Gears POP! is the real-time strategy game set in the Gears of War universe where you’ll need to place different units and characters on the field and make them fight against the enemy in a struggle to defeat their commander. The game resembles others that we’ve written about in the past such as Revolve8 and Magic: ManaStrike. If you’re not familiar with either, then another popular comparison would be that it’s akin to chess in the sense that you place units and use their unique skills to outsmart and outmatch your opponent.

However, while comparing Gears POP! With chess reaching a bit, one of the factors that these two definitely have in common is that, in order to beat your enemy in both, you have to become intimate with the roles and uses of all your pieces. And while chess only has a handful of unique pieces, Gears POP! has many, many different pins, each with their own attributes, roles, and types.

In this article, we aim to explain every single type and role of units in Gears POP!, as well as to give some tactical insights on how best to employ each of these in the field.

Unit Roles

A character’s role, more than indicating HOW they achieve something, indicates WHAT they’re supposed to do. In this sense, this descriptor is quite straightforward and helps to easily identify how to use the said character in your formation. The different roles in Gears POP! are the following:

• Tank: As its name implies, this role is all about soaking up damage and dealing it right back to the enemy. Tanks have tons of health and pack a veritable punch, though they’re quite slow and vulnerable when deployed without support since they can get easily swarmed by enemy defenses. 

• Bruiser: While not as durable as its tank counterpart, bruisers offer decent defense coupled with average speed and lots of damage. They’re the frontline fighters of your team and can help to either push an objective, to keep the pressure up, or even to defend against weaker units.

• Scout: Light, speedy, and fragile. Scouts don’t have much going for them in terms of offensive potential. However, what they lack in firepower, they make up for in speed and the ability to expand your territory quickly as they capture cover. However, their low HP makes them difficult to use since they tend to die quickly.

• Removal: When used, these units are all about destroying the enemy team. They usually have effects that directly cause harm to the opposing units before expiring and disappearing from the field. Coupled with the fact that removal pins are usually projectiles, they are great for dealing with specific threats with pinpoint accuracy.

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• Utility: These units are very flexible and offer a wide variety of uses and effects. As their name implies, they’re mostly ineffectual on their own. However, utility pins, when used correctly, can turn the tide of battle in your favor, or even help to claim the victory with an attack that would’ve otherwise fallen short without their help. 

• Threat: The most dangerous types of units out there. Pins with threat roles are veritable glass cannons that pack a punch but are also very fragile. The strongest among the units with this role usually have special skills that can easily deal with lesser threats in one fell swoop. 

Things are quite simple when it comes to the roles of your units in Gears POP! While you can definitely create a team with all threat or utility pins, you’d be constantly struggling against even the weakest enemies. Because of this, it’s recommended to keep a balance of units in your team, with a couple of tanks, several bruisers, and a couple of scouts. These three will make up the main bulk of your formation and will take it upon themselves to storm the field in your name. However, you can then add a threat unit, as well as one or two utility or removal pins to support their efforts.

Unit Types

Unlike the role of a unit, its type represents just that; what type of unit it is. Whether it’s a ground unit, a structure you set down on the field, or an object you throw on the field to cause different effects, the type of the unit will greatly determine how you deploy it in combat. Luckily, unlike roles, there are only a few unit types in Gears POP!

• Troop: In a nutshell, troop-type units are foot soldiers that you can deploy on the field. Whether it’s single units or multi-units, these pins will be your main form of attack in Gears POP!

• Projectile: You can deploy these units in any part of the field—even outside your territory. They usually consist of grenades and other projectiles that can directly damage the enemy, though there are a few projectile pins that can actually function as support by spawning several soldiers in any location.

• Fortification: Neither troops nor projectiles, fortifications are structures that you can deploy on the field and that, once built, perform a specific function throughout their entire duration. Like utility pins, the effect of every fortification varies greatly and can go from periodically spawning units to generating energy over time, among many others.

At all times, your team will be mostly comprised of troop units—they’re the main bulk of any formation considering that you can’t really win a match using only projectiles or fortifications. In this sense, you’ll likely have about 6 troops in your formation, with the rest comprised of either fortifications and projectiles depending on your play style.

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