Official Forces of Nature Info! NOW AVAILABLE!!! New: Elemental Cleaver info!

[III SKYE III]

New Info in Gold:

New/Remade Maps:


• AFTERMATH – Aftermath is a government park after a tsunami. There is seaweed and wreckage everywhere, and the main play space sits under a huge cargo ship which was deposited on top of a building during the storm. The area floods and quakes during gameplay, as the whole thing is teetering on the edge of falling into the water below. This has gameplay implications as it is difficult to aim during the quakes, and difficult to be stealthy while splashing through the water.


• ARTILLERY – Artillery starts out looking like an ordinary military base, but during gameplay a storm kicks up. Lightning begins to flash on the horizon and eventually a tornado develops and sweeps near the play space. Dust and debris are kicked up making it difficult to see, and the buffeting winds can mask your approach.


• COVE – Cove is a small port that the Stranded have taken over and turned into a little village. The map is very open with long lines of sight, but there is a really, really heavy layer of fog that masks just about everything. There’s a really nice sniper nest inside a central ship, but the sniper’s form is silhouetted by the low angle light shining through the fog.


• JACINTO – Jacinto was a beautiful city, but huge stalks have popped up through the buildings and flooded the entire area with imulsion. Half of the map is dead and crumbling, with imulsion fumes hanging in the air. To make matters worse, the drizzle that is present when a match begins quickly develops into a heavy rain storm that impedes visibility and lines of sight as water starts sheeting off the buildings.


• RAVEN DOWN – Raven Down is a very small crossroads that is blanketed in a blinding snow storm. A Raven helicopter has crashed in the storm, and crashed through an elevated train on its way down, so there’s train wreckage to deal with as well. The snowstorm ebbs occasionally, but is more often so heavy that it’s difficult to see more than a few meters ahead at any given time.

Elemental Cleavers info:
In addition to the maps, Fergusson revealed to GT.TV that the DLC will include a few Easter Eggs of sorts – four special weapons hidden in the maps called “Elemental Cleavers”. As an example of what you can expect, you'll be able to locate a “snow cleaver” that can gust an icy breeze at an enemy and stun them from a distance or an “emulsion cleaver” that explodes on impact and does a small amount of AOE burning damage to nearby enemies (in addition to the normal cleaver damage). Also, there are Achievements tied to these weapons for anyone that can find these cleavers and get 25 kills with them in Horde or Beast mode.

New info regarding MP skins/Weapon skins:
Lastly, Epic let us know that those of you who purchase this DLC will get 4 new character models (pictured above – including the never-before-seen "Savage Hunter" on the far right) and 5 new weapon skins for immediate use, and 2 additional weapon skins (that were designed based on community feedback) that can only be unlocked through gameplay in the 'Forces of Nature' DLC which, again, is scheduled to land on Xbox Live in late March.

No beast announcements as of yet, but there's no telling what the future holds, my friends!

Still no announcements on popular wanted characters like Skorge, Palace Guard, Pendulum Hoffman, etc., but you know they wont just stop DLC and add-ons here if we support them enough! Dont give up hope!

Available March 27th!

ACHIEVEMENTS!:

Natural Selection - 20 - Complete all 12 waves of Beast on all Forces of Nature maps.

Horde Natural - 20 - Complete 20 waves of Horde on any Forces of Nature map without going down or dying.

Unstoppable Force - 25 - Complete all 50 waves of Horde on any of the Forces of Nature maps.

Elemental - 25 - Get 25 kills with any of the hidden elementally charged Cleavers in Horde.

Stock Piled - 20 - Achieve the maximum level on all fortifications in Horde mode.

Force Multiplayer - 25 - Win a match of Guardian on all Forces of Nature maps.

Witty Repairtee - 25 - Build or repair 50,000 worth of fortifications as Mechanic Baird LE.

Hunter Gatherer - 20 - Bag and Tag 20 opponents while playing as the Savage Hunter in Versus multiplayer (any mode).

I've Got This! - 20 - Kill 10 opponents as the leader in a round of Guardian on a Forces of Nature map.

Force Multiplier - 50 - Kill a Lambent Berserker with a team comprised of 5 Forces of Nature characters in Horde.



