# An issue with client-side hit detection of the Gnasher Shotgun. The fix makes the shotgun more reliable in high-latency situations.
# An issue where players could have shotgun or Boomshot rounds fire into the ground when shooting from the hip.
* Made planted proximity grenade mines much easier to shoot off the surface they're planted on, by giving them 50 percent less health.
* Set grenades to respawn less frequently. When a player picks up grenades from a spawned location, a new set of grenades does not respawn until the previous grenades have been used.
* Increased the penalty to rank for players who quit Public Xbox LIVE matches early.
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Hey all,
I'm happy to announce that Title Update 2 for Gears of War 2 is now available. It went live this morning at 2 AM PST (5 AM EST) and as you can see from the detailed release notes below, it's a significant update. It addresses a large number of multiplayer exploits and issues as well as makes some balancing tweaks, includes a couple of new features and even adds 7 new DLC-based achievements. Four of the new achievements require the Flashback Map Pack that came free with your new copy of the game, so don't forget to redeem your code inside the box!
Once again, I want to thank our community for their patience while we finished this title update and I want to thank everyone for their ongoing support of the game. Gears 2 sales topped over 4 million copies sold in just two months and when we released the Combustible Map Pack in December, it became the number one piece of premium downloadable content for that month.
We're continuing to work hard supporting the game and you, the community, and we look forward to seeing you online.
Gears of War 2 Title Update 2 Detailed Release Notes
The following fixes and improvements are included in Title Update 2.
Exploit Fixes
Title Update 2 fixes these possible exploits, where under certain circumstances:
* A player could melee or grenade tag through certain walls.
* A player could equip a shield and a two-handed weapon simultaneously.
* A player could make their shield invisible.
* A player could become invisible.
* A player could do a "super" mantle or "kung fu flip," flying high into the air.
* A player could gain unlimited ammo with the Lancer Assault Rifle.
* A player could fire while roadie running (also known as "crabwalking").
* A player could pick up a weapon while sliding into cover.
* A player could walk forward while firing a deployed mortar.
* A player could force an opponent to be stuck in the down but not out (DBNO) position.
* A player could prevent other players from picking up a heavy weapon.
* A player could pick up a dropped meatflag without having to knock him down.
* A ragdolled player could be killed without ever going DBNO.
* A player could roadie run while firing the Scorcher Flamethrower.
* A player could get stuck while evading, though they could continue shooting in any direction.
* A player could concuss themselves under the stairs on the River map.
General Fixes
Title Update 2 fixes these other issues as well:
* An issue with client-side hit detection of the Gnasher Shotgun. The fix makes the shotgun more reliable in high-latency situations.
* An issue where players could have shotgun or Boomshot rounds fire into the ground when shooting from the hip.
* A split-screen issue where one player transitioning to the death battle camera disrupted input from the other player.
* An issue that could cause players' Look sensitivity to be changed to their Zoom sensitivity while zooming in, zooming out, and firing.
* An issue that could cause players to get stuck if they tried to pick up a heavy weapon while firing the shotgun at the same time.
* An issue where players could become stuck if they kicked over a shield while ragdolled from a smoke grenade.
* An issue where bots were unable to kick over a shield that was planted backward.
* An issue where players who quit during voting didn't show up in the end game stats, which meant other players couldn't easily provide negative feedback on them.
* An issue where players couldn't chainsaw enemy meatshields if the meatshields were already damaged.
* An issue where some players would not see the animation of a meatshield being chainsawed.
* An issue where players could not chainsaw an opposing team meatshield in a game type that doesn't allow respawns (for example, Warzone and Execution).
* An issue where a player partway through the act of raising or lowering the chainsaw did not transition into a duel when attacked from the front with a chainsaw.
* An issue where occasionally a player waiting to respawn could not respawn when repeatedly hitting the left trigger to switch cameras.
* An issue where some teammates couldn't communicate between rounds in games type that don't allow respawns, because dead team members were left in the dead radio channel until the next round started.
* An issue where a DBNO player could be seen as standing if knocked DBNO while reloading the mortar.
* An issue where a player joining a Private Xbox LIVE game in progress from another specific type of game could potentially lose HUD functionality.
* An issue on the Flood map where a player's dying from Imulsion did not trigger a death message or penalize the player as other environmental deaths did.
* An issue with Guardian games where if the leader is the last player killed on a team, the round may not end, due to the respawn timer.
* A campaign issue where the gamer picture would not be awarded when the game is completed on Insane.
* An issue where a player would continue to fire the flamethrower and damage other players if that player was knocked DBNO while firing it.
* An issue that could cause a player to get stuck while moving and quickly attempting to aim the mortar at the same time.
* An issue with Horde games where clients didn't receive the "waiting for host" message after they failed a wave.
* A Horde split-screen issue that could cause a team to get –2 billion in score, which when posted to the leaderboards looked like +2 billion.
* An issue where dead players may not show up in the metadata for multiplayer photos.
* A system link issue where if a multiplayer match and a co-op game were hosted at the same time on the same LAN, neither could be joined.
* Additional miscellaneous bug fixes.
Balancing
Title Update 2 makes these balancing changes:
* Made planted proximity grenade mines much easier to shoot off the surface they're planted on, by giving them 50 percent less health.
* Set grenades to respawn less frequently. When a player picks up grenades from a spawned location, a new set of grenades does not respawn until the previous grenades have been used.
* Increased the penalty to rank for players who quit Public Xbox LIVE matches early.
* Buffed the flamethrower to have stopping power (to slow a charging enemy) and to cause a chainsaw interrupt (to force the opponent to lower a revved chainsaw).
