A recap page for the Gears of War video-game franchise.
Warning! This page will contain spoilers!
Setting
The world of Gears of War takes place on a human-colonized planet of Sera. It is here that a liquid called "Imulsion" became a highly valued Power Source after a scientist discovered how to use it, and the economic shockwave led to several wars between the planet's nations known as the Pendulum Wars that lasted up to 79 years. The Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) originally existed only as an obscure world-government philosophy on Sera, but it evolved into a legitimate, though minor, political party during the war, and the soldiers who serve the COG are called GEARs. After Emergence Day (E-Day) when the Locust suddenly popped out of the ground to begin their attack on humanity, the COG were the ones who took the necessary steps to ensure the survival Sera's human civilization; instituting martial law and taking charge of the effort against the Locust.One year since E-Day after losing battle after battle against the Locust, the COG chose to make the greatest sacrifice by using the Hammer of Dawn on human cities in a last ditch attempt to defeat the invading Locust. However, before pushing the proverbial button on the hammer strike, the citizens of Sera were given just three days to evacuate to the Jacinto Plateau, the only safe haven where Locust couldn't dig up to. As a result, millions of human lives were lost, and the few that remain are now forced to survive against the Locust in the newly created post-apocalyptic world of Sera.
Act I: Ashes
Chapter 1: 14 Years After E-Day
Fourteen years since E-Day, the COG remains as the only human government left on Sera, and their GEARs continue to fight their losing battle against the Locust. With the number of GEARs dwindling, Colonel Victor Hoffman decides to grant a pardon to imprisoned soldiers in an attempt to replenish the army. Due to the pardon, Corporal Dominic Santiago (Dom for short) arrives at his old friend's prison cell to free Marcus Fenix, a GEAR Sergeant who was sentenced for abandoning his post 4 years ago for trying to save his now deceased father from the Locust. As a result of Marcus taking the targeting locator for the Hammer of Dawn with him, the abandonment allowed for the Locust to overrun humanity's capital city of Ephyra, and resulted in many deaths.With the help of a Robot Buddy named JACK breaking the prison lock, Dom provides Marcus with a gun and his GEAR armor. The player takes on the role of Marcus as the two head off to battle. Marcus and Dom either take the safer route out of the prison, or fights their way through several Locust Drones. Both of which lead them to getting picked up by Delta Squad's COG helicopter known as a Raven before it gets taken out by a Locust Corpser.
Chapter 2: Trial by Fire
Along the helicopter ride with Dom, Marcus meets the two other members of Delta Squad: Lieutenant Minh Young Kim and Anthony Carmine. Delta Squad's helicopter lands at Embry Square in Ephyra where they meet up with Colonel Hoffman and Marcus' old girlfriend, Lieutenant Anya Stroud. Despite still viewing Marcus as a traitor, Hoffman puts it aside due to their need for soldiers.Their position suddenly gets attacked by Locust Drones, which forces Hoffman to quickly inform Kim of their objective. That they've been provided a Lightmass Bomb that will be used on the underground Locust tunnels in order to hit them on their own turf, but the bomb will also require a Resonator that will map out the targeting data for the bomb. As it turns out, the Resonator was being transported by Alpha Squad, who they've lost contact with somewhere within Embry Square. With Anya providing them advice over a communicator, Delta Squad fights their way deeper into Embry Square in order to locate Alpha Squad and the Resonator.
Chapter 3: Fish in a Barrel
In Embry Square, Delta Squad comes up empty after locating a group of dead GEAR soldiers. They continue the search by fighting their way through the Locust Drone filled streets of Ephyra that leads up to the nearby House of Sovereigns.Chapter 4: Fork in the Road
Delta Squad exits the streets to a nearby building where they fight their way through Locust forces that are blocking the path towards the House of Sovereigns. Due to the destroyed building surroundings, Marcus and Carmine pair up to fight through the Locust on one side while Dom and Kim attack in from the other end.Chapter 5: Knock Knock
Delta Squad reaches the gate to the House of Sovereigns where they battle against Locust forces that are protecting the way in. Following the battle, Delta regroups outside the entrance only for Carmine to end up killed in action after taking a sniper bullet to the head. Delta then holds off a Locust attack, and then move into the House of Sovereigns soon after.Chapter 6: Hammer
Inside the House of Sovereigns, Delta comes across Private Augustus Cole, a former all-star Thrashball defensive lineman that goes by "Cole Train," and a member of Alpha that got separated from his squad. Cole Train joins up with Delta Squad as they move to destroy a group of Locust Seeders that's blocking off their transmission from COG and the rest of Alpha that bunkered in at the nearby Tomb. Using a targeting locator, Delta uses the Hammer of Dawn to strike down on any Seeder they come across, and as a result, transmission begins to clear up throughout their fight towards Alpha Squad.Chapter 7: Wrath
Continuing their way towards Alpha Squad, Delta clears out the last of the Seeders using the Hammer of Dawn, which finally brings back the transmission to COG. They then fight their way out of the House of Sovereigns to clear out an open area of the Locust Drones in front of the building. Here, Delta is finally able to meet up with the rest of Alpha Squad, and meet Corporal Damon Baird in the process, who was carrying the Resonator, and then stashes it away on Cole Train's back for him to carry it around. However, their position is then suddenly attacked by a Locust army led by General RAAM. During the confusion, RAAM manages to come up behind Lieutenant Kim, and fatally stabs him in the chest. Unable to face RAAM's army, Marcus and Dom retreat with Alpha Squad back into the Tomb they were bunkered in, and block the door.Chapter 8: China Shop
After falling back into the Tomb, Anya informs Delta and Alpha Squad that there's a path to reach an open courtyard at the other end of the building. However, they're attacked by a powerful Locust Berserker that forces what's left of Alpha Squad, Cole Train and Baird, to join up with Marcus and Dom on Delta. With their only option being to use the Hammer of Dawn outside on it, Delta Squad makes their way to the courtyard while evading the Berserker charges. They eventually reach the courtyard, and kill the Berserker with the satellite laser.Now that they're safe, and having retrieved what they were looking for, Marcus receives orders from Hoffman to travel to the Lethia Imulsion Facility where they will deploy the Resonator. In addition, Hoffman places Marcus in charge of Delta Squad due to Kim's death, but is also warned to find a way on foot to the facility due to the skies being too dangerous at the moment for their helicopters. Dom chimes in that he has an idea for that.
Act II: Nightfall
Chapter 1: Tick Tick Boom
As the day gets darker in Ephyra, Delta Squad follows behind Dom to another part of the city where they start coming across large Boomer variants of the Locust. Dom explains to Delta the plan that he knows of a Stranded living in the city nearby who could provide for them an old Junker vehicle that they can use to drive to the Imulsion Facility.Chapter 2: Grist
After battling through more Locust forces, Delta eventually comes across the Stranded outpost run by the person who owns the Junker, Franklin Tsoko. Despite refusing to hand it over, Dom reminds him that Franklin owes him for something that happened previously between the two of them, which forces Franklin to accept as long as Cole Train and Baird remain at the outpost to help protect the Stranded. Franklin informs Marcus and Dom that the Junker can be found at the nearby Chaps Gas Station, and the two head out afterwards to retrieve it.Chapter 3: Outpost
As Marcus and Dom start their journey towards Chaps Gas Station, Franklin informs them over a communicator that they should come across some of their checkpoints for supplies along the way.Chapter 4: Lethal Dusk
Now the middle of the night, Marcus and Dom fight against Locust through the darkened streets as they journey towards the first checkpoint towards Chaps Gas Station. However, the Locust Kryll Swarm flying in the sky have an easier time eating their targets when there's no light source around, which allows for the Kryll to eat the Stranded stationed at the first checkpoint after their light dies out.Marcus and Dom fight their way towards the second checkpoint, and along the path, they destroy any propane tank left behind by the Stranded in order to provide enough light from propane fires so that the Kryll stays off them. In addition, Marcus is informed by Baird that Franklin's outpost is preparing for a large battle against an incoming Locust attack. Upon reaching the second checkpoint, a lone drunk Stranded stationed there turns on the lights for the house they need to go through in order to reach the gas station.
Chapter 5: Dark Labyrinth
Marcus and Dom make their way through a ruined house that's been taken over by small Locust Wretches to reach Chaps Gas Station on the other side.Chapter 6: Powder Keg
Marcus and Dom locate Franklin's Junker at Chaps Gas Station. However, Chaps was under the belief that the two weren't going to make it to the station, and didn't take the time to fill up the vehicle with fuel. With the help of Chaps, the 3 of them fight off a Locust attack on the gas station in order to store up enough fuel in the Junker before they're forced to escape from the Locust by driving away in the vehicle as all the fighting causes the gas station to blow up.Chapter 7: Burnt Rubber
Having retrieved the Junker, Marcus and Dom begin their drive back towards Franklin's outpost while Chaps rides along. They use the laser cannon mounted on the Junker in order to fend off any Kryll that tries to attack them along the darkened highway of Ephyra.Chapter 8: Last Stand
Marcus and Dom return to Franklin's outpost with Chaps only to find that the base is currently under attack by Locust forces. They get out of the Junker to help repel the Locust attack. After the battle, Chaps remains behind while Cole Train and Baird join up with Marcus and Dom at the Junker. Shortly after, the 4 of them drive off towards the Lethia Imulsion Facility.Act III: Belly of the Beast
Chapter 1: Downpour
The engine on Delta Squad's Junker ends up overheating just outside the Imulsion Facility, which causes them to walk the rest of the way on foot. Anya also informs them of their objective which is to reach the mines through the facility. As they approach the Imulsion Facility, they see that nearby Wretches have become lambent due to Imulsion exposure, and are now considered to be very volatile. The entrance turns out to be locked down tight, which forces Marcus and Dom to split up with Cole Train and Baird in order to find another way in. Fighting through any lambent Wretch they come across, the Marcus and Dom pair manage to locate a broken window to enter the facility from the upper floor.Chapter 2: Evolution
Upon entering the Imulsion Facility, Marcus and Dom get word from Cole Train and Baird that they managed to locate a way in from the basement. Marcus and Dom search around the upper floor to reach the core room, but access to certain areas are locked without the proper key. They end up coming across a Stranded worker that's managed to survive up to this point, and uses his worker access help them bypass the door blocking the way forward.Following behind the Stranded through the facility, Marcus and Dom spot Cole Train and Baird through a grating beneath where they're using the facility's sewer network to reach their destination. Shortly after, the Stranded ends up falling through a rotting floor only to die to the lambent Wretches below, leaving Marcus and Dom to search through the facility blind again. Marcus and Dom continue through the facility fighting any lambent Wretch they come across, and eventually reunite with Cole Train and Baird. The 4 of them fight through more lambent Wretches, as well as the first appearances of Locust in the facility, in order to reach the next area.
Chapter 3: Coalition Cargo
Still moving through facility, Delta Squad gets into carts of the Imulsion cargo transit system. They fight any lambent Wretch or Locust they come across while riding their carts, and eventually get off at a stop just outside the core room's drilling platforms. After fighting through more lambent Wretches, Delta reaches the core room, and Anya controls the drilling platforms to rise up to Delta Squad's location. They're then greeted by Locust Boomers riding up on the platforms, but Delta disposes of them as well. Delta Squad then gets on the platforms to ride them down to the Kryll infested mines, which Anya reminds them that their objective is to plant the Resonator, and escape before the Kryll wake up.Chapter 4: Darkest Before Dawn
After the drill platforms bring Delta Squad down to the mines, Cole Train and Baird stay behind to protect the Resonator while Marcus and Dom move on ahead to clear out the path towards the pumping station of its lambent Wretches. However, Marcus and Dom end up slipping down a water slope, which proves to be too dangerous for the Resonator, and forces Cole Train and Baird to find an alternate route.Marcus and Dom fight through more lambent Wretches and Locust forces as they travel deeper into the mines, but end up falling through a hole to a path near a lake of Imulsion, which puts them really off the route towards the pumping station. Meanwhile, Cole Train and Baird are just as lost as them. Marcus and Dom fight their way towards a branch path where one fights the lambent Wretches and Locust in a trench while the other fights from a high cliff. They eventually reach and fight their way through a tunnel that moves them away from the Imulsion lake. However, their movement through the mines has brought to them the attention of a giant Corpser.
Chapter 5: Angry Titan
Marcus and Dom continue moving through the mines to a spot where they're attacked by the giant Corpser. The two of them battle the Corpser, and force it backward to a wooden platform where they break the supports, and have the Corpser fall to its death into a pool of Imulsion. Shortly after, Cole Train and Baird manage to find their way back to Marcus and Dom, and the 4 of them move with the Resonator deeper into the mines towards the pumping station.Chapter 6: Tip of the Iceberg
Delta Squad finally make it to the mines pumping station where they plan to activate the Resonator. Marcus and Dom move towards the station from the front while Cole Train and Baird, who have the Resonator, move in from the flank. As it turns out however, the station is not guarded by the basic Drones of the Locust, but instead has their elite Theron Guards stationed there having caught on that Delta Squad is up to something. Delta manages to clear the station of the elite Locust, which leaves Baird to set up the Resonator, and they escape using the pumping station's elevator back up to the surface. As they escape out of the elevator entrance, Delta Squad gets knocked back from the shockwave given off by the Resonator that went off in the Imulsion mine.Taking the next moments to catch their breath, Marcus sends word to COG that they successfully activated the Resonator in the mines. However, Hoffman provides the bad news that the Resonator barely mapped out the Locust tunnel network, and would take as many as 100 more Resonators to truly get a read on how big the network is. However, Baird reveals that he has within his possession a Geobot he hacked into previously that could provide them with an alternative. Through JACK, Baird provides the Geobot's data to COG, which reveals that there's another object in existence that can provide much more tunnel mapping compared to a Resonator. Hoffman asks where that is, and it turns out to be located at East Barricade Academy. More specificially, the estate of Marcus' father. Some time after, Delta Squad are seen being transported by helicopter towards East Barricade Academy as they come under fire from aerial Locust Reavers.
Meanwhile down in the Imulsion mine, General RAAM is seen with two of his Locust henchmen having taken a GEAR soldier captive. RAAM overhears over the human's communicator what Hoffman and Delta Squad are planning to do, and heads off after killing the GEAR.
Act IV: The Long Road Home
Chapter 1: Campus Grinder
The helicopter transporting Delta Squad drops them off at the entrance of East Barricade Academy where they clear out the frontal courtyard of the Locust forces. Anya informs the squad of nearby helicopter survivors from the Two-Five Squad, which Marcus puts as their top priority. With two paths towards the crash site, Marcus and Baird split from Dom and Cole Train where they either take the street route, or go through the nearby buildings. Either path leads them to fighting more Locust, and leads to a Seeder needing to be taken out using the Hammer of Dawn. Dom and Cole Train open a locked gate from their end for Marcus and Dom to push into the next area where they face off against more Locust at the entrance of the academy's lecture hall. Upon fighting through the lecture hall, Delta Squad meets up again on the other side, and reach the Two-Five Squad's crash site. Baird and Cole Train stay behind to provide the injured GEARs medical-evac as Marcus and Dom go on ahead.Chapter 2: Bad to Worse
Marcus and Dom make their way towards the academy's conservatory where they fight off a Locust attack until JACK gets the door open. Meanwhile after evacing the injured GEARs, Cole Train and Baird get moving to reach the Fenix estate. Upon entering the conservatory however, the two of them comes across another Berserker that they lead to a room with openings in the roof so that they can strike the Hammer of Dawn down upon it. After killing the Berserker, Marcus and Dom exit out the other end of the conservatory.Chapter 3: Hazing
Marcus and Dom fight their way through several forces of Locust as they make their way across the streets of East Barricade Academy towards the Fenix estate.Chapter 4: Close to Home
Marcus and Dom continue to fight their way through forces of Locust as they make their way across East Barricade Academy towards the Fenix estate.Chapter 5: Imaginary Place
Marcus and Dom fight their way through Locust at the front of the Fenix estate, and reunite with Cole Train and Baird once they get close to the main gate. Baird informs Delta Squad of a broken APC behind the estate that they could use for when it's time to make a getaway, which Marcus gives the order for Baird and Cole Train to get the vehicle working. Marcus and Dom enter the estate, and battle it out against invading Locust that tunneled into the building. Eventually, Marcus and Dom locate the entrance to the estate's cellar, and search it out.Chapter 6: Entrenched
After finishing up repairs on the APC, Baird and Cole Train enter the estate to return to Marcus and Dom. Meanwhile, the latter two find the entrance to a hidden lab down in the estate's cellar, but are forced to wait on JACK to cut the locked lab door open, and protect the robot from attacking Locust. Within the lab, JACK plugs itself into the system, and finds the data of a massive underground planet map showing the Locust's entire honeycomb tunnel network. However, the size of the map data forces JACK to remain in the system until it can all be downloaded into a USB drive.While JACK downloads the map data, the Locust begin an assault on the estate, which forces Marcus and Dom to fight their way back up from the cellar to reunite with Baird and Cole Train, who've been fighting the Locust off from the 2nd floor. After Marcus and Dom reach them, they take over fighting off the Locust attack so that Baird and Cole Train can get the APC up and running. The Locust manages to break through the main gate, which forces Marcus and Dom to fight their way to the back of the estate where the APC is waiting for them. JACK finishes up downloading the map at this point as it, Marcus and Dom reach Baird and Cole Train to drive away in the APC. A Locust Brumak appears to try to catch the escaping APC, but is unable to do so.
Act V: Desperation
Chapter 1: Impasse
Still driving away in their APC, Marcus sends word to COG that they've retrieved the mapping data from his father's estate. In return, Anya informs Marcus that the train carrying the Lightmass Bomb is now moving and ready to deploy on the most vulnerable spot of the Locust tunnel network, which is an Imulsion sinkhole. Anya also provides Delta Squad their next objective, which is to rendezvous with the train at Timgad Station. However, their path is blocked by an upraised bridge.Getting out of the APC, Delta Squad gets attacked by Locust that were waiting to ambush them due to the upraised bridge. Delta defeats the Locust ambush, and is informed by Anya that the way to drop the bridge is to follow the downed electrical lines, and make repairs on them at Nassar Memorial Park. Baird and Cole Train are ordered to remain behind to defend the APC as Marcus and Dom head off towards the park. They fight through a low-town area overflowing with Wretches, but is then warned by Anya that the park is crawling with Locust. As a result, Baird and Cole Train are ordered to be the ones to fix the electrical lines while Marcus and Dom deal with the Locust. Sure enough, Marcus and Dom fight their way through the park that's swarming with Locust while Baird and Cole Train work their way towards the electrical lines.
Chapter 2: Comedy of Errors
Delta Squad continues to work their way towards the electrical lines where Baird and Cole Train end up running into the Brumak that tried to catch them earlier. Meanwhile, Marcus and Dom continue to fight Locust across the park, but are given the bad news from COG that the Locust have managed to board the train in an attempt to stop humanity's plan revolving around the Lightmass Bomb. Delta Squad eventually makes it to the electrical lines where they use JACK to perform the repairs, and stall the Brumak long enough to keep it from disrupting the robot. The repairs are successful, but Marcus and Dom are forced by the Brumak to find another route to reunite with Baird and Cole Train, and they've lost transmission with COG due to a nearby Seeder. They end up fighting their way through a theater where one moves along the balconies while the other remains on the floor passing by the seatings.Chapter 3: Window Shopping
Upon exiting the theater, Marcus and Dom reunite with Baird and Cole Train while they hide from the Brumak. Marcus makes it their first priority to locate the Seeder that's keeping their transmission from COG blocked, and fight their way through a parking garage that's crawling with Locust. They eventually come across the Seeder, but due to not having a targeting locator for the Hammer of Dawn, they're forced to improvise by blowing up a truck to kill the Seeder with a vehicle explosion.With the Seeder dead, Marcus is able to communicate with COG again, which Anya informs them that the fight against the Locust aboard the train is getting worse. She informs Delta Squad that while they haven't brought power back to the bridge just yet, they can now do so at the nearby Timgad Central Energy power plant. Afterwards, Delta fights their way out of the parking garage, and begin making their way towards the power plant.
Chapter 4: Powers that Be
Delta Squad clears out the Locust along the path leading up to the power plant. Upon entering the plant, Marcus and Dom storm through the front to face off against the Locust inside while Baird and Cole Train take the roundabout path with JACK to activate the power. Through Baird's expertise, Marcus and Dom, while still fighting Locust, go around the plant triggering different circuit breakers to stabilize the power level. Unfortunately, they hit a snag when the power plant requires a jump start to the transformer polarity, which can only be done if they had something big enough to connect two transformer blocks. This gives Marcus an idea regarding the Brumak that's been chasing them.Chapter 5: Jurassic Proportions
Making their way outside the power plant, Delta Squad faces off against the Brumak. They disarm it first by destroying the machine guns on the Brumak's arms, and then shoot at the legs to make it lean over far enough to get shots at the Locust that's on the Brumak's back controlling it. With the Locust dead, the uncontrolled Brumak charges toward Delta. They lead the Brumak towards the opening between the two power plant transformers, which kills the Brumak, but also provides the transformer connection to finally bring the power plant back online.Delta Squad returns to the bridge now that it's finally been lowered to drive across in the APC. At this point however, Anya informs Marcus that they've lost control of the train to the Locust, and as a result, they're only option is to jump aboard as the train passes through Timgad Station.
Chapter 6: Special Delivery
Delta Squad drives the APC up to the entrance of Timgad Station. After exiting their vehicle, they make their way into the train station, and clear out the Locust forces blocking their way to train. Delta then makes their way over to the track as the train carrying the Lightmass Bomb comes speeding by. Marcus and Dom manage to jump aboard the train, but Baird and Cole Train are unable to do so due to holding off the Locust in the station.Chapter 7: Train Wreck
Marcus and Dom managed to get on one of the cars near the back of the train while Baird and Cole Train send word to them that they will catch up aboard a helicopter. In addition, Anya informs the former 2 that they will have to fight through the Locust now on the train in order to reach the Lightmass Bomb that's been stashed on the front car. Marcus and Dom fight the Locust aboard the first cars in front of them up to a point where they need JACK to open up the door to the next train car. However they're met by a Berserker soon after. Without the use of the Hammer of Dawn, Marcus and Dom are forced make the Berserker charge onto the car behind them, which they then blow a tanker to create an explosion that breaks the car with the Berserker on it away from the train.After disposing of the Berserker, JACK finishes cutting the door open for Marcus and Dom to move on to the next train car. They also get word from Baird and Cole Train that they got picked up by Hoffman's helicopter. Marcus and Dom then fight through the next cars filled with Locust while also dealing with Locust Reavers that fly alongside the train. The train then enters an Imulsion tunnel, which causes lambent Wretches to board it. They manage to fight through the train cars that were taken over by lambent Wretches, and make it to the frontal car of the train.
Chapter 8: Pale Horse
Aboard the front car of the train, Marcus and Dom realize that their last opponent keeping them from dropping the Lightmass Bomb is General RAAM. In addition, Hoffman's helicopter arrives to provide aerial support against the Kryll that's been swarming around RAAM. Marcus and Dom face off against RAAM, and are able to kill the Locust General this time around.Dom then jumps aboard Hoffman's helicopter while Marcus runs up to the Lightmass Bomb in order to implement the mapping data that JACK recovered at his father's estate, which activates the bomb. Marcus is then picked up by the helicopter as well while the train falls off the broken track into the Imulsion sinkhole. The bomb then breaks off into separate rockets that go towards different locations throughout the honeycomb tunnel network; killing all the Locusts that get caught up in the explosions. As his helicopter flies off while the ground beneath them falls apart due to the destruction of the Locust stronghold, Hoffman narrates that despite their world having been torn apart, and many lives having been lost due to the war, there will come a time when humanity will rise once again.
Meanwhile, a mysterious woman atop a Locust Reaver is seen from afar watching Hoffman's helicopter fly away. She narrates that humanity doesn't know the reason for why the Locusts are attacking them, and that they will continue to fight against humanity or else they themselves will die.
Setting
6 months have passed since the detonation of the Lightmass Bomb that was believed to have destroyed the Locust stronghold. Though most of the underground Locust army was killed, the explosion also caused much of the liquid Imulsion underground to vaporize, causing a fatal disease called Rustlung to spread among the diminished human population. After months of peace, the cities of Tollen and Montevado suddenly and mysteriously disappear underground, leading the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) to suspect the resurgence of the Locust. Soon after, the once impenetrable Jacinto Plateau, which is one of the last remaining safe havens for humanity, begins to show signs that the same fate awaits it. To stop the fall of Jacinto, the COG responds with a large-scale counter-offensive against the Locust.Act I: Tip of the Spear
Chapter 1: Welcome to Delta
In Jacinto, GEAR soldiers are seen mobilizing for its war against the Locusts. Marcus and Dom of Delta Squad appear amongst the soldiers along with Anya, who informs them that the Locust have been getting bolder due to the recent attacks, which she then heads over to the hospital to check on a lead concerning Dom's missing wife. Additional reinforcements are then brought in by helicopter. One of which is Benjamin Carmine, the younger brother to Anthony Carmine who died in the first game. Carmine introduces himself as the new rookie member of Delta Squad to Marcus and Dom. After deciding if they should go through basic training with Carmine, Marcus and Dom head over to the hospital to hear if Anya found out anything.Chapter 2: Desperation
Marcus and Dom arrive at the Jacinto hospital, but the building suddenly comes under attack by Locust before meeting up with Anya. Currently at the hospital is one of Marcus' old friends from the Pendulum Wars, Corporal Tai Kaliso, who temporarily joins up with Delta to dispose of the invading Locust. As the battle between the GEARs and Locust goes down, the 3 of them fight their way through the hospital. Marcus points out that something may have happened down in the Locust Hollow after they blew it up with the Lightmass Bomb since the Locust appear to be fighting more desperate than usual. Eventually, Delta reaches a hospital exit to the streets where they meet up with Carmine still getting the hang of how to properly use a gun. Carmine joins in with Delta as they take the fight to the Jacinto streets. Delta Squad along with other GEARs fight through the streets until the Locust are forced to retreat.After the battle, Dom remains worried about his wife. Anya provides him the bad news that her hospital lead ended up being a bust since the unknown female brought to the hospital that may have been his wife had already been released days ago. Dom is left shaken in anger that he failed to find her again as the rest of Delta leave the area to give Dom some time alone to cool off.
