UPDATED: 12-16-2008- Consolidating sticky threads. Added Xbox.com info about adjusting your firewall settings if you're having problems.
- Added info about Ascension progression problems.
- A Title Update was released. Details can be found here
- Added update to Matchmaking troubles
- Added update to single-player campaign start troubles
- Added information about how the Gears of War 2 rank system works
- Added a link to Matchmaking info from Rod Furgesson
- Added information about Canadian English-Language hardcover Limited Edition art books
- Added information about Linked Achievements (Gears 1 unlockable characters)
- Added clarification about "Friends with Benefits" Achievement
- Added info about missing Co-op Gamerpic
- Added possible work-around to matchmaking slowness
- Added an IMPORTANT note about Golden Lancer Downloads
- Added information about loss of Achievement progress
Hey everyone -
To help keep things organized, I'll be using this thread to address known issues and solutions for Gears of War 2. Please read through this list to see if the issue you have is below. If you don't see your issue below, please be patient. I'm sorting through the boards to grab things I see, and will include them here as we have answers for you.
NOTE: If you have an issue not on this list, you can post it in this thread, but for the most direct assistance, please visit www.xbox.com/support or call 1-800-4MYXBOX. Using either of these methods increases our ability to track known issues, so please don't hesitate.
Please help us out. If you see someone posting or asking about something on this list, direct them to this thread. Also, if your issue isn't on this list, please add it in this thread. It'll help everyone stay organized, and help us track things down MUCH faster.
Thanks for your patience and support!
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Q: Can’t find all my codes - I ordered the Limited Edition and I have some of my codes, but I am missing one/two.
A: The codes for the 48-hour LIVE trial, the Flashback Map Pack, and the Golden Lancer are all together on the same card. Peel back the cardboard where indicated, and you will expose all three codes.
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Q: Didn’t get a Golden Hammerburst Code - I went to a Midnight Mayhem event but didn’t get a code for a Golden Hammerburst.
A: Golden Hammerburst codes were sent out to stores participating in Midnight Mayhem events to be distributed while their supplies lasted. It’s possible that your local store ran out of codes.
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Q: Golden Lancer Downloads – I got a code to download the Golden Lancer, but it doesn’t seem to be working. The code is fine, but the download doesn’t finish, and I get an error code.
A: This has been resolved. Follow the steps below:
Xbox360 Dashboard 1.0:
1. Launch the Xbox Dashboard
2. Sign into your Profile
3. Go to the Marketplace blade
4. Select “Account Management”
5. Select “Download History”
6. Under the “Games” section, select “Gears of War 2 Gold-Plated Lancer Assault Rifle”
7. When the blade appears, select “Download Again”
8. Wait until the “download complete” confirmation toast appears
Xbox360 NXE:
1. Launch the Xbox 360 Dashboard
2. Sign into a Profile
3. Go to the My Xbox channel
4. Select your profile (second selection) and press A
5. Select “Account Management”
6. Select “Download History”
7. Under the “Games” section, select “Gears of War 2 Gold-Plated Lancer Assault Rifle”
8. When the blade appears, select “Download Again”
9. Wait until the “download complete” confirmation toast appears
I’ve heard reports of people having to try re-downloading it a couple of times, so if you still get an error, please wait a few minutes and try again. You can also delete the original download and then re-download. As long as the download initially started, you will be allowed to re-download the file. There won't be any code issues.
IMPORTANT: When you re-download the Lancer it takes about 10 full seconds, during which time the progress bar jumps from 1% to 100% at the very end. If you attempt to “Download Again” wait until the message says “Download Complete”. Do not give up and press the Cancel option. This is Step 8 in the list above.
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Q: Campaign start issues – When I select a new campaign, then select a difficulty, the game makes a noise like it’s being selected, but the campaign doesn’t start.
A: A Title Update was released that should resolve this problem. For more info, read
here.
If you’re still having this issue, try setting your game to “Local” in the campaign lobby. This should fix any issues you’re experiencing. Follow these steps to set your game to Local:
1. Launch Gears of War 2
2. If you haven’t already, sign into your profile
3. Select “Co-op Campaign” (don’t worry, you can still opt for a Single Player match)
4. Select “Host Co-op Campaign”
5. Select a save slot
6. In the Campaign Lobby, set Co-op Mode to “System Link”
7. Select your Act, Chapter and Checkpoint
8. Press the START button to launch the campaign
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Q: I downed a guy, but I can’t kill him – I knocked an opponent down-but-not-out, but when I ran over and shot him, he wouldn’t die. Is this a bug?
A: Make sure you look at the gametype you’re playing before the match starts. There are some gametypes – Execution, Wingman, and King of the Hill – in which you can
ONLY kill an opponent by executing them… even if they’re down-but-not-out. To kill them, you MUST perform one of the execution moves, blow them up, or chainsaw them.
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Q: I lost my Achievement progress – For some reason, I've lost any progress I made toward achievements. What happened?
A: We've seen people reporting this problem and are looking into it further. A couple of notes for everyone playing Gears of War 2:
1. Please do not shut down your console or launch the Dash in the middle of a game. Quit to the main menu. All save data is stored in the profile, and quitting prematurely can corrupt the Gears 2 data in the profile and therefore effectively reset it. There are several times that a game saves a significant amount of data. This happens after you cancel matchmaking ("Updating: Network settings are being updated") and when you hit a checkpoint in the campaign "Saving: Please do not shut down your console"). But there are also several quick saves that happen in SP and MP, such as when you pick up a collectable or earn progress towards an achievement. Quitting out or shutting off the console prematurely is bad. The safest way to exit Gears of War is to quit to the main menu first.
