The full article can be found at Bungie.net [divider]
Title Defense Fight
When the door to the Vault of Glass was first cracked, the Destiny community started a goldrush into the unknown.
On that day, it was PrimeGuard that kept their often-made promise to be the first team to plunder the riches buried deep below Venus. Soon thereafter, it was Invigorate that raised the bar with their world-first victory on the harder setting.
As Crota dared players to bring about his end in a brand new Raid, the question was obvious: Would one of the defending champions emerge again as the world first? Or would a new dark horse in the running cross the finish line before all others.
In the dawning hours of release day, it was Invigorate who emerged from the Hellmouth – exhausted and frazzled, but triumphant. You probably want to know what they know, so we gave them the customary victory-lap debrief.
So, you did it again. How did you prepare for Crota’s End.
INV: We all made sure that our classes and weapons were maxed out. We coordinated smaller teams to prepare for different situations that we might encounter, which ended up being helpful for various parts of the Raid.
We knew we’d need to have both Arc and Solar weapons to take down the Knights and Wizards, so we focused on primaries with those elements. We did some play tests to figure out which guns worked best on elemental shields.
We also knew that Gjallahorn would be vital, so we leveled as many of those as we had. After hearing our rivals at Primeguard were not streaming, we also decided not to stream to keep our strategies exclusive to our clan. We know they are one of the best clans out there, and attempting to beat them helped us stay motivated throughout the raid.
How were the challenges in this Raid different?
INV: We felt the challenges in Crota’s End were even more creative than in the previous Raid. They focused more on teamwork and coordination rather than on puzzle solving.
It was also more exciting due to the sheer number of aggressive enemies that were constantly coming at you. The close range combat made everything more intense.
Did you think this was easier, harder, or what you expected?
INV: The Raid was definitely harder this time around. We enjoyed the challenge and the race for world first. It’s what drove us to persevere when we reached a stressful encounter.
We underestimated the difficulty of the Raid, but we were very happy that it was more challenging than we expected.
What would you recommend to those who will follow in your footsteps?
INV: Spending six hours with the same people in a frustrating environment tests your patience. Good chemistry will allow you to focus on the challenge.
If we attempted this the first day we met, there would be no way we would have been successful. If you find a fire team that you enjoy playing with, our advice to you is to stick with them to develop the chemistry that allows you to compete at a high level.
With seven players listed in your gameplay history on Bungie.net, it looks like you made a substitution during your run. What was the reason for the roster change midstream?
INV: Despite multiple perfect executions, our original strategy for Crota was not doing enough damage to beat the enrage timer. LtJohn5 recommended switching the sword carrier’s primary weapon to the Vex Mythoclast, our only Level 32 weapon, to see if it would cause the sword to do extra damage to Crota.
This failed miserably, but it did prompt a good idea. Ewok suggested bringing in Matrix, the only Level 31 in our clan, to see if the damage output was higher. Matrix had prepared to level up to 31 by storing Bounties and Marks across his three Hunters. He was also a member of our second team, which was taking a break from the Raid. When he agreed to join our group, we discovered he was hitting the boss 50% harder.
Our original sword carrier (Hawk) walked Matrix through our entire strategy to show him exactly what he needed to do. Shortly after, Crota was vanquished.
This was a clan victory. Everyone who contributed was vital to our success.
Congratulations to everyone in your clan, in that case. What’s next for all of you?
INV: We’ve shifted our focus from normal mode to hard mode. We have already begun to develop potential strategies to employ for the next race.
Well, you just spilled all your magic beans, so competition will be fierce. Since people will want more of them, where can we follow your progress?
INV: You can find us on Twitter and our new website is under construction, so make sure to follow us for updates.
Many Guardians will follow Invigorate to the depths of the Hellmouth, but it must be said that a bunch of other teams blazed their own trail to Crota, and followed through with wins all their own.
[divider]Top Ten Teams To Complete Crota’s End First
- World FIRST
- World SECOND
- World THIRD
- World FOURTH
- World FIFTH
- World SIXTH
- World SEVENTH
- World EIGHTH
- World NINTH
- World TENTH
Shared World
With the introduction of the Will of Crota Strike as part of The Dark Below, we’ve added the activity to the Nightfall and Heroic rotation. These weekly events will require The Dark Below when Will of Crota is selected.
Daily and Weekly Heroic Activities
- Featured activities will rotate between old and new
- Next week will feature Destiny launch content
The Crucible
- Lord Saladin and the Iron Banner return on December 16
- Iron Banner will replace a premium playlist currently featured
- Iron Banner will not feature new maps from The Dark Below
- Control on new maps will be featured starting December 23
Our goal is to support every player of Destiny, and we’ll be tuning the frequency and content featured in all special events as we go.