Chapter 3: Rolling Thunder
Some time after, the GEAR army moves out from Jacinto while a Rousing Speech regarding their war against the Locust is spoken by the Chairman of COG, Richard Prescott. Delta Squad rides along with the army in one of the helicopters with their objective being to make their way towards Landown, a town that's been taken over by the Locust. However, said town is the perfect spot for them to drill down, and send people underground in Grindlifts to fight the Locust on their home turf. They arrive at a staging area where the GEARs plan to move riding on massive Rigs, which are the drill vehicles that will be sending people underground using its Grindlifts. Delta Squad gets aboard the one run by Private Dizzy Wallin as the Rig caravan backed by helicopter support starts moving. Delta also spots Baird and Cole Train amongst the GEARs riding on a different nearby Rig, and the same goes for Tai.As the Rigs make their way towards Landown, they're forced to fend off Locust mortar and Reaver attacks when the caravan is required to traverse along a dangerous cliff. Afterwards, Delta's Rig ends up rolling too fast down the next hill, and ends up breaking a few things after crashing. As a result, Delta Squad gets off the Rig to fight off the Locust in the area while Dizzy works to fix up the Rig. Once repairs are made, Delta gets back on the Rig, and get moving again to reunite with the rest of the caravan.
Chapter 4: The Big Push
The Rig caravan continues to make its way towards Landown, but upon entering a rocky terrain area, the Locust begin popping up from the ground to attack. Dizzy continues forward away from the attack due to the appearance of a Brumak, but the Locust had also managed to hijack a nearby Rig, which they drive along side the Delta Rig. The two Rigs battle it out between one another as Dizzy continues the drive towards Landown. Eventually, Delta manages to kill the Locust driving the hijacked Rig, which causes it to fall off a cliff while Dizzy's Rig continues on with Landown now in sight. Delta's Rig then reunites with the other remaining Rigs, and fights through any Locust, Corpser or Brumak they come across.Chapter 5: Roadblocks
Delta Squad's Rig arrives at Landown followed closely by Tai's Rig. The latter of which gets destroyed by the Locust's landmine Tickers that have taken over the town. Tai ends up as the Rig's only survivor as he joins up with Delta Squad to continue forward into the town on foot. Anya also informs them that the best place to start drilling is at the monument in the center of the town. Delta Squad pushes through the town killing any Ticker they come across so that the remaining Rigs can pass through safely. They are then met by the Locust in the next part of town, but are dealt with easily thanks to Cole Train's support.Keeping ahead of Dizzy's Rig, Delta Squad makes their way through Landown's darkened road tunnel. They go about clearing out the Tickers hiding within it so that the Rig can pass through safely. After killing the Locust Reaver blocking the tunnel exit, Delta Squad enters into the inner areas of Landown. However, Dizzy's Rig remains in the tunnel due to the Locust dropping mortar fire down upon them from the nearby structures. Marcus and Carmine split up from Dom and Tai so that the two pairs can take out the Locust mortars on both sides of the road. After doing so, Delta uses a mortar gun off one of the dead Locust to rain down fire upon a nearby Brumak that poses a threat to the Rig. With the path now clear, Delta Squad hops back onto Dizzy's Rig to ride the rest of the way to the drill zone.
Chapter 6: Digging In
Delta Squad's Rig, along with several other Rig squads, arrive at Landown's central monument to commence the drilling operation. As Dizzy prepares the Grindlifts for his Rig, Delta Squad protects him by fighting off the Locust assault on their position until the Grindlifts are ready. Before getting in the lift, Dom asks for Marcus to search for his wife, Maria, if he ends up dying, which Marcus agrees to do. Shortly after, the two of them secure themselves in the Grindlift, but their Rig is suddenly attacked by Skorge, a High Priest that took over as the Locust General after the death of RAAM. Due to being locked within their Grindlift, Marcus and Dom are unable to get out to fight Skorge. The last thing they see before being sent underground is Skorge facing off against Dizzy and Tai.Act II: Denizens
Chapter 1: Scattered
The Grindlift carrying Marcus and Dom drills through the ground, and lands within one of the tunnels of the Locust Hollow. Marcus and Dom get out of Grindlift, but don't have much luck communicating with those on the surface at first. Carmine however manages to radio to them that his Grindlift went off course, but also that Tai jumped out before going down with him. As a result, Marcus makes it their first objective to reunite with Carmine.As more and more Grindlifts carrying GEARs drop in throughout the Hollow, including a brief cameo from Jace, Marcus and Dom fight through a group of Locust at Carmine's position. Carmine falls back in with Delta, which Anya then informs them that based on their map data, they're very close to a path that will lead them deeper into the Hollow. However, the path just so happens to be behind a rock wall. JACK is brought out to reactivate a nearby Grindlift so that it can drill through the wall, which leads to Delta Squad protecting JACK from another Locust attack until the robot is done powering up the Grindlift. Once the Grindlift's been reactivated, Delta Squad follows the drill through the wall hole it made to reach the tunnel on the other side.
Upon entering the next Hollow tunnel, Delta Squad makes its way over to support Omega Squad against the Locust attacking their Grindlift landing area. Anya then contacts Delta after the battle that there's massive seismic activity going on beneath the nearby Ilima City, and is asked to go investigate what's causing it. Dom also receives a new lead from Anya regarding his wife that the Locust have been increasing their attacks on Stranded outposts for some reason. Off to investigate the seismic activity, Delta Squad fights through an area of Wretches, and continues on to the next area in the Locust Hollow.
Chapter 2: Indigenous Creatures
Upon entering the next area in the Locust Hollow. Delta Squad comes across long Rockworm creatures living in the caves that are completely immune to bullet fire but also appear to be passive. Using the worms as cover, Delta continues its push through the Hollow fighting against any Locust they come across in order to discover what's causing the seismic activity. Along the way, Alpha Two drops in nearby on Grindlifts, which Delta supports by taking out the nearby Locust mortar teams keeping them pinned down. In addition, they locate the cause of the seismic activity when they spot a massive Riftworm passing through the caves in the background.Chapter 3: Disturbing Revelations
Delta Squad continues its push through the Locust Hollow to an underground temple where they begin coming across Kantus Monks, a new variant of Locust soldiers that have the ability to revive their dead comrades whenever they screech. Delta then splits up to cover more area as they fight their way through the Locust to reach the other side of the temple. Upon exiting the temple however, they witness Skorge commanding the giant Riftworm to follow after him through the underground caverns. Delta Squad receives word from Anya that the nearby Ilima City has been sunk into the ground, which Marcus reveals to her that the Locust have been using a giant worm to sink human cities.Chapter 4: Sinking Feeling
Knowing that the cities of Tollen and Montevado have already been sunk along with Ilima, Delta Squad pieces it together that the overall goal of the Locust is to punch holes around Jacinto to eventually make the last human stronghold sink into the ground. Delta makes their way into the Ilima sinkhole in order to find any survivors, and receive a distress call from a helicopter pilot. They fight through Locust mounted up on Reavers and Bloodmounts towards the helicopter's smoke flare, and begin to hear broken transmissions from Cole Train fighting near the downed helicopter.Upon arriving at the helicopter's crash site, they realize that they arrived too late to save the GEARs. Delta is then ambushed by Locust at the crash site, but are supported by the arrival of Cole Train, who informs them that he got word from Baird about his current location. With Cole Train back in the squad, Delta continues on to fight their way out of the Ilima sinkhole towards a tunnel left behind by the Riftworm to search for Baird and other possible survivors.
Chapter 5: Captivity
After Delta Squad enters the Riftworm's tunnel, they come across caged areas where the Locust have been storing the humans they've captured into metal pods. Delta come across the pod holding Baird hostage and free him, which Baird reveals to them that the Locust were planning to take him deeper into the Hollow and process him. With Baird now back in the team, Delta Squad pushes further into the caged area to free other hostages. They come across an underground Torture Barge that Delta fights into after Baird claims that it's the place where he could hear the Locust torturing their prisoners. Delta clears out the barge, and unlocks its prisons only to find that there's no one left.Delta Squad takes command of their Torture Barge, and moves it through the underground tunnels towards the next Torture Barge while fighting off any Locust they come across. They come up to, and hijack another barge from the Locust to check its prisoners. Here, they manage to find one this time around in Tai, who's seen with many fresh wounds all over his body after enduring endless torture from the Locust. Marcus provides Tai with a gun to join up with his squad, but the torture had broken Tai to the point of pointing the gun at his own head, and shoots himself dead.
With the barges checked, Delta Squad fights their way through Locusts back onto the ground of the Locust Hollow. Marcus informs COG about the Locust's change in tactics where they're now capturing, torturing and sending such humans off deeper into the Hollow for some other purpose. Anya informs Delta of a new extraction point, which causes them to fight their way back out into the Ilima sinkhole. Delta Squad then fights their way up to the top of a building where they hold their position against incoming Locust until helicopter pick-up. Delta makes it onto the helicopter, but the Riftworm appears out of the ground at the same time and attacks. The shockwave from the Riftworm moving towards them causes Carmine to fall out of the helicopter into the Riftworm's mouth. The Riftworm then eats the helicopter with the rest of Delta Squad still inside.
Chapter 6: Intestinal Fortitude
Dom flashes back to a brief moment in his bed where he wakes up to Maria providing him breakfast. He then wakes up to Marcus calling out to him as he realizes along with the rest of Delta Squad that they're now inside the Riftworm. Marcus sees this as an opportunity to kill the Riftworm from the inside as Delta makes their way around the worm's teeth to move into the body towards the worm's heart. Along the way, Delta come across Carmine being torn apart by small creatures that make up the worm's digestive system. Delta chases the creatures off, but a dying Carmine leaves off wishing for Marcus to tell his family that he loves them.Following Carmine's death, Delta Squad is forced to outrun an incoming debris wall that the Rockworm just recently ate, and manage to evade it once they reach the Riftworm's stomach. Delta avoids the stomach acid, and then quickly makes their way through the intestines before dying to its toxins. They cut their way out of the end of the intestine, and arrive at the heart. Delta cuts the heart's 2 main arteries, but realize soon after that there's still another beating heart further in still keeping the Riftworm alive. They fight their way though the worm's digestive creatures towards the next heart where they cut its 3 main arteries, but are shocked to hear the beats of a third heart keeping the Riftworm alive. Due to all the cut arteries, the Riftworm's blood begins to pour into the worm's insides. Delta next enters into a large room where the last heart is, and fights off the digestive creatures while going around cutting the heart's 4 main arteries.
Due to the loss of its hearts, the Riftworm uses its dying moments to burst up from the ground coughing up blood, and dies soon after. The top end of the Riftworm carcass hits the ground as Delta Squad cuts their way out the side of the worm to reach the outside before drowning to the artery blood. With his team covered in blood, Marcus is too shocked for words to explain to COG what they just accomplished, and asks that they just come pick his squad up. The helicopter arrives some time after, but instead of getting picked up, they're provided a Centaur vehicle.
Colonel Hoffman briefs them through JACK that the operation against the Locust is still going on, but they're still short on intel to locate the Locust Hollow stronghold and find its leading queen. Hoffman also adds that Chairman Prescott discovered in one of their classified intel files that a nearby abandoned COG outpost may have information on the location of the Locust stronghold and its queen, and orders Delta Squad to go investigate it. Delta remains confused by the sudden revelations of the COG not knowing about one of their outposts having crucial information, or that there's apparently a Locust queen that exists, but Marcus goes along with it since they got no other choice at the moment. Delta boards up on the Centaur they've been provided, and begins driving towards the outpost.
Act III: Gathering Storm
Chapter 1: Dirty Little Secret
Delta Squad arrives at the abandoned COG outpost and disembarks from their Centaur. Cole Train and Baird stay behind to watch over the vehicle while Marcus and Dom push on to explore the facility. The two arrive at a heavily fortified locked door whereupon an AI on a television screen welcomes them to Jameson Depot. However, they are not allowed entry without proper identification.Because the door is too heavy for JACK to break open, Marcus radios Baird and orders him to prepare a powerful blast charge. In the meantime, Marcus and Dom search for a way to restore power to the outpost, eventually managing to find a power switch. After turning the power back on, Marcus and Dom are attacked by Wretches on their way back to Baird. The GEA Rs push through the resistance, pick up the blast charge and carry it together back towards the fortified door. Though limited to one-handed weapons while hauling the cargo, Marcus and Dom battle their way back to the security door and destroy it.
Chapter 2: Origins
Once past the security door, Marcus and Dom are greeted by the AI in the television recording that was keeping them out known as Niles, who welcomes the two of them into the New Hope Research Facility. Marcus and Dom explore through the research facility only to find that it's infested with Wretches, which are being held back by Niles' security systems. However, said security doesn't differentiate friend from foe, which forces Marcus and Dom to deactivate the security guns every time they come across one. Meanwhile, a bad razor hailstorm kicks up outside the outpost, which forces Baird and Cole Train to abandon their Centaur, and take cover inside the building.Travelling deeper into the research facility, Marcus and Dom work together to bypass the security system and its laser guns. They then enter into the main research area of the facility housing unknown stasis tanks that not even COG command has information on; meaning that they've come across something that's completely classified. Marcus and Dom come across the facility's main computer terminal where they have JACK plug into it in order to find the information they're seeking regarding the Locust stronghold. Marcus also flips a nearby security switch to help JACK break into the terminal.
Chapter 3: Rude Awakening
The deactivation of the security switch has unintended consequences: the stasis tanks in the facility begin to shut down as JACK finishes the data download from the computer terminal. Before moving on, Marcus and Dom come across a television screen showing a recording of an original (human) Niles. The recording describes how the researchers found a way to save the "children". It explains that since it would be too difficult to transport the Sire subjects to Mount Kadar, instead Niles chose to leave behind a security system based on his own personality. This AI would watch over the facility as the subjects slept, in the hope of a chance to watch them grow at a later time.Marcus and Dom begin to hear banging and crashing noises throughout the facility and the Niles AI warns them that the time has come for them to leave. As the GEA Rs move to evacuate from the research facility, the AI announces that the Sires have been roused before the appropriate time. The soldiers make their way through rooms of stasis cells and are attacked by the Sires that have broken out. Throughout the ensuing battle the AI rants about how the point of the facility was to secure their future; Marcus and Dom escape the Sires and shut down the power supply to the AI, silencing it.
After getting out of the research facility, Marcus and Dom make their way through the outpost while radioing ahead to Baird and Cole Train to return to the Centaur despite the razor hail going on. However, they're suddenly attacked by the arrival of the Locust, which forces them to go another direction back to the Centaur while also having to avoid the razor hail. Using multiple methods to avoid the razor hail, such as riding aboard the facility's train cars, Marcus and Dom fight their way through the Locust along the outskirts of the facility, and eventually make it back to Baird and Cole Train at the Centaur. Delta Squad holds off a couple Reavers to provide Baird enough time to make the final repairs, which they then all get on the Centaur, and escape away before getting overtaken by the Locust.
Chapter 4: Ascension
Still in their Centaur, Delta Squad is informed by Anya that based on the information that JACK downloaded from the New Hope Research Facility, they should be coming up on the entrance to Mount Kadar as long as they continue following the logging road that leads up to the mountain. Cole Train asks about their current plan, which Marcus states that it's to find the Locust stronghold, activate JACK's beacon within it, and then have the COG rain down hell upon them. Using the Centaur's cannon, Delta blasts away any Locust they come across along the road while also making their way across frozen lakes that are breaking apart along said path due to Locust mortar fire. They manage to fight their way up to a bridge that's been destroyed, and are forced to make a vehicle jump to the other side.Eventually, Delta Squad reaches the Locust barricade blocking the entrance into the mountain, and break through it by having the barricade's tower fall upon the wall to make an opening. Delta Squad riding the Centaur passes through the broken barricade to begin their search for the Locust stronghold in Mount Kadar. Following down the dark path, they turn on their vehicle light to see in front of them, but the Centaur breaks down after it falls down a cliff. Baird works to get the Centaur working again, but after turning on the light, they're greeted by 3 attacking Corpsers. Delta Squad fights them off with the Centaur, an then continues the drive deeper into the mountain. The next room has them facing off against 2 Brumaks, which they then knock over a large rock with the Centaur's cannon in order to create a ramp to jump to the next area.
Chapter 5: Displacement
Shortly after jumping to the next area in the mountain, Delta Squad in their Centaur come across a group of Stranded being led by Chaps, the owner of the Gas Station that Delta blew up back in Ephyra. Delta gets out to hear about Chaps' story, which he explains that he left to hide in the mountain caves after realizing that the surface was no longer safe. However, the mountain proved to be just as dangerous due to the recent Locust activity at the nearby Nexus stronghold where they've been torturing their human hostages at labor camps. Marcus asks if it's possible to get to the Nexus from here, which Chaps answers that the only way is to cross the lake right in front of them, but is too dangerous due to being controlled by the Locust.Knowing what to do next, Marcus orders Baird and Cole Train to remain behind so that they can escort Chaps and his fellow Stranded out to safety. Marcus and Dom on the other hand will continue on to reach the Nexus by crossing the mountain's inner lake. Before leaving, Dom shows Chaps a picture of Maria in order find out if she was seen by him. Chaps reveals that he saw her amongst another group of humans that got captured, and was most likely sent off to the Nexus. He also informs Marcus and Dom that if they plan to search for hostages, there's a path to them once they come across a highway near the dam that leads to the labor camps.
After Baird and Cole Train depart with the Stranded, Marcus radios to COG that he and Dom are going on ahead to find the path into the Locust Nexus stronghold, which Anya informs them that they have Grindlift reinforcements ready to send in on his signal. Marcus and Dom fight the Locust, and their gunboats, along the lake coast to reach a small wooden boat at the dock. However, they soon realize upon reaching it that the boat is already flooded, and won't be transporting them anywhere any time soon. In addition, a Locust gunboat ends up destroying part of the dock behind them, which causes the piece of dock their left standing to act like a raft as it drifts across the lake.
Marcus and Dom protect their dock raft from more incoming Locust gunboats, but the enemy backs off after the duo's raft drifts into a lake area that's giving off Imulsion fumes. It soon turns out that the real reason the Locust gunboats backed off is to allow for their underwater Leviathan to begin attacking Dom and Marcus' raft. Their raft is then attacked by another Locust gunboat, but this time around, the two of them manage to hijack it before their raft is destroyed. Now riding a Locust gunboat across the lake, Marcus and Dom fight off any opposing gunboat that tries to attack them. They manage to escape through a small water tunnel, but they're shocked to find a huge waterfall at the end of it that they end up dropping from. They manage to stay aboard the gunboat after falling off the waterfall, and enter into a secluded area of the lake.
Chapter 6: Brackish Waters
Still aboard their hijacked gunboat, Marcus and Dom are suddenly attacked by the Leviathan. The Leviathan uses its tentacles to attempt to break apart the gunboat, but end up getting cut off by Marcus and Dom every time the tentacle lands on their boat. With its tentacles gone, the Leviathan attempts to use its mouth to bite the gunboat apart. Similar to how they defeated the Riftworm, Marcus figures that their best bet to kill the large sea creature is to attack it from the inside. Whenever the Leviathan goes in for a bite, Marcus and Dom shoot the mouth until the esophagus hole to its stomach opens up where they throw a frag grenade down it. After dropping 3 frag grenades in it, the Leviathan sinks to its death, and allows Marcus and Dom to continue on towards the Nexus stronghold.Act IV: Hive
Chapter 1: Priorities
Marcus and Dom drop off at a dock on the other side of the lake, and continue on foot towards the Nexus stronghold. They come across a Locust army marching off to battle on what they believe to be the highway that Chaps mentioned. Marcus suggests they follow them since they're heading towards the Nexus, but Dom wishes to go the other way to find Maria since Chaps told them that it leads to the hostages. Despite Marcus claiming that their primary goal here is to defeat the Locust, Dom chooses to go off on his own since finding Maria is what he's been fighting for. Dom leaves off pointing out how Marcus made a similar choice for his father, which convinces Marcus to go along.Following the branch path away from the Nexus, Marcus and Dom spot the human labor camp from a high up location. They fight their way down through the Locust until they come across a prisoner terminal that has information on each of the human prison pods. JACK looks through the terminal, and amongst all the captured humans, it manages to locate the one holding Maria. Seeing a unique symbol on Maria's data, Marcus and Dom head off into the camps under the belief that the symbol is Maria's location.
Chapter 2: Answers
Marcus and Dom arrive at the labor camp, and come across all the prison pods being used to store humans. While fighting off the patrolling Locust, they go around the camp checking each prison pod terminal for the matching symbol of Maria's location. They eventually locate it, but are forced to hold off a Locust attack while JACK scans the area's pods for the one that Maria is in. Once the Locust are dealt with, JACK opens up Maria's terminal, and Dom is happy to see a healthy Maria again. However, Dom is quickly brought back to reality when he realizes that Maria has become a lobotomized shell of her former self after suffering endless torture from the Locust. Marcus walks off to leave a saddened Dom alone with his wife as he performs a Mercy Kill to finally put Maria out of her misery.Some time after in the labor camp, Dom returns to Marcus, who apologizes to Dom about what happened to his wife. Marcus states that he's formed up a plan to enter the Nexus using stealth, but doesn't mind going in guns a-blazing knowing how angry Dom must be feeling at the moment. The two of them then begin their journey to head towards the Nexus
Extra Chapter: Road to Ruin
If the stealth path is chosen, Marcus and Dom put on Locust disguises, and avoid the enemy Locust along the highway while also causing events that distract those that are in their way. Along the path, Marcus and Dom go about opening up any large highway gate they come across to reach the next areas leading up to the Nexus.After sneaking their way through a good portion of the highway, Marcus and Dom are forced to go down the side path underneath the bridge that a Brumak is blocking. Along said branch path, they find the prison cell for Franklin, the Stranded that provided them the Junker in Ephyra. Marcus and Dom free him, and provide him a gun to help hold off an army of Locust surrounding the prison cell. Franklin follows along as the 3 of them make it to the other side of the bridge on the other side of the Brumak. They fight their way to the end of the highway where a massive battle against the Locust takes place. Marcus and Dom are done with their disguises, and are ready to push forward like normal towards the Nexus stronghold, but Franklin chooses to leave not wanting to go any deeper into the Locust Hollow.
If the guns a-blazing path is chosen, Marcus and Dom simply fight their way through the Locust along the highway. Just like the stealth path, Marcus and Dom go about opening up any large highway gate they come across to reach the next areas leading up to the Nexus. However, as they make their way through the torture area, a Locust pulls a lever that drops Marcus and Dom into a lower jail section. The two of them fight through any Locust they come across in the jail area while JACK breaks through any jail door blocking their way.
Marcus and Dom come out of the jail area at the bridge with the Brumak, and work to kill it, but due to the Brumak's carcass blocking the path across the bridge, they're forced to take the alternate path underneath it. Just like before, they pick up Franklin at his jail cell. The 3 of them fight their way to the end of the highway, and the massive end battle against the Locust takes place. Marcus offers Franklin to join in for their fight against the Nexus stronghold, but Franklin heads off on his own not wanting any part in going deeper into the Locust Hollow.
Chapter 3: Hornets' Nest
Marcus and Dom make their way off the highway to a cliff where they look upon the inner tower structures that make up the Nexus stronghold. Since the middle tower looks like the closest thing there is to a palace, Marcus figures that said structure must be where the Locust queen is at. Due to the gaping chasms with Imulsion at the bottom, Marcus realizes that they haven't reached a good enough location yet to set off JACK's beacon for the Grindlift reinforcements, and decides that their best option for now is to just head for the palace.While fighting through Locusts on their way towards the palace, Marcus and Dom begin hearing a female voice over a loudspeaker providing a Rousing Speech that mostly amounts to their dominant race being the true rulers of Sera, not the humans. As they make their way closer to the palace, Marcus makes it their primary objective to at least find a suitable location for the Grindlifts before pushing further in. Marcus and Dom fight their way into a deeper part of the Nexus stronghold to a location with enough floor for the Grindlifts to safely land. JACK activates its homing beacon for the COG to locate them while Marcus and Dom fight off a large Locust attack to keep JACK protected.
Having caught wind of the beacon, COG's Grindlifts begin dropping in as Marcus and Dom move around the Nexus clearing out the landing zones of its Locust. Aboard the Grindlifts were Baird and Cole Train, who reunite with with the rest of Delta Squad. Now with a full crew again, Marcus gives the order to his squad to push for the palace.
Chapter 4: No Turning Back
Delta Squad rides up on a cable car to reach the Nexus stronghold's middle tower. They protect their cable car from Locust Reavers, but their car breaks down part way up, which forces them to hijack a nearby cable car controlled by Locust. Upon boarding their new cable car, Delta continues their ride up to the middle tower while hearing the queen provide another Rousing Speech mostly about how they will not lose to the Lambent. After fighting off more Reaver attacks, Delta Squad finally gets off the cable car onto the floor of the middle tower.Making their way through the middle tower, Delta Squad comes across the Locust focused on fighting off something they can't see. Due to the fight being too far from JACK's beacon, Marcus figures that whatever they're fighting is not reinforcements from COG. Pushing in further, more odd fighting takes place where it looks like the Locust are fighting amongst themselves. Delta Squad then fights their way to a branch path where Marcus and Cole Train split from Dom and Baird to take either a stairwell path or a path down an elevator lift. The team that rides down on the lift provides cover fire while the team going down the stairs activates buttons to allow the lift to continue down whenever it stalls. During the drop, they begin fighting against infected Lambent creatures similar to what Delta Squad saw back at the Lethia Imulsion Facility.
Grouping up after the lift, Delta Squad continues on, and sneaks up on some Locust fighting off something else. They investigate what the Locust were fighting after the battle, and realize that the Locust have been in an underground war with the glowing Locust that have been infected by Imulsion. As a result, Marcus pieces it together that the reason the Locust have been so desperate to take the surface is because they've been losing their underground home to the Lambent creatures that were mutated from Imulsion exposure. Delta Squad then continues its journey downward fighting through any Locust or Lambent they come across. They manage to reach another lift to take them down further into the Nexus before being overtaken by the Lambent.