Videos and misc. info:

[GAMEPLAY VIDEOs HERE!: http://bit.ly/x4p1ZU & http://bit.ly/wZqfPZ
GAMEPLAY/FLYTHROUGH VIDEOS from Kotaku: http://kotaku.com/5890493/here-are-t...pack/gallery/7
GT.TV episode with Forces of Nature info(its towards the end of the episode): http://www.gametrailers.com/episode/...rs-tv/146?ch=1
Official Info from the Epic Games Community page(with official confirmation of Guardian's return with this DLC!):http://epicgames.com/community/2012/...to-flythrough/

NEW WEAPON SKIN PICTURES!

1) Ivory Weapon Skins: I’ve Got This! – Kill 10 opponents as the leader in a round of Guardian on a Forces of Nature map.


2) FL4K Weapon Skin: Force Multiplayer – Win a match of Guardian on all Forces of Nature maps.


3) Vixen


4) Ultra Violet


5) Midnight


6) Major League(MLG skin?)


7) Hype


They all look awesome! I'm partial to Hype, Major League, and Midnight.


Info obtained from various tweets(Thanks to Quinn and Pete for the Info ):

Guardian and CTL will share medals, all except for the Rescue medal, which wouldn't work with Guardian.
Guardian matches played will count towards CTL matches played.
Only those who download Forces of Nature DLC will be able to play Guardian.
According to a Tweet from Quinn, the leader in Guardian will have the same X-ray Vision as the leader in CTL.

Regarding the Stock Piled achievement:

Rob Pears ‏ @robpears
@PeteNub Is the Max Level fortifications achievement only for the horde levels in Retail (Level 2 silverback) or DLC (Level 5 silverback)

Peter Knepley ‏ @PeteNub
@robpears it's retail levels only


TU4 Details!:

IMPROVEMENTS

- Savage Drone and Savage Grenadier can now “swat” turn in Beast mode
- Spectator mode now starts viewing a player instead of a battle camera
- Alternate control users in multiplayer will no longer look at DBNO characters when pressing R3
- The crosshair for the Longshot and Hammerburst will now show an X if a shot is obstructed.
- KOTH – ring locators are now visible in spectator mode
- KOTH – some hill locations have been adjusted

BUG FIXES

- The Onyx Guard decoy in Horde will not drop his rifle after exhausting the Vulcan ammo
- Clients will no longer be stuck with a “Waiting For Players” message up if the host quits Horde during the progression screen
- Chainsaw audio loop will now persist for listeners who leave the audible range and re-enter it
- Fixed some instances where special event ribbons would not be properly awarded
- COG pistol firing rate has been adjusted to be equal on host and clients
- The Flaming Retro Lancer is now available for attendees of the first special event(Golden Wings week)
- Fixed some issues fixed related to the destruction of meatbags
- The Slab start up screen no longer has debug text
- After a host migration in Horde, the waves will no longer go past 50
- Cover near the elevator on Hotel no longer allows players to lean outside of the visible area
- Grenade throwers that are killed mid-throw will receive credit for any kills that grenade causes
- Silverback will be disabled if hit by a smoke grenade when the driver is in the middle of the exit animation
- Team Deathmatch time limit no longer resets to 3 minutes when both teams are out of respawns

EDIT: Looks like some other things were added. FoN achievements were added to the achievement list, details to unlock "Ivory" and "FL4K" skin sets, seperated Warzone and Execution, added a new category to the playlists(Forces of Nature), and added Alpha back. Very well done, Epic! I love it all!

EDIT: Thanks to TAO Devil for hooking me up with an early FoN code. Your selfless generosity will never be forgotten. <3

My personal opinions on the maps:

Aftermath: A nice, huge open map. Plenty of opportunities to camp somewhere with a Longshot/One-Shot and have a vantage point almost over the WHOLE map. One of the best looking maps in the game, in my opinion. Not to mention there's a huge friggin ship wrecked on one side of the map. Also a Memorial on one side of the map, that plays some heavenly, ethereal choir when you get near it. Possibly an Easter Egg here since there's extra stuff inside the memorial(COG Helmet, COG tags, Anvil plaque). All around, awesome map.

Artillery: What else can I say, but WOW! A fairly open map in some areas, that will lead to some long range rifle(or One-Shot...there's 2 of them) battles, but also a couple inside areas for some CQC action. The map itself looks amazing. The sky looks menacing as hell, and once the tornado kicks in, all hell breaks loose. Warning sirens blare off, the trees blow like crazy, the visibility goes down(but not as bad as Trenches), and its just plain INTENSE! My favorite map of the 5....although its barely there.

