Gears of War/Act Five: Desperation

Special Delivery
"Secure the platform and catch the train"

Get to the Train Boarding Platform
As you approach the Station you are surrounded by Locust Snipers on top of all the high ground around you. There are also groups of Drones and Wretches that come out of a few Emergence Holes that open up around you. As you clear most of them out, you hear the train approaching. Work your way over to the far train platform by walking along a small walkway behind a stopped train. Once you are across you and Dom hitch a ride onto the train.

Train Wreck
"All aboard"

Get the Nav Data to the Lightmass Bomb
As you get on the train, you are immediately bombarded with many waves of Drones (about 12 in total) along with about 5 Theron Guards mixed in.

Once you reach a cabin with a door, you will receive a message from Anya about Nemacysts being located on the radar. Proceed to open the door with the green door button.

Eliminate the Berzerker Threat
As you open the door, you find it's stuck. So you have Jack open it for you, but as Jack starts to open it you are attacked by a Berzerker. Because of the Nemacyst clouding the skies, there is no way to use The Hammer of Dawn. You must find another way to dispose of it.

Lure it to one of the end train cars, back where you started the level. Then run back and find a car release button to dispose of the Berzerker and all the trailing train cars. Or, as an alternate method, you can lure her near the large fuel tank and toss a grenade near it. Just be sure to get off the train section the tank is on on because it will also release them.

Fight through the next few train cars, there will be plenty of Drones and Theron Guards along with a few Reavers flying by the side of the train cars trying to take you out.

Get to the Chain Gun
Clear out a few Drones in the next train car, and then you'll find a ladder past a door that you need to use a button to open. Climb it and get in the Troika mounted up top.

Clear out the Attacking Reavers
Once you are on the Troika you have to shoot down about 10-15 Reavers that attack you. Be quick and try to take them out from afar before they get too close to hit you with their Torque Bow.

You may also have to switch to the other Troika here to clear out the opposite side of Reavers if you are not playing Co-Op because Dom will not follow you up in single player mode.

Keep the Train From Stopping
Anya calls to inform you that four cars ahead Wretches are cutting the power to the train. Fight your way through the next four cars through a few waves of Dark Wretches, along with a few Reavers and Theron Guards. Be careful a few spots the Dark Wretches will pour out of the ceiling and through the windows.

Once you reach the train car where the Wretches are eating through the power, you are given thirty seconds to reach the train car past the ones with the Wretches so you can disconnect it and keep the train moving.

Pale Horse
"A dish best served cold"

You reach a final empty train car filled with ammo before the big end battle. I'd stock up if I were you. I recommend the Longshot and either the Gnasher (if you have it already) or the Lancer.

Kill RAAM
Stick behind the cover to avoid General RAAM's Kryll shield. Take shots at him with a Torque Bow, or lob grenades, to clear the Kryll shield and then continue to shoot at RAAM with whatever weapons you have. Repeat this over and over, while also avoiding any flying Kryll once the shields are dropped.

Depending on your difficulty level will depend on how aggressive General RAAM is towards you. On Casual he will usually stay on the other end of the train car and shoot at you from there, and will only occasionally charge you. But we found that on Hardcore he will approach you and Dom right away instead of staying back, forcing you to run and find more cover. Doing so exposes you to Kryll attack. To avoid the Kryll, try running down the middle of the train car until you reach another concrete block to find cover. Another option is to continue running past that block to a mounted Targa, but this exposes you to Kryll and the attacking Reavers. Once you get to Insane difficulty, RAAM will be more aggressive in his march towards you. Find cover and try to get shots off, basically the same as on Hardcore, until you finally defeat him.

This level is essentially just a boss fight. Remember that guy who impaled Kim a few acts ago? Well he's back to stop you once and for all. There are multiple strategies for this boss so edit in any if you have them.

Suggested Armarments
For this boss there are several weapons that are ideal. First off you're going to want something to disperse his shield; both grenades and Torque Bows do the job so fill up on those. Also you'll need a sniper rifle, whether or not you're good with it. If you have a partner then they'll need a sniper too.

Strategies
The first thing you should do is take cover. General RAAM has two attacks that he can use on you. The first is a huge gun unlike anything else in the game. You don't really need to know what it is though just know that it can kill you in a few seconds.

The second attack is the Kryll. The Kryll are a vital factor in this battle because they are both his defense and offense. Normally the Kryll will fly around RAAM like a shield. When this shield is up nothing will damage him. There are three ways to destroy the shield shoot him with the Torque Bow, chuck a grenade near him, or wait for RAAM to send them after you. No matter which you use make sure to snipe him in the head when the shield is gone.

This sounds pretty simple, but there are complications. RAAM will slowly move toward you, which is bad. The only thing more dangerous than RAAM at a distance is RAAM up close. But here's the catch, if you leave your cover then you risk being mauled by Kryll (because most of the train is dark.) So when RAAM gets close hit him with a grenade or Torque Bow and run towards the other end of the map.Once you hop over the cover you'll find that the map is symmetrical. Turn around and repeat your original plan of sniping and you'll eventually defeat him.