tactics?

Gears Tactics sees the Gears franchise enter the RTS genre for the first time. While this latest entry in the series isn’t your typical third-person action game, there are still a number of difficulty modes for you to choose from.

There are four difficulty modes, plus an additional layer you can add to this quartet too, but we’ll discuss that at the end of this article. For now, here’s a more in-depth view of the four difficulty levels available.

Beginner

As its name suggests, this is the easiest difficulty mode in Gears Tactics. It’s reserved for players who are new to real-time strategy games, or those who wish to immerse themselves in the story more than the combat.

Intermediate

What you should consider as Gears Tactics‘ “normal” mode. Intermediate is designed for players who like a challenge but also wish for a bit of forgiveness if they mess up at any point, such as losing non-hero characters in your squad.

Intermediate difficulty is also the optimum experience for you when starting your first playthrough if you’re familiar with RTS titles.

Experienced

This difficulty mode is reserved for players who plenty of, well, experience with RTS games. Consider yourself a seasoned pro if you select this option. Just don’t complain to us when you lose a fair chunk of your supporting cast for not getting to grips with Gears Tactics‘ combat.

Insane

The hardest difficulty. This should only be selected by gamers who are experts at RTS titles and those who want an unforgiving playthrough. You’ll need to plan every move methodically in this mode, otherwise you’ll find yourself continuously hitting that “restart checkpoint” button.

Ironman mode

This is an extra difficulty option you can toggle on in the menu before you start a new campaign. Ironman mode can be selected on any of the above difficulties, but it comes with a huge price if you mess up at any stage.

Ironman mode ends your campaign and deletes your save file as soon as you lose one Hero character during any part of your playthrough. It doesn’t matter if it’s Gabe Diaz, Sid Redburn, or another Hero. If they die, the game automatically ends and you’ll have to start all over again.

This adds something especially challenging to your campaign, but bear in mind that you’ll lose your entire save if anyone important dies. We wouldn’t want you to get to the endgame and see your file deleted if someone perishes.