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Chapter 9 of 15

Gears 5: Act II, Chapter 5: Dirtier Little Secrets walkthrough

Under the glacier, Kait and Del follow a guide through a frozen research lab to its secret.

  • About 48–50 min in the videos
  • 3 parts · 8 steps
  • 1 boss

Compiled from 2 playthrough videos and 4 guides · checked Oct 19, 2026

0 of 3 done
Video: Lone Wolf on YouTube (solo run). Loads from youtube-nocookie.com only when you press play.

What each player can do here

P1 · Kait (JD in Act I)
  • Weapons can be taken from enemies frozen in the lab.
P2 · Jack or Del
  • A co-op partner can play Jack as a support seat.
  • Shock Trap shuts down the generators behind turrets and cryo jets; Cloak gets you past turrets.

If your skill levels differ: Uneven pair: the newer player can take Jack, the support robot (scans, fetches, opens doors and revives), while the steadier shot takes a soldier seat and carries the gunfights. How to split the roles

The entrance

Part 1 of 3. Get past the laser turrets.

  1. BothLaser turrets guard the way in: Shock-trap the generators in the side buildings and Cloak past the rest.

Through the lab

Part 2 of 3. Follow the guide through the cryo leaks, then fight your way out.

  1. BothFollow the guide; at each cryo leak, put a Shock Trap on the generator to stop the jets.
  2. BothWhere jets block the path, trigger Jack's protection and cross.
  3. BothWhen the guide turns on you, break the ice blocking the side door, then use the body by the console in the next room to lift the lockdown.
  4. BothEnemies are released from their pods; fight them with weapons taken from the frozen bodies.
  5. BothAt the locked door, send Jack through the vent while you hold off the next wave.
  6. BothCreatures with extra limbs on their backs (Sires) can grab you; keep them at a distance.

The Matriarch

Part 3 of 3. Beat the boss in the frozen room.

  1. BothHave Jack open the door to the large frozen room to start the boss fight.

Boss

MatriarchThe lab's guardian

  1. Freeze her: She shrugs off damage from the front. Drop her into the freezing water by breaking the ice under her (or freeze her with cryo) to stop her for a moment.
  2. Weak spot: While she is frozen, get behind her and shoot the weak spot on her back.
  3. Dodge: She charges and leaps at you, and both hit very hard; dodge to the side.
  • She is blind and follows sound: shooting draws her toward you.
  • She pulls Kait into visions that blur the screen; keep moving and use the ice pillars as cover.

Extras and notes

  • IGN's guide counts 6 collectibles in this chapter.
Sources (6)

Steps compiled from 2 playthrough videos and 4 text guides, checked Oct 19, 2026, and written in our own words. We did not play the game for this guide. A step marked “single source” rests on one guide so far.