How to Perform a Perfect Active Reload in Gears of War…

In most modern video games that include shooting mechanics, players can reload their weapons by pressing one of the four face buttons on their controller. However, before this kind of control scheme became the norm, developers experimented with many ideas and configurations, which is why reloading in Gears of War: Reloaded may be a little different from what some players are accustomed to.

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Like the original game and its 2015 remaster, Gears of War: Reloaded makes use of the active reload system, which requires players to time their button presses to get the best possible results. As well as some short-term damage and speed boosts, those who master the game's reloading mechanics will be awarded the " Zen and the Art of Reloading" and "Zen and the Art Part 2" Trophies / Achievements.

How to Reload in Gears of War: Reloaded (Reload Button)

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To reload in Gears of War: Reloaded, players will need to press either the R1 (PlayStation) or RB (Xbox) button on their controller. Doing so will lead to a horizontal bar appearing beneath their ammo count in the top right-hand corner of the screen and a vertical white bar that moves across it from left to right. When the vertical bar reaches the right side of the horizontal one, players will be able to start shooting again. Alternatively, players can wait until their clip is completely empty, at which point, the character that they're controlling will reload automatically.

How to Perform a Perfect Active Reload in Gears of War: Reloaded

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Those looking to speed things up a little can use Gears of War: Reloaded's active reload system. To make use of it, players will simply need to press the reload button while the vertical white bar is in the white section of the horizontal bar. This is what's known as a perfect active reload, and will result in the weapon being reloaded considerably faster. Players will also gain an 8% damage boost for the remainder of the new clip. Stopping the horizontal bar in the gray section will result in a quick reload with no damage boost, while stopping it anywhere else will result in the clip jamming.

Reload times vary from weapon to weapon, but a perfect active reload will generally take around half as long as a regular reload, while a failed reload will increase reload time by around 150%. With this in mind, players who are unable to consistently stop the horizontal bar within the gray or white sections may be better off not pushing the button at all.

How to Unlock the Perfect Active Reload Trophies / Achievements

As mentioned above, there are two Trophies / Achievements that are tied to perfect active reloads. To unlock "Zen and the Art of Reloading", players will need to have performed 25 perfect active reloads. They'll unlock "Zen and the Art Part 2" after they've performed 5 perfect active reloads in a row. They should unlock these naturally throughout the course of their playthrough, although it's possible to farm them both by firing a single shot with the pistol and then repeatedly reloading until the Trophies / Achievements pop.

Can You Remap the Gears of War: Reloaded Reload Button?

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The placement of Gears of War: Reloaded's reload button remains the same in the default, alternate, and tournament control schemes. However, players can remap it to one of the face buttons by visiting the Controller Customization section of the Controls menu. The Reload Weapon option can be found under the Combat tab, which players can cycle to using their left or right triggers. As of the time of writing, there is no way to disable or automate the active reload process, although there's nothing stopping players from ignoring it if they so wish.

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