In this Gears 5 Jack Guide, we will guide you on everything that you need to know about Jack in Gears 5. Every Gears fan will be well aware of Jack because it has been around since Gears of War 1 and has been helping us opening doors, bypassing security and many other uses throughout the entire saga. Lucky for us, Jack, the little stealthy robot, is returning in Gears 5 however it is not the same Jack as we know it.
Jack in Gears 5 plays a much larger role in our combat as well in the game because now it is more than a simple door opening robot. Jack now comes with its own unique upgrades and abilities that will help us immensely in a lot more tasks in the game. You will be able to purchase more abilities for Jack and make them more effective with further upgrades. There are even some ultimate abilities for Jack that you will be able to use in the game.
Jack Guide – Gears 5
Our Gears 5 Jack Guide details everything about Jack that you need to know about in Gears 5 such as upgrades, abilities and more.
Upgrading Jack
You can purchase a lot of abilities and upgrades for Jack with the help components that you find in the world of Gears 5. We remember Baird mentioning to Marcus in Gears of War 4 that wait until you see what I’ve done with Jack however we never got to see the little robot in action in Gears of War 4. Lucky for us, Jack returns in Gears 5 and will be a much more valuable ally in different game scenarios.
Jack comes with different abilities that you can purchase by using components however each of these abilities come with an ultimate ability which has to be found in the game world. These cannot be purchased in the game and since they are tied to the main story, you can only unlock them at certain locations in the main story that too if you pick them up. We have detailed the locations of all ultimates further below in the guide so you can easily find them when you reach a certain part of the story.
Barrier
As the name suggests, this ability allows Jack to form a protective shield and anyone inside this shield is protected from enemy gunfire. You can purchase the following upgrades for it.
| Upgrade | Effect |
| Duration | The shield duration is increased by 50% |
| Reflect Bullets | All bullets that hit the shield are bounced off |
| Bulwark | The shield gets bigger in size covering more area |
| Deadly Overload (Ultimate Ability) | When the shield’s time is up, it ends with a massive explosion damaging all enemies around it |
Cloak
We have seen Jack use Cloak since Gears of War 1 as Jack is always hidden from enemy sight and only reveals itself when it has to unlock something or interact with something. In Gears 5, we can further improve Jack’s Cloak ability because this Cloak ability will make the players invisible from enemy fire. However, anyone who fires will be revealed instantly unless you find the ultimate ability.
| Upgrade | Effect |
| Agility | Players under the effect of Cloak get a movement boost of 15% |
| Extend | With this upgrade, any kills that players get while cloaked, increases the duration of Cloak |
| Faster Recharge | Reduces the overall recharge time for the ability by 15% |
| Slayer (Ultimate Ability) | Players stay under the influence of Cloak even if they shoot |
Core
These upgrades enhance Jack overall and will make it even more effective in combat. This ability has no ultimate upgrade.
| Upgrade | Effect |
| Fetch Heavy | Jack is able to lift Heavy Weapons and bring them to you |
| Sharpshooter | All headshots by the player will increase the recharge speed of Jack’s abilities |
| Executioner | Execute enemies on the battlefield to increase the recharge speed of Jack’s abilities |
| Savage | Every kill will speed up Jack’ ability recharge time |
Flash
Flash works just like a real-world flashbang grenade. Every time Jack uses Flash, all enemies around it will be stunned giving players the time they need to finish them off.
| Upgrade | Effect |
| Faster recharge | Increases the recharge speed by 25% |
| Range Boost | Increase the range of the flash by 50% |
| Concussive | Each flash also inflicts a small amount of damage to enemies |
| Flash Freeze (Ultimate Ability) | With this ultimate, the enemies are frozen for a much longer time giving players enough time to finish off entire groups of enemies |
Health
Jack is not invincible in Gears 5 so these upgrades will make Jack better at his own health management as well as his healing capabilities.
| Upgrade | Effect |
| Repair Boost | When damaged, Jack can regenerate health much faster to return in action quickly |
| Osmium Plating | Increase Jack’s overall health allowing it to take more beating |
| Self-Revive | If Jack is out of commission, this upgrade will allow him to return him back to action at double the speed |
| Revive Command | Players can send Jack to revive fallen teammates in combat rather than going themselves |
Hijack
Probably one of my favorite of Jack’s abilities, with this ability, Jack can take control of enemy units for a small time. You can make it more effective with the following upgrades.
