Tricks and Secrets
- Insane Difficulty: complete the campaign on Casual or Hardcore difficulty.
- Closing an Emergence Hole: throw a grenade inside (it closes and the Locust do not come out); or use the Hammer of Dawn by aiming first at an enemy and then at the hole; or fire a Torque Bow arrow from close up, while the line of fire is arched. An arrow stuck at the top closes it anyway.
- Easy group kill: with the Torque Bow wait for groups of Locust and shoot one in the head: after a few seconds it explodes and kills all or many of those nearby.
- Blocking the path in 2 players: at a door let one player die on the threshold: the Locust cannot pass and line up behind, so you kill them easily; then revive your partner.
- Chainsaw: the Lancer's chainsaw cuts nearby doors, walls and crates.
- Easy achievement points in co-op: join as Player Two to play as Dominic Santiago; you unlock various achievements and do not lose points for the many rescues.
- Easy achievements (Berserker, Corpser and RAAM): start a campaign on Casual difficulty, before the fight exit to the main menu, choose "Continue Campaign" and set Hardcore: you get "My Love for You Is Like a Truck", "Broken Fingers" and "A Dish Best Served Cold". Alternatively play on Insane: you unlock the three achievements of each act.
C.O.G. Tags
In the campaign look for the dead soldier's symbol (red armor with a skull) painted on a wall or floor: there is a tag nearby. 30 in total.
Act 1
- Prison: 1) after the walkways go straight, it is under the logo; 2) in the room where the Locust enter, at the back on the right; 3) in the outer courtyard go up the stairs on the left, in the corner on the left.
- Trial by Fire: 4) in the small courtyard outside the building, to the right of the Gears logo; 5) after the bridge, in the building with broken pillars, behind the second Emergence Hole in the grass; 6) in the large area with the fountain, in the far left corner looking at the logo.
- Knock Knock: 7) in the outdoor area with lots of stairs, in an alcove with a logo above and a large hole on the left, in the corner; 8) in the corridor, in the corner on the left looking at the door Jack is breaking; 9) in the room with Rojas's body, in the corner on the right behind the column.
- Chinese Shop: 10) right after the scene with the Berserker, in the burning area, near a logo; 11) have the Berserker break down the doors: in the third room before the final door, in the last alcove on the left; 12) after number 11 in the garden, on the left along the wall, behind a broken block (take it before killing the Berserker).
Act 2
- Tick Tick Boom: 13) in the room with the stairs leading to a ledge, under the ledge; 14) after the room with the beams, at the end and behind the stairs going down to the street; 15) before the gate, behind the newspaper stand (there is a logo above it).
- Guard Post: 16) after the first checkpoints, in the area with the Emergence Hole: shoot the propane tank in the container on the left.
- Deadly Maze: 17) where you guide Dom with the light, in the far left corner behind a pile of trash: light it up after Dom has pressed the switch.
- Black Maze: 18) after leaving the destroyed building, on the right near the corner, before the gas station.
Act 3
- Giupour: 19) after the split to find the factory, on the shelf with the elevator, behind there is a pier: it is at the end; 20) in the room with the broken board, at the far right: walk on the metal beam.
- Coalition Cargo: 21) in the room with the mine cart, at the bottom of the stairs on the right, before activating the carts.
- Dark Before Oblivion: 22) in the quarries on the glowing platforms, keep to the right up to the steel door: it is in front of it; 23) right after, to the right of the stairs of the small building; 24) after the split with Dom, on a raised spot on the right after the Corpser (there is also ammo).
Acts 4 and 5
- Campus Grinder: 25) in the first area with the fountain, on the right behind the second staircase (or the first).
- From Bad to Worse: 26) after leaving Delta 2, behind the left part of the machine.
- Imaginary Place: 27) in the second section of the house, in the office room: destroy the desk, it is underneath.
- Scrap Train: 28) inside the door that Jack breaks down, on the left; 29) on the floor before the stairs toward the top of the train; 30) at the second car, in the storeroom on the left, at the end of the corridor (before the next door).
Achievements (Gamerscore)
- Completion: all acts on Casual = Mercenary (10); on Hardcore = Soldier (20); on Insane = Commando (30). Each act is worth 10, 20 or 30 points depending on the difficulty. Training level = Prison Breakout (10).
- Tags: 1/3 = Time to Remember (10); 2/3 = Honor-Bound (20); all = For the Fallen (30).
- Bosses on Hardcore (30 each): Berserker = My Love for You Is Like a Truck; Corpser = Broken Fingers; General RAAM = A Dish Best Served Cold; secret: Brumak = Shock Therapy (30).
- Reloads: 25 perfect active reloads = Zen and the Art of Reloading (10); 5 in a row = Zen and the Art Part 2 (20). Clusterluck (20): kill 3 enemies together 10 times.
- Co-op as Dominic: 1 chapter = Dom-curious (10); 10 chapters = Domination (20); all acts = I Can't Quit You Dom (30).
- Versus: 10,000 kills = Not So Serious (20); 10,000 ranked = Seriously (40); Revive a teammate in 100 matches = Don't You Die On Me (10); 100 matches with a kill using the Boomshot (20), pistol (20), Torque Bow (20), Longshot (20), Hammer of Dawn (20), chainsaw (10), curb stomp (20), execution (20), sticky grenade (20), headshot (20).
- Ranked: finish the first match (10); most points in a match (10); win in every game type (20); on every map (20); 10 wins without losing a round (20).