Cove: Gorgeous map. For some reason, reminds me of Fisherman's Wharf in San Fransisco lol. A ton of cover in this map, leading me to believe there's gonna be alot of CQC here. The fog that rolls in is a nice touch, and limits visibility quite a bit, but not so much it totally impedes the play, like Trenches.

Jacinto: A HUGE improvement on the original. Epic really took their time with this one. Instead of just the one way up out of spawn, you now have 3 choices. You can go up and out the normal way into the courtyard like in Gears 2, but you can now also stay to the outside and go directly down to the mortar area behind the Boltok spawn, or stay towards the inside of the map, and go into a new path that goes underneath the Grenade spawn and directly down to the HoD/Boomshot area. Massive, much-needed improvements here. All the Imulsion, the darker feel of the map, and the rain are some nice touches to this already awesome map. Well done, Epic. Well done!

Raven Down: Now, I cant say much about the original, since I didnt play Gears 1 online, but judging on just from what it is in Gears 3, I love it! Its actually fairly small compared to most maps. I would say its pretty close to Thrashball or Checkout size. Alot of open areas for some heated rifle battles, but also some tight, inside areas for some epic CQC action. The snow is a nice touch, one I personally love since I grew up in an area with a TON of snow almost year round. Every so often, a small blizzard kicks up and limits the visibilty quite a bit(but again, not nearly as bad as Trenches). Amazing remake of a Gears 1 map.


Verdict: The best DLC out of the 4, hands down. Epic really outdid themselves this time. Sending out the Season Pass with a HUGE bang.

Extra Misc. Info:
All 4 Elemental Cleavers have been found!!!
All the info on it is here in this thread: http://forums.epicgames.com/threads/...ound-Artillery

Also in these videos(which are also posted in the above thread):
Raven Down
Jacinto
Artillery
Aftermath

SCREENSHOTS!:

[xX CARNA6E Xx]

Kinda sad no weapon skin announcements.

[Basbal4lfe]

A little surprised there are no weapon skins

But this is gonna be awesome!

[SiCkNaZtYDJ]

There is weapon skins. They tweeted about them. But for some reason they didn't announce any of them?

[Devilfire]

There's about 5 or 6 weapon skins they used in the video, they're in there but not mentioned

[Comrade John]

They showed a liquid metal orange skin a few times. as well as a new team skin.

[iN4 Hitman]

The Characters look great! And i'm excited for the new maps

[the_suicide_fox]

Anyone notice Savage Hunter was a FR character? I think they botch another reveal >.<

[Phenom23]

I saw a red one like team metal but not shinny.

[C MAN 2117]

Artillery looks freaking AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TORNADOES!!!!!!!!!!
Cove looks the next best.
Then Raven Down, love the snowy enviroments.
Jacinto looks pretty decent, still meh about campers from playing so much GoW 2 Gaurdian.
Aftermath didn't look as good as the others, but still an improvement on all the others.

Maps look really Gritty, bringing back the GoW1 feel, lots of grime looks good.

Mech. Baird and Com. Dom have blue tints, SGE a red tint, and Savage Hunter looks like a mix between Maurader and Creeper, like a dinosaur kind of.

Excitement level is pretty high .

[bosna]

For the LE characters do I need to have the pre order characters?

[Pandut]

New MP Skins: LE Mechanic Baird/Com. Dom/SGE, Savage Hunter

I am disappoint.

[Grey]

I am disappoint.

Yeps me too, but Jacinto makes up for it!

[Fishgins]

Nothing for beast?

[Nowellsy]

Sounds great what about beast tho?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[C MAN 2117]

Sounds great what about beast tho?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nothing was announced so don't get your hopes up. More Horde content though, could also carry over to beast but idk.

[Jim Tuna]

People who play CTL are going to try to remake classic Guardian matches on Jacinto.

[III SKYE III]

Nothing was detailed in the show about Beast, weapon skins, or any TU4 stuff. There is clearly new weapon skins in the footage showed, and some small clips of Beast footage showing what looks like a Bloodmount with a Savage Grenadier riding it.

Again, this is just my observations, guys.

