https://gearsofwar.com/en-us/developerblog/2/gears4versus
they did it because e-sports, or some shit.
I assure you that anyone that plays gears competitively like myself thinks this is a very bad idea.
Octus: Thanks for joining us to talk about the gameplay based improvements made since Beta Ryan! Lets start off with this pretty substantial change for Versus Multiplayer - how did the team come to the decision to have the two separate tuning setups?
Ryan Cleven: It really started with our Escalation reveal at the Gears eSports Season 2 Finals. Prior to the match, we held a real-time feedback session with the 10 participating pro players to ask what they felt they needed for Gears of War 4 to shine in a professional environment. We tuned weapons with them late into the night, and it provided us a lot of insight into what we need to do to really deliver on a high-end team-based competitive experience. We took what worked from the playtest and refined it further back at the Coalition. We brought a second set of 10 pros up to the studio to try it out, and the response was great. However, we found that what the serious competitive players wanted and what the core Gears players wanted were too different to try to make a single tuning set.
Rather than trying to please everyone and end up pleasing no one, we decided that we would split the tuning into two sets, Core and Competitive. We want Gears fans to be able to play the game that we all know and love while simultaneously ensuring we provide a Competitive experience that can stand up to coordinated team based play at the highest level. This way, we hope Gears fans will be happy in being able to choose the experience they want to play, and really hone their abilities in an environment that takes more than just individual skill to excel in. Players can move between the tuning sets and their skills will still transfer between the two. The less lethal Competitive Settings mean landing consistent shots, making smart decisions and coordinating as a team become more important, but the fundamentals of the game are still the same. This approach also provides a clear step of progression for players looking to take their skills to the next level.