Gears of War: E-Day walkthrough: Kalona campaign tips
Gears of War: E-Day walkthrough for the Kalona campaign: how the three days are built, best weapons, enemy tactics, co-op setup and PC requirements, spoiler-light.
This Gears of War: E-Day walkthrough explains how the Kalona campaign is built and how to fight through it: three days in one city, a squad that is playable from the first mission, and a combat system that finally lets you jump and slide. It is written to stay spoiler-light, so there are no boss reveals or story twists, only the mechanics and tactics The Coalition has confirmed.
Before you start: platforms, editions and PC specs
E-Day launched on October 6, 2026, with five days of early access from October 1 for Premium Edition owners, according to Xbox Wire. It runs on Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC (Xbox app and Steam), and it is part of Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass from day one. There is no PlayStation version.
The Premium Edition adds the Bravo Squad Signature Weapon Pack, five seasonal customization packs and 1,000 Iron. Standard pre-orders received the Exfil Dom skin and an Exfil weapon skin set. None of these change campaign difficulty, so the standard game is all you need for the story.
On PC, the Steam page lists a ray-tracing-capable GPU as mandatory. Minimum specs are a Ryzen 5 2600X or Core i5-10400, 12 GB of RAM and a GeForce RTX 2060 or Radeon RX 6600. Recommended specs move to a Ryzen 5 5600 or Core i5-11600K, 16 GB of RAM and an RTX 3060 Ti or RX 6700 XT. Both tiers need 115 GB of free space on an SSD and Windows 10 (or Windows 11 for recommended).
- Display options. Borderless, exclusive and windowed modes, uncapped frame rates on capable hardware and 21:9 and 32:9 ultrawide support.
- Upscaling. NVIDIA DLSS 4.5, AMD FSR "Redstone", optional Frame Generation and a built-in benchmark mode.
- Controls. Full controller support and keyboard-and-mouse remapping. The game is also listed as optimized for Steam Deck and Xbox Ally handhelds.
Run the built-in benchmark once before you start. Ray tracing is not optional here, so it is better to find out your stable settings before your first fight than during it.
How the E-Day campaign works
E-Day is an origin story set on the planet Sera, fourteen years before the original Gears of War. Everything takes place in one fictional city, Kalona, which the team built from the geography around its Vancouver studio. Developers described it on Xbox Wire as a connected city rather than an open world, with a stadium district, an industrial waterfront, an airfield, refineries and residential neighborhoods.
The story spans three days. The developers there describe the arc as confusion on the first night, regrouping on day two and desperation by day three, and the squad never leaves the city. Per Wikipedia's summary, missions alternate between linear combat sequences and larger districts with optional side activities.
- Night one: confusionThe Locust emerge during an armistice memorial. Expect small, tight fights and early enemies that behave like an unknown threat. Learn your cover buttons here.
- Day two: regroupingBravo Squad forms and the fights widen into districts. This is where optional side areas appear, so decide how much of Kalona you want to explore.
- Day three: desperationThe pressure peaks. Keep ammunition and your best weapons in reserve rather than burning them on easy encounters.
Because the sequence is structured by day, the safest way to avoid being stuck is to treat each day as a resource budget: grenades, heavy ammo and healing time carry the most weight when you save them for the end of a district.
Movement and cover: what is new
E-Day's headline mechanical change is jumping, a series first. You can also slide from a sprint, climb vehicles and structures, and use low-ground cover. Cover transitions are smoother, and "micro-destruction" chips away at cover during a fight, so no wall protects you forever.
- Slide into cover. Sprint, then slide behind low cover to close distance without eating fire in the open.
- Jump gaps and flank. Verticality is new, so check the edges of arenas for climbable routes.
- Do not camp. Destructible cover and flanking enemies punish a single position. Move between cover points every few seconds.
- Interrupt reloads. Some weapons reload shell by shell, so you can stop and fire if a Wretch rushes you mid-reload.
Buttons on Xbox are listed on Wikipedia as cover on A, sprint on left-stick click and vault or jump on Y. You can remap them, and keyboard-and-mouse remapping is supported on PC.
Weapons to learn first
The Coalition kept the fan favorites and added new tools. The Gnasher (close range) and Longshot (long range) return. The Gut Puncher is a new grenade launcher that fires armor-piercing explosive rounds and lets you control detonation. The Incinerator is a new Imulsion-fueled shotgun. The Chainsaw Lancer also appears, and its origin is shown in the campaign as a prototype kit-bashed on the front lines.
| Weapon | Range | Best used for |
|---|---|---|
| Gnasher | Close | Finishing enemies that rush your cover |
| Longshot | Long | Picking off distant threats before a push |
| Gut Puncher | Mid | Armored enemies and groups, with controlled detonation |
| Incinerator | Close | Brutal close-quarters fights |
| Chainsaw Lancer | Close | Melee finishers on the front line |
Pick a short-range and a long-range weapon, and swap whenever the encounter changes. Ammunition conservation matters more on day three than on night one.