2. If this happens to you, especially if it happens more than once or in a consistently repeatable pattern, please write down detailed steps of what you were doing before this happened. Please include the details listed below and PM the information to me. Be as detailed as possible.
- Profile that lost data
- Profile location (HD, MU)
- Profile type (gold, silver, local)
- Location of any campaign save games associated with your profile (HD, MU, both)
Auto sign (enabled, disabled)
- Game modes
- What game modes you have been playing
- Local, Live, SP, Co-op, and/or split screen etc for each mode
- What was the last game mode you played before you noticed this issue?
- Playing with other profiles locally
- If you have done this, what is the profile location/type of that/those profile(s)?
- What mode(s) did you play?
- Did that/those profile(s) lose any data as well?
- What screen were you on when you signed into the other profile(s)?
- Have you been playing Gears2 with the same profile on multiple Xboxs?
- Backing out to the Dashboard?
- Did you back out to the Dashboard through the Guide from any area other than the main menu right before you noticed this issue?
- Are you running the NXE?
- If you are running the NXE, did you install the game to the hard drive?
- Have you been hitting this issue multiple times?
- Did you power off the Xbox from a location other than the main menu?
- If applicable, were you signed into LIVE?
- Did your Xbox have a network cable or wireless adapter plugged in?
- As detailed of steps as you can provide of what you were doing before you discovered this issue
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Q: Where's my "Friends with Benefits" Achievement? – I completed the game with a friend on co-op, and all of the achievements showed up except for "Friends with Benefits." Why didn't I get it?
A: To unlock the "Friends with Benefits" achievement, you have to complete all of the chapters in Co-Op. This means that if you quit during the game and come back, you cannot restart from the last checkpoint. You have to start from the co-op lobby from chapter start, not last checkpoint (even if the last checkpoint is the chapter start). Otherwise it does not count the
entire chapter towards the completed co-op achievement. "One Night Stand" and "Open Relationship" follow the same rules.
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Q: Gears 1 Unlockable Characters aren't there? – I got the achievements in Gears of War 1 to unlock the characters for Gears of War 2 multiplayer, but they aren't showing up. Where are they?
A: You need a Silver or Gold Xbox LIVE profile to access the unlockable characters from Gears 1. The game checks the XBox LIVE servers to determine if you have the correct Achievements to unlock the characters. If you have access to the internet, you can upgrade your local profile to a Silver or Gold profile.
Silver profiles are free and only take a few minutes to set up, using the following steps:
1. Launch the Xbox 360 Dashboard
2. Sign into your profile
3. Go to the Marketplace blade
4. Select Join Xbox Live
5. Select “Yes” at the prompt to quit your current session
6. Follow the prompts
7. If your gamertag is already in use, rename it
8. Associate your gamertag with an email account (you can always create a hotmail account if you don’t have email)
9. Towards the end of the process, select “Xbox LIVE Silver Membership” (or upgrade to Gold)
The steps for NXE are similar, but in a slightly different order:
1. Go to the My Xbox channel
2. Select your profile
3. Select Join Xbox Live
4. Select “Yes” at the prompt to quit your current session
5. Follow the prompts
6. Associate your gamertag with an email account (you can always create a hotmail account if you don’t have email)
7. Select “I don’t want a Gold membership” (or upgrade to Gold)
8. If your gamertag is already in use, rename it
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Q: English Hardcover LE Art Book for Canadians – I ordered the Limited Edition of Gears of War 2 in Canada. I got the softcover English art book and the hardcover French art book. I'd like an English hardcover book. Can I get one somehow?
A: The Gears of War 2 Limited Edition product included a number of items including a bonus DVD, an exclusive Xbox LIVE code to unlock a gold-plated Lancer Assault Rifle and a 48-page art book. The Canadian version of the Limited Edition product included
2 art books, one hard cover French language art book and one soft cover English language art book. We are aware that Canadian Gears of War 2 Limited Edition owners may be interested in receiving a hard cover English language art book.
If you did purchase the Gears of War 2 Limited Edition product in Canada you may be eligible to receive a complimentary hard cover English art book. In order to request your art book you will be required to validate your ownership of the Gears of War 2 Limited Edition product via an online form. To learn more about this offer by visit
www.xbox.com/en-ca/support.
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Q: I'm not ranking up - I've been playing and playing, but my rank has stopped going up. Why isn't my rank changing any more?
A: Your rank in Gears of War 2 multiplayer is based on your TrueSkill rating, which calculates the relative strength of all players on Xbox LIVE. There are five ranks total, and the first rank is achieved after you play your first multiplayer match. The more Gears 2 matches you win, the higher your rank will be, and your rank will go down when you lose matches. Rank is not affected by Horde Mode and private matches.
For more detailed information on how the ranking system in Gears of War 2 works,
read here.
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Q: I'm having trouble progressing in Ascension - I drive into the darkened cave and can't seem to progress beyond this. Why?
A: If you loaded this section from a checkpoint just before it, you'll need to drive the Centaur back to the collapsed stone arch near the broken bridge and then proceed back to the tower. At this point, when you drive through the broken gate you should be okay.
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Q: How do I disable a strict firewall?
A: This article describes situations when you may have to configure port settings in Windows Firewall or on your networking hardware so you can connect to Xbox LIVE and Games for Windows LIVE.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/908874?sd=xbox
Additional discussion with other board members can be found here:
http://gearsforums.epicgames.com/sho...d.php?t=636998
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OFFICIAL: Issues & Solutions thread - UPDATED 12-16-2008
damn, I was really hoping they'd just throw the whole system out...
Linear Mode
