Gears of War: E-Day How to Extract — Raven & COG Tags

Every Horde Siege mission in Gears of War: E-Day ends the same way: extract on the Raven. After main R.I.G. objectives clear, your squad must secure a landing zone, survive until the chopper arrives, and board before the timer fails. Extraction is not flavor — it decides whether Weapon Parts bank for mods, whether Crush the Bug extract counters tick for Open Beta cosmetics, and whether the mission counts as a win instead of a partial-XP wipe. This guide covers Raven flow, COG tags and squad lives, Infantry+ grind routes for the eight-extract reward, and mistakes that waste Golden Quarter runs during the August beta.

Read Horde Siege for R.I.G. types and Invasion Events, Siege Classes for Medic revive duty, and Open Beta rewards for the full cosmetic table. Confirm windows on the Open Beta schedule.

The extraction sequence

1. Finish primary R.I.G. objectives — Secure, Calibrate, Repair, Defend, or Horde phases depending on the mission.
2. Extraction call — The game marks a landing zone; optional secondaries become low priority.
3. Clear and hold the LZ — Locust pressure spikes; Invasion Event leftovers can still be on the map.
4. Board the Raven — Technically one living squad member can complete the mission, but full extracts protect tags and Parts for everyone.
5. Bank rewards — Weapon Parts and extract counters only stick if the mission completes successfully.

If the LZ is not cleared in time, you lose the ride — treat the pad like a final Defend objective, not a free cinematic.

Gears of War: E-Day Official Raven Extract Cinematic

COG tags, revives, and squad lives

When you die in Horde Siege you drop COG tags. Teammates must collect those tags and deliver them to a Supply Cache to revive you. Players from other squads can also pick up your tags for an instant revive — Medic Stim Vaporizer helps, but tag logistics still matter on large Golden Quarter blocks.

If your entire squad dies, you lose a squad life. Burn all squad lives and the mission fails with partial XP — no extract, no Parts banking, no Crush the Bug credit. Call downs immediately; Medics path safely while Assault and Breacher create space.

Weapon Parts only bank on extract

Weapon Parts gathered from Secondary Objectives, COG Resupplies, and mission progress do not stick unless at least one squadmate extracts successfully. A hero wipe at the pad after a perfect R.I.G. run still wastes the haul. Play for the Raven, not the kill feed.

Weapon Mods unlocked with Parts are shared across classes once purchased — see Siege Classes and progression system.

Crush the Bug — eight Infantry+ extracts

Open Beta awards the Crush the Bug weapon skin set for eight successful Raven extracts on Infantry difficulty or higher. Lower difficulties do not count. Commander and Allfather also count if your squad can clear them.

Efficient extract farming:

• Queue Blitz (15–20 minutes) when learning pad locations — more extracts per hour than 60-minute Horde playlists.
• Lock Infantry minimum; raise difficulty only when wipes stop.
• Keep a Medic for tag recovery during LZ spikes.
• Skip greedy secondaries once extraction is called.
• Confirm difficulty badge before wave one — wrong lobby wastes twenty minutes.

Progress on extract counters carries between Early Access (Aug 6–10) and General Open Beta (Aug 13–17) on the same account. Class level still resets at launch; the cosmetic does not once unlocked.

Invasion Events vs extraction

Invasion Events (Corpser or Brumak in the beta) can block extractions or disable Supply Caches while active. If an Invasion pops during your LZ hold, either commit all three squads to the boss or delay boarding until caches and pads reopen. Solo hero DPS into a Brumak while your squad waits on the pad is how extract counters stall.

Full event tactics: Horde Siege. Enemy behaviors: Locust & Feral.

Golden Quarter callouts for the pad

Learn two routes to the common extraction pads on Golden Quarter before General Open Beta queues spike August 13:

• Short route — for healthy squads with full Energy and no Invasion modifier
• Cover route — for squads dragging COG tags or low ammo after Defend phases

Map geography: Kalona maps. Energy and Supply Cache spending rules sit in the Horde guide — do not dump all Energy on vanity gear thirty seconds before extract.

Solo queue vs stacked parties

Random lobbies fail extracts when nobody calls the pad or Medics chase kills. In matchmaking:

• Type “extract now” the moment the objective flips
• Ping the pad and hold firelines instead of hunting stragglers
• Revive tags toward the LZ, not back into dead R.I.G. rooms

Four-stacks from Campaign Co-op nights usually finish Infantry+ Blitz extracts faster — voice beats text on twelve-player maps.

Between beta weekends

Early Access closes August 10, 2026 at 10:00 AM PT. General Open Beta opens August 13 at 12:00 PM PT. Extract counters and challenge progress persist — you do not need eight extracts in one weekend. Use the gap to review pad routes, remap controls, and fix PC issues via beta error codes before queues refill.

Related pages

• Open Beta rewards — Crush the Bug, PL20 Mags, Medal and Title
• Horde Siege — objectives, Energy, Invasion Events
• Siege Classes — Medic and Breacher extract roles
• Kalona maps — Golden Quarter layout
• Open Beta schedule — PT windows and carry rules
• Beta checklist — prep before grind nights
• Progression system — Weapon Parts and class XP