50 waves against the horde may seem daunting at first, especially if after a few tries you seem to be getting your tail handed to you. Rest assured though, it is possible and with a little work you too will be ready to take on everything the Locust can throw at you. I have put forth countless hours on Gears of War 2's Horde Mode and I am here to offer you several tips and strategies to help you last all 50 waves.
I really suggest doing this with a group of people you already know and work well with. Completing all fifty waves is very difficult, and you want to know you can count on every member of your team not to leave the match if things don't start going their way. It is possible to do it with fewer than five people, I've done it with three, and gotten to wave 36 with two, but I wouldn't want to bet on it. Having a good team that compliments each other well and has no ego issues simplifies the task quite a bit.
It shouldn't need to be said but communicate with one another, if you don't have a headset get one. Let the team know what you are doing, what kind of resistance you are facing and what help you can offer them. The worst thing you can do is sit back and watch as your buddy gets chainsawed from behind. Even dead men have the ability to help here. Be the eyes of your team down halls they cant see, act as advanced scouts letting them know ahead of time what is coming for them so they may prepare for the assault.
The ability to survive relies heavily on the ability to prioritize your targets. Wretches do little damage and so should be taken lightly when faced with a Cyclops. The rule of thumb is to focus on the guys that deal out the most damage first. Boomers and Grinders over Drones and so on. A key element to think about here is the fact that larger enemies such as boomers, maulers, butchers and so on cannot mantle or knock over shields. They will effectively block these areas up so that those that can will not be able to get close enough to do so. In a tight situation it is best to allow maulers to live if they are right in front of a boom shield, and take out everyone else first.
In between rounds quite a bit resets. All weapons and shields not controlled will reset after fifteen seconds so make sure you pick up those boom shields and grinders. Also you get an ammo boost on all basic weapons such as lancers, shotguns etc But if you are using anything fancy like a long shot or torque bow you will have to hunt down extra ammo. In these situations it can be very helpful to leave one enemy alive, preferably a wretch, or a mauler, or something else cumbersome, weak, and slow, and go out hunting for ammo before the end of the round. Just be sure to communicate with your team on this, the last thing you want is to be all alone and defenseless once the next round starts.
Know the map, this is multiplayer basics here, but is very important in horde mode. A good geographical knowledge of your surroundings will help you locate a perfect staging ground for your battle against the horde. An undefended corridor could allow the locust to sneak right up on your entire team, or running around aimlessly searching for specific ammo types waste valuable time better spent helping others. A good example of this is the map Jacinto. Just up the stairs and to the right of your spawn point are a set of stairs leading to a balcony perfect for defending, With a grenade spawn right there, and perfect sniper locations, this area allows plenty of room so that a single well placed boom shot will not take out your entire team. Also while the stairs are the only way in, providing an easily defensible corridor of death, a one way mountable wall gives you an escape should things get too hairy. Just over this wall is an ammo crate, and the spawn point for the hammer of dawn, all within easy reach, and a short run back to your camping spot.
Stay put! The worst thing you can do is go out there all guns blazing and take on the horde in a straight up fight. Sure, I have seen others do it and survive till wave 15 or so with this strategy, but more often than not I have seen an entire team get slaughtered in the first five waves doing this. By running out and trying to play Rambo even when staying together as a team, you allow the enemy to spawn in multiple locations. This can easily get your team surrounded, and gunned down.
Instead back yourself into a corner. Find yourself a location where the team can cover every possible entrance to your location. It's a lot easier to deal with an enemy if you only have to worry about him coming at you from one direction. Camping may seem like a cheap route to victory but the whole object is to stay alive.
Last but not least don't try to be a hero. I know it may not be nice, and may not seem that sane at first but if one of your teammates decides to go all ballsy and attack the horde head on then gets himself down the last thing you want to do is go and try to revive him. If he is out there down then whatever took him down is out there too, and you are more than likely only going to get yourself killed as well. Let him crawl his way back to you and the safety of your well fortified position.
This isn't a race, it's a marathon, treat it as such and pace yourself, keep yourself healthy and ready for when things get hairy. Watch your buddy's back and rely on your team to do the same, and you should have no problem getting into the late waves and you'll reach wave fifty before you know it.