Chapter 5: The Best-Laid Plans
Delta Squad gets off the elevator lift at the entrance to what looks to be the Locust queen's palace. They make their way up to the palace gate, but the Locust lock it shut, and attempt to kill Delta from the windows. After defeating the Locust, Delta Squad goes along the alternate path around the palace, and fight their way to another elevator lift. They take the lift down, and enter the palace through a back entrance at the bottom of it.After entering the palace's backdoor, Delta comes across a branch path where one hallway is lower than the other. Marcus and Cole Train split from Dom and Baird where one team pushes through the lower hallway while the other team covers them from a high balcony level. They quickly reunite again in the next room as they fight their way down a large spiral stairwell to reach the next level of the palace. Delta next clears out a control room showing off the Locust's plan on the terminal, which appears to be to sink Jacinto so that the surrounding water floods into the Locust Hollow. Some of Delta remains confused as to why the Locust would want to flood their own home, which Marcus reminds them it's because they're desperate to defeat the Lambent, so their only plan left is to try to drown out of the Locust tunnel network. While JACK plugs into the Nexus' control terminal to look for information, Cole Train grabs hold of the nearby microphone, and taunts the Locust queen over the loudspeaker for every Locust to hear.
Shortly after, JACK stumbles upon a recording of a man speaking about how there's only one way to end the war, but it will come at great cost. Marcus and Dom are quick to realize that the one speaking is Marcus' father, Adam Fenix. Putting aside their confusion as to why a human is recorded in the Locust archives, the recording continues with Adam claiming that it's possible to sink Jacinto so that the surrounding seawater would flood the Locust Hollow, and as a result, nothing in the tunnels would survive. However, doing so would require for humanity to accept that they would need to give up their last safe haven on Sera. After hearing the recording, Marcus decides to go along with the plan to sink Jacinto as a back-up plan if they're unable to reach the queen. He also orders JACK to send the information they've discovered back to COG for command to hear.
Chapter 6: Royal Inquisition
Moving on from the control room, Delta Squad come across another branch path in the palace where Marcus and Cole Train split up from Dom and Baird again. The two teams fight the Locust down two hallways on opposite ends of a gaping chasm while providing support for each other from afar. Delta Squad then reunites at the end of the hallways, and take an elevator lift down to the final level of the palace.Landing on the bottom floor of the palace, Delta fights their way down a large hallway clearing out any Locust they come across. However, Upon getting close to the large door leading to the queen's throne room, the Locust had set up a trap to drop the floor to a trap room beneath the hallway. Delta Squad are forced to bunker down in the trap room to hold out against Locust pouring in from the surrounding doorways, and eventually defeat all the enemies. Delta then spins the wheel for their trap floor to lift them back up to the hallway, and enter into the queen's throne room.
Inside the throne room, Delta Squad comes face-to-face with the Locust queen, who has a more human figure than the Locust she rules over. She points out that Delta is the first humans to ever desecrate her palace, and that despite the loss of their Riftworm, they still have other methods to sink Jacinto. She also informs them that Skorge has already caught wind of Delta Squad's plan to sink Jacinto to kill the Locust with a seawater flood, and that they've already sent out a large force of Locust to attack Jacinto in order to stop the humans from going through with the sinking before it's the right time for the Locust to do so. Before leaving, the queen states her disappointment that Marcus didn't follow in the same footsteps as his father, she then orders Skorge to deal with them as she exits the throne room.
Baird and Cole Train go on ahead to chase after the Locust queen while Marcus and Dom stay behind to face off against Skorge. The High Priest Locust jumps around the room attempting to drop columns and such down upon Marcus and Dom while also occasionally sending in Tickers to try to explode on the two of them. Skorge would then attempt to go in for a melee attack at times to try to assassinate one of them, but after several failed attempts, a large Reaver known as a Hydra breaks through the throne room window to help Skorge retreat.
Exiting the throne room, Marcus and Dom reunite with Baird and Cole Train in the next area, who inform the others that the queen also managed to escape on a Reaver. Knowing that they need to quickly get back to Jacinto, Baird suggests that they fly back on the 2 unmanned Reavers nearby. Delta Squad crosses several bridges before they're destroyed by mortar fire to reach the stationed Reavers where Marcus and Cole Train hop on one while Baird and Dom take the other. They then take flight on their 2 Reavers, and start their journey to fly themselves out of Mount Kadar's Nexus and back to Jacinto.
Act V: Aftermath
Chapter 1: Escape
Aboard their 2 Reavers, Delta Squad flies through the Nexus searching for the exit to escape Mount Kadar while killing off any Locust that tries to shoot them out of the sky. They also come across GEAR reinforcements that dropped down into the Nexus on the Grindlifts, and provide air support for them against the Locust they're engaged with. Delta orders the GEARs to retreat due to the Nexus starting to fall apart from the recent battles, which they're then suddenly attacked by Skorge aboard his Hydra Reaver. As Baird and Cole Train fly the Reavers through the tunnels searching for the exit, Marcus and Dom mount up on the Reaver's guns to fight the Hydra that's chasing them. The Hydra attempts to shoot them down with rockets, but Marcus and Dom fire into the beast's one major weak point to temporarily disorient it, which is into its mouth every time it tries to move in to bite them. Delta eventually reaches a crack in the mountainside that's too big for the Hydra to chase them through, and successfully escape back to the surface.Delta Squad flies across the surface towards Jacinto where Marcus calls ahead to COG about their current situation. Anya informs them that evacuations are underway to follow through with Adam Marcus' plan of sinking the city, but progress has been slow due to being under siege from the Locust. Using the wilderness trees for cover, Delta continues its flight back to Jacinto while fending off any Reaver that attempts to bring them down. The Hydra commanded by Skorge eventually pops up from the ground near their location, and returns to chasing them. This time however, Delta slowly disables each of its methods of attacking them, and brings down the Hydra. They also manage to finally kill Skorge in the process.
Some time after, Delta Squad makes it back to Jacinto where they see that it's currently under heavy siege from the Locust trying to keep humanity from sinking the city before them. They head over to COG's command building, which they radio ahead not to shoot them since they're coming in aboard 2 Reavers. Delta lands at the command building dock, and make their way in where Anya, Colonel Hoffman and Chairman Prescott are finalizing the evacuations and their plan to sink Jacinto. However, the Locust manage to breach the courtyard outside the command building, which forces Delta, as well as Hoffman, back out to battle.
Chapter 2: Desperate Stand
Delta Squad along with Hoffman exit out the command building to battle the invading Locust. They take position along the building's perimeter keeping the helicopter docks clear of the enemy, and then move to the side paths to fight off more invading Locust. Following the battle, Delta gets word that Jacinto's comm towers have come under attack, which Hoffman gives the order to make that their next objective since losing communication amongst the GEARs would be disastrous. They make their way over to the Comm-Sat Array, and protect it from the incoming Reaver attacks. Once the array is secured, Delta Squad heads over to command's main gate, and defend it before it gets breached by a Locust attack led by 2 Brumaks.With the attacks on COG command stalled for the time being, Delta returns inside to hear the plan from Anya and Prescott to sink Jacinto, which Prescott explains that they've located a specific tunnel in the Locust Hollow that they can blow up with a Lightmass Bomb to give Jacinto its final push. However, the main problem they're dealing with at the moment is that the sinkhole they're targeting to drop the Lightmass Bomb from a helicopter into is covered by Locust ground forces, such as Seeders and mortar Locust, that can shoot them out of the sky. Knowing their next objective, Marcus orders Baird and Cole Train to remain behind to help prepare the Lightmass Bomb while he and Dom head out to clear the target area.
Chapter 3: Free Parking
Marcus and Dom exit the command building down to the Locust infested streets of Jacinto to begin their journey towards the sinkhole. The two of them fight their way into the nearby archive building, and then clear it out to reach the courtyard on the other side where another large battle against the Locust takes place. From the courtyard, Marcus and Dom reach Cooper Street, and fight the Locust along the road. One part of the road has the two of them split up to cover more ground where one pushes along Cooper Street, and the other covers from the upper floor of a nearby garage structure. Upon reuniting, Marcus and Dom get word from Anya that there's heavy Locust activity the closer they get to the sinkhole. However, they're fortunate enough to have the Hammer of Dawn online for the time being, which Marcus and Dom go about using to help continue their push through the Locust, and eventually make it to the sinkhole.Chapter 4: Tenuous Footing
From the top of the sinkhole, Marcus and Dom work a couple construction cranes to transport them to the tops of buildings inside the sinkhole, and clear the area of its Locust. The two of them fight their way down deeper into the sinkhole, which Anya informs them that the Lightmass Bomb is ready, and is now being flown towards the sinkhole. About halfway down, Marcus and Dom attempt to make a bridge to the next building by knocking down a chain link tower. Upon traveling across it, the tower ends up falling, which turned out to be a good thing since it got the two of them down to the bottom of the sinkhole faster.Now at the bottom of the sinkhole, Marcus and Dom fight the Locust into a nearby building. However, said building ends up taking the rocket barrage of an incoming Brumak, which causes the building to fall with Marcus and Dom still inside. The two of them work their way out of the destroyed building using the remnants of an elevator car, and manage to get around the Brumak to kill its pilot. Instead of killing the Brumak, Marcus suggest that they should ride it since it would speed up heading towards their current goal. Dom goes along with it as the two of them hop into the Brumak's cockpit and start moving.
Chapter 5: Closure
Marcus and Dom make their way into the sinkhole's tunnel while informing COG that they've hijacked a Brumak to clear out the Locust faster. Their Brumak makes its way down the tunnel killing any Locust they come across, destroys any large gate it comes across, and disposes of a large Corpser in a giant monster duel. While taking out more Locust, the Brumak eventually comes across a Torture Barge, which the Brumak kills by forcing it to drop into a pool of Imulsion.Shortly after, Marcus and Dom's Brumak arrives at a large underground Imulsion cavern beneath Jacinto where 3 rock columns are supporting the ceiling. They go around the cavern using the Brumak to destroy each of the columns in order to make a big enough hole in the ceiling for the Lightmass Bomb to be dropped down into. The Locust attempt to attack the Brumak, but are held off long enough for the Brumak to open the hole. Marcus sends word to COG that the target area is now clear for the drop, but their Brumak ends up getting stuck in the cavern's Imulsion pool, and begins to go Lambent. Two helicopters arrive through the ceiling hole: one carrying the Lightmass Bomb, and the other being piloted by Baird to pick up Marcus and Dom. Despite the successful pick-up, the unstable Brumak ends up getting a hit on the helicopter carrying the Lightmass Bomb, which results in the bomb dropping into the Imulsion pool.
From their helicopter, Delta Squad watches as the Brumak they were riding transforms into a large Lambent creature. Delta is forced to quickly come up with another way to make a huge explosion since they lost the Lightmass Bomb, which Marcus realizes that they can just kill the transformed Brumak since the Lambent are known to give off explosions upon death. Facing off against the Lambent Brumak, Delta's helicopter flies around the cavern dodging the monster's attacks while they use the Hammer of Dawn to strike down upon it several times through the ceiling hole until it's forced to explode.
Delta Squad retreats out of the cavern moments before the Lambent explosion, which Marcus calls ahead to COG for everyone else to escape. The explosion goes off, and from afar, Delta along with the rest of COG watches as the city of Jacinto begins to sink into the ground. The rock dams surrounding Jacinto begin to fall as well, which results in the surrounding seawater to funnel into the newly created Jacinto sinkhole, and floods into the Locust Hollow; killing all the Locust that are still underground. Having completed their objective, Delta Squad and the rest of COG begin flying away from Jacinto towards an unknown location. Marcus is left worried about Anya, but eventually sees that she made it aboard a different helicopter with Cole Train.
As the COG retreats from Jacinto, the Locust queen is heard providing a final speech that mostly amounts to her claiming that even though everything she held dear had just been washed away, life will continue on forging new legacies that don't always go the way one intends. Meanwhile, a broken transmission is heard getting through somewhere revealing that Adam Fenix is still alive. Adam asks if anyone on the other end can hear him, and then asks those listening what have they done.
Setting
2 years have passed since the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) sunk humanity's last stronghold of Jacinto where they created a sinkhole using a giant Lambent explosion that flooded out the Locust Hollow. Due to the loss of their final safe haven, humanity has been reduced to refugees, and the remnants of COG relocated to Vectes; a secluded island where they began to rebuild human civilization. The war with the Locust was believed to be over, but Chairman Prescott had seemingly abandoned humanity after mysteriously disappearing 18 months ago. In addition, humanity is now faced with the Lambent as their new enemy suddenly popping up from the ground on Lambent Stalk vines, and attacks what's left of the dwindling human numbers. After the Lambent invades Vectes, the remaining humans are forced to either return to the mainland where they fight to survive under Colonel Hoffman, or they survive at sea aboard COG's naval warships.Act I
Prologue: Troubled Past
After the Lambent had overrun Vectes, Marcus and his comrades chose to take refuge at sea aboard one of COG's helicopter carriers, the CNV Sovereign. Marcus remains in his room trying to get some sleep, but ends up having a dream. Within said dream, Marcus remains locked in a room as if he's still a war prisoner, but is let out by Anya, who provides him his GEAR supplies. Anya leads him to the doorway out, and informs Marcus that his father needs him, which causes him to Flashback to the memory of when he was trying to save his father from the Locust in Ephyra.Within the memory, Marcus attempts to convince his father to go with him, but despite currently being overrun by Locust, Adam refuses to go until he's able to save his research from the building. While Adam heads back in to grab the research, Marcus and Dom hold the line at the front entrance stairwell for as long as they can. The fight goes on as the dreaming Marcus monologues to himself that just like how his father was dedicated to saving his research, Marcus was dedicated to saving his father to the point of disobeying orders, and isn't surprised that the COG threw him in prison for costing them the battle in Ephyra. A helicopter appears to help evacuate Marcus, Dom and Adam, but the Locust end up hitting it, which causes the helicopter to slam into the building. The last thing Marcus sees before waking up is the building's rubble falling upon Adam.
Chapter 1: Anchored
After waking up, an announcement over the Sovereign ship's loudspeaker orders Marcus, Dom, and Jace Stratton to report to the Combat Information Center (CIC). Marcus walks over to pick up Dom, who's been in charge of taking care of the ship's plants for growing radishes when GEARs aren't out picking up food for them from the mainland. The two of them walk together to a vending machine where they find Jace trying to pound out the last candy bar. While walking to CIC, the Sovereign's Captain Quentin Michaelson puts the ship on high alert since they're now entering Lambent controlled waters.The 3 of them arrive at the ship's CIC room where a much different looking Anya is seen waiting for them. Due to humanity's diminishing numbers, Anya had left her previous job as the one handling mission control, and is now buffed up to wear GEAR armor and support Marcus and his comrades on the front lines. Anya informs them that the reason they've been called upon is because the long missing Chairman Prescott has returned, and is soon to be arriving to the Sovereign by helicopter. Before Marcus and company could head off to the helicopter pad to greet their deserter Chairman, the Lambent begin attacking the carrier. Anya joins their group as the new Delta Squad fights their way up to the deck of the Sovereign where Lambent Stalks pop up from the sea, and drop the basic Lambent Polyps and Lambent Drones off on the ship. They defeat the Lambent, and then raise up the deck's helicopter pad so that Prescott's copter can land.
Prescott hops out of the helicopter as if nothing happened during the time that he abandoned everyone. He seeks to speak with Hoffman, but is informed by Anya that the Colonel has been away helping civilians on the mainland at Anvil Gate. Prescott instead decides to tell what he discovered to Captain Michaelson, and also provides Marcus with a recording device, which he advises to Marcus that he should see what's on it. After Prescott heads off to meet with Michaelson, new Lambent Stalks pop up from the water to drop more Lambent onto the ship deck. Delta Squad fights their way back to the CIC room to check what's on the device, which turns out to be a video recording from Marcus' father pleading to his son for help. Adam tries to explain that he's developed a solution for the Lambent problem, and that the Locust have been keeping him prisoner to try to use his solution to also kill humans. The recording then cuts off the moment Adam tries to explain that there's something that the Locust still doesn't know about his solution.
Due to how old Adam looks in the recording, Marcus and Dom are quick to realize that it's not an old video, and must mean that he's actually alive in the current day somewhere. Adam's recording starts up again continuing where he left off where he explains that the Locust don't actually realize that his solution isn't meant to save the Locust. What it's actually for is to rid the planet of its infection because the planet of Sera is actually dying from its own Imulsion. Adam tries to explain further that he wanted to contact Marcus about this for years, but the recording cuts off again before being able to explain why he couldn't. Shortly after, more Lambent Stalks pop up, which forces Delta Squad back out to the deck for battle.
Back to fighting the Lambent on the ship deck, Prescott sends out a distress call that the captain's cabin is being attacked, and requires immediate back-up due to Captain Michaelson being heavily wounded. Delta Squad fights their way through the Lambent towards the captain's cabin, and use fire extinguishers to clear away the fires that have erupted below deck. They eventually make it to the cabin only to find that Michaelson didn't make it. Prescott gives the order for Delta Squad to get over to the hanger before the Lambent reaches its helicopters, but Marcus orders the Chairman to stay put seeing that Prescott has also been wounded. Prescott agrees to stay put in the cabin, which Anya assures him that she will provide him first aid once she returns. Marcus also adds that he will be having a nice long chat with the Chairman once the battle is over.
Chapter 2: Abandon Ship
Delta Squad exits the captain's cabin and begin making their way towards the helicopter hanger. Marcus radios ahead ordering any pilots left to take off, which one replies back that while his helicopter is intact, he requires help taking off. Delta fights their way through the Lambent to reach the helicopter hanger where 2 copters still need help taking off. They get the first one out after Delta fights their way to the lift control room to send the copter up to the deck. They next fight their way over to the 2nd copter, but the Sovereign suddenly gets attacked by a Lambent Leviathan, which ends up destroying the 2nd helicopter with one of its tentacles.Delta fights off more Lambent to reach the destroyed copter's lift control room where they get on the lift themselves to ride it up to the deck. Due to the Leviathan's attack, an announcement is given for the crew to evacuate the Sovereign. Delta Squad fights off the Lambent on the deck, and makes their way over to each irrigation valve to control the fires that have erupted around the ship. But before they could reach the last valve, the Leviathan attacks again making a crack in the deck. Delta Squad ends up falling in down to the ship's engineering area. As Delta makes their way through engineering, Cole Train radios to them claiming that he's witnessing the Lambent Leviathan attack the Sovereign from the bridge above them. In return, Marcus orders him and Baird to come up with a plan on their end to dispose of the Leviathan.
Delta Squad pushes through the Lambent attacking them in engineering as the Leviathan continues to destroy the ship. They make it out to the maintenance bay of the ship's deck where Marcus and Dom mount up on 2 Silverback mech-suits that were in storage. Using the Silverbacks, Delta takes on the Lambent Leviathan by shooting its eyes whenever it comes in to bite the ship and drop off more Lambent creatures. They're also radioed by Cole Train again to lure the Leviathan directly under the bridge so that the squad on the bridge can give it a headache. Delta pushes the Leviathan back until it's directly underneath the bridge where Cole Train's team is stationed to attack from above. Baird's plan turns out to be to drop a box of Locust Tickers down upon the Leviathan, which successfully kills it. Delta Squad are then forced to jump ship before being killed by the dead Lambent Leviathan's explosion that finishes off the Sovereign.
Chapter 3: Homecoming
One hour earlier, Cole Train and Baird are seen in a helicopter with two new squad mates, Samantha Byrne and Clayton Carmine. The former of which appears to be hitting it off with Baird, and the latter being the buff older brother to his two younger Carmine brothers that died in the previous games. The squad is currently en route to the city of Hanover, which also happens to be Cole Train's hometown, in order to search for supplies to restock the Sovereign. Shortly after, Team Cole Train are dropped off at the entrance to Hanover with their main objective being to search for any surviving Stranded.The squad comes across one of the remaining Stranded outposts, but the man at the door refuses to let them in since it's made clear that he doesn't like COG. The Stranded hints to them that there may be other camps at the warehouse or stadium that will be willing to let them in, but they will have to fight through the Lambent first. He then opens up a nearby gate to the next area of Hanover, which the squad goes through. Cole Train mentions of a nearby grocery store they could check, but as they move across a playground area towards it, the Lambent Stalks appear out of the ground to attack. Team Cole Train battle it out against the Lambent which are now using powerful Drudges, a more elite version of the Lambent Drones. The battle also shows that one needs to destroy the Stalk's pod holes to stop the Lambent from reinforcing.
After fighting their way through the parking lot, the squad enters the grocery store where Cole Train comes across a cardboard cutout of himself when he was a Thrashball defensive lineman for the Hanover Cougars. Lambent Stalks begin popping up into the store, which forces Team Cole Train to fight their way through more Lambent while checking around for supplies. They come across a Loader mech that can help them move large objects out of their path. The squad makes it to a large crate of usable food supplies at the end of the grocery store, which they use the Loader to carry it. They next radio to the helicopter that they've located some supplies, but the pilot informs them that they first need to clear a landing area of the Lambent so that the food crate can be picked up. Exiting the grocery store, Team Cole Train fights through more of the Lambent towards the helicopter's green smoke flare on the ground acting as the pick-up zone. The squad drops the crate at the smoke flare, which is then strapped to the copter for transport. The helicopter offers to provide air support as the squad retreats from the area.
Chapter 4: Helping Hand
Team Cole Train next sets their sights on the warehouse and stadium locations that were mentioned by the Stranded. They come across the Stranded's outpost at the warehouse under siege from the Lambent using large and mortar firing Gunkers, and help clear the area out. Once the Lambent are dealt with, the squad approaches the Stranded's warehouse entrance. A Stranded accidentally takes a shot at Carmine's helmet thinking they're Lambent before realizing that they're being approached by humans. The lead Stranded of the outpost greets them, and proves to be a Thrashball fan since she's happy to see Cole Train return home. She let's Cole Train's squad into the outpost while offering to provide them whatever supplies they can spare.The squad follows the Stranded leader through the outpost where they see that many of the survivors are Cole Train's old Thrashball fans. The leader mentions that while the supplies isn't food, they have a lot of ammo to spare. Team Cole Train are provided a cart full of ammo boxes, which they radio ahead to their helicopter for pick-up. In return, the pilot warns the squad that he can see potshots going on at the bridge that the Sovereign is going to pass under. Departing the warehouse, Team Cole Train next sets their sights for the Cougar Stadium. The squad fights through the Lambent towards the stadium while also worrying about what to do regarding possible gun-happy Stranded being idiots at the bridge. They arrive at the entrance to the stadium, but are forced to hold off a Lambent attack that pops up behind them on Stalks. After the battle, Samantha breaks the lock on the entrance door, which the squad then makes their way into the stadium.
Chapter 5: MVP
Team Cole Train makes their way through the stadium towards the Stranded outpost that was previously mentioned to them. At the stairwell entrance into the main part of the stadium, the Stranded have set up their outpost right in front of the main statue that depicts Thrashball Cole Train. As fans of Cole Train, the Stranded accept the squad into the outpost, and offer to bring them to their leader for the supplies. However, the Lambent breach into the stadium, which forces Team Cole Train back into combat. The squad splits up to cover more ground with Cole Train pairing up with Carmine, and Baird going with Samantha. One pair takes to the stadium's upper floor while the other covers the ground path.The squad fights their way through the Lambent making their way towards the Stranded leader's stadium location. They eventually come across what was once the Cougar team's locker room where Cole Train finds his locker. Cole Train then reminisces back to the time when he was a Thrashball player. He pretends to pick up his game helmet, and heads off onto the field as if he's about to play a game. Reliving his Thrashball days, Cole Train takes on a Lambent Stalk that popped up onto the field. He runs across the field evading any Lambent he comes across, picks up a bomb as if it's a football, and charges toward the Stalk to blow it up with the bomb. After the battle, Team Cole Train gets word from the Sovereign that the ship is now under attack, and is requesting immediate support.
The squad locates the Stranded leader, who blames Team Cole Train for leading the Lambent to them. With more Lambent Stalks popping up in the stadium, the Stranded leader begins evacuating her followers, and informs the squad that they're on their own. Cole Train makes it their next objective to get to the bridge knowing that the Sovereign is going to be passing underneath it soon. He asks the Stranded leader if the zip line down to the bridge is still working, which she's nice enough to inform them that it is. In order to escape the Lambent, Team Cole Train heads over to the stadium's elevator. They ride it up to the roof while fighting off any Lambent that tries to attack them.
Chapter 6: Hanging by a Thread
Team Cole Train exits the elevator onto the roof of the stadium, which they then jump onto the zip lines before being overtaken by the Lambent. The squad uses their pistols to fire at the Lambent while zip lining to the Centennial Bridge, and upon landing on said bridge, they clear the surrounding area of the Lambent. Being out of range to communicate with the Sovereign, Cole Train figures that they need to get closer to the center of the bridge for better reception.The squad makes their way to the bridge's Stranded outpost, but are quick to realize that it's been taken over by some of what's left of the Locust after they were forced to the surface when their underground Hollow got flooded out. They fight through the Locust blocking the entrance, which Baird notes that unlike when they were organized underground, the Locust appear to have started to become more savage. Team Cole Train fights their way through the Locust infested outpost to exit out the other side, but they reach a point where the main road is blocked off, and are forced to take a maintenance path beneath the bridge.
In the maintenance path, the squad splits up to move along a lower deck tunnel that's overlooked by a catwalk. Cole Train pairs up with Samantha while Baird and Carmine take the other route. The two pairs fight through the Locust along the maintenance path, and are now able to spot the heavily damaged Sovereign beneath them being attacked by the Lambent Leviathan. Once they meet up again, Cole Train tries to radio to the Sovereign, and gets through to Marcus this time around. Just like on Delta's side of the story, Marcus orders Cole Train's group to kill the Leviathan on their end, and get Baird to come up with a plan. Baird figures that since the Locust tried to take over the bridge, they must have left something behind for them to use.
Team Cole Train fights their way through the next area of Centennial Bridge that's infested with Tickers, which excites Baird knowing that they've already found their answer. The squad than charges toward the destroyed end section of the bridge to kill the Locust that are trying to drop mortar fire down upon them. They're then attacked by a new flying Locust enemy known as a Gas Barge that they dispose of using the mortar guns off the Locust they just killed. Team Cole Train searches around the bridge for unused Tickers while evading the tentacles of the Leviathan, and killing any more Locust they come across. They eventually locate a box full of unused Tickers, which Cole Train radios ahead for Marcus to lure the Leviathan towards the bridge. The squad clears out the last of the bridge Locust, which all 4 of them then push the Ticker box over so that the Tickers all fall off the bridge to blow up on the Leviathan's head. As the Leviathan dies, its tentacles end up destroying the section of the bridge that Team Cole Train is on, which causes them all to fall into the water at the same time that Delta Squad was abandoning the Sovereign.
