The Locust in Gears of War: E-Day are designed to feel newly encountered, physically dangerous, and difficult to read. A useful enemy guide begins with behavior—where a target pressures the squad, what cover it denies, and which opening it exposes—rather than an unsupported health table copied from another Gears game.
Official material shows familiar Locust forms alongside E-Day’s rebuilt movement, ballistics, and dismemberment. Names below are limited to threats discussed or shown by first-party sources; spawn lists and exact breakpoints remain build-specific.
Locust Drones: the baseline is still dangerous
The Coalition repeatedly uses the Locust Drone to explain E-Day’s tone. This is not meant to be a disposable tutorial silhouette. A Drone can use cover, push an exposed angle, and survive poorly placed fire long enough to threaten the player.
Against rifle-bearing infantry, first find the target that has a clean lane on the squad. Break line of sight before committing to a long reload. Simulated projectile travel means a moving enemy at distance may require lead; watching tracers is more reliable than assuming every round hits the crosshair immediately.
Damage reactions and dismemberment can communicate impact, but a visible wound is not a universal remaining-health meter. Difficulty, weapon, range, and current build all affect the result. Confirm a kill before leaving cover.
Grenadier pressure and close approaches
Official gameplay material presents close-range Locust pressure as a reason to use movement, shoulder swaps, and the new Gut Puncher. A Grenadier-style enemy is most dangerous when cover funnels the squad into a predictable pocket or when an explosive forces a hurried exit.
Keep a second cover destination before the throw. If a hostile is protected behind a wall, the Gut Puncher’s player-controlled detonation is designed to place an explosion beyond cover: quick fire produces a normal detonation, while holding the trigger can delay the blast. That role does not establish a guaranteed one-hit kill or unlimited range.
When several close enemies approach, create depth. One player or AI squadmate can hold the immediate lane while another watches the flank. Avoid blind vaults into the space an explosive just cleared; a second threat may be outside the camera.
Sniper sightlines and exposure time
Long-range Locust punish players who treat one piece of cover as permanent safety. Watch for a clear aiming lane, audio cue, or impact near the edge. Move between solid positions and reduce the time spent repeating the same peek.
E-Day supports a shoulder swap outside cover, so the player can choose the side that exposes less of the body. That is especially useful when a right-side angle would otherwise reveal the character before the reticle clears the obstacle. A smoke grenade can deny sightlines, but smoke is a temporary repositioning tool, not proof that enemy awareness has reset.
Do not publish a sniper timing window from trailer frames. Animation and balance can change, and Campaign difficulty may alter the safe reaction period.
Heavy Locust and armor questions
Large Locust threats require space management before damage optimization. Official material shows heavily armed enemies and identifies the Boomshot as a substantial Heavy Weapon in E-Day. When a heavy projectile or large enemy controls a lane, spread the squad so one impact cannot remove every recovery option.
Use cover that blocks the full attack, not a low object that only hides the reticle. Save a clear escape direction, wait for the enemy’s committed action, then focus fire during recovery. If a body area reacts differently, verify that behavior in the current build before calling it an armor phase or weak point.
Horde Siege can add modifiers and Invasion Events, so a Campaign observation does not automatically predict a Horde version. Record mode and difficulty with every breakpoint.
Wretches and low-angle disruption
Small, fast Locust threats are dangerous because they pull aim away from the main lane and can reach the player while attention is fixed on a rifle exchange. Keep enough camera space to see the approach and avoid reloading every weapon at the same moment.
A shotgun or rapid sidearm transition can solve the immediate close target, but ammunition matters. The Gnasher now carries six shells and reloads round by round, so loading one emergency shell can be better than waiting for a full reserve. The Snub’s quick draw and fire rate also make it a recovery option when a primary is caught empty.
The exact Wretch variants and encounter count are not fully published. Use the low-angle response as a combat principle rather than a promised bestiary entry.
Environmental threats and battlefield awareness
E-Day’s encounters combine destructible bodies, volumetric smoke, mobile heavy weapons, and cover movement. Not every dangerous object is an enemy with a health bar. A blocked route, explosive effect, or turret lane can control the fight as effectively as a Locust unit.
Before advancing, scan the floor, near cover, elevated positions, and the next fallback. Mark the pressure source rather than chasing whichever target was hit most recently. In co-op, short calls—“close left,” “long right,” “heavy center”—are more actionable than an unverified enemy nickname.
How to document the launch bestiary
For each confirmed enemy, record its on-screen name or codex name, campaign chapter, difficulty, attack cues, movement role, armor behavior, and a reproducible response. Test on AppID 3010850, not the separate Beta AppID, and state the public build date.
Never infer a permanent weak point from one cinematic kill. Repeat the encounter with the same weapon and distance. If a result differs, describe the conditions instead of averaging them into a false statistic.
Enemy FAQ
Are all enemies from earlier Gears games returning?
No complete launch bestiary has been published. Familiar appearances do not prove every variant is included.
Do Campaign enemy values apply to Horde Siege?
Not automatically. Horde adds classes, mods, modifiers, multiple difficulties, and mode-specific encounters.
Why are exact health values omitted?
Official pre-release sources do not provide a stable health table, and values can vary by difficulty and build.