Enemies, E-holes and how to read a fight
Per Xbox Wire, the Locust start with Feral Wretches, and the arrival of Drones then reveals an organized army. Familiar enemies return in more threatening form, and there are all-new creatures. On Wikipedia, the returning list includes Drones, Boomers, Wretches, Corpsers and Reavers, with new creatures coming from the Hollows.
Emergence Holes are central. Locust can emerge from them anywhere, and a well-placed grenade can close one. Whenever you hear the ground break, decide whether the hole is worth closing before you keep pushing.
- Scan firstLook for explosive objects, E-holes and flanking routes before you commit to cover.
- Close holes earlyThrow a grenade at a fresh E-hole instead of letting reinforcements build up.
- Kill rushers fastWretches and similar fast enemies punish static play, so keep a close-range weapon ready.
- Save heavy ammoUse the Gut Puncher and Incinerator on armored or grouped targets, not on single Drones.
Co-op, difficulty and Bravo Squad
All four Bravo Squad members are playable from the start, and any character can play the entire campaign, so you can choose a favorite. The playable squad is Marcus Fenix, Dominic Santiago, Mags Carter and Lucas Reyes. Campaign co-op supports up to four players online and two on one screen on console only. Online play requires a Game Pass tier that includes online multiplayer.
No official difficulty names were available at the time of writing, so check the in-game menu before you begin and choose a level that lets you try the new movement. If you play with friends, agree who covers close range and who handles distance, since squad coordination is a core theme: Wikipedia describes a "Never Fight Alone" focus on working together as a squad.
Online features require a Microsoft account, and a Game Pass subscription with online multiplayer for online play. Check your subscription before a co-op session so you are not locked out at the lobby.
Saves, cross-play and performance targets
The Steam listing says optional account linking lets you carry progress with roaming saves, connect with friends and send cross-platform invites. You can then squad up in two- to four-player online co-op, or jump into competitive multiplayer for up to eight players across supported platforms. That means a friend on Xbox can join your PC session without either of you restarting the campaign, as long as you both link accounts first.
On the technical side, the game is built in Unreal Engine 5 and targets 4K and up to 60 FPS across the campaign and multiplayer on capable hardware. Wikipedia adds that the Xbox Series X campaign targets 60 fps and multiplayer goes up to 120 fps. Treat these as targets rather than guarantees: Microsoft's own fine print says 4K, ultrawide, HDR, uncapped frame rates and advanced graphics need compatible hardware and a compatible display.
- Storage. Reserve the full 115 GB on an SSD, plus extra room for future updates.
- Handhelds. Steam Deck, Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X are listed as supported, so lower the preset and lean on upscaling there.
- Accounts. A Microsoft account is required, and you must accept the Microsoft Services Agreement.
What to expect from the campaign
According to the Wikipedia summary of reviews, the game sits at 83 on Metacritic for PC and 87 for Xbox Series X|S. Critics praised combat, visuals, atmosphere and emotional storytelling, while the main criticisms were a repetitive campaign structure, pacing in the semi-open areas and the quality of side content. That lines up with the advice above: if the open districts feel slow, follow the main objective, and treat side activities as an optional way to find extra resources.
The Coalition also says it rebuilt assets from scratch rather than reusing earlier games, and that Kalona is the largest location in a Gears title. Expect to take your time between fights, and use the squad dialogue as a cue for where the next encounter begins.
After the campaign: Horde Siege and Versus
Once the story ends, Horde Siege offers a co-op wave mode for larger maps. Players pick one of four classes (Assault, Marksman, Medic or Breacher), drop in as four-player squads and, per the Steam description, team up with other squads for shared objectives and world bosses. Wikipedia lists capacity as 12 players in three squads. Versus returns as 4v4 on new maps, with Ranked and Social playlists.
For general shooting skills that carry across to other games, our Modern Warfare 4 beginner guide covers loadouts and modes in a different, first-person style. All our walkthroughs are in one place, and everything we publish about the prequel lives on the Gears of War: E-Day game hub.
FAQ
Is Gears of War: E-Day on PlayStation 5?
No. Xbox lists Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC and Steam, plus cloud play through Game Pass Ultimate. No PS5 version has been announced.
Can I play the E-Day campaign in co-op?
Yes. Up to four players can play online, and two players can share a screen on console only. Online play needs a Game Pass tier that includes online multiplayer.
Do I need to know the older Gears games?
No. E-Day is a prequel set 14 years before the original Gears of War and tells the story of Emergence Day from the start.
How big is the PC install?
Steam lists 115 GB of storage for both minimum and recommended specs, and an SSD is required.
Has finished every FromSoftware game at level 1. Writes the boss guides and checks them on every patch.