Act II
Chapter 1: Shipwreck
Making their way out of the water, Team Cole Train reach land along the Hanover Coast. They try contacting Delta Squad, but receive no answer. The squad also spot a Locust army heading towards the Sovereign's wreckage, which gets Team Cole Train moving to catch up to the Locust. They come across untamed Tickers not controlled by the Locust, but eats ammunition if it happened to be lying on the ground. The squad than fights through the Locust along the path until they reach the Sovereign's crash site where they find Marcus and Dom having washed ashore, but are unconscious.After Marcus and Dom are woken up, the former radios to Anya for her location, which she informs him that while she's still with Jace near the destroyed ship, they're having trouble applying first aid to Prescott. Anya also informs them of other wounded soldiers trying to make it to shore in lifeboats, which has Samantha and Carmine sent off to help them out. Leaving just Marcus, Dom, Baird and Cole Train, the reunited Delta Squad gets ready to take on an army of Locust that are blocking their path back to Anya and Jace. Delta Squad fights their way off the coast towards a new Locust Catapult contraption that the enemy is using to rain fire down upon the Sovereign's survivors. The squad kills the Locust crew controlling one of the catapults, and then use the enemy's own siege weapon to kill the other catapults, as well as an incoming Brumak.
After clearing out the Locust's siege weapons, Delta Squad makes their way down to Anya and Jace's coastal area, and clear out the Locust attacking them. Anya remains at a table nearby trying to apply first aid to Prescott, but his injuries are too great at this point. In his last moments, the Chairman is asked by Marcus where his father is at, which Prescott answers that Adam's been captured by Queen Myrrah, and has been forced to work for days at a research facility called Azura. Marcus asks where Azura is, which Prescott hands over an encrypted device that can provide him the answer. Prescott leaves off claiming that the old man is going to be furious, and then finally succumbs to his wounds.
Following Prescott's death, Anya figures that their best bet is to use a data reader to check Marcus' recording of Adam Fenix again. Dom then asks who the old man is that Prescott mentioned at the end, which Baird answers that it's Hoffman since the Colonel had actually stolen one of Prescott's secret data disks at one point on Vectes, and hoped that Baird could go about decoding it. In the end, Baird still couldn't crack into the disk after months of work. Baird figures that the encrypted device is the key that will unlock the data on the disk Hoffman stole, and as a result, it should reveal the information on Azura. Delta Squad pieces it together that their current goal is to meet up with Hoffman to use the encrypted device on the disk the Colonel stole, but Anya reminds them that it will be a long journey since Hoffman is currently far away at Anvil Gate. Shorly after, their location gets attacked by another army of Locust.
Delta Squad fights off the Locust until the arrival of a Brumak. The squad takes on the Brumak on foot, and manages to defeat it after disabling its arm cannons, and then making the cannon on its back explode. After the battle, Samantha and Carmine reunite with the group, and Baird sets up a data reader to restore a bit more of the broken Adam recording. Most of what they hear on it is the same thing with the exception that it turned out that it was actually Chairman Prescott who abducted Adam, and sent him off to Azura, which causes Marcus to break the data reader out of anger. Getting back to their objective to see Hoffman, Marcus asks Samantha about Anvil Gate knowing that she's from there, which she answers that the quickest route is across the Deadlands. She provides directions for Marcus as he heads off with Dom, Baird and Cole Train. Meanwhile, Anya, Samantha, Jace, and Carmine stay behind to continue the Sovereign salvage operation, and will catch up when they get the situation under control.
Chapter 2: House of Sand
Delta Squad enters into the Seran Deadlands where they come across the remnants of the Gas Barge that Team Cole Train shot down earlier. This gives them an idea to locate a working barge in order to get to Anvil Gate quicker. They spot a Gas Barge flying in the distance, and begin to chase after it. Baird takes a moment to grab the destroyed barge's navigation system controller before catching up to them. Moving across the barren Deadlands to reach the Gas Barge, Delta Squad runs into a Corpser that tries to attack them from underground. Delta Squad then fights their way through Locust encampments that have been set up along the main path. One of the Locusts sounds the alarm to call for reinforcements, but Delta defeats them as well.Chapter 3: Forced Entry
After bypassing the encampments, Delta Squad spots the Gas Barge making its way towards a newly constructed Locust Hive stronghold that was built on the surface after the Hollow got flooded out. Delta rushes their way in killing any Locust guard they come across to keep them from sounding the alarm. They make their way up to the stronghold's main gate, but due to it being locked, Delta is forced to take the alternate path into the base through a side entrance. Delta Squad enters into an outer trench area of the stronghold where they fight through many Locust to reach the next area of the trenches.Chapter 4: Trench Run
Entering into another part of the stronghold's trenches, a Gas Barge appears above Delta Squad, and begins raining rockets down upon them. Delta charges their way through the trenches using any piece of roof they can find as cover whenever the barge drops its rockets. The barge eventually retreats as Delta Squad makes its way out of the trenches. They then spot the docking tower for the Gas Barges in the distance, and begin making their way towards it. Delta Squad fights through more Locust into a trench area that the latter have been using to assemble their Ticker mines. They use the Locusts own Tickers against them to make their way through the trench to the next area. However, a Locust shuts the gate behind them, which locks Delta Squad in their current room with another underground attacking Corpser.After defeating the Corpser, one of the nearby locked doors opens with Locust coming through to try to finish off Delta. They defeat the Locust, and then climb up a ladder into the nesting ground of the Mother Corpser. Delta Squad fights off the baby Corpsers that hatch out of the eggs until the Mother Corpser finally appears. With no way to legitimately kill such a massive creature, Delta's only hope is to blind it by taking out the Mother Corpser's four eyes. The Mother Corpser attempts to call for reinforcements each time Delta Squad manages to take out one of her eyes, but they successfully hold off each wave until the Mother Corpser is left fully blinded. In a blind rage, the Mother Corpser charges around the room trying to run over Delta Squad, but slamming into the rock walls causes the nesting area to start to fall apart. A hole in the rock wall opens up to allow for Delta to escape, and a large rock ends up falling from the ceiling upon the Mother Corpser, which finally kills it.
Delta Squad makes it to an elevator lift that brings them out to a surface part of the stronghold closer to the docking tower. Here, they're met by Queen Myrrah riding atop her Locust Tempest mount, and isn't pleased to see Marcus and company again. Before retreating, she orders the surrounding Locust to ready their surrounding outposts to keep Delta Squad from reaching Azura.
Chapter 5: Hijack
After Queen Myrrah retreats, Delta Squad fights through Locust along the stronghold's cliff towards the Gas Barge docking tower. Upon reaching the tower, they ride an elevator lift up to the top where they battle it out against Locust being dropped off from a barge that circles around the dock trying to shoot rockets at them. The Gas Barge then lands at the dock so that its remaining Locust could join the fight. Delta defeats them as well, which they then board the barge afterwards. Baird hijacks the Gas Barge using the navigation system controller he grabbed earlier, and programs it to take them to Anvil Gate. The Gas Barge begins its flight towards Anvil Gate as Marcus and Dom discuss that they're obviously going to have to get through Queen Myrrah to reach Adam Fenix.Chapter 6: Airborne
Some time after, Delta Squad are still aboard their Gas Barge having left the Deadlands, and are now flying over the Anvegad Plains towards Anvil Gate. They come across a COG outpost being attacked by 2 Gas Barges where Delta receives a distress call from Dizzy for pick-up. After Delta Squad disposes of the two Gas Barges, they dock at the outpost to reunite with Dizzy while Baird removes the navigation system controller to keep their Gas Barge from leaving.Delta clears out the outpost of the remaining Locust attacking Dizzy, which Marcus asks him about Hoffman's location. Dizzy answers that Hoffman is still holding down Anvil Gate while the former's just been running the trade routes for the nearby COG camps. Baird then asks if Hoffman still has the data disk that the Colonel stole, which Dizzy answers that he still does. Afterwards, Dizzy shows Delta to the outpost's resupply room where they stock up on ammo, and acquire a locator for the Hammer of Dawn. Upon restocking, the outpost comes under attack from more Locust led by multiple Reavers, which Delta Squad and Dizzy fight through to make it back to their Gas Barge. The Gas Barge then returns to flying towards Anvil Gate after Baird reapplies the navigation system controller.
Chapter 7: Touchdown
During their flight towards Anvil Gate, Delta Squad and Dizzy's Gas Barge come under fire from 2 other Gas Barges as well as Locust Reavers. They defeat the enemy Gas Barges and Reavers as they get close to Avil Gate, but Marcus just gets static when he tries to radio ahead. Queen Myrrah mounted up on her Tempest arrives soon after, and attempts to shoot down their Gas Barge. Delta Squad attempts to fight her off, but the damage to the Gas Barge is too great, and causes them to crash to the ground. Before the Locust could catch up to them, they're found by a COG exploration team being led by Hoffman. The Colonel asks why Delta Squad is here, which Marcus replies that he will tell Hoffman everything once they get away from the incoming Locust attack. Hoffman agrees to go along with it as he orders his forces to begin their retreat, and warn Anvil Gate that the Locust are inbound.Act III
Chapter 1: Unbreakable
Delta Squad rides along with Hoffman's exploration team in transportation vehicles back to Anvil Gate. Along the way, Marcus brings the Colonel up to speed explaining how Prescott abducted Adam Fenix, sent him off to Azura, and provided Marcus with an encryption device just before the Chairman died that will unlock information on Azura on the data disk that Hoffman stole. As they arrive at the COG Fortress of Anvil Gate, Hoffman admits that for the first time, he's at a loss for words at learning about these revelations. Anvil Gate then comes under attack by the Locust, which forces Delta Squad and Hoffman's forces to head off and defend the fort's main gate.COG's forces hold off the Locust siege on the main gate until a point where the enemy is able to breach it into Anvil Gate's courtyard. Delta Squad and company fall back to the fort's second gate where they face off against the Locust invading the courtyard. However, a large group of Locust Boomers arrive that breach the second gate. Delta Squad and company fall back again to the fort's third gate, and continue to hold off the Locust until said gate is breached as well. They Hold the Line for as long as they can at the destroyed third gate until Hoffman's second-in-command, Bernadette Mataki (Bernie for short), radios to everyone that they're going to be using their "last resort." Dom asks what they mean by that, which Hoffman answers that they've set up a reserve fuel tank in the courtyard that they will blow up on the Locust. Delta Squad attacks the fuel tank to make it blow up, which stops the Locust from attacking Anvil Gate for the time being. Marcus then calls out to Hoffman that now's the time to talk about the stolen data disk.
Chapter 2: Rescue
During their chat, Marcus puts Hoffman up to speed that Adam Fenix invented something that will neutralize the Lambent, but they need to find out where Azura is first. In addition to repairing the damaged Hammer of Dawn that they have stored at Anvil Gate, Baird is provided the data disk from Hoffman to get to work on decrypting it with Prescott's device as Bernie arrives soon after. Bernie informs the group that she heard through radio transmissions that Anya and Samantha are pinned down along Anvil Gate's perimeter. With Baird remaining behind, Bernie joins Delta Squad with Marcus, Dom, and Cole Train to perform the rescue mission. Hoffman provides them with a truck, which Marcus and Cole Train split up from Dom and Bernie so that one pair rides the truck to pick up Anya and Samantha while the other pair covers them from the fort's walls.As the truck starts moving, Marcus radios ahead to Anya that they're coming to pick her squad up. In return, Anya informs him that Jace and Carmine aren't with them, but are headed for Anvil Gate their own way. Delta Squad fights their way towards where Anya and Samantha are pinned down by Locust, but their truck crashes at the sight, which forces them to fight their way back to Anvil Gate on foot. They battle it out against Locust Diggers, but Lambent Stalks begin to pop up at their location, which forces Delta to fight off the Lambent as well. A Lambent Zerker (Locust Berserker) appears along the way back, but Baird finishes the repairs on the Hammer of Dawn shortly after.
Delta Squad makes it back into Anvil Gate with Anya and Samantha, and the fort's gate closes with the Zerker still outside. Baird then uses the Hammer of Dawn to kill the Zerker that got locked out, but it survives, and jumps over the gate to continue the chase. Delta is then forced to face off against the Zerker, but unlike a normal Berserker, they see that the Lambent Zerker has a weak Imulsion spot in its chest area. They go about evading the Zerker's charges, and then fire at its chest whenever they're able to do so. Delta deals enough damage to eventually kill the Zerker, which they then make their way back into Anvil Gate to find out what Baird discovered on the decrypted data disk.
Inside the fort, Baird shows off a hologram of the Azura data he found on the disk. They discover that Azura is actually an island that Prescott has managed to hide from the eyes of the outside using a "Maelstrom Barrier." Baird checks the data about the barrier, which results in the hologram showing off an artificially crafted hurricane circling around Azura. Due to the hurricane, Baird suggest that their only way to safely travel to Azura is by going underwater, which Hoffman informs them of an old submarine docked at the Endeavor Naval Shipyard that they could use. Baird points out the problems of trying to get an old sub running, but Dizzy enters the conversation claiming that as an ex-navy member, he can ride or fix just about any vehicle as long as they locate some fuel. Knowing of some Imulsion pumping stations where they can pick up some fuel, Dom suggests that they go to Char, as well as Maria's hometown of Mercy. Sam asks if Dom is ok with this given Maria's tragic end, but Dom claims that it needs to be done given that they need the fuel.
Chapter 3: Breakneck Run
Some time after outside Anvil Gate, the COG have prepared a large Imulsion fuel truck for when they reach Mercy's pumping station. Hoffman and Bernie stay behind to watch over Anvil Gate while Baird and Cole Train head off to gather reinforcements for when the time comes to invade Azura. Meanwhile, Anya, Samantha and Jace join back in with Marcus and Dom on Delta Squad to support their current objective. The 5 of them board up on 2 jeeps to escort their fuel truck being driven by Dizzy as they head off down the highway towards Mercy.Along the highway, Delta Squad tries to drive along safely due to an Imulsion field affecting the roads. However, they come under attack from Locust Reavers, which forces them to speed up through the Imulsion while fighting off the enemy. They're forced off road when they reach the destroyed end of the highway they're driving on, but are able to make it to another highway road after breaking through several Imulsion pipelines. Delta Squad next drives along the highway through a destroyed city that's infested with baby Corpsers. They come across another Mother Corpser, but are quickly able to blind it this time around thanks to their vehicle's weapons. Delta Squad makes it to the city's airbase, which Dom states that it's a straight shot to Mercy once they pass through it. They escort Dizzy's fuel truck through the airbase, but their jeeps get stuck part way through. Delta fights off a Locust ambush before they could move on to the next part of the airbase where they're confronted by a Brumak. The 2 jeeps end up driving through barbed wire as they get closer to the Brumak, but thanks to the wire getting stuck between said jeeps, Delta uses ramps to perform a vehicle jump where they use the barbed wire to cut off the Brumak's head. Delta Squad then makes their way out of the airport to continue their drive towards Mercy.
Hours later, Delta Squad arrives at Mercy with their fuel tanker still intact. However, they find it odd that the fuel station appears to have been deserted despite the place being active just a few months ago. Marcus gives the order to watch out for Locust given that something may have happened that caused the people of Mercy to desert. Dizzy then points out that someone shut off the station's main pump, which Dom suggests that they should follow the pipeline to find the fuel controls. As a result, Jace and Dizzy are ordered to watch over the fuel tanker while Marcus, Dom, Anya, and Samantha head off to investigate Mercy.
Chapter 4: Ghost Town
Delta Squad begins investigating around Mercy while Dom reminisces about his last visit to Maria's home 15 years ago. They locate the town's Imulsion pipeline, but come across a bomb being rigged to explode on it. They disable the bomb, but come across more further down the pipe, which Delta realizes that they're dealing with sabotage. They're eventually shot at by a leftover Stranded ordering them not to disable his charges so that he can keep "it" from spreading. Dom asks if there's some sort of epidemic going on in Mercy, but the old man runs off complaining that he's not going to burn up with a fever screaming, fighting, and turning crazy like the rest of them. Delta chases after the old man while also sticking close to the pipeline to reach its controls. The pipeline leads Delta Squad down into Mercy's sewers where they find the corpse of the old man that ran from them, but don't come across the thing that killed him.Due to the close quarters, Marcus and Anya split up from Dom and Samantha so that the two pairs can move easier while exploring the town's sewer network. They come across a lone woman they believe to be hiding in the sewers, but when said women turns to face them, Delta Squad realizes right away that the Lambent virus is now affecting humans (as a result of Rustlung), and are turning into Lambent known as Formers. The Lambent woman along with many other Formers attack Delta Squad, who are forced to fight through the sewers against Mercy's former humans to reach a ladder that leads them back up to the streets. After coming out of the sewer, Delta Squad makes their way over to Mercy's town hall where they see that another Stranded is still alive. Marcus also realizes that their mission to reach his father has become a lot more serious now that all of humanity is at risk of becoming Lambent. Due to the front gate being locked, they Hold the Line against the swarm of Formers charging towards them. The Stranded then drops a ladder down to Delta Squad after the Formers are dealt with so that they can climb up to safety within the town hall's 2nd floor.
Chapter 5: Brothers to the End
Within the town hall, the Stranded leads Delta Squad over to another Stranded who's feeling the effects of the Lambent virus. Before they could properly check him however, the Formers begin breaking into the building, and kill the two Stranded. Delta Squad fights their way through the Formers out of the town hall pushing their way towards the fuel pump controls. They get back out to Mercy's streets, and follow along the pipeline again while fighting off more Formers. They eventually come across the controls for the fuel pump near Mercy's church, but Dom makes a quick detour to the nearby house of Flores, which was Maria's former home before marrying Dom. He walks up to the statue in the courtyard of the Flores household, and kneels before it. He apologizes to Maria for being unable to bring her home, and that he will see her and the rest of the family one day. However, he still needs to be with Marcus to help save the world before he could do so. Before returning to Delta Squad, Dom hangs his COG Tag around the neck of the statue.Dom reunites with Delta Squad at the fuel pump controls where he provides Marcus with a knife for leverage, and helps pull the switches to turn the fuel pump on. The Imulsion fuel begins making its way through the pipe to Dizzy's end at the fuel station, but the barricaded door of the nearby church bursts open letting out the Formers that were trapped inside. Delta Squad faces off against the Formers to protect the fuel pump's control while it pumps Imulsion fuel over to Dizzy. Once the Formers are dealt with, Delta Squad uses Dom's advice to take a shortcut through the Imulsion vaults beneath the church in order to get back to the fuel station at the start. Delta makes their way through the church's underground shortcut, but when Marcus radios ahead asking if the fuel tanker is ready to move, Dizzy provides him the bad news that it isn't going anywhere due to too many holes leaking fuel. In return, Marcus gives the order for Dizzy and Jace to just meet them at the pick-up spot to escape on a vehicle.
After riding an elevator lift out of the church's Imulsion vault, Delta Squad exits out back to the surface close to the fuel station where Dizzy yells to them that they're ready to go. However, the Locust appear out of a nearby tunnel, and begin attacking them. While holding off the Locust, the Lambent Formers start coming up from behind Delta as well; leaving them sandwiched between 2 enemies. The Lambent Stalks then begin to pop up from the ground, and drop in more Lambent forces for Delta Squad to fight. More and more Stalks pop up around Delta, which leaves them trapped and surrounded by the Lambent. Knowing there's no way for them to escape, Dom makes his way over to a transportation vehicle, and drives it down a long tunnel. He orders the rest of Delta Squad to jump away when he gives the signal. Dom then drives it back down the long tunnel at full speed, and honks his horn in the final seconds for Delta Squad to start running. Marcus is left calling out to Dom not to do it as he watches his long time friend ram his vehicle into the fuel tanker, which causes a massive explosion that destroys all the Stalks and Lambent, but also results in Dom's death. After the explosion, a shaken Marcus tries to go back in to get Dom out, but Anya pulls him back stating that it will be ok, and that his father still needs him.
Act IV
Chapter 1: Ashes to Ashes
Some time after, Delta Squad had driven away from Mercy in a truck. They arrive at the destroyed city of Char as their next destination to try to pick up some Imulsion fuel, but their truck runs out of gas along the city's outskirts. Jace is amazed at how destroyed the place looks, which is because Char was one of the victims that got blasted by the Hammer of Dawn strikes in the early stages of the war against the Locust. Dizzy points out that despite how destroyed the place looks, there are indeed people still living in Char. Marcus also adds that they're out of options outside of investigating Char for fuel, and must head in if they're ever going to get the submarine working. Dizzy is ordered to guard their get-away truck while Marcus, Anya, Samantha and Jace head deeper into Char. In addition, Marcus makes it clear that he's accepted that Dom's dead, but is grateful that he saved their lives, and that they will complete their mission so that his death isn't wasted.Making their way into the streets of Char, Delta Squad comes across the ash statue remains of Char's people that tried to run for their lives when the Hammer strikes came down on the city. Delta pays their respects to those they died as they make their way deeper into the city. They try to contact Dizzy to inform him that they haven't found anyone yet, but the reception gets worse the further they go in. Delta Squad starts to see a live ash-white colored human moving in the distance, but when they try to call out to him, all the white person tries to do is set up "accidents" and traps to slow them down. They chase after the ash-person while evading any trap they come across, even boxes filled with Lambent Polyps. Delta Squad eventually reaches a Stranded outpost that the ash-person was retreating to, but the ash-person's comrades fire upon Delta still under the belief that they're enemies. A Lambent Stalk then appears in front of the outpost, which forces Delta Squad and the ash-people to battle it out against Lambent forces.
Once the battle is over, the ash-person they've been chasing comes out of the outpost down an elevator lift to greet Delta Squad. Marcus threatens the ash-person to not give him another reason to piss him off further, which the ash-person warns Delta Squad that they took a big risk coming to Char since their Stranded boss, Griffin, doesn't want people like COG around. Anya informs him that they're just here to get some fuel, and are willing to just trade for it and leave. The ash-person makes a move on Anya claiming that she has something worth trading, but Marcus threatens him again to just take them to Griffin. The threat scares the ash-person to say nothing more as he just activates the lift to bring Delta Squad up to the Stranded outpost.
As they make their way up, the ash-person calls out Delta Squad pointing out that he, and the others who remain in Char, haven't forgotten what COG pulled with the Hammer strikes. Marcus ignores it, and asks about Griffin, which the ash-person states that he's the chief of Char's Griffin Imulsion Corporation. Once they reach the top of the outpost, the ash-person informs Delta Squad that their last Imulsion shipment went missing, but he will also be heading off to Griffin to introduce Delta to him. Delta Squad follows the ash-person through the outpost over to the door to Griffin's room. The ash-person convinces the doorman that their GEAR visitors are legit after disposing of a Lambent Stalk, and are allowed in to see the chief. Making their way into Griffin's office, the ash-person tries to introduce Delta Squad, but Griffin is instead left upset that COG is here despite hearing that they defeated a Lambent Stalk, and orders the ash-person to leave.
With the ash-person gone, Griffin properly introduces Delta Squad to Griffin Tower, but similar to the ash-person, he calls out COG for what they did to Char, and makes it clear that his base still stands. Anya tries to reason with him that they're just here for fuel, but Griffin wants none of it since they disturbed the graves of his former employees, which were some of the ash statues that they walked by on the streets. Marcus steps in claiming that they understand grieving very well, which causes Griffin to ask if the former recalls what the first rule of business is. Griffin then answers it himself that the rule is simply what's in it for him, and provides Delta Squad an offer that he will hand over some of the Imulsion fuel from the shipment that went missing as long as he gets the rest back. Marcus asks why Griffin hasn't done it himself, which the latter answers that something must have happened at the nearby refinery to cause the shipment to not arrive since the cable-car that carries shipments from the refinery to his Tower hasn't come back. Overall, Griffin is just asking for Delta Squad to head over to his Imulsion refinery, and get things back in order.
Marcus remains unconvinced that things aren't a set-up, which causes Griffin to motion to some of his men in the back. They bring in Dizzy as their hostage after they jumped him while he was stationed at the get-away truck. As a result, Griffin claims that this is insurance to make sure that Delta Squad goes along with his plan. Despite Marcus threatening him, Griffin warns Delta Squad that they got 1 hour to get the job done. Delta then exits the office to begin making their way towards the refinery. They take an elevator lift back down the Tower to a resupply room, and then exit out back onto the ground of Char.
Chapter 2: Crater
Upon exiting Griffin Tower, Delta Squad stands at the cliff of a large crater that is believed to be the area of Char that took the brunt of the Hammer strikes. Jace points out that it must have been hard to press the button, which Anya admits that it was since she was there when it happened. They spot Griffin's Imulsion refinery tower in the distance thanks to the cable-car wires above them going towards it, and begin making their way there along Char's crater.Shortly after, Lambent Stalks begin to pop up along the path, which forces Delta Squad to fight through more Lambent. The Lambent infestation also answers why Griffin is forcing Delta to go check out his refinery since the chief doesn't want to have to fight through the things on foot. They continue to fight the Lambent through destroyed sections of the city until they reach the entrance of the refinery tower where they spot the cable-car still docked on their end. More Lambent Stalks appear blocking the entrance, which Delta Squad goes about disposing of. They then make their way in through the refinery's main gate, but the lobby's elevators to the upper tower floors remain inactive. Marcus makes it their main goal to find the generator, or else they will have to take part in one really long climb.
After Delta locates the generator and turns it on, they return to the lobby to call down an elevator. However, Lambent Formers come pouring out of the elevator shafts to attack Delta Squad in the lobby, which answers why the humans never sent back the shipment since they turned Lambent. After disposing of the Formers, Delta Squad are forced to find an alternate path to the upper floors. They locate a supply lift, and push the car off it that was acting as a weight to get the lift to start moving upward. While going up, Jace asks if they're going to eventually turn given all their exposure fighting against the Lambent, but Marcus points out that they're nowhere close to these guys in the refinery who were actually up close to the Imulsion as the ones refining it. A Gunker Lambent then drops in to attack them on the lift, but Delta Squad disposes of it as well. Shortly after, they make it up to the top of the refinery.