* Removed the ability to instantly shoot coming out of a roadie run.
* Added additional spawn protection to prevent proximity grenade mines and chainsaws from killing a player within 5 seconds after spawning.
* Balanced grenade spawn cycling on the Hail map so that both teams have equal access to both types of grenades.
We continue to test internally and monitor online gameplay to determine what else may need adjusting.
Improvements
Title Update 2 makes these new improvements:
* Changed Annex games to use execution rules, to prevent players from leaving DBNO opponents on the ground to bleed out.
* Made Horde waves count toward the "Party Like It's 1999" achievement. Each wave is counted as one round.
* Added the ability, during Submission games, to see the flag's final destination by using Tac/Com.
* Increased the frequency of most of the toasts for in-game achievement progression.
* Added achievement progression numbers to the War Journal.
* Added 7 new DLC-based achievements worth 175 points (progress toward them starts after Title Update 2 is applied):
o "Skeletons in Your Closet" (20 points): Complete waves 1 through 10 on all Flashback Map Pack maps in Horde (any difficulty).
o "Trial by, and on, Fire" (20 points): Complete waves 1 through 10 on all Combustible Map Pack maps in Horde (any difficulty).
o "More Mystery, Less History" (15 points): Win a multiplayer match on each of the 5 Flashback Map Pack maps (any mode except Wingman).
o "The Roof! The Roof! The Roof…" (15 points): Win a multiplayer match on each of the 3 Combustible Map Pack maps (any mode except Wingman).
o "Bound by a Shared Past" (15 points): Win a Wingman match on each of the 5 Flashback Map Pack maps.
o "Forged in the Fire" (15 points): Win a Wingman match on each of the 3 Combustible Map Pack maps.
o "Annex: Now with Execution Rules" (75 points): Win an Annex match on each of the Flashback and Combustible Map Pack maps (Public only).
Thanks,
Rod.
__________________
Executive Producer
Gears of War 2
I played maybe three or four games yesterday and only one of them was super laggy but I think it was because of the host and not actual game. I have to say that shotgun is finally fixed thank god. It is starting to feel like the gears 1 shotgun again. They really didn’t fix the one huge problem that I have with the game and that is the chainsaw. The chainsaw is such a cheap weapon in this game, but I am glad that I can actually stop someone now with the chainsaw with one shot from the shotgun. I am also glad they fixed the grenade spawn times, I know that sometimes I would keep going back and picking up a few extra gernades Either way this patch was a step in the right direction, I am just not sure yet if it is enough to get me back into the game.
I haven't lagged since the update which is cool. I'm still having problems with chainsaw noobs though. I was standing still on Blood Drive, aimed my shotgun at the charging chainsaw enemies head, hit him directly, and here he still comes with that damn chainsaw up and revving. So homo...
Tagging objects with grenades seems to be different now too, but not in a good way. I tagged a stairwell, and it ended up sticking to the top of it. Might've just been a random hiccup though.
Tagging objects with grenades seems to be different now too, but not in a good way. I tagged a stairwell, and it ended up sticking to the top of it. Might've just been a random hiccup though.
That happens though. It depends on the actual angle of your player and where you are standing and/or moving.
They really messed this game up. The story mode is great but everything else is terrible in this game. They should of never messed with the MP they should of left it like gow1 that was the best. This game i was so hyped for and it was a big dissapointment. I wnet back to play gow 1 mp and it is better than ever now no more noobs and really good matches plus you dont have to wait 10 minutes to get into a match.
Their massive list of fixes has me the most excited... I just hope that they're all actually addressed in the upcoming update. :pray pray:
Exploit Fixes
- A player could swap from a pistol to a two-handed weapon during a cover slide and then mantle greater distances.
- Players could kill themselves in Wingman to avoid giving their opponents more points. Now, suicides and team killing will reduce team score.
- A player holding a meatshield could melee through some walls.
- A player could equip a two-handed weapon with a shield using either the Boltok or the Gorgon pistol.
- A player could equip a two-handed weapon with a meatshield using either the Boltok or the Gorgon pistol.
- A player could prevent planted shields from being picked up by other players.
Players could launch themselves into the air with a smoke grenade while mantling.
General Fixes
- An issue that caused chainsaw interruption when a player is shot to be less reliable in some body positions than in others.
- An issue where a third player could join a Public Wingman party lobby and remove another player from the game.
- An issue in Submission games where occasionally the meatflag would immediately run back to the spawn point after being dropped.
- An issue where players that were knocked down but not out (DBNO) while planting the Boomshield would appear to be standing.
- An elevation-based issue where the detection for a headshot might not align properly with certain character model heads.
- An issue that could cause Wingman teammates to have different character models.
- Additional miscellaneous bug fixes.
Balancing
- Reduces stun duration of smoke grenades. Currently, characters always start to get up after 2 seconds.
- Gives melee the same delay after roadie running that shooting received in Title Update 2.
- Removes spawn protection from the Horde in Horde mode.
- Increased the forward angle that triggers chainsaw duels so that players with Lancers equipped won't be sawn from the side without a duel.
- Reduces the delay before a player can climb up after entering low cover.
- Makes minor changes to weapon spawns on the Subway map to provide greater balance.
Delaying the melee after running is kind of upsetting. That could change a lot and take a while to get used to. I come out of a run swinging all of the time and being delayed on it is going to screw me up.
The new ranking system seems like a neat idea though.
Either way this patch was a step in the right direction, I am just not sure yet if it is enough to get me back into the game. 
