The Gears 5 campaign features massive bosses, and one of them is frustratingly difficult. To help you conquer these insane monsters, I’ve put together guides for both major boss fights — the Matriarch and the Kraken. Really, it’s all about the Matriarch. That fight is one of the toughest slogs in any of the Gears of War campaigns, so if you’re struggling — or just want to see what these bosses look like — check out the individual boss guides below.
The Matriarch is a super-Berserker you’ll encounter at the end of Act 2, while the Kraken is a reoccurring boss you’ll fight twice in the later chapters. The Matriarch is the real deal — she has a health bar, and if you slip up even once, she’ll kill you instantly. Her close-range attack instagibs you, and you have to fight on unsteady ice which also instagibs you.
More Gears 5 guides:
- Gears 5: All Collectibles Locations | ‘It’s Not Hoarding If Your Stuff Is Cool’ Guide
- Gears 5: Crush Your Enemies With The Fish-On-A-Stick Easter Egg Weapon
- Gears 5: Where To Find All 17 Relic Weapons | Locations Guide
- Gears 5: Condor Crash Site Locations | ‘Pennies From Heaven’ Guide
- Gears 5: All Jack Ultimate Upgrades | Locations Guide
How To Beat The Matriarch
The Matriarch is the boss that appears in Act 2: Chapter 5. It’s also the hardest boss to defeat in the game, bar none. This is an annoying fight all-around, and one slip-up can force you to restart from the beginning. If you’re playing solo, even on Normal, this fight can take 15-20 minutes of slow, slow grinding.
There are ways to beat the Matriarch faster, so I’ll offer my tips here. First of all, you’ll want to complete all the side-missions in Act 2 before arriving in Chapter 5. The cryo-freeze Flash Ultimate ability is essential to make this fight easier.
There are two abilities you want for this fight — cryo-freeze flash and cloak. Both make the fight significantly easier.
The Matriarch primarily charges at you. If it catches you, it kills you instantly. To damage it, you need to shoot the ice so the Matriarch falls into the water and freezes. While frozen, you can shoot the weak point on its back. After damaging it, run as far as you can to the opposite end of the arena.
To make sure it falls into the ice, wait for it to lose you, then shoot a hole in the ice between you and the boss. It’ll hear you and charge — falling right into your hole in the ice. Circle around and shoot it, and then hit it with a cry-freeze from your Flash Ultimate Upgrade to freeze it again.
Unload at point-blanc range with the Gnasher Shotgun, and don’t reload. Just swap weapons for maximum damage. When it escapes the Flash attack, you can break the ice again for a third freeze in a row — but that doesn’t always work.
Periodically, the area will turn orange as Kait hallucinates. You’re very vulnerable here, so prepare the Cloak ability. If the Matriarch wonders close to you, hit the Cloak and move away to avoid an instagib.
How To Beat The Kraken
The Kraken is a much, much easier fight. You’ll encounter the Kraken twice — in Act 3: Chapter 4 and Act 4: Chapter 2.
In Act 3, your goal is simple — you’ll need to run from the Kraken while it crushes the platform you’re on. JD will announce when a weak point is revealed — shoot the spots, destroy them, and move on. The real challenge happens on the bottom floor. You’ll need to shoot the tongues that flop out of the Kraken’s mouth.
Shoot the tongues fast. If you’re grabbed, quickly mash the melee button. If you’re ready to mash the button, you can escape quickly, or at least avoid death. Make sure to free allies that get snatched, or they’ll get insta-gibbed and can’t be revived.
- NOTE: Stims and Cloak do not protect you from the tongues. They can sense you, even if you’re invisible.
The trick is watching the tongues. The tongue will aim for you before lunging. Dodge or simply walk out of the way — it ‘locks’ into position before launching forward. Keep taking out the tongues, and you’ll clear the boss.
The boss is a little trickier in Act 4. This time, it summons leach swarms periodically when the rail guns are fully charged. It will also attempt to suck you in — shoot the glowing tonsils to stop it from ingesting anyone. Even if it’s an AI ally, you’ll lose instantly.
Hit the Kraken with two blasts from the massive Rail Gun, and the fight is essentially over. Wait a little bit longer and Jack will help you land the final hit.
