GOW2EXP History
History of all Gears of War 2 events and updates.
Gears of War 2 Calculator launched
26th March 2009
As soon as the Title Update 3 patch came out for Gears 2, work went into working out the requirements for each level.
A mathematical algorithm (created on 26th March 09 by Mark Willis) generates the values of each level every time you visit the site. When requested, the system also calculates the difference between two levels.
Originally found at MarkWillis.co.uk/gow2exp and posted to the Gears of War forums - it quickly became the primary resource for Gears 2 players trying to level up.
World first
March 2009
This site was the first table in the world to publish the numbers everyone now took/takes to be the true accurate requirements.
'Nolestrumpet' over at the Gears official forums also published a very similar theory in March 2009. His theory helped strengthen my confidence that my algorithm was correct, thanks!
40,000 visitors
March 2009
The Gears 2 calculator spread far and wide, drawing in 40,000 unique visitors in just the first 4 months.
Initial debates
March-August 2009
Epic Games' Joe Graf initially stated on the Forums that my calculations were incorrect, but players quickly recognized that the GOW2EXP calculator seemed accurate.
It turned out there was what I would describe as a slight anomaly at level 81, shifting the experience for 81+ by just 1 exp.
This was quickly fixed in August 2009 once players had finally managed to get to level 81 and provided me with the correct experience points for level 81 which resulted in the rest of the calculations to be correct all the way to 100.
Several players would continue to confirm the last levels from 81 all the way to 100. The calculator was confirmed 100% correct by several players and sources.
Old Skool event this weekend
22nd May 2009
This weekend Gears of War 2 public multiplayer matches will be 4v4, with smoke grenades which do not stun. This event will be from May 22, 9 AM EST to May 26, 9 AM EST.
Double XP weekend
15th May 2009
The double xp weekend is from Friday May 15th, 5am EST (9am GMT) to Monday May 18th, 9am EST (1pm GMT). It is planned for this weekend only.
Ratio changes
24th May 2009
Ratio changes: The game points to experience ratio in Guardian has been lowered from 0.91 to 0.83. Annex has been lowered from 0.26 to 0.23. This makes it harder to gain levels in these game types.
TU4 Horde added
30th June 2009
Support for the Title Update 4 Horde experience addition has been added.
Double XP weekend
3rd July 2009
Double XP and +500xp to winning team weekend - Friday 3rd July to Monday 6th!
The level 81 anomaly
August 2009
August 2009 to include a conditional argument for Level 81 to adjust it by 1 exp - this makes the entire chart 100% accurate!
Its own domain name
August 2009
Due to its popularity, gow2exp was put on its very own domain name.
Legit level 100s!
6th August 2009
Reports of 2 legit (and possibly 4 host-bridging) players reaching level 100 are floating around. One of which has confirmed the value for 100 is 6.8 million!
Confirmed experience for level 100
3rd August 2009
Player with the Gamertag S1N1ST3R II X17 gets level 100. Reaches out to me to confirm the 6.8 million exp value. Thank you!
Confirmed 100%
8th August 2009
The chart is now confirmed 100% accurate up to 100!
Doubled experience... forever.
November 2009
Experience points earnt ingame are now doubled permanently. The default experience multiplier is 2x. The calculator has been updated to reflect this.
Triple XP event
November 2009
Triple (original) XP event.
Optimised for Mobile Devices
24th May 2010
With the rise of Smart Phones, websites must now be mobile optimised.
You can now load up a specially designed touch screen optimized GOW2EXP on any modern smart phone, such as the iPhone!
A mobile version has finally been released. Accessible from http://www.gow2exp.com/m
Visit gow2exp.com on a mobile device and you will automatically be forwarded to the mobile version.
Read more on Gears of War 2 Mobile Calculator
6x XP event
June 2010
Six times (original) XP event.
6x XP event
June 2010
Six times (original) XP event.
Tick Tick Boom: 8x XP event
July 2010
Eight times (original) XP event.
Com Con: 20x XP event
July 2010
20x Exp Event. July 22nd 12:30 EDT (17:30 BST) - July 25th 08:00 EDT
Labor Day: 25x XP event
September 2010
Labor Day Event. Sept 3rd till Sept 7th.
Calculator Experience Multiplier selection
September 2010
You can select an experience multiplier (top right) to see how you would of scored during a past event, or how you will score during any current or future known events.
Halloween 2010: 31x XP event
October 2010
Halloween exp event. 31 times original XP event.
Thanksgiving 2010: 10x XP event
November 2010
Thanksgiving exp event. 10 times original XP event.
Valentines 2011: 7x XP event
February 2011
Valentines exp event. 7 times original XP event.
Valentines 2011: 14x XP event
February 2011
Valentines exp event. 14 times original XP event.
Gears of Fitness event 2011: 22x XP event
March 2011
Gears of Fitness event exp event. 22 times original XP event.
Gears of War 3 beta event: 18x XP event
April 2011
Event running during the Gears of War 3 beta. 18 times original XP event.
Gears of War 3 Multiplayer Beta
April 2011
Gears of War 3 beta will be starting 18th April (for those who bought Bulletstorm Epic Edition) and 25th April for those who pre ordered GoW3. GOWcalc.com (no long valid website) has some information about the Beta unlockables.
GOW3EXP: Gears of War 3 calculator
24th July 2011
GOW3EXP was started.
Of course I continued and made a sequel. I started building the next calcualtor for the Gears of War 3 release in September 2011. With many players plus community managers keeping in touch - it was easy to create and confirm.
Gears weekend events - five in a row!
18th August 2011
Gears2 is running five XP event weekends in a row. Starting with 'Tickers by the Boatload'.
Read more at August 2011 Gears of war 2 five weekend events
For every weekend until Gears of War 3 launch - the exp will be increased by 5x.
Weekend 1 - Tickers by the Boatload
19th August 2011
19 Aug 2011 9:00 AM EST Through 22nd Aug 2011 9:00 AM EST
Horde: 32 rounds of shotgun ammo
5x EXP
Weekend 2 - Crazy Horde
26th August 2011
26 Aug 2011 9:00 AM EST, to 29th Aug 2011 9:00 AM EST
Horde: crazy mixed up weapons
10x EXP
Weekend 3 - Labor Day
2nd September 2011
2nd Sep 2011 9:00 AM EST, through 6th Sep 2011 9:00 AM EST
Horde to have Cupids (Wretch squads with Torque bows)
15x EXP
Weekend 4 - Boomer Blast
9th September 2011
9th Sep 2011 9:00 AM EST Through 12th Sep 2011 9:00 AM EST
Boomer Blast Horde Event
20x EXP
Weekend 5 - Week long event
13th September 2011
13th Sep 2011, to 19th Sep 2011
Ticker Madness Horde
25x EXP
Gears of War 3 Launched
20th September 2011
See you all over on GOW3EXP Gears of War 3 Calculator.
Help participate in the Gears 3 Community Calculator!
New hosting
25th September 2016
GOW2EXP was migrated to better, more modern, hosting infrastructure.
Still running!
3rd February 2022
Slight improvements to the site.
We're getting old
3rd March 2025
GOW2EXP is 16 years old this month! I have made a few improvements to the website, completed this History page, and will streamline the experience for returning visitors on all devices all these years later.
