Gears 5 Update Adds in Free for All Mode, But It Arrives With a Hitch

Gears 5 receives new mode as part of DLC Pack but a sudden hitch has interfered with mode’s implementation.

Gears 5 has added a classic game mode into its rotation in the form of Free For All, as part of its new Operation 2: Free For All DLC pack. As the name suggests, the pack brings the much-loved game mode from previous editions into the third-person shooter. However, a sudden bug has interfered with the mode’s implementation.

The new mode pits 14 players against each other in race to score 30 kills. But, as reported in a tweet from developer The Coalition’s official Twitter today, a bug popped up during final testing for the pack that visually compromised two of the maps: Pit and Nethercutt. Because of this, only one map, Core, has been made available in Quickplay, at least for the moment.

#Gears5 Status: Dec 11, 10:40 am PT

In the course of final testing the content in Operation 2, we discovered a significant, late developing bug in two of the FFA maps. There is a major visual corruption, compromising the integrity of the maps in rolling playlists only.

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— The Coalition Studio (@CoalitionGears) December 11, 2019

As a result, the quickplay option in FFA will only include Core until resolved. This is a priority for our team and we are looking at a variety of options to make these maps playable ASAP.

All 3 maps are available in custom lobbies. We deeply apologize for any inconvenience.

— The Coalition Studio (@CoalitionGears) December 11, 2019

The Coalition gave no timeline on when the bug will be fixed, but once it is, the two maps will be added into the playlist, and all maps will join Ranked in January.

There are two other modes being added to the game as part of the pack: Arcade Blitz and 2v2 Gnashers. Arcade Blitz is a fast-paced mode where hills move quickly and points can only be earned by occupying them. The 2v2 Gnashers mode is pretty self-explanatory—two teams of two battle it out in close quarters with nothing but gnasher shotguns as weapons.

A handful of characters will be added as well, including Damon Baird, Lizzie Carmine, Jermad, and Locust Drone. A third villain, Kantus, will join the game in early 2020. On top of this, two new Arena maps, Allfather’s Arena and Lift, have been added to Arena, and several quality-of-life fixes have been implemented as well.

The patch notes for the update explain many of the new fixes and character abilities coming to the game.

You can pick up the Operation 2 pack for $20, including 1,000 Iron and 30 days of boost. You can also purchase select heroes and villains for 500 Iron each.