Chapter 3: Hang 'em High
Upon arriving on the roof of Griffin's refinery tower, Delta Squad makes their way over to the cable-car, and confirm that the fuel tanks full of Imulsion fuel are still intact. They try to start the cable-car, but the car is stuck in place due to a safety lock. Delta Squad searches around the roof to find a way to release the safety lock, but wind up coming across more Formers. They fight their way through the Formers to the floor beneath them where they eventually locate the chain that's acting as the safety lock, and cut it loose. Delta then fights their way back through the Formers to return to the cable-car, but they suddenly receive a distress call from Dizzy who informs them that Queen Myrrah has arrived with an army of Locust, and is now laying siege to Griffin Tower.From a distance, Delta Squad can see Queen Myrrah riding around on her Tempest blasting away at Griffin Tower. Sam is annoyed that it's quite clear that the Locust Queen's been following them, but the Tempest ends up retreating after dealing a lot of damage to the tower. Delta Squad gets on the cable-car carrying the Imulsion fuel tanks as it slowly makes its way over to Griffin Tower along the wire cables. However, they're suddenly attacked by 2 Gas Barges that fly up alongside the cable-car. The Gas Barges retreat after all the barge Locust are killed, which the cable-car then docks at Griffin Tower shortly after where a battle between the Locust and Stranded are taking place. Delta Squad fights their way through the Locust back up to the roof of the Tower where Dizzy and Griffin are pinned down, and kill the Locust attacking them from behind.
After rescuing Dizzy, Marcus informs Griffin that they're done here since they got the fuel. However, Griffin goes on a rant calling Delta Squad out for bringing hell, pain, and misery to his doorstep like everywhere else COG went, and getting all his people killed to the Locust Queen's forces after they've managed to survive for so long. In return, Marcus has had enough, and yells back at Griffin for him and his Imulsion facility to go to hell since the former knows very well what the pain of losing something feels like given that he just lost the closest thing he has to a brother. Griffin then walks away claiming that they will settle this some other time, and gets on a different cable-car to depart from Griffin Tower. As his cable-car gets moving, Griffin leaves off sending a middle-finger in Marcus' direction. As they watch Griffin depart, Anya puts Marcus' mind off the person leaving by reminding him that they still need to get the Imulsion fuel to the submarine. Delta Squad then turns around to begin their journey back to the get-away truck.
Chapter 4: Batten Down the Hatches
Some time after, Delta Squad is seen driving down a road in their truck towards the Endeavor Naval Shipyard. Queen Myrrah is also seen watching them from afar, and calls out Marcus as someone that's just as stubborn and predictable as his father. She orders the Locust near her to end his mission here, or else the entire Locust species will end up dying. The Locust obey the order, and get moving to attack Delta Squad. Meanwhile, Delta Squad's truck breaks through the road gate entrance to the shipyard. Delta then exits the vehicle to search around the shipyard for the sub, but are then attacked by the Locust that have been waiting for them.Delta Squad faces off against the Locust around the shipyard while evading the rockets from a nearby Gas Barge. They make their way into a nearby shipyard hanger after defeating the Locust, but all they find is a rusted boat. Delta Squad exits out of the hanger to move onto the next one, but they're met by more Locust who pull out Serapede creatures that have the ability to zap their enemies with electricity, and can only be killed by shooting their Lambent tails. They defeat these Locust as well, and then make their way into the next shipyard hanger.
Chapter 5: Bon Voyage
Within the shipyard hanger, Delta Squad finds the docked submarine that Hoffman told them about. Dizzy checks how the sub is holding up where he assures the squad that despite its small size, its perfect for sneaking their way into Azura. He also informs Delta that if they're going to get the submarine working, it will require a new rotor and some fuel. The reason they still require fuel is because they used the fuel they got in Char to fill their empty truck so that they can travel to the shipyard. Delta Squad chooses which of the two to search for first, and then head off into the shipyard.During the search for the rotor, Delta Squad decides to explore the shipyard's maintenance bay. They fight their way through a storage area filled with Wretches, and then back out into the shipyard where they battle it out against Locust that are bunkered in. Delta uses containers full of unstable artillery shells to blow up the bunker, and then head into a nearby storage building. They take an elevator lift up to a higher level of the shipyard where they battle it out against more Locust, as well as their reinforcements dropped off from a Gas Barge. Delta Squad then locates the maintenance bay shortly after, and battle it out against the Locust stationed inside. After the Locust are cleared out, they manage to find a rotor, which they begin to carry back to the sub hanger using a Loader mech. The Locust attempt to block their path along the way back, but Delta is eventually able to get the rotor to Dizzy.
During the search for the fuel, Delta Squad decides to explore the shipyard's docks. They fight their way through a storage area filled with Locust, and then back out into the shipyard. Nearby storage houses a Silverback mech-suit, which Delta uses to help them push through the Locust that have taking over the dockyard. They spot some spare fuel canisters aboard a large ship that's stationed at the dockyard, but have to fight through the Locust to get to it. Delta Squad moves the brow ramp into place to board the ship while continuing to fight off the Locust. After clearing the area of the Locust, Delta heads over to the dockyard's crane control to grab the fuel canisters off the ship, and drop them off to Dizzy at the submarine hanger. The Locust attempt to launch a counter-attack on the dockyard to stop Delta Squad, but they manage to defeat said Locust as well, and then make their way back to sub.
After retrieving the two items for the submarine, Delta Squad next needs to protect the sub as Dizzy controls the hanger's pulley system to open 3 sets of hanger doors while moving the sub out to the water. They clear out the Locust guarding the first set of hanger doors, as well as the ones guarding the second set. They're greeted by a large army of Locust at the final set of hanger doors, which they go about defeating too. However, the Locust's last line to stop Delta is the Locust Queen's royal guards, the Armored Kantus. Delta Squad faces off against the Armored Kantus and their Serapede pets, and upon defeating them, they spin a nearby water valve to flood the dock for the submarine.
Dizzy drops the submarine into the water using the pulley system, which Anya radios to Cole Train to inform the latter's side that Delta's sub is ready. In return, Cole Train informs Anya that his side found something great as well. Anya then states to Cole Train that when the time comes, their submarine will rendezvous with Cole Train's backup forces along the border of Azura's hurricane, which he agrees with. After the call, Anya is saddened that she couldn't bring herself to tell them about Dom, but Marcus assures her that he will be the one that eventually breaks the news to them. Shortly after, Delta Squad and Dizzy boards into the submarine, and gets it moving towards Azura.
Chapter 6: Watery Grave
One day later, Delta Squad is seen aboard their submarine making their way underwater in the Serano Ocean towards Azura. Dizzy remains in the cockpit driving the sub while Marcus, Anya, Jace and Samantha are mounted up in the 4 gun turrets on top of it. The submarine begins to go through a sunken city, which Delta Squad believes that the Locust must have sunk it long ago. They make their way through the ruins, and evade the naval mines that were left behind by COG. They're next attacked by sea creatures known as Manglers, which Delta fights off using the sub turrets. Dizzy takes the sub deeper underwater to evade the Manglers, but the sub's lights and sound movements continue to attract them to the sub. As a result, Dizzy turns off the lights, and stalls the sub until the Manglers pass over.Waiting it out in the darkness of the underwater depths, they begin to hear loud roars getting closer to them. Dizzy turns the sub's lights back on, which Delta Squad realizes that they've caught the attention of a Leviathan. The sub gets moving again as the Leviathan begins to chase after them. Dizzy drives the submarine through an underwater mine field, which forces Delta to not only fire at the Leviathan to keep it off them, but to destroy any mines that they might run into as well. Delta also uses the natural ground arches that have formed underwater to help them evade the Leviathan, and allows for them to get clear shots into the Leviathan's mouth when it tries to bite them. Dizzy eventually escapes through an underwater tunnel that the Leviathan can't swim through, but it manages to grab hold of the sub with one of its tentacles, and begins to pull the sub back towards it. However, the firepower from Delta Squad's turrets are too great, which they manage to defeat the Leviathan.
Dizzy drives the submarine through the underwater tunnel to the exit on the other side. However, the sub gets sucked into a strong underwater current that they're forced to ride along with. In addition, Delta Squad uses their turrets to destroy any naval mine that got sucked up in the current. Once they make it out of the current, Dizzy returns to driving the submarine towards Azura. As they get closer to the island, they're greeted by Azura's underwater defensive turrets that fire torpedoes upon anything that gets close. In return, Delta Squad uses their turrets to shoot down any torpedo that comes towards them while also destroying any turret gun they come across. Once the turrets are dealt with, they locate an underwater gate to enter the island. Delta Squad blasts the door open with their turrets as Dizzy drives the sub through the destroyed gate.
As Delta Squad's submarine makes their way through the underwater island tunnel, more defensive torpedoes are fired towards them. Delta continues to keep the torpedoes off the sub until they locate the 2 defensive turrets that were firing the rockets, and destroys them. Finally reaching the end of the tunnel where they can begin to surface within a submarine port, Marcus gives everyone a warm welcome to Azura. Dizzy adds that Adam Fenix will be happy to finally see his son again, but Marcus replies that this will only be the case if his father is still alive.
Act V
Chapter 1: Home Away from Home
Delta Squad's submarine begins to surface out of the underwater tunnel into Azura's submarine port. They end up going through a pool of blood and dead bodies, which Samantha notes is a sign that the Locust must have been disposing of Azura's civilians. Delta also notes that the people of Azura must have been all the people that Prescott abducted as the only ones worth saving, but ended up dead anyway. Marcus, Anya, Samantha and Jace are dropped off at the port dock while Dizzy remains behind to take the sub back underwater. They make it their first objective to find the Maelstrom Generator so that reinforcements from COG can arrive on the island. From the submarine dock, Delta Squad fights their way through the Locust towards the port's train station. A train full of Locust reinforcements arrive that Delta fights off as well, but the train ends up exploding, and blocks the tunnel to go deeper into Azura. Anya tries to radio to Cole Train from their position, but is unable to until they shut down the artificial hurricane. Instead, Adam Fenix catches wind of Anya's transmission, and manages to make contact with her.Adam is glad to know that Prescott got Azura's information to them, and asks Anya's squad to approach a nearby security camera so that he can see them. Along with Anya, Samantha, and Jace, Adam sees that his son is with them, which Marcus tells his father that they're here to get him out. In return, Adam informs them that the Locust have locked him up at his lab in Azura's hotel tower, and that he needs to be broken out to deploy his countermeasure against the Lambent. He explains to Delta Squad that he's running out of time, because the Lambent organisms created from the Imulsion is about to reach a critical stage that will result in all life being destroyed on Sera. Marcus remains confused by what his father is talking about, which Adam answers that Imulsion was never actually just fuel, but a living organism in the form of a parasite that turns everything Lambent. As a result, he's been making a countermeasure that will kill everything that's not human. He adds that Queen Myrrah is holding him hostage hoping that he would tweak the countermeasure so that the Locust don't die as well, but it's already too late for that.
Before helping his father, Marcus points out that they need to deal with Azura's Maelstrom Generator first so that COG can land reinforcements on the island. Marcus adds that they're stuck where they are due to the destroyed train blocking the tunnel, which Adam opens a door for them on his end to a maintenance tunnel that can take them out to Azura's beach where they should be able to see the generator's tower from there. Making their way through the tunnel, Delta Squad comes across a Silverback mech left behind in storage, and uses it to fight their way out to the beach. Here, they see the artificial hurricane spinning around them as well as the fact that the Locust have been turning Azura's beach into another stronghold. They fight their way through the Locust's beach stronghold with the help of their Silverback up to the entrance of the Maelstrom Generator tower, but find that the Locust have greatly reinforced it to keep people out. Adam doesn't find any alternate routes using the building schematics from his end, but Marcus asks him to keep searching the surrounding caves since they're already so close to getting in.
Delta Squad heads back into the beach stronghold where Locust reinforcements attack them through an entrance in the rock wall that Delta uses as their alternate way in. The tunnel turns out to be man-made by the Locust leading them up to another part of Azura's train system. Delta clears out the surrounding Locust, and then open up the rail-gate so they they can follow along the track towards Maelstrom Generator tower. They manage to get off the track onto the next station platform before being hit by a train coming towards them, and then fight their way through the Locust stationed there while continuing to look for a way into the tower.
Chapter 2: Blackout
Lost within a train station loading bay, Marcus radios to his father for a path to reach the Maelstrom Generator tower above them, which Adam opens up the door of a nearby elevator storage lift from his end. Delta Squad rides the elevator lift up into one of Azura's structures, but the lift breaks part way up to the top floor, and leaves them stuck on one of the lower floors. In addition, the lights coincidentally go out, which makes it obvious to Marcus that they're probably dealing with a Locust ambush. Delta Squad fights their way through the Locust within the building's darkened lower floor, which Adam informs them that their best option is to locate the service ladder. While searching for the ladder, Delta Squad fights through the Locust up to the light switch that turns the lights back on. They then locate the service ladder that takes them back out to the surface, and fight through the Locust while making their way closer to the Maelstrom Generator tower.Delta Squad makes it to an entrance into the Maelstrom Facility where Adam informs them that to bring down the artificial hurricane, they need to shut down 3 generators in the basement. They take an elevator lift down to the basement, and fight through the Locust to enter into the generator's control room. Marcus asks his father for instructions, which Adam answers that 3 switches need to be changed to shut the generator down, but warns them that there will be Locust in there to defend it. Before going in, Marcus apologizes to his father for not being able to save him, but Adam reassures his son that he's the one who should be asking for forgiveness given everything that his son ended up going through after he disappeared. Marcus also reveals to his father that Dom's dead, which Adam reassures his son once more that while he can't bring Dom back, Adam can at the very least provide a future to those still alive. Before the scene fades to black in Adam's research lab, the focus is brought to a container of yellow fluid with a syringe near it.
After fighting their way down to the switch room, Delta Squad moves around the area to shut off the generator's 3 switches while fighting off any Locust they come across. Once the 3 switches are off, they return to the control room to inform their success to Adam, but he remains confused as to why the Maelstrom Generator is still active. Adam theorizes that the only logical answer is that the Locust must have set up a back-up generator somewhere, which doesn't excite Marcus since it could take them hours to find. However, Adam suggests that all they need to do instead is cut off the Maelstrom Generator's coolant supply where all they'll have to worry about afterwards is the generator exploding due to overheating. Delta Squad makes their way down to the generator room while Adam warns them to start running once they've turned the coolant off. Upon entering the generator room, Delta fights through the Locust to reach each of the 5 coolant valves. Warning announcements begin to go off with each valve that gets shut off, and after all 5 are switched, the generator begins to fall apart. Delta Squad then escapes through a side entrance of the generator room to escape the Maelstrom Facility before it blows up.
Upon making it out, the Maelstrom Facility explodes to pieces along with the machine at the top of the structure that was creating the artificial hurricane. Delta Squad watches as the sky begins to clear up now that the Maelstrom barrier surrounding the island is no more. Adam radios to his son hoping he made it out, which Marcus answers that they're fine. Anya then tries to radio to COG, and manages to finally get through to Baird and Cole Train now that the hurricane's gone. She asks for their location, which Cole Train answers that they're inbound with the navy they found. Delta Squad spots their reinforcements coming towards them in the distance, which surprises Samantha when she realizes that what Cole Train and Baird found was a Gorasni ship owned by the UIR (Union of Independent Republics); a former foe that fought against the COG during the old Pendulum Wars. Cole Train asks if they're ready to roll, which Marcus answers that he is.
Cole Train and Baird ride their helicopter ahead of the Gorasni ship to reunite with Delta Squad at their location on Azura. They're dropped off the copter along with JACK, and are surprised to see that Dizzy and Dom are not currently with them. Marcus reveals to them that along with Dizzy remaining in the submarine, Dom didn't make it. The revelation comes as a shock to Cole Train and Baird as Marcus reassures them that Dom helped them get this far, and it's now time to finish it. Marcus orders Samantha and Jace to head over to the Gorasni ship in order to provide intel for them on where to land on the island. Despite Jace wanting to help out, Marcus reminds him that that's an order. Baird also leaves off wishing for Samantha to take care of herself as Jace and her head off to the ship. With just Anya, Cole Train and Baird left, Marcus gives the order that the 4 of them will be aiming for Azura's main tower.
Chapter 3: Shattered Paradise
Delta Squad makes their way along Azura's coastline cliff establishments fighting through any Locust they come across while being provided air support from a Gorasni helicopter. The helicopter warns them of incoming Gas Barges, but then gets shot down by a Locust catapult shortly after. Delta Squad takes control of the catapult to use it against 3 Gas Barges, and then radios to the Gorasni ship that the Locust artillery position has been taken out. However, the Gorasni soldier informs Delta that there's still 2 other enemy artillery positions that are keeping them from safely landing reinforcements on Azura. Marcus replies that they'll deal with them as they enter into one of Azura's high-class mansions.Cole Train is left amazed by how fancy the island's building looks, which Marcus explains that Azura was built as a bunker for COG's elite so that they could hide until the war was over. They come across the corpses of dead humans killed by the Locust within the mansion, which Delta assumes to be the key human scientists that COG tried to keep safe on Azura. Marcus informs his father that the Locust have already killed off all of Azura's civilians, which Adam doesn't find surprising since they only needed him alive. Adam informs Delta Squad that they're close to Azura's hydroelectric dam, but are still a ways away from reaching the main tower where he's being held hostage. They exit out of the mansion, and come across the second of the Locust's catapult artillery positions. Delta Squad fights through the Locust to reach one of their catapults, and then uses it to blow up the dam. The water comes gushing out, and completely destroys the artillery position. They then make their way over to the hotel tower on the other side of the dam where Adam Fenix is being held.
Upon entering the tower's bottom floor, Marcus asks his father about what's required to activate the solution he made, which Adam answers that he just needs to use the command keys he currently has in his possession to trigger the weapon. Baird chimes in asking how the weapon works, which Adam sums it up as a planet-wide Neutron Bomb that only kills Lambent cells, but doesn't cause an explosion. Delta Squad then engages in a large battle with the Locust within the hotel lobby, and then make their way out to the other side where the Locust's last artillery position is located. While clearing the area of the Locust, they use the position's catapult to shoot down a nearby Gas Barge. Delta Squad then pushes the catapult over the cliff, and radios to the Gorasni ship that they're all clear to land. However, the Lambent Stalks begin to appear all around the island. Marcus warns the ship about the Lambent's arrival, which the Gorasni soldier informs Delta that they're sending a helicopter to their location, and orders Marcus to activate his father's weapon to finally finish all this. Delta Squad then retreats back into the hotel tower before the Lambent begin to overwhelm them.
Chapter 4: Threshold
After entering back into the hotel tower, Baird tries to ask how it ended for Dom, but Marcus changes the subject for them to just worry about completing the mission first. Anya meanwhile states her anger at the sight of the beautiful looking Azura as if Prescott spent trillions of dollars to make an island panic room for only the select few while everyone else on the mainland was dying. Marcus adds in that the thing he doesn't get is despite having set up Azura, Prescott chose to stay on the mainland to lead COG against the Locust. They reach the mansion's elevator, and call for the lift. While waiting, Baird asks if they're all infected with the Imulsion parasite, which Anya answers is indeed the case. Baird remains unconvinced that Adam Fenix can really kill it all, which Cole Train yells at him to show some faith. Once the elevator arrives, they get in it, and ride it up to the next area. Delta Squad fights through the Locust, and enter into a courtyard area on the roof where it turns out that there's still another section of the tower they need to climb.Engaging the Locust in the courtyard, Marcus radios to his dad that they'll reach him shortly. In return, Adam warns them that Queen Myrrah is still tracking them, and asks that they watch their backs. After disposing of the Locust, Lambent Stalks begin to pop up in the courtyard. Delta Squad holds off the Lambent while JACK works to open up the central tower's main gate. Once the Lambent are dealt with, they're about to go into the tower, but Baird brings up the issue he has of what happens to them when Adam's bomb goes off when it's clear that they've all been exposed to Imulsion. However, Adam Fenix assures Baird that his bomb will work since he's already tested it. They then enter into the central tower before being overtaken by the arrival of more Lambent Stalks.
Chapter 5: Ascension
Upon entering the Azura's central tower, Delta Squad barricades the main door to stall the Lambent for a couple minutes. Marcus radios to his father asking where his lab is at, which he answers that it's on the top floor, but he's being watched by Queen Myrrah. Along the way, Marcus uses the downtime to ask his father about what he meant earlier by not being able to save the Locust, which Adam reminds him of how his bomb isn't set up to just kill the Lambent parasite, but it will affect the Locust as well, and that this is their last stand before they all die to the bomb. He says regretfully that he ran of time just like E-Day, but Marcus holds him off from saying anything further until they reach Adam's location. Delta Squad reaches the central tower's lower level stairwell area where they battle it out against more Locust. They reach the elevators that can take them up to the top floors, but they quickly realize that it's broken, which causes Baird to get to work on it.While waiting for Baird to fix the elevators with JACK, Adam radios to Marcus to tell his son that he's responsible for so many deaths, but that this is also his chance to make things right. Marcus assures his father that the latter didn't start the war with the Locust, which Adam adds that there was a time when he thought he could also talk his way out of the war from ever happening. Baird uses the conversation as his chance to ask what's going to happen to them when the bomb goes off. In return Adam states that it depends on how much the Imulsion has colonized into their cells, such as if they're already feeling a fever or intense muscle pain. Baird replies that he's feeling none of that, which Adam assures him that he's fine then. At this point, the Lambent Stalks begin popping up inside the tower. Delta Squad holds down the floor at the top of the stairwell against the Lambent until JACK gets the elevators down to their level. Marcus and Anya then splits up from Cole Train and Baird so that they can take both the elevators up.
Along the way up the central tower, Baird complains that after seeing the statues around Azura, it became clear that Prescott chose to save the statues from Ephyra's National Museum rather than actually save more human lives. In addition, the Locust begin to attack them while the elevators send them up. Marcus and Anya's lift ends up breaking, which forces them to jump onto another lift that the Locust were using to continue the rise up to a floor that's one above where Cole Train and Baird got dropped off. The two pairs battle their way up the remaining central tower stairwells, but Queen Myrrah comes bursting through the window aboard her Tempest to remain in the open middle area of the tower. She yells at Marcus that despite how loyal of a son he is, she will not allow him to reach his father. Delta Squad continues their way up the stairs while evading the energy blasts from the Tempest. Meanwhile, Queen Myrrah yells at Marcus that she gave Adam 20 years to deal with the Lambent problem, and he will do so, but not at the expense of her people. Baird notes the weird timestamp since it would mean that Adam's been working with the Locust since before E-Day, but Marcus orders him not to listen, and to just keep moving.
Once Delta Squad reaches the next part of the central tower, Queen Myrrah tries one last time to convince Marcus to stop what he's doing since the Locust have just as much right to live on Sera as the humans, and that Adam should complete his work to save the Locust. With no other option left, but to take on Queen Myrrah that's blocking them, Delta Squad moves around the top floor while continuing to evade the Tempest's attacks in order to cut 3 chain cables that are holding up a large counterweight that's holding up the roof. Once the 3 chains are cut, the counterweight drops onto the Tempest, which causes it and Queen Myrrah to fall to the bottom of the tower. Before being able to confirm if they got her, more Lambent Stalks start appearing on their level, which forces them to get JACK to work the next elevator up to the top areas of the central tower. While riding the elevator lift up to the next part of the central tower, Adam radios to them asking what happened, which Marcus answers that they ran into Myrrah for a brief moment. Adam sounds regretful believing that they might have killed Myrrah, but Marcus asks for his father not to feel any sympathy for her.
Marcus next asks about the remaining Locust on the upper floors, which Adam answers that their best option is to find another route through the service hatch since the Locust have begun to cut the elevator cables. JACK slows down their elevator so that they can find the service hatch, which they eventually do, and enter into a pipe tunnel. Going through the tunnel, Baird asks what Myrrah was talking about earlier since she was implying that Adam and her knew each other before E-Day, but they have no answers for him until they reach Adam. They come across a service stairwell that takes them up to Adam's level where they would have gotten off at. Delta Squad comes up behind a group of Locust that would have attacked them had they kept going up the elevator, and they open fire while their backs are still turned. Fighting through the Locust, Marcus asks his father where his room's at, which Adam answers to search for the room with the external power unit. They fight their way through the Locust up to a lab door that's blocked off by a laser security gate. As a result, Delta Squad begins their search around the top floor for the 2 security panels that are keeping the laser gate on.
Delta Squad fights their way into the 2 rooms that are to the left and right of Adam's lab to shut off the 2 security panels. With the laser gate now shut off, Delta enters in to the lab, and finds Adam Fenix hiding behind his desk in case Locust came in after him. Adam is happy to see Marcus and Anya again, and apologizes to his son for what happened to Dom. Marcus is at a loss for words on what he's supposed to say, which Adam agrees with being unable to think of what to say back, and seems to be a running theme that he always runs out of time. Adam then grabs the command keys on his desk reminding them that his weapon won't work without it, and that it works as the same fail-safe that was used for the Hammer of Dawn strikes way back in the day. Before they head out, he asks for everyone to live life to their fullest, and to not look back or feel regret once this is all over. Adam then moves to his lab terminal to get the weapon started up, and states that if he had more time, he could have saved the Locust as well, which would have resulted in them going home back underground.
Marcus hopes that Adam isn't actually feeling sorry for them, but what his father says instead is that he feels responsible for what happened. Adam reveals to Delta Squad that he tried to solve the Imulsion problem years before E-Day, but because he wasn't able to, and Queen Myrrah refused to stay put, it forced the Locust out of their warrens to attack the surface before getting overrun by the Lambent. Baird steps in calling out Adam on why they were given no warning if the government knew about the Lambent and Locust problem before E-Day, but Adam answers that it was only he who knew about it, and that he might have been able to solve it all himself if there was just enough time to do so. Baird asks if there's anything else they haven't been told, which Adam, knowing that Baird is a fellow man of science, provides him a data disk of all his research on what he was trying to do, and what he had to do. Cole Train then butts in pointing at the door towards the incoming Lambent, and that they should do more walking instead of talking. Making their way out of the lab, Delta Squad escorts Adam through the hallway as they fight off the Lambent being dropped off by the Stalks. The sight of the Lambent surprises Adam since they've evolved so much since the last time he saw them. Once the Lambent are taken care of, Delta Squad and Adam make their way over to an elevator lift, and ride it up to the roof of the central tower.