| Upgrade | Effect |
| Duration | Allows Jack to control enemies for 30% longer than normal |
| Stim target | Enemies under Jack’s control are also stimmed allowing them to deal more damage |
| Faster Recharge | Jack is able to use Hijack more quickly after a use |
| Detonator Implant (Ultimate Ability) | When Hijack is lifting off from an enemy, they will explode killing others near them |
Pulse
Pulse works like a normal enemy finder. With this ability, Jack will locate all enemies in its vicinity and you can make it even more effective with the following upgrades.
| Upgrade | Effect |
| Range Boost | Allows Jack to cover 50% more area in its Pulse scan |
| Expanded Targeting Array | Enemies are marked for more time |
| Detect Pickups | Along with the enemies, Jack can also detect weapons and ammo |
| Marked for Death (Ultimate) | All enemies marked with Pulse get an additional 20% damage when shot at |
Shock Trap
Shock Traps are very effective at crowd control. Jack can deploy these at strategic locations to ensure that enemies cannot flank you and if they do, they are electrocuted by the shock trap. You can make it more combat effective with the following abilities.
| Upgrade | Effect |
| Improved Capacitor | Shock Traps stay active for 50% longer time |
| Multi-trap | Allows you to lay down 2 Shock Traps at the same time |
| Ensnare | Shock Traps slow down enemies even further |
| Seeker (Ultimate Ability) | Shock Traps are converted into Shock Bots which follow enemies around and deal additional damage. |
Stealth
We know Jack is the master of Stealth however we can make them even better with some more upgrades.
| Upgrade | Effect |
| Stealth Thrusters | Jack stays hidden even when boosting |
| Reactive Stealth | After Jack reveals itself to performs a task, this upgrade will ensure that Jack quickly vanishes again |
| Stealth Shield | Jack gets increased damage resistance while it is hidden |
| Stealth Fetch | Normally, Jack stays visible if it is carrying a weapon and bringing it to you. This upgrade ensures that Jack stays hidden even if it is delivering a weapon to you. |
Stim
With this ability, Jack can quickly buff up the armor of all the teammates in its vicinity. You can make it more effective with the following upgrades.
| Upgrade | Effect |
| Faster Recharge | Stim becomes ready after use 25% quickly |
| Duration | The duration of an active stim shot increases by 2 seconds |
| Revive | Using Stim will even revive teammates who are downed |
| Brawler (Ultimate Ability) | Under the influence of a Stim, melee damage is increased by three times |
Zapper
Jack even comes with a zapper in Gears 5. You can make it more effective with the following upgrades.
| Upgrade | Effect |
| Improved capacitor | The Zapper can be fired for a longer duration |
| Arc Booster | Increases the range of Zapper |
| Cascading Energy | Increase enemy contact with a Zapper beam will increase the damage with time |
| Beam Splitter | A single Zapper beam can arc to different enemies at the same time |
Unlocking Ultimate Abilities
Like I mentioned earlier, the Ultimate Abilities cannot be purchased with normal components. They have to be found in the world of Gears 5 as they are scattered around in different key locations on the map in different chapters. Look for question marks on the map. Below you will find the exact locations where you can locate these ultimate abilities easily.
- Brawler – Can be picked up in Chapter 4 of Act 2. Found at the Condor Crash Site located in the east of the map.
- Flash Freeze – Can be picked up in Chapter 4 of Act 2. Found at the Old Derrick site located in the center of the map.
- Seeker – Can be picked up in Chapter 4 of Act 2. Located in the North Communications Tower.
- Marked for Death – Can be picked up in Chapter 4 of Act 2. Location in the Condor Crash Site in the south-east section of the map.
- Deadly Overload (Pending)
- Slayer (Pending)
- Detonator Implant (Pending)
Check out more Gears 5 guides below.
This concludes our Gears 5 Jack Guide. If you want to add anything to this guide, feel free to use the comments section below.
