Gears of War 3 wouldn’t be a complete Gears of War game if it didn’t have more than a handful of Cog Tags spread across the single-player campaign. As it turns out there are 15 of them in the final installment of Epic Games’ trilogy scattered around in a variety of locations, but not found in every chapter.
The following guide reveals the locations of all 15 Cog Tags in Gears of War 3. You can either read through the guide for hints and direction on where to look. Or, if you’re feeling incredibly lazy and want someone to hold your hand, there is a video tutorial at the bottom of the article culled off YouTube from Rogue Gamers that will visually walk you right to each Cog Tag.
Be sure to stay away from the Cog Tag locations guide if you’re sensitive to spoilers of any kind. There are some mild ones that follow.
The reward for collecting all 15 Cog Tags in Gears of War 3 is the ‘Remember the Fallen’ Achievement worth 15 points. There are other collectibles tracked separately for you to find in the game, but those will be covered in a separate post.
Prologue: Troubled Past
1) The first Cog Tag can be scooped up right after starting the game. Simply take a right, go through the door and instantly be 1/15th on your way toward collecting them all.
Act 1: Chapter 1 – Anchored
2) You’ll engage in a huge firefight with the Lambents on the deck of the ship. Once they’re taken out, look around for a huge metal crate with the Cog logo plastered on the side. Right up above the crate is a body. Shoot the body, and it will be raining the second Cog Tag.
Act 1: Chapter 3 – Homecoming
3) Once you’ve battled your way through the grocery store, you’ll be required to drive a mech loader and move a crate of food to behind the store. Before you do this, look around near where the crate originally is positioned for the Cog logo painted on a wall. There’s a room near this that has the Cog Tag on a desk.
Act 1: Chapter 4 – Helping Hand
4) Immediately after leaving the Camp’s warehouse and before you get to the Stadium, be on the lookout for the Cog logo painted on a brick wall. Once spotted, canvas the immediate area to the right in search of a dead body. The Cog Tag is with this corpse.
Act 1: Chapter 6 – Hanging by a Thread
5) Pay attention upon entering the Locust outpost. On the right is a van and near this van is a Cog logo. Search around the logo and spot a ladder leading down. At the bottom of the ladder is a path that will lead you directly to the fifth Cog Tag and complete 33% of the Achievement.
Act 2: Chapter 1 – Shipwreck
6) Pay attention to the beach firefight for when you’re close to Chairman Prescott. Near where he rests is some random cargo with the Cog Tag hiding behind it.
Act 2: Chapter 3 – Forced Entry
7) This is the first Cog Tag that provides somewhat of a challenge. If you have the right weapon armed, the Longshot, then it’s much simpler. There are five guards that must be taken out before they sound the alarm. Once they are all killed, a separate door will open to the side and lead you right to the Cog Tag. If you fail then the chapter will have to be restarted, else the Cog Tag will not be retrievable.
Act 2: Chapter 6 – Airborne
8) Dizzy’s fort is occupied by four reapers who must be taken out. Once they’re toast, trot on across the street into a building that looks like it has seen several days. Make your way to the second floor where the Cog Tag awaits.
Act 3: Chapter 2 – Rescue
9) Taking on the Lambent Berserker requires all of one’s attention. If you can take your focus off him for a moment and head toward the gate, you’ll find the Cog Tag waiting for you on the ground near it.
Act 3: Chapter 4 – Ghost Town
10) This one is a bloody affair. Be on the lookout for a Fresh Meat stand while making your way through the level in search of the crazy man. Look around the stand for the Cog Tag, which is covered in a copious amount of blood.
Act 4: Chapter 1 – Ashes to Ashes
11) During your pursuit of the Ash Man, he’ll conveniently drop a container containing pesky Polyps. Defeat the Polyps, then ignore Sam when he tells you to go investigate the building. You see, there’s another building to the far left with a Cog logo on it. The Cog Tag is inside this building on a soldier’s corpse.
Act 4: Chapter 5 – Bon Voyage
12)You’ll have to move through ships and containers on your way to the Dockyard. Pick the middle ship and look at the containers to its right for one with the Cog logo on it. The Cog Tag is just behind the logo.
Act 5: Chapter 2 – Black Out
13) This is the only Cog Tag that requires the Silverback in order to reach. Ride the Silverback on the lift and locate the room marked by a bunch of 3’s once you get off the lift. Enter this room and spot the Cog logo on a barricade. Blast the barricade with the Silverback and find the Cog Tag.
Act 5: Chapter 3 – Shattered Paradise
14) One of the rooms you’ll go through in this chapter has a big white Angel statue. You can’t miss it. There’s a Cog logo in the corner of this room, and a deceased soldier near it that holds the Cog Tag.
Act 5: Chapter 5 – Ascension
15) Pay attention immediately after escaping Queen Myrah’s wrath. On the path you follow is an area on the right with big video game machines. You’ll have to use the Highlight function to spot the Cog logo near some wooden crates. Those crates are in the way of the Cog Tag, so blast all of them for the reward.
Last, but not least, here’s the video that walks through locating all 15 of the Gears of War 3 Cog Tags.
