Gears of War/Act Four: The Long Road Home

Campus Grinder
"Bullies on the playground"

You and the squad are on the hunt for Marcus's Father's House. A King Raven in your squad gets shot down in the middle of the city.

Secure the Courtyard
You must clear out the Locust in the courtyard here. The first wave is comprised of Drones, Grenadiers and Locust Sniper. Once you clear the first wave, from the south (if building entrance is north), some more Drones along with a pair of Theron Guards come out of the buildings.

If you thought that was a tough onslaught, two Boomers decide to drop in on the party. One from the East and one from the North East. I decided to surprise the one at the East with some grenades at his feet, but he didn't like me much for that. Stay in cover and take them out safely. Instead I found it safe inside the building.

Once you are clear, collect ammo from around the level. There should be almost ammo and every weapon so far available to you on the ground somewhere.

Secure the Contemporary Combat Center
Secure it.

Take the Streets (Right)
If you are playing co - op teamwork is a very important part of this level. The person up in the buildings can cover VERY well. You just need to kill anyone that gets to close or is endangering the people in the building. Later on when you get into the courtyard with the seeder try to stay in cover but also take out a lot of locust with you. The people in the building cop a lot of enemies so try and defend yourself as much as possible.

Take the Building Path (Left)
In this path you travel through the buildings along the street, backing up the rest of the squad below on the streets.

Once upstairs, you'll come across a Theron Guard, after the guard is defeated check out on the squad below. A few rooms later, a Seeder emerges outside on the streets. Once you take care of the immediate threat of a Drone, a pair of Wretches and an occasional Nemacyst, use The Hammer of Dawn found in the room here to take the Seeder out.

Once the Seeder retreats back into its hole, look for another Emergence Hole to open in the middle of the courtyard. Have The Hammer of Dawn ready to close it right up before too many enemies get out. The hole will contain at least two Theron Guards and a few Drones so the sooner you close it the less will escape.

Your squad mates are now stuck and require you to open a doorway so they can continue. Work through the building until you find a wheel on the wall. Open it up to let the rest of your squad through.

Continue through another burned up building and take part in a fire fight on the street with the Locust who are on the other side fighting the rest of the squad. There is one Locust Sniper with some Drones here flanked by a few Wretches. Clear them out and continue into the building ahead of you and back out to the street. You are now reunited with the rest of the squad.

Investigate the Downed Chopper
Now that the squad is reunited, you are just across from the downed chopper on the next block. But the path is blocked. To clear the path shoot the propane tanks around the busted truck, it'll open a hole through the fence. Once inside, Marcus decides to leave behind Cole and Baird to tend to the wounded while he and Dom head to the Conservatory.

Bad to Worse
"Enjoy the local flora and fauna"

Travel to the Conservatory
As Dom and Marcus walk through the Conservatory, the ground begins to shake. Something is definitely not right around them. Once they find the entrance to the Conservatory, they find the doors shut. Jack is then instructed to start to open the doors.

Defend Jack Until the Doors are Open
As Jack begins his work, an Emergence Hole opens at the entrance to the Conservatory. Defeat the Wretches and Drones that emerge from the hole.

Once the Emergence Hole is closed, a pair of Boomers will burst through the wall opposite of Jack. Lucky Anya informs you that the satellites are online and the The Hammer of Dawn is now functional. I'd use it if I were you, one is on the ground close to the Conservatory door.

Proceed Through the Conservatory
As you pass through the rooms of the conservatory, everything is quiet and still, no signs of life. But there is an occasional sound that echoes through the building. So it's probably a good idea to pick up The Hammer of Dawn that you will find along the way.

The reason is, after you go to leave the main conservatory room, you are greeted by a Berzerker. Run past her through a few more rooms, but keep clear because she can take you out with one punch. At the end of the run, you are in a room with glass ceilings like before, but one major difference is there is now some nice weak pillars holding the roof up. This does not work.

Anya informs the squad that The Hammer of Dawn satellites are overhead for only a five minute window. So act fast and lure the Berzerker towards each of the pillars, so she knocks them down. After they are down, the roof is opened up enough to use The Hammer of Dawn to take her down in two shots.

After she is defeated, you have to find a way out. In the process of opening the roof up, you started a fire on the west wall when a pillar fell. Use the water control wheel at the south end to put the fire out and give you a path to proceed towards Marcus's Father's home.

Hazing
"Surprise encore"

Proceed Towards the Fenix Estate
Work your way around here through the buildings. You'll eventually come to a spot where you have a Troika gun opposite you. If you have any time left on the satellites for The Hammer of Dawn use that here, if not use your weapons to take it down.

After it's closed you'll have two Emergence Holes that open to make your way through difficult. I again used my The Hammer of Dawn to close them up before they opened. Clear out any remaining Drones and go through the door with the bench blocking your way.