Chapter 6: Reckoning
On the roof of Azura's central tower, Adam informs Delta Squad that it's going to take some time to activate the Neutron Bomb. Delta Squad goes about clearing off the roof of the Locust and Lambent that have been battling one another so that Adam can get to the bomb's control panel. In addition, a helicopter flies by the roof where it turns out that Carmine is aboard, and is manning the copter's turret to provide air support. Once the roof is secure, Adam makes his way to the control panel, and begins to activate the Neutron Bomb. However, Queen Myrrah aboard her Tempest bursts through the roof in an attempt to stop them. Carmine attempts to fire at her from his helicopter, but the Tempest blasts him away, and causes the copter to crash. Marcus asks his father how long it will take to activate the Neutron Bomb, which Adam answers that it will take awhile since he needs to increase the power in stages.In order to buy Adam more time, Delta Squad takes on the Locust Queen Myrrah and her Tempest once more. They fire at the weak point in the Tempest's mouth while avoiding her energy beams like before. Enough damage is done to the Tempest to cause it to fall onto the roof as Adam points out that the stage for setting up the Neutron Bomb's accelerator is ready. Adam also provides for Delta Squad a Hammer of Dawn locator, which he advises for them to use since it's the only way to truly kill the invulnerable Tempest. Additional reinforcements arrive on the roof in an attempt to support Queen Myrrah, who threatens to kill Adam's son if he doesn't turn the bomb off. Delta Squad fights off the Locust reinforcements, and after several repeated sequences where they fire at the Tempest's mouth to cause it to fall onto the roof, which makes it vulnerable to a Hammer of Dawn strike, the Neutron Bomb reaches the next stage by accelerating to a high speed.
With no other option left at this point, Queen Myrrah is forced to try to destroy the Neutron Bomb with her Tempest mount. She lands on the bomb's chamber, and begins to rip it to shreds while yelling at Adam to just accept that the human species is going to die. Due to the Tempest's back now being exposed after several Hammer of Dawn hits, Delta Squad fires at the weak spots on its back until the Tempest is forced to fly away again to protect its back. Delta Squad continues to hold off the queen and more Locust reinforcements until she attempts to break the bomb chamber again while yelling for Adam not do go through with causing yet another genocide. After one last Hammer of Dawn strike, the Tempest finally falls dead on the central tower's roof. Shortly after, the Lambent Stalks reach higher up the central tower to possibly start dropping Lambent on the roof.
After completing several stages, Adam informs Delta Squad that the Neutron Bomb will be at full power soon. Baird asks how Adam was able to test if the bomb will work or not, which the latter answers that it's because he tested it on himself. Adam explains that in order to see how the Imulsion developed over its life-cycle, he had to inject himself with Imulsion to accelerate the effects. Marcus gets the idea of what Adam is referring to after remembering what happened to the humans that turned into Lambent Formers back in Mercy, but before he could say anything else, the Lambent get on the roof and start moving towards them. The Neutron Bomb bomb begins to go off killing the closest Stalks and Lambent in the vicinity, but the tower has also become unstable due to all the recent damage done to it. Marcus states that it's time for them to go, but Adam warns them that it's already the end for him since he forced the Imulsion in his body to develop faster.
Another blast from the Neutron Bomb goes off, which causes the Imulsion within Adam to begin to show itself. Marcus tries to reassure his father that he's not going to die, but Adam informs his son that it's already to late since his body cells are beginning to break down. Adam explains that what's happening to him is the exact same thing that will happen to everyone that's been highly contaminated on Sera. Despite Marcus refusing to accept this, Adam leaves off stating that he was glad to see his son one last time, and wishes for Marcus to live on. Another blast from the Neutron Bomb occurs, which finally breaks Adam's body into pieces of Imulsion. Marcus remains kneeling down holding onto Adam's COG tag as he slowly takes it in that his father is now dead. After a few moments of grieving for his father, Delta Squad sees what's left of Queen Myrrah crawl out from under the Tempest's corpse.
Queen Myrrah gets up and begins to slowly walk towards Delta Squad. Marcus orders the squad to hold their fire, which disgusts Queen Myrrah that the Fenix family is still choosing to hold onto their pious morals despite everything that's happened. She blames Adam in front of her son as someone who thought he knew all the answers, but the only thing he could ever accomplish was find new ways to kill, such as the Hammer of Dawn, the sinking of Jacinto, and now the Neutron Bomb. As Queen Myrrah gets close to Marcus, she gloats that such arrogance finally got Adam killed, which angers Marcus to the point of fatally stabbing her with the knife that Dom gave him back in Mercy. He tells her in her dying breaths that the knife is for Dom, and everyone else that she killed. As Delta Stand stands over the corpse of Queen Myrrah, the Neutron Bomb finally goes off. The bomb's shockwave spreads across the entire planet, and kills all the Lambent parasites, as well as the remaining Locust that are still alive. The remaining humans, such as Hoffman and Bernie, look around in disbelief as the war against the Locust and Lambent has finally ended.
Back on Azura, humanity is seen regrouping after winning the war. Carmine is shown to have survived the helicopter crash, and signals to another helicopter to pick up the wounded. All the members of Delta Squad gather outside the central tower, and are celebrated as heroes by the Gorasni navy soldiers that supported them. Marcus however drops his gun and GEAR armor, and walks over to Azura's beach to get a breather over everything he's been through. Anya follows after him, and tells Marcus that she will always be with him whatever it takes. Marcus asks what's left at this point, which Anya answers that they now have a tomorrow. She then grabs hold of Marcus' hand, implying that she's ready to start a normal relationship with him. The two of them watch Azura's sunset along with the rest of Delta Squad.
Setting
25 years have passed since the activation of Adam Fenix's Neutron Bomb established world peace by killing off all the Locust and Lambent parasites on the planet. Although the use of said countermeasure destroyed all of Sera's Imulsion to kill the parasite, the loss of their precious fossil fuel forced humanity to adapt to new ways of survival. One of such things they must now deal with are devastating Windflares, which are powerful windstorms that pop up around the planet as an after-effect from setting off the Neutron Bomb. To protect the remaining human population that number in just the hundreds of thousands, the reformed Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) established walled-off cities to protect its citizens from the dangers outside, and declared martial law to prevent any travel outside. However, some human survivors rejected the viewpoints of the new COG, and formed a group called the "Outsiders" that live outside of the COG jurisdiction, and even conduct raids on COG territory to gather resources.Prologue: Remembrance
At an unknown location, an old man is seen taking a seat at a large computer terminal that's been set up in the room in order to watch multiple screens showing things that are happening on the outside. One of such events being COG's 25th anniversary celebration in the city of New Ephyra. Here, COG's current First Minister, Mina Jinn, is seen providing a Rousing Speech to thousands of attendees regarding their victory against the Locust 25 years ago, and the battles they fought that led to their current peace. Amongst the people attending the event is a retired but now wheel-chaired Colonel Hoffman, who reminisces about his past battles that have led up to where he's now today.The first flashback brings the story back to the Pendulum Wars 2 years before the occurrence of E-Day. Under orders from Major Hoffman, Private Dom Santiago leads a squad of COG soldiers to infiltrate a UIR weapons facility at Aspho Point in order to obtain the Hammer of Dawn plans that the UIR created that could potentially win the war. They're dropped off their helicopter in the midst of a battle going on outside the facility, which Dom gives the order that they need to cripple the 2 UIR communication towers before raiding the lab. Splitting up, Hoffman's squad deals with one of the towers in the distance while Dom's squad fights through UIR soldiers, and then places a bomb charge upon theirs to destroy their tower. Dom's squad then heads towards the weapons facility, and clears out the UIR bunker blocking their path. They arrive at the facility's main gate, and input security codes they obtained at some point to open it. Dom's squad then fights their way through the UIR soldiers within the facility until they reunite with Hoffman's squad at the lab's gate. Their Robot Buddy, BRUCE, opens up the lab gate for Hoffman and Dom to enter and speak with the UIR scientists about the Hammer of Dawn. Meanwhile, the remaining soldiers bunker at the gate to Hold the Line against the arriving UIR reinforcements. Once Hoffman and Dom got the plans, they head back out of the lab to reunite with the rest of the COG soldiers, but before they could get extracted for pick-up, their position starts to get fired upon by UIR mortar strikes. Dom and Hoffman's squads make a run for it out of the facility to reach the evacuation point before being killed by mortar fire.
Continuing her present speech, Jinn mentions how it was thanks to the GEARs valiant efforts to steal the Hammer of Dawn plans from the UIR that it ensured that the COG will come out the overall victors of the Pendulum Wars. However, it was only 2 years later that that would be forced to partake in a new war.
The second flashback brings the story back to Emergence Day (E-Day) when the Locust first appeared out of the ground to begin their war with humanity. A COG squad led by Lieutenant Minh Young Kim is seen in Ephyra making their way towards the House of Sovereigns, which has become a hot battleground against the invading Locust. As Anya provides support over the communicator, Kim gives the order to his squad that they're going to need to protect Hoffman's convoy as it goes through Ephyra. They fight through the Locust along the streets outside the House of Sovereigns, but are greeted by a large Corpser appearing out of the ground. Kim's squad grabs the Hammer of Dawn locator stashed in a nearby destroyed truck, and uses it to damage the invulnerable Corpser. The squad continues to hold off more Locust reinforcements until the Corpser is successfully killed using the Hammer strikes. Following the battle, Kim's squad regroups with Hoffman and Anya at their convoy. Hoffman names Kim as their official escort as he heads into the House of Sovereigns with the Colonel and Anya while ordering his squad to guard the door. The soldiers of Kim's squad Hold the Line at the House of Sovereigns gate to keep the attacking Locust from entering where they manage to defeat several Locust Reavers using the Hammer of Dawn. However, their position eventually gets overrun due to the Hammer going offline.
Jinn continues her present speech explaining that as a result of E-Day, hundreds of thousands of people died to the Locust by just the first night of the war. She mentions how she was only a child when E-Day happened, and that because they were now in such a dark time, their victory against the Locust was still in no way assured.
The third flashback brings the story back to 17 years after Emergency Day during the closing portions of humanity's war against the Locust. Led by Colonel Hoffman and Sergeant Bernadette Mataki, the soldiers of COG continue to Hold the Line against the Locust that have been laying siege to their fortress of Anvil Gate. The GEARs clear off the Locust from trying to take over the main wall, and then use said wall as cover to battle it out with the Locust that are trying to push through the courtyard in front of Anvil Gate. They then clear out the Locust that are attacking Hoffman's position atop the wall, and then use the large turret gun to try to continue holding off the Locust despite the arrival of Locust Brumaks and Corpsers. Moments before being overrun however, the shockwave from the Neutron Bomb is seen making its way through the surrounding areas of Anvil Gate, and causes all the Locust to drop dead. Hoffman, Bernie and the rest of the remaining GEAR soldiers at Anvil Gate are left stunned in disbelief that not only did they survive, the war was finally over.
Like before, Jinn's present speech continues on where she explains that against all odds, the Locust nightmare was finally brought to an end thanks to a brave group of soldiers led by Marcus Fenix. However, she adds that she wishes that Marcus was here with them for the celebration today. She then asks for the attendees to remember the men and women that were lost over the years to ensure their continued survival, and that it's thanks to them that the new COG of the current day has been able to establish a world that no longer has any war or suffering. A world that is safe, and where its families can finally live in peace. Meanwhile back in the unknown room, the old man shuts off the television showing off Jinn's speech.
Act I
Chapter 1: The Raid
After turning off the terminal screen showing off the COG's 25th anniversary celebration, the old man turns his attention to another screen showing a group of 4 Outsiders in the wilderness with a horse wagon vehicle outside a COG base known as Settlement 5. These 4 people being a former GEAR soldier, JD, his long-time friend who's also a former GEAR soldier Delmont Walker (Del for short), their female friend Kait Diaz, and her uncle Oscar Diaz. While Del and Oscar are checking out the settlement, JD has a moment with Kait where he listens to her explain how a larva escapes its cocoon cage to become a beautiful butterfly. They watch the cocoon in Kait's hand open up to reveal a butterfly that flies away from their location. JD warns Kait that she shouldn't have come along, but Oscar points out that this happening was a given since she takes after her mother.JD and Kait join up with Del and Oscar to check out the COG settlement, which Kait shoots out the floating camera bot that was spying on them from behind. An alarm at the settlement goes off, which turns out to not be for the destruction of the camera bot, but for the arrival one of the Windflare storms starting to overtake the area. JD and company head back to their wagon, which Oscar takes the reins of the horse, Chuzz, to drive them to the COG settlement before the Windflare reaches them. However, the wagon stalls just outside the facility due to their horse going into a fear frenzy after the storm almost drops a tree upon them. Oscar stays behind to calm down his horse while JD, Del and Kait continue on towards the settlement. They fail to make it in time before the settlement's Windwall closes, which forces them to try to make their way towards a crane. However, the storm eventually becomes to severe for them to push any further.
Some time after the Windflare has moved on, Oscar with his calmed down wagon horse catches up to JD, Del and Kait outside the COG settlement. The Windwall opens back up, which they leave Chuzz and the wagon where they are, and make their way towards the settlement's main entrance. Along the way, the group complains about why Oscar had to follow along with them when he was never needed in the first place, which he answers that it's simply to continue looking after Kait. Once they reach the settlement gate, Del goes over the plan, which is to find a fabricator at the construction hub in the center of the town, and leave soon after. Oscar warns them that they will most likely run into a lot of robot security DeeBees during their search, which JD mentions that they should have the element of surprise since there hasn't been an Outsider raid for 6 months, but Oscar warns him back that robots aren't designed to be surprised. JD stubbornly states back that they used to control DeeBees, which an angry Oscar reminds him about what happened at Settlement 2. Kait butts in to stop them from fighting as they make their way into the COG settlement.
Within the settlement, JD's group can see the large construction hub in the distance, and begin making their way towards it. As a result of the settlement's new outer ring currently being under construction, they're able to go along a lower incomplete path that allows for them to evade the settlement's camera bots. The group is left worrying that they will have Jinn hounding them if they get caught, which Oscar reminds them that he doesn't view her as a bad person given that he was a former member of COG for 15 years. JD's group makes their way off the lower path back up to the ground level where they witness the settlement's fast-construction Builder robots go about their work. However, they're eventually spotted by one of the camera bots, which orders them to stop what their doing, and get escorted out by their Shepard DeeBees. The DeeBees arrive claiming that citizens are not authorized to be here, but one is quickly destroyed by Oscar since they technically aren't citizens that agree with COG's authority. In return, the remaining DeeBees attack JD's group due to their act of aggression.
After defeating the DeeBees, Oscar complains that their attack has now put the settlement on alert, which JD answers that it just means that they're going to have to fight their way to the fabricator. JD's group continues making their way through the construction area fighting any DeeBee they come across, and also start to run into small ball-like Tracker DeeBees that could possibly shock them if one gets too close. They exit the construction area into the inner portion of the settlement where they fight through the DeeBees up to a wall that's blocking their way to reach the construction hub. Del figures that their only option is to find another way around while Kait points out that something seems off about there being too many security robots since her mother, Reyna, was the one that ordered for their raids to stop months ago. Putting it aside for now, JD suggests that they should go through the nearby Maternity Annex building to reach the construction hub.
Making their way through the Maternity Annex, Kait complains that it just reminds her of how people have been asking her to make babies since humanity needs to be repopulated. Kait also states that at the very least, she's glad that her mother raised her away from all things related to COG. They make their way to the other side of the building, and see that they now have a clear path to the construction hub, but are greeted at the exit by more DeeBees. They fight their way through the DeeBees to reach the construction hub's maintenance door, but their COG access codes obviously don't work anymore since they're considered enemies of the state. Oscar takes over to hack the access terminal, and is able to get the door open. He remains behind to keep the door open for when they need to leave as JD, Del and Kait enter the construction hub to find its fabricator.
Chapter 2: In and Out
JD, Del and Kait ride an elevator down to the lower level storage bay area of the construction hub in search of the settlement's fabricator. They come across a storage lift that will take them to a lower location in the storage bay, which Del stays behind to operate the lift controls while JD and Kait ride it down. Along the way down, they spot some inactive DeeBees remaining in storage, and Del has trouble controlling the lift, which causes JD and Kait to drop to a location lower than they wanted. Del continues to get the hang of working the lift as he raises JD and Kait back up to the lower level they were aiming for. Once the lift reaches the level, JD and Kait get off it to enter the storage room that houses the Fabricator they came searching for. Along with the fabricator providing them the ability to craft some new weapons, Kait is glad that they've finally obtained an object that can act as a new power supply for their home. The 2 of them pick the fabricator up, and carry it back to the lift for Del to raise them back up.Along the way up, the settlement's security kicks in having realized that the fabricator's been stolen, and takes control of the lift away from Del. Security locks trap the lift in place as Tracker DeeBees begin to attack JD and Kait. The 2 of them hold off the attacking Trackers until Del successfully hacks back into the lift controls to continue raising JD and Kait back up to his location. Shortly after, security locks Del out of the controls again, and locks the lift on the level where the inactive DeeBees were spotted. Just like the Tracker fight moments before, JD and Kait hold off the attacking Shepard DeeBees until Del has hacked back into the controls, and resumes bringing the lift back up. At the top of the lift, Del comes under attack by DeeBee reinforcements. JD and Kait's lift finally makes it back up to the level they started at, and clear away the DeeBees that were pinning down Del. JD and Kait then pick up the fabricator to carry it out of the construction lab and reunite with Oscar. Del follows along to cover them, and jokes that this was supposed to be a simple in-and-out mission.
Chapter 3: New Friends
Riding the elevator out of the construction hub, JD, Del and Kait are about to show Oscar that they've retrieved the fabricator, but are instead greeted at the exit by a TV Head DeeBee showing off Jinn's face so that she can talk to them, and is being escorted by COG's newest invention, which are 2 larger DR-1 DeeBees. JD's group realizes that they're holding Oscar hostage as Jinn threatens them with the DR-1s if they don't follow along. JD asks if Jinn really wants this to end up like Settlement 2, which Jinn answers that what they did was a successful operation since Settlement 2 is now their most compliant settlement thanks to what they had to do. JD tries to explain that the people back at his village desperately needs the fabricator they just took, but Jinn ignores it claiming that their actions are getting her people taken away. JD and company are confused by what she means by that, but before she could explain any further, one of the settlement's trolley vehicles rams into the 3 DeeBees and destroys them. Another trolley vehicle appears soon after with a message on its television screen ordering them to get on, which implies that the old man that's been watching them this whole time is helping them out.Kait frees Oscar from his bonds as JD and Del move the fabricator onto the trolley vehicle. JD's group then gets on the trolley, which starts to move them out of the settlement. However, one of COG's Condor airplanes flies over their location, and drops more DR-1 DeeBees on top of them. One of the DR-1s ends up crashing onto the trolley, which stalls JD's group for the time being until they clear the area of the DR-1s. Once the DR-1s are defeated, Oscar and Del grab the fabricator to carry it on foot while JD and Kait cover them. Their path looks blocked off at first thanks to a barricade, but a DR-1 bursting through a nearby brick wall to try to attack them provides JD's group an exit through the building the DeeBee came out of. They make their way through the building to the next courtyard where a Condor drops off more DeeBees. JD's group disposes of the mas well, which Kait starts to regret doing this since it's starting to feel like they just started a war. JD reassures her that there's more to this than just holding off raids given what Jinn tried to say to them earlier, and hopes that Reyna can explain to them more about this once they return to their village. While listening to Oscar complain about how it disappoints him that Jinn is relying on robots to do her work, they fight their way through more Tracker DeeBees into a portion of the sewer to reach another area of the settlement.
Upon exiting the sewer, JD's group are attacked by more DeeBees, which they go about disposing of as well. They make it to a low part of the settlement they recognize as a spot close to where they originally came in, and are glad to know that they're almost out. They run into more DeeBees, but this time, the robots have brought along Deadeye DeeBees that try to snipe them off. After disposing of the DeeBees, Kait remains worried that Jinn may have found Chuzz and their wagon, but Oscar reassures her that the horse can take care of himself. They climb their way out of the low area back to the settlement's main gate where they face off against more DeeBees that are blocking the exit. JD's group defeats the DeeBees, and finally makes it out of the settlement where they find their wagon horse still waiting for them. The fabricator is put in the wagon as Oscar takes the reins of Chuzz to start driving the group away from the COG settlement back to their village.
Chapter 4: A Few Snags
Some time after, the wagon carrying JD's group with the fabricator arrives back at their Outsider village. They're greeted by Kait's mother, Reyna Diaz, who acts as the overall leader of their village. She asks what happened at Settlement 5 given how long the trip took, which Oscar answers that the COG are on their way. A TV Head DeeBee of Jinn is dropped down to their village, which Reyna steps forward to greet. Jinn orders her to step aside to reclaim her people, which is the fabricator, but Reyna states back that the village isn't under COG's jurisdiction to do so. In return, Jinn threatens to deal with anyone that stands against COG's justice, which Reyna calls her out if the First Minister is really going to do to them what COG did to Settlement 2. Despite Jinn ignoring it, Reyna pulls out a pair of knives, and destroys it while claiming that her village isn't Settlement 2. Knowing that the COG will obviously retaliate, Reyna orders for JD's group to bring the fabricator into the village, as well as for Carmine to shoot down COG's helicopter that was about to attack them.Within the village, JD and Kait carry the fabricator towards the village's Town Hall. JD warns Reyna that Jinn has resorted to using lethal force with the DeeBees against them, which surprises Reyna that the First Minister would actually go that far. She orders the villagers to all evacuate into the Town Hall, which they barricade the door to keep them protected against the COG. Once the villagers are safe, Reyna holds a meeting with JD's group. She gives the group the order to protect the Town Hall against the DeeBees that will be coming for them shortly, which they use the fabricator to provide them the weapons, traps, and turrets needed to do so. Once their defense is set up, COG's Condors arrive to start dropping DeeBees down into the village. JD and company Hold the Line against the first wave, which the second wave of DeeBees manages to breach the village's walls and main gate. JD and company continue to hold off the second wave, which the COG start to bring in their flying Watcher DeeBees to help with the attack by firing rockets at the Outsiders from above. JD's group defeats the second wave, but a third wave of DeeBees arrives soon after that consists of their heavy DR-1 hitters. Eventually, they manage to hold out against the third wave as well.
After the battle, JD's group checks around the remains of the DeeBees for supplies, but also spot a Windflare storm in the distance getting closer to their village. Reyna approaches them in anger since JD and company promised that they would get the fabricator out of the COG settlement without provoking Jinn. They answer that this appears to be more than just a simple raid retaliation since Jinn was accusing them of taking away her people, but Reyna ignores it. Kait asks why her mother is angry over this given that Reyna never cared about what the COG is doing, which Reyna answers that she cares if it somehow brings about war. Reyna orders for JD, Del and Kait to get the fabricator installed in the village's power station while Oscar stays with her. Kait tries to reason with her mother that their best option is to evacuate, but her mother orders her to follow through with getting the power back up. After the 3 of them leave with the fabricator, Oscar points out that they always knew this day would come, which Reyna replies back that this is why they need to stick to The Plan.
Some time after, it's become nighttime in the village. JD, Del, and Kait remain at the village's power station trying to get the fabricator up and running. During a food break, Kait spots a black silhouette through the window of something big moving through the village that doesn't appear to be human. She takes a peak out the door, and sees another dark creature moving through the village, which JD and Del manage to finally get the power back on to the station at that point. Kait tries to warn the other 2 about the things she keeps seeing moving around the village, which one of said creatures ends up attacking the power station, and causes the power to get knocked out again. They start to hear villagers screaming in the distance as the village alarm goes off as well. JD's group try to leave the power station to check out what's going on, but their door gets locked from the outside by Kait's mother. Reyna orders for her daughter to run and hide as she gets grabbed by one of the creatures. Reyna is able to cut herself free of the creature, but a second one arrives that manages to overpower her. JD, Del, and Kait attempt to break out of the power station to try to help her, but aren't able to do so. Oscar arrives to try to support Reyna against the creature, but said creature overpowers him as well, and results in Oscar getting scooped up by one of the attacking creatures that then leaves the village. With no one left to help her, Reyna takes one last look at her precious neck amulet, and accepts being taken away by the creature.
Shortly after, JD, Del, and Kait finally break out of the power station thanks to Kait realizing that they can use a weapon crafted by the fabricator. A desperate Kait searches around for her mother as Del points out that the things that attacked the village sounded like some sort of Swarm, and that there were possibly hundreds of them. JD cuts off a piece of yellow crystal that was left behind by one of the creatures as Kait finds one of the knives that were left behind by Reyna. The village horses are shown to still be safe as Kait gets on Chuzz hoping to search for her mother. However, JD points out their problem that they have no idea where the creatures retreated to. JD and Del figure that their best option is to speak to Jinn about this, but Del also suggests that there's another man connected to JD who could possibly help them. Kait asks in desperation if this person can truly help them, which JD admits that he can, but the question remains if he will do it. JD and Del mount up on horses along with Kait to begin their journey towards the person that JD knows.
Act II
Chapter 1: The Prodigal Son
Some time later in the night, JD, Del and Kait arrive at a rundown estate in the wilderness. Kait is unconvinced that the person they came looking for is here since the place looks abandoned, but JD assures her that the person they're here to meet is always here. Leaving their horses in the stable, JD leads them to a different area of the abandoned estate where the person is actually living. Along the way, Del finds it odd that the person didn't fix the place up like he said he would, which JD answers that it was the plan 15 years ago. Kait catches on that the estate is sounding like the place JD grew up, which JD answers that he didn't just live here, but was born here. She also asks if the estate always looked abandoned, which Del answers that it wasn't, and while he had happy memories of this place, JD wishes that it was the same for him. Within the estate's grounds, JD can visit the grave site of Anya Stroud to take a moment to mourn for her, which makes it clear that she was JD's mother. The 3 of them led by JD enter a small home near the estate, and are greeted by JD's father, Marcus Fenix, sitting in a chair having been waiting for their arrival.Marcus welcomes his son, James Dominic Fenix, back home. In return, JD asks how his father knew they were coming, which Marcus points him in the direction of a nearby computer showing the security camera screens. JD tells his father that the reason they're here is to receive his help, which Marcus rejects since he's done trying to help his son run from the COG, and is disappointed that Del is going along with it instead of helping his son keep out of trouble. Before Marcus could get the chance to throw them out, Kait asks for JD to show what they found, and also reveals that their their village was attacked by something that resulted in her mother and the other villagers getting taken away. The revelation catches Marcus' attention, but before JD could show him the yellow crystal, he berates his son for choosing to becoming an Outsider, which has resulted in him becoming someone that gets hunted by the COG. JD tells his dad to shut up about it for now and shows the yellow crystal in front of Marcus, which after a brief observation of the crystal, Marcus reacts poorly not liking what he's seeing. Before they could discuss this any further however, Del sees on the security cameras that COG's DeeBees have arrived at the estate. Marcus is disappointed that his son is still currently running from the COG as a TV Head DeeBee bursts through the door for Jinn to continue their conversation from earlier.
