Destiny

[RIPPA]

Well I am pretty sure most of the One Destiny clan will be in on the Division so I will have folks to drag me along through it

[Basara]

I will try not to get too frustrated trying to get sword kills in PvP with classes that I suck at playing and collect the other two Exotic swords. Once that is done I will have all of the Exotic Heavy Weapon grimoire cards.

You can skip out the annoying 'kills in the Crucible' part of the quest and jump straight to the equally annoying 'gather materials' part once you've finished one Sword.

Level up and infuse the other 2 legendary swords to finish the first part of the quest, then transfer them to your main who's already completed it. They will start at the exotic part of the quest which is the materials gathering, ability kills and Darkblade strike.

You can also just buy the additional legendary swords from Shaxx once you've finished one sword. Something I didn't realise until I'd spent an hour finishing off the story mode again on one if my alts.

Some interesting things in the weekly update. No new PVE content of course (why would they? It's only been 4 and a half months) but lots of changes and fixes to the Crucible.

The big one being from next Tuesday you'll no longer spawn with special ammo in 3v3 game modes. Should stop the first round or 2 of Trials being a complete snipefest.

More changes to match making to improve connections. I'll believe they've finally got it working when I see it.

There's also going to be 6v6 playlists with no fireteams. No longer will you have to spawn into a game with randoms against a full team of 6. Hopefully it works well and they implement it into the Iron Banner.

Doesn't look like the valentines event has level advantages enabled. The rewards are Ghosts up to level 320. One of them is made out of chocolate. I want it.

Only PVE changes are a couple of bug fixes. The Black Spindle ship will now drop for you from the Lost to Light mission if you didn't get it with the Spindle. I was lucky enough to get both but if the ship didn't drop with the gun you had no way to get it.

And 2 fixes to King's Fall. Ogres will no longer glitch out and teleport during the Oryx fight. That should stop many a wipe in challenge mode. And they've fixed the camera in the Deathsingers encounter for the relic holder. That shits got me killed more times than I can count!

[RIPPA]

Also that Crimson Days thing is just apparently Doubles but you must be in a Fireteam to play

[Basara]

Pretty much. It's gimmick is that you enrage once your 'loved one' has been killed and it maxes out your stats for the remainder of the round.

Not a fan of the 3v3 game modes never mind about doubles. But if that chocolate covered ghost has a decent drop rate I might grind for it.

[J.T.]

 

I will try not to get too frustrated trying to get sword kills in PvP with classes that I suck at playing and collect the other two Exotic swords. Once that is done I will have all of the Exotic Heavy Weapon grimoire cards.

You can skip out the annoying 'kills in the Crucible' part of the quest and jump straight to the equally annoying 'gather materials' part once you've finished one Sword.

Level up and infuse the other 2 legendary swords to finish the first part of the quest, then transfer them to your main who's already completed it. They will start at the exotic part of the quest which is the materials gathering, ability kills and Darkblade strike.

 

Aw, where is the fun in that?  I actually like PvP.  It shouldn't take me too long to rack up 25 sword kills in the Crucible if I run with my usual PvP wolfpack from DARPA.  I got a Breaker medal in back to back matches last night.

 

I like the changes to PvP in the Update.  Not sure if I want a chocolate Ghost, but gear suits me just fine.

 

Xur has some good stuff this week.  Too bad I got my Immolation Fists and SUROS Regime from engrams last week. 

[RIPPA]

I am shocked that Mr. Sniper likes taking away special ammo

Again - for me it is just the general principle of for two years Bunie has been all PLAY THE GAME THE WAY WE WANT YOU TO PLAY IT!!!

Instead of actually fixing their actual game

[Basara]

I didn't mind doing the sword the first time but it's the exact same quest twice more to get them all done. I took the easy way out. I'd have rather had a way to skip the minerals farming, goddamn was that boring!

The crucible changes all seem to be for the better. The lack of special will affect my shotgunning but since I don't play a lot of the 3v3 modes it'll only be for the first couple of rounds of Trials if I play it.

I wanna try and get back into the Warpriest challenge mode over the weekend. We did well last time and I got a whole bunch of high level heavies for infusion fodder, I'd like some 320 specials this time to infuse up my Spindle and a few other toys.

[Basara]

I am shocked that Mr. Sniper likes taking away special ammo

Again - for me it is just the general principle of for two years Bunie has been all PLAY THE GAME THE WAY WE WANT YOU TO PLAY IT!!!

Instead of actually fixing their actual game

The only problem I see with taking away special in the more competitive game modes is it's going to get more people using the MIDA. Which, again, is against the way they want us to play the game. Same reason they nerfed Thorn and TLW, so people wouldn't feel like they had to use a specific gun. MIDA isn't on that level yet but you can basically snipe with that thing and get a kill with a couple of headshots with it's high rate of fire.

[J.T.]

I am shocked that Mr. Sniper likes taking away special ammo

 

Quickscoping is the new shotgun rushing especially in Trials.  Too many assholes out there with high aim assist snipers one shotting people in nanoseconds.  Something really had to be done about that shit.  Unfortunately FR use will take another big hit.  So much for weapon diversity.

 

On the downside, more players are going to start using high AA scout rifles like MIDA and baby snipe their way to victory and you will see a lot more Y2 NLBs take the field.

 

The only problem I see with taking away special in the more competitive game modes is it's going to get more people using the MIDA. Which, again, is against the way they want us to play the game. Same reason they nerfed Thorn and TLW, so people wouldn't feel like they had to use a specific gun. MIDA isn't on that level yet but you can basically snipe with that thing and get a kill with a couple of headshots with it's high rate of fire.

 

MIDA is indeed on that level.   I have run across whole teams packing MIDAs.  It is the new Chaperone.

