New Year’s Resolutions
It’s 2016 and time to stop and think about how we’re approaching the Crucible these days. Bones, Birds and Swain have come up with a set of resolutions to maximize their enjoyment in Destiny.
Stay Positive – In the realm of evolving strategies and metagame where the competitive side is brought out of everyone, it’s sometimes too easy to go on tilt and get frustrated. But the fact is, if we’re not having fun, then we’re not getting the most out of Destiny. If the Crucible is aggravating, then it may be time to rethink our approach and find out what might help us enjoy the game more.
Find What You Like – Staying positive leads us right to finding out what you like about playing the Crucible. There are endless conversations about “the meta”, and knowing the best gear to use is absolutely crucial for success. But at a certain point, experimenting with uncommon loadouts or rare weapons is also a great way to improve and have fun. You might find that your favorite weapon is not one you’d take into Trials of Osiris, but one you enjoy using quite a bit when completing your daily game for marks. Who knows, you could be discovering the next “meta” build anyway!
Stay Alive – If we’re talking about one of the best ways to improve overall as a Crucible player, the simple concept of “staying alive” can mean a lot of things. It’s so easy to get stuck in a habit of rushing forward into battle only to be met with a swift death because the enemy team was ready and waiting, or simply more aware of their surroundings. Focusing on staying alive longer helps with the habit of disengaging a losing battle, being there for your teammates, knowing when to push and when to back off, and overall giving your team a better chance to win.
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How to Deal with Lag
It’s a critical issue in the Crucible and there’s no avoiding it – lag is real, and it is awful. We all still want to keep playing, so what can we do about it? Well, besides the report function, here are a few tips to prevent lag from ruining your fun and causing a loss.
Point Out the Offending Player – No need to rage, simply alert your teammates of which player is blinking or not taking damage immediately. When they see that Guardian, they’ll be able to back off or disengage without getting into a pointless battle.
Just enough damage, then back off – sometimes lag doesn’t cause a player to bounce around the map, but will cause kills to register in a delayed fashion. To combat this, shoot them for what you feel and know is the right amount, then back off. They’ll die a second later but at least you didn’t stay out in the open or let them shoot you as well.
Practice Disengagement – As mentioned above, knowing when to back off is a crucial step in improving as a player. When an enemy is glitching/not taking damage, it can provide a perfect opportunity to practice this skill. Disengaging from a lagging player builds the habit of leaving a battle you cannot win. This can then carry over into more important games where connections are stable but an enemy has the advantage.
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Are Fusion Rifles Competitive?
The 2.1 patch leaves us with surprisingly balanced primary game as new contenders rise to the surface (looking at you, Doctrine of Passing), but fusion rifles remain in an odd place. The best way to find the one that works for you is to understand two major things: impact and range.
Impact on a fusion rifle always correlates with charge speed. The slower the charge, the higher the impact. This directly affects how many “bolts” need to make contact in order to secure a kill. High charge rate fusions like Split-Shifter Pro require 5 bolts to kill, while slower charging fusions like the Gunsmith’s Thesan only require 4. Finding the balance you’re comfortable with is key.
Unique to fusions, the range stat actually decides how fast the bolts travel. If you have a higher range stat, the fusion bolts will actually travel faster. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean faster = better. What you need to decide is what timing you feel comfortable with. If you’d like the bolts to travel fast so you can run and gun, look for perks that will max out the range bar.
Now, are they really competitive? Well, for the majority of players, not really. It’s hard to compete with shotguns and snipers these days, especially in Trials of Osiris. But in the right hands, all weapons can be effective, and certain players are dominating with fusions. Plan C has stood out according to Bungie’s data as an incredibly effective weapon.
They won’t be on your kill cam very often for now, but you never know how the meta will change in the future.
That’s it for this Crucible Radio recap, happy 2016!
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