Gears 5: How to Upgrade Your Fortifications in Horde Mode

Upgrades in Gears 5 Horde mode work a bit differently from how things worked in Gears of War 4.

Gears 5 Horde mode has come about with some brand new changes for the game. In it, players have the option to pick from nine of their favorite characters from the game, among a few other DLC choices which are making guest star appearances, such as Sarah Connor from Terminator, and Kait and Emile from Halo Reach. However, some of these changes have modified how players think about their Horde mode team, including how fortifications work. Some of these changes are not straightforward. Here’s how you go about upgrading your fortifications.

Upgrading Fortifications in Gears 5 Horde Mode

Classes Matter

Each of the characters in the Horde mode is assigned a specific class. For those who want to get straight to it, only two characters have the option to upgrade fortifications: Del and Kat, from Halo Reach. They are the engineers in Horde mode. They start the game with a passive that makes it cheaper for them to purchase fortifications from the fabricator and can move defenses around faster than the other units. While all of the characters can place a piece of defense down from the fabricator, they are the only ones who can upgrade things.

How to Upgrade

Upgrading things is a bit confusing. To do so, the player has to approach the defense and pick it up. When they do, they should see the option to upgrade it to the next level. The upgrade is first going to come from how much Power the engineer character is carrying. After all of the character’s carrying Power is consumed, the power they use up next is going to come from what’s in the fabricator.

When the Horde team gathers up enough power, they usually consider when they need to upgrade the fabricator. However, players are not going to do that anymore. Even engineers cannot improve the fabricator. It’s going to remain at the same level. The advantage of this new mechanic is the fact when a fortification does go down the engineer can approach it to bring it back. A yellow outline represents a destroyed fortification. The object returns at the same level it was at when it got destroyed. When the next wave begins, and there are still destroyed fortifications not yet brought back, those disappear. You’re going to want to hurry to ensure these get rebuilt, or you’re going to need to build a new one from the fabricator and start from scratch.