Gears of War: E-Day Character Skins & How to Unlock Them

Gears of War: E-Day launches with more than 60 character skins across COG and Locust characters. The roster is tied into almost every part of the game: campaign progress, Horde Siege, Versus, achievements, Re-Up levels, Foundations challenges, the Barracks and a small number of premium rewards.

The table below tracks the named character skins and unlock requirements currently visible through Early Access and first-party material. More than 60 skins exist at launch, so this page will continue to grow as the remaining Locust and Barracks entries become publicly identifiable.

All Character Skins and Unlock Requirements

Skin	Character	How to Unlock
Death's Rendezvous Marcus	Marcus Fenix	Included with the Premium Edition / Premium Edition Upgrade
Bravo Squad Marcus	Marcus Fenix	Available by default
Wings of Valor Marcus	Marcus Fenix	Reach the highest Re-Up level
Ceremonial Marcus	Marcus Fenix	Available through the Barracks / store
Emergence Marcus	Marcus Fenix	Re-Up for the first time
Emergence Dom	Dominic Santiago	Save another player from a struggle with a Locust
Bravo Squad Dom	Dominic Santiago	Available by default
Siege Ops Dom	Dominic Santiago	Reach max level with Assault, Breacher, Marksman and Medic in Horde Siege
Ceremonial Dom	Dominic Santiago	Available through the Barracks / store
Exfil Dom	Dominic Santiago	Pre-order any edition of Gears of War: E-Day
Emergence Mags	Mags Carter	Complete the Explosive Indigestion requirement involving a Bilefrog
Bravo Squad Mags	Mags Carter	Available by default
Infantry Armor Mags	Mags Carter	Available through the Barracks / store
Blast Damage Mags	Mags Carter	Reach Player Level 20 during the Open Beta
Emergence Lucas	Lucas Reyes	Complete Boot Camp
Bravo Squad Lucas	Lucas Reyes	Available by default
Ceremonial Lucas	Lucas Reyes	Available through the Barracks / store
Bloodied Hunter Tai	Tai Kaliso	Included with the Premium Edition / Premium Edition Upgrade
Theta Squad Tai	Tai Kaliso	Unlock during Act 1 of the Campaign
Repair Bay Gill	Gill Gettner	Available through the Barracks / store
Butcher Bird Gill	Gill Gettner	Complete the Onboarding Mission in Horde Siege
Captain Grey	Akila Grey	Available by default
Armistice Officer Grey	Akila Grey	Available through the Barracks / store
Bloody Star Trench	Elias Trench	Available through the Barracks / store
Colonel Trench	Elias Trench	Successfully extract from Horde Siege on Commander difficulty or higher
Captain Michaelson	Quentin Michaelson	Unlock during Act 4 of the Campaign
Never Fight Alone Morida	Shin Morida	Available through the Never Fight Alone / store offer
Combat Medic Morida	Shin Morida	Revive other players in Versus or Horde Siege
Theta Squad Manu	Manu Kemara	Use the Tactical Gear for Assault, Breacher, Medic and Marksman 10 times each in Horde Siege
Theta Squad Mako	Mako Kemara	Unlock and equip a Weapon Mod, Armor Mod and Tactical Gear Mod
Quartermaster Rustin	Hank Rustin	Unlock during Act 4 of the Campaign
Airbase Daan	Daan Riggs	Available through the Barracks / store
Butcher Bird Daan	Daan Riggs	Get Heavy Weapon kills in Horde Siege
Charlie Leader Valen	Bryce Valen	Unlock during Act 2 of the Campaign
Female Infantry Gear	Kalona Infantry Soldier	Available by default
Male Infantry Gear	Kalona Infantry Soldier	Available by default
Female NCOG D-Flotilla Marine	Kalona Infantry Soldier	Available through the Barracks / store
Male NCOG D-Flotilla Marine	Kalona Infantry Soldier	Available through the Barracks / store
Female Heavy Gear	Kalona Infantry Soldier	Get kills or downs from cover in Versus
Male Heavy Gear	Kalona Infantry Soldier	Get kills or downs from cover in Versus
Female Sniper Gear	Kalona Infantry Soldier	Spend Energy at Supply Caches in Horde Siege
Male Sniper Gear	Kalona Infantry Soldier	Spend Energy at Supply Caches in Horde Siege
Commander Zee	Zee	Complete all Campaign Acts on any difficulty

A few of these stand out because they sit at the end of much larger progression goals. Wings of Valor Marcus is tied to the Re-Up grind, while Siege Ops Dom requires all four launch Horde Siege classes to reach their maximum level. Commander Zee comes from finishing the campaign, and several other skins are attached directly to campaign Acts or Foundations challenges.

The special-edition skins work differently. Exfil Dom is the pre-order character reward, while Death's Rendezvous Marcus and Bloodied Hunter Tai are part of the Emergence Customization Pack included with the Premium Edition and Premium Edition Upgrade.

Blast Damage Mags was earned separately during the Open Beta by reaching Player Level 20. Beta challenge rewards carry into the full game for players who completed the requirement during the test period.

How Character Skin Unlocks Work

E-Day spreads cosmetic progression across the game instead of putting everything into one reward track. Some skins are direct rewards for campaign progress, achievements, multiplayer challenges or class progression. Others sit in the Barracks, where Coins earned through play can be spent on individual cosmetics.

That distinction matters for challenge rewards. While a seasonal or event challenge is active, its reward has to be earned through that challenge. After the event ends and a cooldown period passes, those items can later move into the Barracks. Iron can also be used on eligible Barracks items, while Premium Edition, charity and selected partnership cosmetics sit outside the normal earn-through-play path.

Re-Up and Horde Siege progression are especially important if you are chasing character skins. Player Level goes to 100 before a Re-Up, with four Re-Ups available in total. Horde Siege has four launch classes — Assault, Breacher, Marksman and Medic — each with 30 levels. That makes rewards such as Wings of Valor Marcus and Siege Ops Dom long-term goals rather than quick early-game unlocks.

Foundations challenges provide several of the easier early unlocks. Completing Boot Camp gives you Emergence Lucas, the Horde Siege onboarding mission gives you Butcher Bird Gill, and the class/mod tutorials lead into Theta Squad Manu and Theta Squad Mako. Heavy Gear and Sniper Gear variants are also attached to normal Versus and Horde Siege actions, so a good portion of the roster comes naturally from learning the multiplayer systems.

The Coalition has said E-Day starts with more than 60 character skins across COG and Locust characters, and every major campaign character and appearance is available to unlock from day one. The table above will be expanded as the remaining launch skins and their requirements become visible in the Barracks and Early Access progression.

More E-Day guides: Achievement Guide & Roadmap · Collectibles Guide · Weapons Guide · All E-Day Guides