1. Set Up
Make you start in New Game+ and select “Yes” for Jack’s Progression. Having Jack Maxed out makes this much easier. For mutators, here are the ones that help
-Reload: Fills Clip
-Ammo: Double
-Head Explosion: Grenade
-Big Head: On
-Jack Recharge: Fast
You can also select the character skins, weapon skins, and Batista if you still need those achievements.
2. Dying
The excellent method that was previously useful has been patched as of the Dec 15 Title Update. The method is detailed below, for those interested.
*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***So Ironman is a “no death” run, but unlike Gears 4 it doesn’t clear the game progress. It keeps your save file and just disables Ironman. This will also happen if you reload a checkpoint, but it may not disable it immediately. For me, it waited until I finished a chapter to show that it was disabled, and not registering the chapter as completed. Mercifully, there is a method for re-enabling Ironman if you die, it gets disabled, or you miss a chapter:
-Exit to Main Menu
-Campaign > Custom > Host Private
-Select the Save File you’ve been using
-Change Chapter to 1-1
-Turn On Ironman
-Start Campaign
The loading screen will show 1-1, but will load into the last checkpoint you had on that file. I used this method numerous times because of deaths.
If you miss a chapter and want to start there specifically, start a new game+ on a new file with the same settings. Load your desired chapter, hit a checkpoint, then exit and follow the above steps. I popped the achievement by doing this after replaying 2-1.
The Gears 4 save/backup method should still work after the other method was patched:
-To force sync a checkpoint, close the game or switch profiles
-When you die, do not quit or load. Stay at the death menu
-Hit the guide, highlight Gears 5, hit “Manage Game and Add-ons”
-Select your save data, hit “delete” and select “from this console”
-When you boot up the game, it will sync your forced cloud sync checkpoint.
EDIT:
For the PC crowd, this link has a comprehensive guide for locating your save files. It should still work like the Xbox method if you keep the game running while doing this.
Be Aware, this method may be unreliable on the Xbox Series X|S. Unclear as to why, but it may pertain to the Series X|S Quick Resume and Cloud Save improvements. Some users have had issues, and some have not. Some users have reported the addition of a guest account will prevent progress tracking. It appears using another live profile will alleviate the problem. Since the method to catch a single chapter has been patched, I would recommend you either play through the whole game with two Live profiles or play single player.3. Playing
With double ammo and refill active reloads, your selected weapons functionally have infinite ammo. This coupled with the Fast Jack Recharge on Stim, Cloak, and Flash Freeze make the game fairly trivial.
Stim can you you out of a pinch, revive you if you are down, or pad your health if you are about to get blown up by a popper or Dropshot/Boomshot.
Cloak will allow you to execute most ground troops quickly and safely. I mainly used this in the Paduk section of 4-1, since there are several Hunters and Grenadiers, but is useful throughout to avoid direct combat.
Flash Freeze will outright kill Juvies and Poppers, as well as disable the shields from Bastions. It will also freeze nearly every boss type enemy (Stump, Snatcher, Carrier, Matriarch, Warden). It will stun the Swarmak, but not fully freeze. It does not affect the Kraken in either fight, but can pop a tongue if timed right. I would avoid using it on the Kraken and focus on shooting/explosives. A well-placed Boomshot can knock out all three tongues in one shot.
However, the game still has a few sections where instant death can happen pretty easily. Watch for Hunters with Torque Bows in 2-1, 3-3, and 4-1 in particular. Both Kraken fights can end your game if an NPC dies.
Any additional info will be added. If I can improve this, let me know how!