Once through the next building, you find yourself out in the open again, and it's too quiet. As you walk further, a Theron Guard attacks you from the roof along with a few Nemacysts. Once they are clear a steady swarm of Drones and Grenadiers emerge from the buildings around you, they come in three waves. Be careful they come from all angles, so keep your eyes peeled.

Once the Drones are gone, you have to take out a Boomer. Stay in cover and just keep Blind Firing at him.

Through the next two areas, the game is teasing you with thinking something is going to happen. There is what appears to be a dead Seeder which seems to awaken as you grab the grenades in front of it. Then as you leave that area, a Theron Guard takes off running again to lure you towards it.

The path splits here, but leads to the same place. There is a narrow alleyway guarded by Locust Drones and Grenadiers. Once you eliminate most of them, a Boomer comes out to wreak some havoc. Clear them all out to continue on.

Close to Home
"Academy campus uprising"

You now come to an area where you have the high ground over a few Theron Guards and Drones, about 7-8 in total. With Dom stay in cover and take them out one at a time. Be sure to collect all the ammo and head to the left exit. The right exit puts you in front of two Troika Gunners with little to no cover, and no checkpoint to hit!

When you head to the left you'll have two more Drones to contend with. They'll be easy with all the cover, proceed forward and hit the Checkpoint. From here take out the Troika Gunner his Spotter and all the other Drones in the area.

Proceed forward and take out the other Troika Gunner, the rear doors to the area will blow open and another Theron Guard will come to the battle. You are now done with this area, so grab up some ammo and continue on.

Imaginary Place
"Storm the house!"

Gain Entrance to Fenix Estate
Proceed up the courtyard here, taking care of any Locust you see on the way. I would be careful as these Drones around here seem to carry Lancers and will chainsaw you as quick as you try to get them.

The first wave will be two Drones and a Theron Guard. Once they are defeated another two Drones come and bring a Boomer along.

Once those two waves are clear, the third and final wave is another pair of Theron Guards. Clear them and the courtyard is secure.

Once you reach the estate, you'll come under fire and dive into cover. Once there the rest of the squad finds you and informs you of their situation. They found an APC and are working to repair it, while you and Dom clear the estate out and find what you're looking for.

Secure The House
As you enter the house, an Emergence Hole opens up on the right of the staircase. Toss it a well placed Frag Grenade to close it right up and take out whatever escaped.

Continue up the stairs, and clear out the three Drones that await you up there. Once the upstairs is clear, the building shakes as another Emergence Hole opens up below you somewhere. Head back downstairs now.

As you reach the bottom of the stairs, a Drone busts his way through a previously closed door. Make him wish he didn't, and take him out and continue through the door.

Follow through the corridor to find the Emergence Hole and the Drones it spit out. Clear a few out and the hole will close itself up.

Continue to search through the remaining rooms of the estate for ammo and other goodies, like the Cog Tag #27. You'll eventually find the closed off stairway that leads into the basement.

Entrenched
"Evict the Locust from Adam's house"

Search the Basement for the Hidden Lab
Work your way down the stairwell and there are two Drones at the bottom of the stairs. Take them down and bust through the door.

In the wine cellars, there are no more enemies but there is a loose wine rack at the back of the large room. Go bust it down.

Protect Jack While He Opens the Lab Door
As you get through the first door, you find that the main door is sealed up. Jack goes to open it, but as he does you get attacked by a swarm of Locust Drones, about ten of them. Crouch down in cover on the ledge in front of the hallway and take them out one at a time.

Regroup at the Front of the House
You leave Jack behind to download the data from the lab, but the rest of the squad needs backup so you must go to rejoin the group.

As you go to leave, you are confronted by two Wretches in the hallway you cleared out before. Then another two Wretches along with a Drone try to get in your way before you get back to the stairwell.

Back in the house you will be locked into the first large room you encounter, and about a dozen Wretches will swarm in groups of four. Once you kill them and one lone Drone you can then continue on. Head to the upstairs to meet the rest of the squad.

Fight off waves of Drones, a Theron Guard and a Boomer. If they get into the house, they will come up behind you on the staircase.

Work your way downstairs, clear out the Drone that came out from under the stairs. Follow the hallways, and load up on ammo on your way. Once you bust through the door at the end of the hallway be ready for another large firefight with some Drones on the ground below you that are coming out of an Emergence Hole. Also you'll see a blocked door, shoot the propane tank near it to open the door so you can pass through it. After the enemies are cleared out, head back to the blocked door that is now open. Clear out any remaining Drones here and head on.

You are now outside of the house out back, and facing two Boomers who are blocking your way to reach the APC. Once you defeat them, a counter appears giving you a countdown of 30 seconds to reach the APC. You'd better hurry because there are more enemies pouring out of an Emergence Hole along with a Brumak that is approaching from the rear.

Load up into the APC and then take off with the rest of the squad to escape the Brumak.