Whenever Crucible Radio catches wind of changes to the PvP experience, you know they’re itching to discuss how it might affect players.
The February update comes a delay to special ammo – in all 3v3 playlists, Guardians will start out without special ammunition.
So what’s the best way to adjust?
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Play Inferno
Though the change will be new to Skirmish, Salvage, and Elimination, Inferno playlists have had this feature for a while now. No one starts out with special ammo, putting more emphasis on protecting the boxes when they do spawn. Inferno playlists are a perfect way to start practicing to avoid being caught off guard after the patch.
Ammo-Generating Weapons
Certain weapons create their own ammo, including Invective, Icebreaker, and sidearms.
On Good Authority: Invective and Ice Breaker will start with no ammo and start to regenerate ammo at match start. https://t.co/r7BSTO6e1q
— Bungie (@Bungie) February 5, 2016
Sidearms won’t provide ammo until after death, while Invective and Icebreaker generate ammo over time automatically.
It might seem like these weapons will be the only choices in the Crucible moving forward but they are certainly beatable and force players to make adjustments to their loadouts accordingly. Additionally, Icebreaker has not been promoted to Year 2 and therefore will be a rare sight in Trials of Osiris, where power matters.
Coordination and Map Control
Quite possibly the most important new element of the Crucible will be the need for teams to coordinate and dominate the special ammo crates to prevent the opponents from collecting ammo. While some crates are pretty easily protected, others are up for grabs and will be hotly contested. Its up for teams to decide how they want to manage their ammo, and if they’re OK with leaving a box or two uncovered for the other team to grab.
Use Grenades Wisely
Due to the fact that primaries have a lower time to kill especially when compared to Year 1, grenades become all the more important when special ammo is non-existent. Currently, grenades are commonly used for map denial or checking for enemies, meaning they’re thrown even if the player doesn’t expect to do major damage. In a primary dual, grenades can play a big part in the damage done. This means that the player with a grenade has a much greater chance of winning than the player with only their primary weapon to attack. Constantly tossing out grenades to guard hallways suddenly has greater implications overall.
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Callouts with Dr. Lupo
You may not have seen Dr. Lupo yet, but you’ve probably heard him. He’s the teammate giving Ramblinnn incredible callouts during this insane round of Trials of Osiris, once featured on Kotaku. He’s our guest this week on Crucible Radio and he’s got a few tips on how to help your team, even if you’re dead.
Know it Will Work
It may seem cliche but the first thing about callouts is having trust in your teammates and knowing that your advice will work. If you’re not confident it can cause your teammate to make an error, but if your voice is strong and clear then they’ll know when to make the right moves.
Use Vantage Points – Dead or Alive
Being dead in Trials of Osiris is a far cry from being useless. Utilize the ability to switch cameras from your ghost, to your teammate’s perspective, and even to another dead teammate’s ghost. Having angles all over the map makes you an incredible resource for your teammates who are trying to gain an advantage on their opponents.
Know the Map
The best method for making callouts work is to come up with an agreed upon terminology before getting into a Trials ticket. It’s much more helpful to a teammate if they can hear specific callouts such as “on the stairs by C flag” rather than “he’s on the side of the thing over there”.
Efficiency
There’s a limit to how detailed callouts can be. Specificity is crucial but if a phrase is too long, it might be too late by the time your teammate acquires the right information. Dr. Lupo recommends keeping callouts to under three syllables – that keeps the airways clean and the information coming all the more quickly.