Windflare

"Holy..."

—JD Fenix, after seeing a Windflare up close

A Windflare forms outside Fort Reval.

Windflares were extreme weather phenomena that began appearing on Sera in the post-Locust War era. It was unknown what caused windflares to form; the Coalition of Ordered Governments had attempted on multiple occasions to link them to various natural events, such as increased solar activity, only for these explanations to later be debunked.

A single Windflare consisted of a massive, violently rotating vortex of air that formed rapidly and with little warning. Within the vortex, large amounts of electricity built up until it was discharged in the form of lightning bolts or continuous, roving arcs. Windflares were highly dangerous as the wind speeds they produced were high enough to fling boats and break apart wooden structures, and the electrical strikes were powerful enough to take out chunks of brick buildings and vaporize people. Windflares had four different categories.

With the onset of a Windflare, it was necessary to take shelter as quickly as possible to avoid its worst effects. COG Settlements featured Windwalls that enclosed around them during Windflares, and helped to block and dissipate the winds. In the event a Windwall failed, COG citizens could seek out one of a settlement's several emergency shelters.

Appearances

• Gears of War 4 (First appearance)
• Gears 5