Bungie helped share some exciting news recently as they partnered with Belong Arenas in the United Kingdom to announce the first sponsored Gambit Prime tournament. This coincided with Gambit Prime now also being available for private matches for players to practice on or also set up their own tournaments. This guide will provide a few tips and tricks for those looking to improve at the game mode for either casual or more competitive play.
Gambit Prime can be a very different experience when starting off solo compared to with a group. Going in by yourself can be daunting, as it requires you to be far more flexible. One of the first things to do in the waiting room is check for teammates wearing enhanced armor sets; reaper is green, invader is red, collector is white and sentry is yellow. It is often up to you to change your playstyle based on what the others are doing and not the other way around. If you want to go even further then check the loadouts of everyone on your team as that will give further indication of their playstyle.
Picking a loadout and subclass can often depend on what role you are going to be playing as well. Some exotic weapons that are very versatile currently are Jotuun, Lord of Wolves, Arbalest and Le Monarque. Thunderlord and Wardcliff Coil are also very useful for various roles in the power weapon slot as well. The key is to use the weapons and subclasses that you are most comfortable while ensuring you have options for clearing minor enemies as well as doing strong damage to the primeval. The recent update to arc subclasses has made them more viable but the combinations most often used tend to be hunters using blade barrage with Shards of Galanor or tether with Orpheus Rig, warlocks using Skull of Dire Ahamkara with nova bomb or a Well of Radiance with Phoenix Protocol, and titans using striker with the Insurmountable Skullfort.
Once the match starts pay attention to whether teammates are collecting motes, killing enemies or clearing the bank. The last part is very important as two or more enemy blockers will start draining your motes, so if no one else heads back that way then do so as quickly as possible. This also applies to your team banking motes, as it is best to send over two or more blockers at a time to drain their motes and make clearing more difficult. And always remember to revive your teammates as the respawn timer may not seem long but it can save valuable seconds.
Most of the time guardians who want to invade will do so immediately. Some will go so far as to camp by the portal much of the game. Ultimately, if no one invades, then you should do so before those opportunities are wasted. Even without an ideal invading weapon, you can often delay the other team and force them to search for 30 seconds. Get familiar with the spawn points of each of the maps, portals and ways to move forward under cover. Target the guardian with the most motes but often it is easier to take out others first as they will make a beeline for you. Staying alive will also give your teammates time to summon more blockers if you can’t take the enemy motes.
When the enemy invades, only push to challenge if you don’t have many motes to lose. Otherwise, find your teammates or a place to hide until they are off the field. If you don’t have any collected then protect those that do since dying doesn’t set you back that far. Use your super only if it means protecting a significant amount of motes as too often it is wasted on an invader who won’t do much damage. The bottom line during this phase is always try being aware of blockers, invaders and the portal being open.
Once the Primeval spawns you must clear three envoys before it can be damaged. For the first round you can take them out as quickly as possible and then do damage with your primary to slowly weaken the boss. Save your special and heavy ammo as you will receive a buff every round and you can do significantly more damage after the first. One key is having as many members of the fireteam within the well that spawns from the last envoy as possible. Be wary of the invader but do not waste too much ammo or a super trying to take him down in this initial phase.
For the second round and beyond the strategy changes a little. Take down the first two envoys but wait for the invader before taking down the last envoy, if there hasn’t been an invasion recently. This will better ensure all four players are available to do damage to the Primeval and you can take down the invader together. From there use special ammo to deal as much damage as possible. From the third phase on you should use everything you can to melt the boss as quickly as possible. Don’t forget to invade if no one else does, as killing guardians heals the enemy Primeval and can mean the different between a win and loss.
Should you find a team and establish roles that will allow you to better focus on one task at a time, but as a solo player it is best to be a jack of all trades. Even when playing with random guardians it is still possible to help your team win more often and even help carry them to victory. Don’t forget to gather the various armor sets for yourself so you can take advantage of the huge buffs that come with them. Gambit Prime has just entered the game recently looks to be a competitive game mode that will last now that private matches are available, so practice and learn so you can rise above the competition.