JD tries to explain to Jinn that there's more going on at the moment than just a simple raid, but Jinn ignores it since JD and company have proven themselves to be rebels against the COG led by the son of the famous disgruntled old GEAR, Marcus Fenix. After Marcus steps forward, Jinn apologizes about the door, which he replies that it's fine since they're on their way out anyway. Jinn warns the former Sergeant that she won't protect him if he chooses to protect the 3 fugitives he's currently with, which Marcus admits that such an action sounds about right. Marcus then pulls out his rifle, and destroys the TV Head DeeBee with the gun-saw. Shortly after, Jinn orders the stationed DeeBees to all fire upon the home, which Marcus orders for JD and company to retreat with him to the estate's main house. They escape out of the house's back window, and fight through the DeeBees in the courtyard to make it to the back entrance of the main estate building. Upon entering, they fight through the DeeBees inside to reach an upstairs hidden supply room that Marcus claims to have left behind family heirlooms.
Chapter 2: Geared Up
JD, Del, Kait and Marcus enter the estate's hidden room, which turns out of be a supply of GEAR armor and weapons. JD is surprised that his father kept such items, which Marcus replies that he knew he had to be prepared figuring that his son was eventually going to return home while being hunted by many enemies. The 4 of them equip GEAR armors, and also pick out their weapon supplies. Kait finally properly introduces herself to Marcus. In return, he asks for her to take good care of the GEAR armor she put on, which JD explains to her that it was the armor worn by his mother. Marcus heads over to a computer terminal to make a call to receive support, and then receives his bandana back from Del. After putting the bandana back on, Marcus tells JD and company that it's time for the old COG to remove the new COG from his home.Upon leaving the second floor supply room, JD's group is attacked by DeeBees that were waiting for them to exit. JD asks his father what their plan of escape is, which Marcus answers their goal for now is to just get to his truck. They come under attack by one of COG's new Kestrel helicopter DeeBees, which they battle it out against it by dealing enough damage to its engines. More DeeBee reinforcements are dropped onto the second floor while battling against the Kestrel, but JD's group eventually manages to shoot down the helicopter. However, the truck ends up getting destroyed during the battle, and the helicopter crashes into the estate causing a massive fire to break out. JD hopes that his father has a Plan-B, which Marcus answers that there is if they can reach the cellar room of the estate. They fight through the DeeBees of the burning estate, and make it down to the cellar before the estate's rubble falls down upon them. Despite looking like a dead-end at first, Marcus reveals to them an escape tunnel out of the estate.
Making their way through the escape tunnel, JD points out how making this tunnel could have been used to finally fix up the estate, which Marcus counters that it wouldn't have mattered since it just got destroyed. Del reminds them of their current objective to search for what took away the Outsider villagers, which Marcus assures him that they'll get on it once they've escapes. They eventually reach a door that exits them out near the estate's garden as they see that the nearby main estate is now in complete flames. Marcus once more welcomes his son home as they make their way through the garden area to escape. COG's Condors fly over to drop more DeeBees down upon their location, which they fight through to reach the greenhouse. JD asks where they're going now, which Marcus answers that they're aiming to reach the estate's barn. Upon entering the greenhouse, DeeBees are dropped in through the roof, which Marcus gets angry that they're going to mess up his tomatoes. JD's group disposes of the DeeBees, and then exit the other side of the greenhouse to continue on towards the barn. However, their path forward becomes dangerous due to the arrival of another Windflare storm.
Along the way to the barn, JD's group take cover at the estate's barrel shelter until the Windflare passes over. DeeBees are dropped into the shelter, which forces JD and company to dispose of them while the Windflare goes over them. The Windflare begins to rip the roof apart, which leaves everyone but Marcus convinced that it's not going to hold. Marcus assures them that it will hold as a Condor flies over, but ends up getting strike by one of the Windflare lighting bolts. JD's group are forced to evacuate the barrel shelter as the destroyed Condor crashes down upon their location. The 4 of them look upon the Condor crash site over the destroyed barrel shelter, which Marcus orders everyone to not say another word about his mistake. They make their way through the crash site to continue on towards the barn, and kill off any damaged DeeBee that survived the crash. Kait points out that the robots come off creepy to her, which Marcus explains that the DeeBees weren't always like that, and were actually just glorified garbage collectors at first. He even spoke out the day they were transformed into the Shepard DeeBees, but his words went ignored in the end.
Along the path to the barn, more Condors drop DeeBees down on their location, which they fight through to reach the estate's windmill. Kait points out her confusion, which JD informs her that the windmill is right next to the barn they're aiming for. They arrive at the estate's vineyard, which Kait asks if this was an old estate that Marcus owned. He answers that it was actually owned by his late wife, which JD adds that his mom loved this place, and is glad that she isn't around anymore to see what what's happened to her estate. They make their way across a bridge, but the arrival of another Kestrel DeeBee blows up the bridge, and causes them to fall down to the river. After recovering from the fall, JD's group goes back to making their way towards the barn.
Chapter 3: Plan B
JD's group continue along the river's ravine path towards the estate's barn where they're attacked by Tracker DeeBees. Once the Trackers are disposed of, a Condor flies over to drop in more DeeBee reinforcements, which they defeat as well. The Kestrel that blew them off the bridge then makes its return, which JD and company battle it out against to shoot out its engines like last time. Once the Kestrel's been shot down, it crashes into a bridge that was blocking their path, which opens up the bridge's water grate for them to continue on towards the barn. JD asks his father what it is at the barn that can help them escape, which Marcus answers that it's a couple Track Mule motorcycles. Their path forward is met by another Windflare storm, which Marcus states that they should be fine as long as they continue along the ravine. They eventually reach the courtyard outside the barn, but it's crawling with DeeBees that are waiting for their arrival, and are within the center of the dangerous Windflare.JD and Marcus split up from Del and Kait to cover more ground in the courtyard where one duo takes the main road while the other pair covers them from the nearby riverbed. They fight their way towards the barn, which the two pairs work to clear obstacles for one another while dealing with any DeeBee they come across. Once they've made it through the DeeBees, JD's group reunite at the next area where the barn is at, which they enter into the Windflare's dangerous inner stormwall that drops lighting flurries down upon them. They dodge their way through the lightning flurries, and make it into the barn to mount up on the Track Mules that Marcus mentioned. The DeeBees surround the barn, which Jinn orders the Sergeant to surrender, and points out the destruction of his home, and that she can't guarantee the safety of him or his son at this point. Waiting for an answer, JD's group comes busting out through the barn's front door mounted up on their 2 Track Mules. JD and Marcus are seen riding on one while Del and Kait are on the other. They drive their way through the DeeBee blockade destroying any in their way, which an angered Jinn orders the DeeBees to chase after them.
Chapter 4: The Great Escape
JD's group mounted up on their 2 Track Mules drive themselves away from the estate into the wilds with COG's DeeBees hot on their tail. JD points this problem out to his father, which Marcus replies back that their best option at the moment is to just keep driving. Their actions have also angered Jinn to the point of her sending COG's Vulture aircraft at them. The Vulture goes on ahead to begin dropping Fire Bombs upon the 2 Track Mules, which JD's group is forced to go about evading while driving. During the drive escape, JD asks where they're supposed to be going, which Marcus answers that their best option is Fort Reval. Del points out that the fort is nothing but a historical site, which Marcus states that it's what's underneath it that they're going for. The Vulture's Fire Bombs eventually cause a tree to drop on the main path, which forces JD's group to start driving off-road.JD's group drive their way through the forest that has now erupted into flames due to the Vulture's Fire Bombs. They drive by any DeeBee they come across until they reach a point where a Kestrel helicopter begins chasing them. JD's group make it to a tunnel, which the Kestrel can't follow it through, and ends up crashing into the rock wall above the entrance. The Vulture drops its Fire Bombs down upon the tunnel, which they're able to make it out to the other side before it ends up collapsing. At this point, Marcus is sick of being hounded by the Vulture, and makes it his goal to fire at the airship. While continuing to evade the Fire Bombs, Marcus deals enough damage to the Vulture's engines and wing guns to force the airship to expose the engine core. Marcus shoots at the core to destroy it, which finally brings down the Vulture, and allows for JD's group to continue on towards Fort Reval.
Act III
Chapter 1: Almost Midnight
JD, Kait, Del and Marcus drive their 2 Track Mules to a town on the outskirts of the abandoned Fort Reval, which they get off to walk the rest of the way. JD asks if his father really believes that the Swarm is within the fort, which Marcus states that their actual goal is to reach the osmium mine that's on the other side of it. Marcus explains further that the mine is what the COG chose to use as a dumping ground for thousands of Locust corpses once the war was over. As a result, Marcus believes of a possibility that they might find the answers they're looking for if the Swarm turns out to be connected to the Locust. Kait asks if Marcus had ever been to the Locust dumping ground, which Marcus answers that he's only been there once with Anya 25 years ago when the war against the Locust just ended, and they were tasked to supervise the disposal. However, the order was given to seal the dumping ground up and walk away after the Locust corpses became indestructible due to getting covered in yellow crystals similar to the one that JD showed him at the estate. Del asks if this means that the Locust are making a comeback, which Marcus answers that he doesn't know yet.The 4 of them make their way through the town towards Fort Reval where they begin to hear something roaring in the distance. They also begin to hear sounds of nearby town objects falling, which puts them on alert that something close by is following them. The winds also begin to pick up, which tells them that a Windflare storm is about to reach their location. They make a run for the fort before being overtaken by the Windflare, but rubble from the above castle wall ends up breaking off, and blocks the main gate. JD's group take the side-path around Fort Reval to enter a back entrance. They make their way through the fort tunnel, which they see that the walls and such have become tendril infested by something that's giving off a glow. JD checks the infestation's remains of what looks like the remnants of an egg pod, and doesn't find anything important other than getting squirted by a leftover liquid.
They continue through the tunnel to search for what came out of the pod, but upon entering the next room, they find a pod that still hasn't hatched. Marcus cuts through the pod to check its contents only to find the skeleton remains of what was once a human. JD then investigates the corpse, and finds a COG symbol, which answers for them what was happening to the people that Jinn claimed was mysteriously disappearing. Kait begins to worry about the same thing happening to her mother having realized that the Swarm's goal has been to harvest humans for some reason, which JD assures her that they will find Reyna. JD and company continue making their way through the fort's back tunnel, and come across more pods, which stumps even Marcus as to what's going on. The thing they heard before is heard roaring again, but Marcus orders them to keep calm. Eventually, they make it out into Fort Reval's courtyard where Marcus spots the Swarm creature atop the wall that's been following them.
Marcus decides to act as bait to lure out the creature so that JD's group get a clear shot at it. However, it turns out the creature was also acting as a lure as a second one appears to catch Marcus by surprise. Marcus ends up getting scooped up into the creature's body, which forces JD, Del and Kait to retreat after more of the creatures start to appear to try to ambush the rest of the group. The 3 of them retreat into a nearby room of the fort, and barricade the door, which keeps them safe for the time being. JD is left angry that his father got taken away while Kait and Del remain confused about the situation they're now in. After calming down a tad, JD makes it clear to his companions that his dad isn't dead yet since they already know that the Swarm isn't killing their targets, but are capturing humans to harvest them for some other purpose, and that it takes time for the humans to go through the harvesting process. As a result, JD makes it their goal to go after the creature that took Marcus since they still need his father to complete their primary objective. Del asks how they're supposed to find Marcus, which JD answers that it's the same place his father was taking them, the Locust dumping ground.
Chapter 2: Night Terrors
With the way they took in being barricaded, JD's group check around the fort room for a way out. They find another tunnel behind some shelves, which they go through to get back outside. They also hear the roars moving away in the distance, which they take as a sign that the creature is currently taking Marcus away deeper into the fort. They find the door forward blocked by one of the human pods, which JD cuts open. Only instead of finding a corpse, the thing inside turns out to be alive, and has transformed into some sort of zombie-like humanoid creature. Other pods along the path hatch to reveal more of the same humanoid enemies, which JD and company fight off to reach the next area. Along the way, Del and JD piece it together that the pods are actually incubators where humans are put in so that the zombie things they just fought are what comes out.Continuing their journey through Fort Reval, JD's group enter into another courtyard where they spot the creature that took Marcus in the distance. Deciding to dub the four-legged creatures that took Marcus away as Snatchers, they begin to chase after it while being attacked by more of the hatched zombie creatures that turn out to be quite fast and agile. After disposing of the zombie creatures, Kait asks what their plan is once they find the Snatcher, which JD answers that along with his father, they're going to find Reyna, as well as any others that ended up getting snatched. They also begin to hear static originating from Marcus' radio, which they take as a sign that they're getting close. JD's group spot the Snatcher again in the distance heading for Fort Reval's tram station, which they make it their goal to journey towards.
Along the path towards the tram station, they fight through more of the zombie creatures. Kait wonders who could have been the original owner of Fort Reval, which Del explains that while the fort was used by the COG as a field hospital during the war, it was actually around for a long time beforehand made by someone unknown. They enter into a church area of the fort, and are greeted by another of the zombie creatures. However, it jumps into some sort of nest pool in the room instead of attacking them, and comes out as a much larger humanoid that's no longer zombie-like. Picking up a nearby gun, the humanoid creature yells at JD's group to die as more of the same creature pop up out of the nest to attack them. JD's group dispose of the large humanoid creatures in the church, and the nest acts similar to a Locust tunnel where they can be closed off with a frag grenade. Shortly after, more Swarm enemies burst through the door near them that leads to the church's next area. They fight through more of the Swarm creatures into a large chapel room to reach the exit door on the other end.
After successfully making their way through the church, the 3 of them take the next moments to try to understand what they saw at the nest room where the zombie creatures were evolving into larger Swarm humanoids. JD questions how they're evolving so quickly, which Kait answers that its possible for smaller juvenile insects to turn into larger drones within just a few days. Due to Kait's description, Del decides to dub the small zombie Swarm creatures they've been coming across as Juvies, and questions what the larger humanoid Drone things are that they've been turning into, which JD states that they should be finding that out soon enough. JD's group next come across Fort Reval's graveyard, which more of the Swarm Drones pop up from the ground to attack them. They make it through the graveyard, and start to hear the static from Marcus' radio again telling them that they're still keeping up with the Snatcher. The 3 of them next enter into a courtyard outside the fort's tram station, but their path forward is blocked by new four-legged Swarm enemies that Del dubs as Pouncers. JD's group battle it out against 3 Pouncers, which proves to be a tough fight since the creatures can fire deadly tail quills at JD and company.
After the Pouncers are disposed of, JD's group make their way into the tram station, which they see is an elevator track up to a higher area of Fort Reval. They call one of the tram cars down, and board onto it with Del taking command of the tram controls. The tram begins to carry them up as JD uses the downtime to have a moment with Kait. He asks if she's alright after all that's happened so far, which she admits that she's not, and apologizes for getting Marcus caught up in the mess regarding her mother being taken away, which has now resulted in JD losing his family as well. However, JD reassures her that there's still a chance since they still haven't lost anyone yet. Kait remains silent unable to say anything back, but then switches her focus to Del to make their tram go faster. Del states that it's because the tram is being held back by a counterweight, which JD decides to cut the counterweight off using his weapon saw. The result is their tram speeding up and crashing at the top of the elevator track.
Chapter 3: At the Doorstep
Getting off the tram, JD's group see that they've followed the Snatcher to an upper area of Fort Reval, which leaves Kait confused since she figured that their main objective was to reach the underground mine. They make their way to the exit, and dispose of more Swarm forces after getting outside. JD and company spot the Snatcher that took Marcus in the distance again passing by the fort's barracks toward's the main keep, which they return to chasing after. They fight their way through the Swarm forces into the barracks, and kill the ones inside the building's main hall. 3 Pouncers drop into the main hall that JD's group battle it out against, and once they're defeated, Swarm reinforcements appear through the exit door on the other side of the room.Making it out of the barracks, they spot the Snatcher again passing by the fort's museum building. JD's group fight their way into the museum, and clear the Swarm forces out of it. Using a turret set up on the museum's second floor, they Hold the Line against Swarm reinforcements charging up the path they just pushed through towards the museum. Once all the Swarm forces are defeated after the large battle, JD's group continue along the path beyond the museum to continue towards the keep. Along the way, Del points out how it is that the COG just abandoned places like Fort Reval to rot away, which JD states that it's because there's people like his dad who prefer to leave some things untouched since it reminds them of the hell they went through during the war.
JD and company arrive outside the keep, and dispose of the Swarm forces defending it. They're stuck from going any further due to the drawbridge being pulled back, which they shoot out the supports to force it to lower. Once the bridge it lowered, they're attacked by the Swarm forces stationed on the other side. JD's group disposes of these enemies, and then makes their way through the gate of Fort Reval's keep. They spot the Snatcher again, which they make their way through the keep's hallways to continue chasing after it. They exit out into the keep's central courtyard where they spot the Snatcher escaping into a lower Swarm infested catacomb area. Continuing the chase, JD's group fight their way through the Swarm's forces down to the entrance of the fort's catacombs.
Chapter 4: Do Not Go Gentle
JD, Del and Kait arrive at the entrance to Fort Reval's catacombs, which they believe to be the place that the Snatchers came from. JD and Del Rock–Paper–Scissors to see who goes in first, which results in Del leading the way. They come across a water well in the catacombs where they see one of the Snatchers making their way down the well into the complete darkness. JD's group continue to go deeper into the catacombs to reach the bottom of the well where they start to come across Swarm forces. However, they take this as a positive sign since it means that they're on the right track, and might even bring them to the osmium mine. JD's group next fights through a tunnel filled with Juvies, and then take part in a large battle against Swarm forces in the next catacomb room. Once the area is clear, JD and company move on to the next area of the catacombs. Del questions why they're down here when their main objective is to search for the mine, which Kait explains that there's a strong possibility that the catacombs and mines are connected given that they've been following where the Snatchers are going.Continuing their way through the catacombs, Kait notes that the place looks like it's been around for hundreds of years, and has probably been a burial ground for a long time. They make their way down around the water well again showing that they've made it to a lower area of the catacombs, and enter into another large room filled with Swarm forces. JD's group partake in another large battle against the Swarm forces to make it to the other side of the room. They next enter into a burial room for a King of the past where they spot a Snatcher escape to an unreachable location. Stuck in the King's burial room, JD's group are ambushed by Pouncers and Juvies, but they manage to dispose of them. They investigate the King's burial room after the battle to look for an exit, which JD finds a hole beneath one of the sarcophagus' to drop to a deeper location. JD's group drop through the hole into a natural cave tunnel beneath the catacombs.
Making their way through the cave tunnel to continue searching for the Snatcher, they come across a high-low branch path where JD takes one by himself while Del and Kait take the other path to cover more ground. JD and company cover one another as they fight against the Swarm forces through the cave network. Eventually, they locate an entrance into the osmium mine where they witness the Snatchers heading down into it. Standing atop the mine entrance, Del suggests that they use the nearby ore transport elevator to carry themselves down. Along the way to the transporter, Kait points out that the transporter doesn't look safe, which JD replies that it probably wasn't used since 25 years ago when they originally stored away the Locust corpses. Kait next asks why the COG chose to bury the corpses to begin with, which JD answers that it was their only option since the Locust bodies formed those yellow crystals that made them impossible to burn. Kait makes it clear that she doesn't like the idea of putting something underground that started off underground, which JD admits that he never said it was a good idea. Shortly after, JD's group arrives at the mine's ore transport elevator. They clear the area of the Swarm forces stationed there, and then head over to the ore transport to see if they can get it working.
Chapter 5: Elevator to Hell
JD's group stand atop the ore transport elevator that will take them down to the osmium mine where the Snatchers have been going. Despite JD being ready to go down, Del shows apprehension, and argues with JD about not knowing what they could end up facing down there. JD points out that he didn't argue with Del back then when the latter wanted to leave the COG, and asks for Del to be the one that trusts him this time around since JD still requires his friend's help to rescue his dad, which Del agrees to go along with. JD next asks if Kait is ok with this, which she quickly states that she isn't stopping now since she's already come this far. The 3 of them board the elevator, and head over to the control room, which Kait questions if something so old is actually going to work. They see that a Fabricator has been left behind in the control room that helps them restock on supplies, which JD then flips a switch to turn the lights back on. However, it ends up not providing power to turn the ore transport on. Del theorizes that the elevator probably requires fuel to get working, and suggests that their best option is to replace the fuel tank with a full one.JD makes his way down to the lower bridge of the transport elevator to replace the fuel tank while Kait remains behind at the control room to turn everything on once the fuel is replaced. He fights off a couple Juvies that jump onto the elevator, and then flips the switch that changes the system over to a reserve tank. With the power now restored, Kait activates the ore transport, which begins their descent down the elevator shaft towards the osmium mine. They use the elevator's Fabricator to set up a defensive position of traps and turrets for when the Swarm forces attempt to stop their descent. The ore transport ends up getting stuck on infestation tendrils along the way down, which allows for the Swarm to board the elevator to attack. JD's group Hold the Line to protect their elevator from the invading Swarm forces, which the first wave has them attacked by a large amount of Juvies. They set up more defenses with the Fabricator following the first wave, which leads to JD's group next getting attacked by a large amount of Swarm Drones for the second wave. Holding out against the second wave, JD's group use the downtime to set up more Fabricator defenses. The infestation tendrils end up destroying the elevator's engine, which causes the ore transport to remain stuck in place. The third wave begins where this time around, JD and company fight off a combined Swarm force of Juvies and Drones.
After holding off the third wave, JD states that their current goal is to get their ore transport moving again. Del explains that their only option is to find a way to cool the engine due to the infestation tendrils frying it as they make their way over to the elevator's engine room. JD and Del spin the valves to provide coolant to the engine, which powers up the ore transport again. The elevator returns to descending down as Pouncers and Juvies jump onto the ore transport to attack JD's group. During the battle, the elevator's descent speeds up due to one side of the ore transport's supports exploding. Before the elevator crashes to the bottom of the mine, JD and company push through the remaining Swarm forces aboard the ore transport in order to pull the emergency break in the control room. The breaks fail to activate at first leaving JD's group to accept that they're about to die, but it finally kicks in as they get closer to the bottom to the point of not crashing. Upon landing at the bottom of the osmium mine, JD, Del and Kait are shown to have made it out unharmed as they begin their journey through the mine to find where Marcus was taken.
Chapter 6: Origins
JD's group enter COG's osmium mine facility to search for the Snatcher that took away Marcus. Kait is left wondering how big the mining operation was back in the day, which Del explains that the osmium was used to coat COG's bayonet weapons until the mine got fully tapped out of its resources. JD flips a switch to open a door to the next area, which amazes Kait that the abandoned mining facility still has power. Del explains this as well that the facility runs on geothermal energy using the heat created by the planet. Along the way, JD's group come across a couple rooms where the COG dumped away many of its weapons, and use it as a chance to restock on supplies. Kait next asks why the Snatchers would retreat to the mining facility, which JD figures that their hive is probably close by.Shortly after, the 3 of them arrive at the top of a large cargo loading room where they can see a large Swarm tendril infestation in the distance that JD believes to be the entrance to their hive. JD and company make their way down the stairs to the cargo room's bottom level where they're attacked by more of the Swarm forces. After the Swarm forces are defeated, they investigate a pile of yellow crystals similar to the one that JD showed Marcus, but before they could figure anything out, an elite Swarm humanoid bigger than the normal Drone bursts through the wall and attacks them. The 3 of them battle it out against the elite Swarm humanoid, as well as other Swarm reinforcements. Another elite Swarm humanoid arrives after the first is defeated, but JD's group are still able to defeat it. After the battle, Kait notes that the elites are looking a lot closer to the Locust than the previous Swarm creatures, and confirms it that the Locust are back; having been cocooned and evolving the whole time the past 25 years while humanity was at peace.
JD's group continue making their way deeper into the mining facility towards the hive where they enter a room full of Swarm corpses that all died to a human scavenger who entered the facility before them. The corpse of the scavenger is in the room as well, which they investigate, and find that he left a message warning people to turn back. Approaching the next door, a Pouncer with a couple Juvies attempt to ambush them, which they're able to defeat and move on. The 3 of them enter the next area where they fight through Swarm forces outside a storage shelter. The shelter turns out to be housing a Mechanical Loader, which JD's group uses to remove the rubble blocking the path forward. They then use the Loader to charge down the path killing any Swarm enemy they come across, but end up crashing it into a pile of yellow crystals. With their Loader wrecked, they move on to the next area. Along the way, Del questions how they're going to climb back out of the mine given that the ore transport elevator they rode down on is wrecked, which JD reminds him that they'll figure that problem out only when its the appropriate time.
JD's group come across a small tendril infestation entrance that makes it clear to them that they've located a path into the hive. Upon entering, they finally begin to hear Marcus' radio again, which tells them that they've caught up to the Snatcher. JD and company enter into a large room of the hive, but before they could search for Marcus, they're met by the Snatcher, and are forced to battle against it. The 3 of them aim for the weak spot, which is the belly that holds its victims, and are eventually able to defeat the Snatcher. Following the fight, they search around the Snatcher's hive for the newest pod that's holding Marcus. Upon finding it, JD cuts it open, which has Marcus fall to the floor unconscious. JD becomes saddened believing his father to be dead and tries to wake him up. He's unsuccessful at first, but the pod liquid comes pouring out of Marcus' mouth showing that he's trying to get air. JD helps get his father's armor off, which finally allows Marcus to properly breathe, and coughs up what's left of the liquid that was in him.