And my opinions on this.....All the maps lookin amazing, especially the return of one of my favorite Gears 2 maps, Jacinto! The elemental cleavers thing has me excited, and finally going to be able to use MB after craving him for so long.

Can't wait for March 27th!

[narattah]

i missed the live stream, are there any uploaded videos for this?

[C MAN 2117]

People who play CTL are going to try to remake classic Guardian matches on Jacinto.

Double nade Rush, with 3 to Snipe, then fall back to have 3 camp with leader when 2 people on your team die trying to obtain Sniper. While all the while the other team gets Boomshot/Hammer and procedes to spawn camp the other team. While everyone is afraid to push the enemy team at nades because there could be 10 planted frags or inks and you have those extremely long drawn out games where as soon as you spawn on the enemies side you can't leave without dying.

No thank you.

[xX CARNA6E Xx]

For the LE characters do I need to have the pre order characters?

No you do not.

[TheEnvironment]

i missed the live stream, are there any uploaded videos for this?

In a couple of hours it will be uploaded on the GTTV site.

[Gears of Wario]

What are elemental Cleavers?

[C MAN 2117]

What are elemental Cleavers?

They're easter eggs on the new maps, so, for example, there is a fire cleaver that lights things on fire when you hit them. Horde only (Maybe Beast).

Think of the Bullet Marsh easter egg but with Butcher's cleavers besides vulcans.

[Waffle_Melon]

Can't wait to play on the new maps.

[III SKYE III]

Updated the OP with TONS of info from the GT.TV article!

Also, BUMP!

[Waffle_Melon]

Cove looks really good. Can't wait.

[III SKYE III]

Wtf is with all the whiney threads already? -_- "They didnt add this", "Wtf, why no this?" etc etc. Im f***ing STOKED for this! The maps look amazing, the elemental cleaves thing looks awesome, and the LE skins look cool as sh**.

Stop whining and enjoy the new crap coming! Thanks Epic for the awesome new DLC!

[marky310]

Wtf is with all the whiney threads already? -_- "They didnt add this", "Wtf, why no this?" etc etc. Im f***ing STOKED for this! The maps look amazing, the elemental cleaves thing looks awesome, and the LE skins look cool as sh**.

Stop whining and enjoy the new crap coming! Thanks Epic for the awesome new DLC!

Not everyones going to feel like you do. It's called the internet

[DOC oSPADEo]

Wow, I wish this would come out sooner. This is amazing. But I thought Microsoft only allows games to have a maximum of 1750 possible gamerscore. They're adding new achievements with this DLC?

[III SKYE III]

Not everyones going to feel like you do. It's called the internet

Oh, i know not everyone is gonna be happy, but still....You think Epic likes putting all this time, work, and money into making the new DLC and TU's and stuff for games, and they having people throw it back in their faces like "Screw you and your new crap!!!"?

[marky310]

Oh, i know not everyone is gonna be happy, but still....You think Epic likes putting all this time, work, and money into making the new DLC and TU's and stuff for games, and they having people throw it back in their faces like "Screw you and your new crap!!!"?

Those are the people that won't buy the DLC's, so EPIC wasn't counting on their support anyways. Plus, EPIC is a company. I'm sure as long as they make a profit and keep their base happy, they don't care about impressing the less faithful

[Eliguy5]

Good dlc! But still no love for beast mode :/ yet anyways

[DizzyRules]

Jacinto and Cove look excellent. I'm interested in seeing the differences between the pre orders and the LE characters.

[Crimson Ninja]

lol That locust is the savage Marauder, they mixed up the locust again.

[Crimson Ninja]

I like the white crimson omen skin in the Jacinto pic.

[III SKYE III]

I like the white crimson omen skin in the Jacinto pic.

I just now noticed that. Oooooh! Now im even more excited! Sexy white omen on black weapon. ME WANT!

[SirDizzy]

Why didn't Epic do a Dark Corners thing?

[Crimson Ninja]

Why didn't Epic do a Dark Corners thing?

What do you mean?

[III SKYE III]

Why didn't Epic do a Dark Corners thing?

What do you mean?

I think he means the All Fronts Map Pack thing they did for 2. All the DLC in one pack.....and im sure they will at some point. But maybe that shows us that this isnt the last DLC. And besides, Rod only said its the last "map pack", not last DLC.