Horde once again makes up part of the gameplay experience in Gears 5. Tasking players with taking on 50 waves of increasingly difficult Swarm to take down, you’ll need to work with your teammates, utilize your character’s Ultimate abilities, and even use Fortifications from the Fabricator to survive. Here’s how to upgrade Fortifications in Gears 5.
Upgrading Fortifications in Gears 5’s Horde
What Are Fortifications?
These can be purchased from the Fabricator (that giant box you have to move at the start of a game of Horde) with Power. Power is obtained by eliminating enemies, as well as capturing Power Taps which pop up around the map after every 10 waves you complete.
Fortifications can range from barriers that slow down and deal damage to the Swarm, right through to decoys that’ll attract enemy fire.
Pick the Engineer Class
Before you can go ahead and upgrade a Fortification, you’ll first need to purchase it from the Fabricator, and then go ahead and place it around on the map. Any character can do this, with each character class having their own Fortification to bring to the table.
While all classes can purchase and place Fortifications, only the Engineer class can actually upgrade them. The two characters that fall into the Engineer class in Gears 5’s Horde mode are Del, and the Halo Reach cameo character, Kat. Choose either of these and you’ll be able to upgrade Fortifications beyond level 1.
Make Sure You’ve Got Enough Power
Now that you’re using an Engineer, you’re almost all set to upgrade Fortifications. All you need to do now is ensure you’ve got enough Power for the upgrade. We’ve listed all Fortification upgrade costs down below:
| Fortification Type | Power Cost |
| Barrier Level 2 | 2,000 |
| Barrier Level 3 | 3,000 |
| Decoy Level 2 | 3,000 |
| Decoy Level 3 | 3,000 |
| Decoy Level 4 | 3,000 |
| Turret Level 2 | 5,000 |
| Turret Level 3 | 7,000 |
| Turret Level 4 | 8,000 |
| Weapon Locker Level 2 | 5,000 |
| Weapon Locker Level 3 | 5,000 |
| Weapon Locker Level 4 | 5,000 |
Performing the Upgrade
Engineer Class? Check. Amount of power for the Fortification upgrade? Check. You’re basically all set now to go ahead and make the upgrade you want. All you need to do now is run on over to the Fortification you’re wanting to improve, and pick it up.
Only when you pick it up will you have the option to perform the upgrade. Simply confirm you want to upgrade by pressing the onscreen prompted button and it’ll be done. Now all you need to do is place it back down and you’ll have a more powerful Fortification ready to help you fend off the Swarm Horde in Gears 5.
Other Things to Know About Upgrading Fortifications in Gears 5 Horde
There are a few other things that are worth knowing here. First and foremost, you can only upgrade Fortifications via the method noted above. They cannot be upgraded straight from the Fabricator or from any menu.
Also, if one of your beefed up Fortifications happens to get destroyed by the Horde, make sure you’re seeking it out in-between waves. You’ll have 20-30 seconds between waves to make any preparations, and during this time you can restore the yellow outline of your Fortification at the level it was at before being destroyed.
This will cost a little bit of Power, but it’ll save you having to build another one and paying to upgrade it all over again. Just make sure you get to it before the next wave starts, or it’ll disappear forever.
That’s everything you need to know on how to upgrade Fortifications in Gears 5’s Horde. For more tips, tricks, and guides, be sure to check out our ever-expanding Gears 5 guide wiki.