After Marcus gets a hold of himself, he reveals to JD and company that he was connected to the Swarm's network while he was stuck within the pod. Del asks what he means by that, which Marcus explains that the hive is all connected to the humans that have been podded, and that it's proof to him that the Locust never died. JD replies that they already figured it out themselves as Marcus turns his attention to Kait. He reveals to Kait that her mother, Reyna, is still alive, but they have something special planned for her because she didn't get podded like the other humans the Swarm captured. Kait asks where she is, which Marcus answers that they took her to a different burial site. He also reveals that he felt the other villagers that were taken, but they ended up dying in the pods before JD's group could make it in time. JD, Del and Kait take a moment to grieve for their dead friends, including Oscar, which JD tries to comfort Kait given how close she was to them. However, Kait remains calm knowing that keeping her mind in a dark place isn't going to help her mom. With grieving over, Marcus asks what their plan is to return to the surface, which JD warns his dad that he's not going to like the answer.
Act IV
Chapter 1: Get Out
JD's group and Marcus begin making their way back out of the osmium mine to head for the burial site that Reyna was taken off to. Del asks if Marcus learned anything else while he was stuck in the tendril pod, which Marcus answers that the original Locust that evolved into becoming the elites of the Swarm are known as Scions, and that they're the ones in charge of growing their new army. Del next asks how they're supposed to deal with this, which Marcus answers that for now, they should just worry about getting Reyna back, which Kait thanks him for. The 4 of them make it back to the large cargo loading room where one mounts up on a Mechanical Loader to remove a stack of yellow crystals that are blocking their path forward. Once the crystals are moved, they're attacked by Swarm forces, which they use the Loader to push to a higher spot of the large cargo room. Shortly after, they're attacked by a Snatcher and battle it out against it while its supported by Juvie reinforcements. Once the Snatcher is dealt with, JD and company exit the large cargo room to make their way back to the ore transport elevator.Along the way back to the ore transport, Marcus asks if they had trouble getting down here given that it felt like he was riding in the Snatcher for a long time, which JD answers that they didn't. Marcus then asks once more if they have a plan to get back up, which JD lies that they do. They fight through more Swarm forces along the path back to the elevator, which Marcus asks what kind of shape the ore transport is currently in. Del chimes in that the elevator is on fire, which doesn't please Marcus, but JD assures him that he's got things under control. They pass through the room containing the dead scavenger human that left the message to turn back, which tells them that they're close to getting back to the elevator. JD and company continue to backtrack out of the mining facility fighting through any Swarm enemy they come across. However, they're greeted by another Snatcher that they have to battle against along with the many Swarm forces supporting it. After defeating the Snatcher and its reinforcements, JD and company continue to make their way out of the upper parts of the mining facility while dealing with any Juvie they come across. They eventually make it back to the lower area of the ore transport elevator shaft as the Swarm forces begin to catch up to them.
While Marcus and Kait hold off the attacking Swarm forces, JD and Del try to think up a plan that will get them up the elevator shaft since the ore transport is destroyed. JD figures their only option is to somehow fly out, and gets an idea when he sees the elevator cables that were used to pull the ore transport down. The 4 of the grab hold of a cable, and shoot the bottom of it to break it off from the ore transport. As a result of the weight being cut off, the cables begin to pull the 4 of the them up the shaft at incredible speed. Due to the elevator shaft falling apart thanks to the damage done to it on the way down, JD and company shoot any piece of rubble out of the way while they continue their ascend to the top, and also shoot any Juvie that jumps down to try to attack them. Their cables also get stuck part way up in tendril webbings, which JD and company shoot at to free themselves again. Eventually, the elevator pulley at the top falls over, which causes their rise up the elevator shaft to angle, and forces them to dodge any support beam they come across. Once they get close to the top, JD and company shoot at the pulley gears to stop it from spinning so that they don't get cut up and possibly killed by being pulled into the grinding gears.
Thanks to their efforts, the 4 cables pulling up JD's group and Marcus stop near the top, which allows for the 4 of them to climb up the remaining cable to the surface. Once they're on the ground of the surface again, JD and company begin to walk towards their next objective, but Marcus goes back to coughing up the leftover stuff from the pod he was in. JD asks if his dad is ok, which Marcus states that he is, but suggests that they should get back-up from a friend he knows before going for the Swarm hive burial ground that Reyna was taken to. JD begs his father to get help from anyone but him, but Marcus states that it's needed, and that it will only be a slight detour to their current objective. However, the announcement of taking a detour angers Kait claiming that Marcus would be a pile of goo if they took a detour trying to save him, which she then storms off leading the way claiming that they're getting her mother back. Marcus takes JD aside warning his son to reconsider since the burial site they're going to is twice the size of the osmium mine they just went through, but JD asks if Marcus waited for back-up back in the day when he was in Kait's position. Marcus is unable to say anything, which forces him to go along with JD's group towards the burial site that Reyna was taken to.
Chapter 2: No Detours
JD's group and Marcus continue through the wilderness towards the next Locust burial site, which Marcus informs them that it's on the other side of Tollen Dam, an abandoned power station they can see in the distance. He also provides a bit of history that the place is an example of COG's old source of power long before the discovery of Imulsion. Along the way towards the dam, Del points out that he once looked up how many Locust burial sites there are, but the only answer he ever got was that it's classified information. In return, Marcus answers that there's possibly hundreds of them. The 4 of them reach a cliff where they can see a service tower in the distance, which JD believes could take them to the dam. However, they're forced to speed up their movement towards it due to the appearance of another Windflare storm.Along the path to the service tower, the Swarm infestation starts to appear along with more forces of the Swarm, which proves that the burial site that JD and company are heading towards has become infested as well. JD's group fights through the Swarm's forces down to a riverbed area, but the Windflare is now almost upon them. They fight through more Swarm forces along the riverbed into the heart of the Windflare where the lightning bolts of the Stormwall block their way again. JD and company dodge their way through the storm bolts, and make it to the gate of the service tower. The 4 of them try to force their way in, but a lightning bolt strikes the roof of the tower; causing rubble to fall down and block the entrance.
Chapter 3: Knock Knock
Some time after, JD's group and Marcus come out of cover once the Windflare storm had passed by. Their way into the service tower is now blocked by rubble, but Marcus informs them that there's still another service tower for the dam nearby. Del points out how it appears as if the whole planet is trying to kill them, which JD replies that COG's investigations into the Windflare is that it's caused by holes in the planetary crust. Marcus adds that even before that, the cause was sunspots and atmospheric distortions. JD and company continue through the wilderness towards the next service tower where they come across more of the Swarm along the path. They fight through the Swarm forces up to the gate of the service tower, which Marcus informs them that the entrance to the dam is at the top of it. Making their way up the service tower, Del notes how it sounds like Marcus has been to the dam before, which the latter answers that it's because he came here on official COG business long ago.The 4 of them exit the service tower onto a street leading up to the dam crawling with the Swarm's forces. JD and company clear out the Swarm's forces, but the gate to the next area is locked, which Kait believes that the switch to open it is probably at the nearby security station. They find the switch in the station to open the gate, and then head inside a storage area leading up to the dam. Given how abandoned the place looks, Del figures that they must be the first human visitors since the end of the war, which Marcus replies that they had more things to worry about rather than just looking after the dead. The 4 of them approach a large gate to exit out the other side of the storage area only to have a massive Swarm creature that Del dubs as a Carrier come busting through the gate from the other side to attack them. JD and company take on the Carrier dealing enough damage until it exposes its back, which allows for them to get some good shots in until they finally kill it.
Going through the storage exit to the next area, JD and company see that they're now right in front of the dam. They continue along the path searching for a way in as Marcus stalls for a moment when it becomes clear that he's still somewhat connected to the hive network; being able to hear the Swarm's voices again now that they're closer to the burial ground. During their search for the door, Kait asks what happened the last time Marcus was at the dam when he was doing business for COG, which he answers that the dam was used to help power COG's factories during the war, but the Locust attacking it left dozens of GEARs trapped inside. Marcus was tasked on an extraction mission to save the GEARs, but he was unable to save them in time.
Chapter 4: Powerless
Some time after, JD's group and Marcus have entered Tollen Dam through an entrance they found. Kait suggests that they search for the maintenance elevator to reach the top of the dam, which surprises Marcus that she apparently knows her way around. Kait replies back that this is just Outsider experience from having to go around raiding facilities for power supplies. They find the elevator soon after, but aren't surprised to find that it's not working due to being unpowered. Kait figures that the main circuit needs to be charged, and that the answer should be to find a way to get the elevator's turbine moving. They head over to the turbine, and clear away the Swarm infestation that's keeping it stuck. The turbine is now moving again, but their actions don't go unnoticed by the Swarm as they start getting attacked by Juvies. They fight their way through the Swarm forces back to the elevator room where they fight off a pair of Pouncers.Once the Pouncers are dealt with, they try to work the elevator again only to realize that freeing the turbine wasn't enough to power it up. Kait theorizes that the dam's old circuits probably couldn't handle the turbine's power surge, and have to be reset at the generators and operation deck. Splitting up, James and Marcus head off to deal with one while Del and Kait take the other. One of the pairs heads down to the generator area where they flip the switch to turn on the 1st generator, but are attacked by Juvies as a result. Once the Juvies are cleared, the pair in the operation deck activates a bridge to provide a path for the generator pair to reach the next area. The generator pair fights through more Swarm forces to clear the ones that have the operation deck pair pinned down, which allows for the operation deck pair to activate another bridge to the next generator. The generator pair turns on the 2nd generator as the two pairs reunite in the 2nd generator room to clear out the remainder of the Swarm forces. However, Scion reinforcements come bursting in through the nearby wall, and attack them.
After the Scions are dealt with, JD's group and Marcus begin to make their way back to the elevator. Marcus admits that he's proud of them by how well they've fought so far meaning that at the very least, he's glad that COG trained them properly. Kait adds that she learned how to fight from her mother and uncle Oscar. The latter of which was an old COG veteran like Marcus. He asks if Oscar was also taken by the Swarm, which Kait answers that he was. In return, Marcus apologizes for her loss. The 4 of them make it back to the elevator room where it's become quite clear with all the nearby gears moving that the power is finally back. They flip the switch to the elevator, and begin riding it to the top only to be stalled by more Swarm infestation. They look up at the eleveator's roof only to see that it will be impossible to clear away all the infestation, and as a result, they decide to walk the rest of the way.
JD and company get off the elevator after going up about half way to the top. However, they're met by a Carrier within the room they get off at. JD's group and Marcus take on the Carrier while also having to deal with its Juvie reinforcements. Once the Carrier is dealt with, JD and company make their way through the dam's tunnels searching for a way to continue their journey up. They come across a door to get outside where it turns out that they ended up on the level of the dam's wheel turbines. JD's group and Marcus time their movements right to make it through the inner turbine holes while they're spinning to reach the other side, which is where they get attacked by more Swarm forces. Once the Swarm forces are dealt with, JD and company enter through the gate that was on the other end of the wheel turbines to continue their search for a way up the dam. During the search, Kait asks for a reminder on how many GEARs got trapped in the dam, which Marcus answers that there was dozens, but adds that dozens wasn't actually what he saw, but just what he was told. Del adds that it's starting to look like there was more, which Marcus admits that the COG tended to lie about a lot of things when it was about stuff that would have made them look bad.
The 4 of them enter into a room of large chains pulling the dam's turbines where they're greeted by more Swarm forces. JD and company battle their way through the Swarm forces into the next chain room where more of the Swarm is waiting for them, which they deal with as well. They find a stairwell beyond the chain rooms that take them up to the next outside turbine area of the dam, but the old bridge they activate to reach the other side of the walkway ends up falling off the dam. Kait comes up with a plan to ride the turbine wheel up to the next area, which Del follows after her, and Marcus mentions that JD has an interesting girlfriend. The walkway begins to fall apart, which forces JD and Marcus to ride up a different turbine. All 4 of them are now at a higher location after getting off the turbine. Kait and Del end up separated from JD and Marcus as the two pairs climb up to the entrance of the dam's overflow pipe.
The 4 of them are greeted by Swarm forces at the pipe's entrance, which they deal with, but are then met by a Snatcher. JD and company take on the Snatcher, and then enter into the overflow pipe once the Snatcher is dealt with. Making their way through the overflow pipe, JD notices how there's an odd lack of Swarm forces along the path, which Marcus warns him about something he learned from his days in the Locust war that just because they can't see their enemy doesn't mean they aren't around. They eventually find a hole in the pipe that brings them back into the dam complex, and locate a ladder that will take them outside again up to the top. The 4 of them climb the ladder up to a viewing area at the top of the dam where they're left stunned in disbelief upon witnessing a massive Swarm hive that has infested the dam. In addition, a Windflare storm has arrived at their location making things even more dangerous.
Knowing that her mother is most likely down in the hive, Kait prepares to go in, but is held back by Marcus claiming that they still have another option to do this. Kait remains impatient believing that Marcus' plan is to wait it out for help, which JD sides with his father this time around knowing that not just Kait's mother, but a lot of people are going to die if they don't get help to dispose of the Swarm hive. Kait yells back that everyone she knew is already dead, and in return, JD answers that he already knows this, which finally silences her. Getting back to the problem at hand, JD asks his father if he can get in contact with him, which Marcus answers that it's not possible from the viewing area they're currently in. Del points them to a radio tower he can see in the distance, which Marcus admits that said object could work. Before beginning their journey towards it, Kait tells Marcus that she's going into the Swarm hive alone if it turns out that his friend can't help. In return, Marcus assures her that if his friend doesn't help, they will still be following alongside her to search for her mother. Kait takes one last look at the Swarm hive worrying about her mother as the 4 of them head outside into the Windflare storm to reach the radio tower.
Chapter 5: Storm Warning
JD's group and Marcus exit the dam's viewing area out into the Windflare storm in order to reach the nearby radio tower structure. They make their way along the top of the dam fighting through any of the Swarm forces they come across until they reach a door at the end that brings them back into the dam. Due to the Windflare storm while also having to deal with the Swarm forces, Del suggests that they stay inside until the storm passes. However, JD gives the order to keep moving since there's no guarantee how long the storm will last. They exit out of the shelter to the next outer top area of the dam where they face off against more Swarm forces. A turret set up across a broken dam chasm has them pinned down, which they use a long dead Siege Beast to fire catapult shots at the turret set-up. The catapult shots also manage to knock down a pillar to allow for JD and company to cross the dam chasm.Beyond the destroyed turret set-up, JD and company open a gate to into a tunnel that goes away from the dam. They fight more of the Swarm forces through the tunnel out to a clearing where they reach the center of the Windflare. After disposing of the Swarm forces in the area, the Stormwall's lightning bolts begin to strike the ground like usual when they're within the Windflare's center. JD's group and Marcus dodge through the lightning bolts to reach the substation building at the other end. Upon entering, Del points out the irony that they've entered a power station that has no power, which Marcus states that they need to fix this since no power here means that the radio tower won't be getting any power either. Kait next ask where it is they're currently going, which Marcus answers that they're on the path towards a deserted town called Speyer. The 4 of them eventually come across the substation's control room, which they flip a switch to turn on the building's power. This means Speyer will be receiving power as well, meaning that Marcus is now able to call his friend at the radio tower.
JD and company make their way through the substation where they come across a man-made barricade blocking their way. The room has a transformer control panel that they use to open up the station's transformers to shoot at. Enough damage to the transformer destroys it, but sends off an electrical discharge that destroys the barricade blocking the way. The 4 of them continue making their way through the substation, which Kait asks if Marcus' back-up will truly help them. Marcus replies that he already sent word to them back at the estate, and that in all likelihood, they've been waiting on standby to hear from him again ever since. They enter into another room of the substation where they come across a Swarm Scion with a unique look to him. Upon closer look, and seeing the Scion with a cut off arm, Kait realizes that it's the same thing that took away her mother. In return, the Scion known as the Speaker gives off a laugh, and taunts Kait by claiming that her mother is now where she belongs. An angry Kait orders him to tell her where her mother is, which the Speaker claims that her mother lies through him.
The Speaker then brings out a Swarmak, a mutated version of the Locust Brumak, and hops on it to attack JD and company. The 4 of them take on the Speaker riding his Swarmak, but due to the mount being invulnerable, they work around the room to open up each transformer, which they then shoot at to set off an electrical discharge that stuns the Swarmak for a brief moment while leaving a flesh wound on the Swarmak that JD and company can shoot at to deal legit damage. While holding off Swarm reinforcements, the 4 of them repeat the transformer stun tactic several times until they're finally able to bring down the Swarmak. The Speaker falls out of it, but before he could grab a nearby gun, he gets captured by JD and Del. Getting in the speakers face, Kait points out how she knows that the Swarm's hive mind can all hear what she's saying. She yells at the Speaker that they're getting her mother back, and then burning their whole hive to the ground once her mother is safe. She then kicks the Speaker in the face as the screen goes black, which implies that the Speaker is now dead.
Act V
Chapter 1: Convergence
Some time after, it's now morning of the next day as JD's group and Marcus arrive outside the entrance of of Speyer. However, they see that a TV Head DeeBee of Jinn has been stationed at the entrance waiting for their arrival. JD reminds her that they're busy at the moment, which Jinn asks him to use this as an opportunity to educate her on what's going on. Del jokes that it looks like Jinn finally figured out that 4 people aren't taking on more than just the COG for the hell of it, which Jinn suggests that they all return to New Ephyra so that they can discuss this.JD starts to get the idea that Jinn already knows about what it is they've been fighting, which Jinn states that the answer should be obvious that she's been trying to keep human society united so that down the line, they can deal with whatever's out there. However, JD calls her out asking if she really believes the bullshit that's coming out of her mouth. Jinn calls him lieutenant to try to reason with him, but JD yells back that he's not her lieutenant anymore. Before their conversation could go any further, 2 Pouncers arrive at their location to attack them, which they start by shooting one of their quills at the TV Head DeeBee. The Pouncers reveal their ability to control machinery as the quill in the TV Head DeeBee controls it to try to strangle JD to death. JD uses his knife to destroy the TV Head DeeBee as he and his companions take on the 2 Pouncers. Once the Pouncers are defeated, they make their way into Speyer to head towards the radio tower.
Upon entering the town, they see that more of COG's DeeBees arrived with Jinn's TV Head that just got destroyed, but instead of fighting against JD's group and Marcus, they're currently trying to deal with the Swarm forces. They enter into the fight, which results in a 3-way battle taking place inside the entrance to Speyer. Once the battle is over, JD's group go on to the next town area. They make their way up to a town factory while fighting off any of the Swarm forces they come across. Upon entering the factory, Marcus sees that it's an old COG Centaur factory, which Marcus mentions that while they were a bit cramped to sit in, they got the job done back in his days. JD and company make their way through the Centaur factory while fighting off the Swarm forces stationed inside it. They make their way out to the other side of the factory closer to the radio tower, but are stalled by a turret gun being manned by the Swarm. JD's group and Marcus fight their way through the Swarm forces up to the entrance of the radio tower. Before going in, JD asks if his father is ready to make the call, which Marcus replies that he's been ready.
Chapter 2: Killing Time
Marcus is about to head into the radio tower to make the call for help, which JD reminds his father that they're going to need a lot more help than just DeeBee support. In return, Marcus assures his son that the one he's calling will come up with something out of his ass. Marcus heads off into the radio tower to make the call as JD, Del, and Kait observe their surroundings, and see that the Swarm forces are on the move to surround them. Shortly after, Marcus returns out of the radio tower with a Fabricator for JD and company to set up nearby defenses. Marcus informs them that the call's been made, but they're going to have to kill time by holding out against the Swarm until back-up arrives.After the fortifying up the defenses outside the radio tower, the first wave of Swarm Forces arrive, which mostly consists of the lesser creatures, such as Juvies, Drones and 2 Pouncers. The second wave is next that consists of more stronger Swarm Forces, as well as 2 Snatchers. The third wave then comes after, which consists of more of the stronger Swarm Forces, but also 2 Carriers. Once all the waves have been dealt with, a green smoke flare can be seen in the distance telling them where to meet up with their back-up, which Marcus orders them all to start moving. Along the way, the 4 of them complain about not jinxing it when they claim that the areas they go through are all clear. Once they reach the location of the smoke flare, they're greeted by 2 giant robots, but Marcus assures them that this is not a jinx. Marcus walks up to greet the two friendly robots, which Baird and Cole Train pop out from them to greet their old friend.
Along with Marcus, Baird and Cole Train reunite with JD as well, which JD goes about affectionately calling Cole Train his uncle, and playfully thanks Baird that he's seen enough of his toys at this point in his life. Kait asks what he means by toys, which JD introduces her and Del to Baird, who's the CEO of DB Industries, and is the proud inventor of all the DeeBee robots that's been trying to kill them all. However, Del defends himself claiming that Jinn was the one who turned his DeeBees into killing machines. JD counters by pointing out that they still got his initials on them, which Baird counters back how it's a big coincidence that something behind the scenes has been keeping the awol JD safe for months from behind arrested by COG, and despite causing trouble in Settlement 5, a transport car suddenly appears to save them from Jinn. JD angrily walks towards the robots quickly realizing that Baird is the one that's been watching over him, which Baird takes a a sign of thank you.
Baird points out that his two giant robots they brought as back-up are known as Jack Junior and Second Betty, which JD makes the first choice to mount up into Jack Junior while Kait takes Second Betty. Marcus, Baird and Cole Train have a moment alone looking down at a piece of Swarm infestation knowing that the Locust are making a comeback. Cole Train admits that he's missed them in a messed up kind of way, which Marcus agrees. The helicopter arrives at their location soon after as their ride that will carry the reunited Delta Squad. In addition, Baird's wife, Samantha, is the one flying the copter. The overall plan is for Delta Squad to act as support from above while JD's group pushes along the ground mounted up on the Jack Junior and Second Betty robots to reach the dam's Swarm hive. Shortly after, JD and company begin their journey back to Tollen Dam.
Chapter 3: Gate Crashers
JD's group is seen within their 2 giant robot mechs moving along the road back to Tollen Dam while Samantha flies the helicopter nearby that Delta Squad is riding. While Delta's helicopter scouts ahead, Del points out how ironic it is that the one person who JD didn't want helping them turned out to be the only guy that could help them. However, JD agrees with it instead of complaining about it further. They fight through Swarm forces along the road while using the mech guns to shoot down any barricade wall they come across. Baird also informs them that if an object blocking their way is too big, they can call in an airstrike for the helicopter to fire rockets upon the target. They start by using the airstrike on a building so that they can climb over its rubble onto the next road.JD's group and Delta Squad continue to dispose of any Swarm or barricade wall along the road until they cross a bridge to the next area. They encounter a Swarmak in the next walled off area, which JD and company battle it out against. Once the Swarmak is defeated, Delta's helicopter fires a rocket at the next wall so that they can move off the road into a canyon path that continues towards Tollen Dam. They battle it out with more Swarm forces in the canyon up to the wall of the dam where their path is blocked by a turbine wheel that broke off. They break their way through the wheel using their 2 mechs to reach the dam wall, which they're then greeted by another Swarmak. Like before, JD and company battle it out with the Swarmak until they finally kill it. Afterwards, JD's group get ready to move into the dam on foot while Delta Squad flies their helicopter over it to meet them on the other side.
Chapter 4: Release
Still in their 2 giant robot mechs, JD's group blast their way through the wall of Tollen Dam to enter the Swarm hive. They spot a cave in the distance, which Marcus informs them that it's the heart of the network, and that Reyna was placed in there. Along the path towards the cave, seismic activity begins to occur in the ground, which results in infestation blobs popping out to try to attack JD's group. JD and company fight through the blobs pushing their way closer to the cave until a giant Hive Beast with large tentacles pops out of the ground to attack them. JD and company battle it out against the massive Swarm monster dodging each of its attacks until they can pull out one of its tentacles. The pulled out tentacle leaves a vulnerable hole that allows for JD and company to deal direct damage to the Hive Beast.They repeat this process 3 more times until all 4 of its tentacles have been pulled out, which forces the Hive Beast to switch tactics to long ranged missile attacks. By doing so, the Hive Beast manages to hit Delta Squad's helicopter, which results in them crashing nearby. Delta evacuates the helicopter to start killing off any Swarm in the area, which Marcus orders his son to finish off the Hive Beast. JD decides to use the destroyed helicopter's rotary wing as a melee weapon against the Hive Beasts as he moves in to attack it while evading and blocking its ranged attacks with the helicopter spinner. He saws off both the Hive Beasts legs with the rotary wing, and then uses said wing to saw at the beast's now vulnerable head, which finally kills it. Shortly after, JD's group and Delta Squad regroups as they head off to the cave to finally locate Reyna.
Within the cave of the Swarn hive, Kait is the first to find her mother's location, and is left stunned in disbelief seeing Reyna's body connected to the hive's main tendrils. Kait confronts Marcus figuring that he already knew about this, which he admits that while he did, he wasn't expecting the current situation that Reyna's been left in. Kait steps forward ready to help her mother, but Reyna puts in enough strength to speak, and warns her daughter that she will die if she gets disconnected from the hive mind. Reyna asks for her daughter to cut her loose, which JD steps forward begging her not to force Kait to kill her own mother. However, Kait stops JD in his tracks, and asks to just have this last moment to say goodbye. JD and company depart from the cave to leave Kait alone with her mother. A tearful Kait pulls out a knife to cut her mother's tendrils, which Reyna asks for her daughter to take the neck amulet that she's been holding onto ever since she was taken away from the village. Taking the amulet, Kait begins to cut away at the tendrils. She struggles to continue after cutting the first one upon seeing her mother in pain, but Reyna assures her that it's ok. A saddened Kait then continues to cut away at the tendrils until Reyna's body is free from the hive mind, but also results in her mother's death.
Shortly after, JD and company continue to remain outside the cave waiting for Kait to come out. Kait eventually comes out from the cave still crying, which JD approaches to give her a comforting hug. Marcus is the next to step forward reminding them that the battle is still going, and that JD's first objective should be to get Kait somewhere safe. Kait mentions that she doesn't need protection despite her current emotional state, which Marcus agrees with, but knows from past experience that she needs time away from this place to process everything that just happened. She next pulls out Reyna's amulet, which JD believes to be an object that her mother wanted her daughter to have in her final moments. Kait explains that it originally belonged to her grandmother, but never got to meet her, which Del mentions that it's a beautiful necklace. Kait then looks at the other side of the amulet, which shows off the symbol of the Locust. As a result, this heavily implies that Kait is actually the granddaughter of Locust Queen Myrrah.