[Basara]

I can't get on with MIDA, or any other scout in the Crucible. Which is strange since they're my go to weapons for PVE. My Crucible weaponry usually consists of the Iron Banner pulse rifle or the grasp of Malok, both with Third Eye. The Iron Banner shotgun with Rangefinder and the Truth.

I was all about the long range engagement and control/domination in my CoD days but I'm much more mid to close range clash/deathmatch based in the Crucible. My normal play style just doesn't seem to work in there.

[J.T.]

I can't get on with MIDA, or any other scout in the Crucible. Which is strange since they're my go to weapons for PVE. My Crucible weaponry usually consists of the Iron Banner pulse rifle or the grasp of Malok, both with Third Eye. The Iron Banner shotgun with Rangefinder and the Truth.

I was all about the long range engagement and control/domination in my CoD days but I'm much more mid to close range clash/deathmatch based in the Crucible. My normal play style just doesn't seem to work in there.

 

The maps would work to the benefit of long range engagements if you didn't have high AGI Hunters like me covering ground in no time flat, so unless the map has clearly defined sniper nests like Shores of Time or alley killzones like Pantheon, you are better off running and gunning at short to medium range. 

 

My Bladedancer has made a career out of outflanking and Arc Blading the shit out of preoccupied snipers.

 

My load-outs depend on what sub-class I am running.

 

Gunslinger:     TLW or First Curse, Stillpiercer, Ruin Wake

Bladedancer:  Zhalo or Hawksaw,  Next Big Thing, Ruin Wake or Dark Drinker

Nightstalker:   Same as Bladedancer

 

I always check out the roster before a match.  If there are a bunch of low lights, I will use Hawksaw and my exotic sword.  If most people are above 290, then I use Zhalo.. 

 

The exception being that I always use TLW or First Curse with my Gunslinger.

[Basara]

A lot of loot tonight! Some good, some disappointing. Knocked out all 3 Warpriest challenge modes, 3 Golgoroths and a Daughters.

 

Still not enough special infusion to get my Spindle to 320 but i did finally get a 320 sniper rifle as well as 2 more 320 rocket launchers. On top of that i got a bunch of stuff between 300-310. Golgoroth was kind with the armor drops too. After having a half decent loot run in the raid this week i expect i'll get nothing but coal in my stocking next week.

[J.T.]

Finally stopped messing around and smoked Balwur.  Baby Crota is the last CoO boss I have left to kill.

[Basara]

So Crimson Doubles is actually kind of fun. Its much more enjoyable than Trials at least. Probably helps that you don't need to win. The bounties progress on losses, just at a slower rate. It's the same system they use for the Crucible quests. 3 points for a win, 1 for a loss. The normal bounties drop a legendary engram on completion but nothing interesting, just the normal legendary gear from the vendors. We finished the 25 point weekly bounty though and both got a Fall Emotes package. I ended up with the Carlton dance which i'm pretty happy with. I'd never pay money for these things but i'll take the free ones when they drop. Still, we did OK and won more than we lost.

 

Ghost drop rates seem incredibly low unfortunately. In 20 games (so 40 between us) 1 Ghost dropped. On this plus side they seem to drop at a higher level than you currently are. I'm guessing its designed that way so if you go full cheese with year 1 Thorns, which are incredibly effective in there, you sacrifice a good light level on your drop.

 

I'll knock out the weekly bounties on the other 2 characters, assuming you can do them on all three, then just play until i get a decent Ghost. With such a low drop rate and the time it takes to play a game you cant realistically farm them like you could helms in the SRL unless you have all the time in the world.

 

Not the worst idea they've ever had but i cant see it bringing too many people back to the game that are starved of content.

 

Edit: If you go to the emotes kiosk in the bar area of the Tower at the moment (near Dead Orbit) you can acquire the 'Yes' and 'Nope' emotes for free. Don't know if that's a screw up on Bungies part and they'll fix it or if they are genuinely supposed to be free. I grabbed them anyway. I've basically had £11 worth of emotes free tonight now.

[EVA]

Ghost drop rates seem incredibly low unfortunately. In 20 games (so 40 between us) 1 Ghost dropped. On this plus side they seem to drop at a higher level than you currently are. I'm guessing its designed that way so if you go full cheese with year 1 Thorns, which are incredibly effective in there, you sacrifice a good light level on your drop.

 

I played for about an hour and a half today and got a 317 Crimson shell and a 319 chocolate shell.

It's a beautiful thing on the rare occasion that RNG is on your side.

[EVA]

Crimson Doubles is pretty fun, though. And say that despite the fact I was playing with my buddy, who is terrible (the aforementioned Rift Sherpa). I was really dreading it, but the format makes for stress-free PvP.

I had a really bizarre game, though:

The match starts with the opposing team killing themselves with grenades for the first 4 rounds. Then on match point, they suddenly decided to start fighting and rushed us. My buddy (who is terrible, did I mention?) got taken by surprise and was out quick. But with the last guardian standing buff, I was able to hold them off and force a Draw.

Next round, they kill themselves with grenades again. We win. So weird.

My best guess is they were Youtube/Twitch guys who were trying to make a badass "We spotted these guys 4 rounds and still won" video, but when we (well, I) proved to be a tougher match than they expected, they just decided to quit and try again on somebody else.

[Basara]

I've seen people do that in Trials before that are just going for the 10 game bounty. Aside from the fighting back after 4 rounds, I've done that in trials before. After playing 9 games on your card and needing 1 more game to complete the 10 we've just grabbed a new card and danced/suicided our way to a loss just to get the game over fast. My guess is they were just grinding for Ghosts but decided to have some fun in the 5th round. I can actually see a lot of people doing that towards the end of the week since there doesn't appear to be much point in playing once you've completed the weekly bounties. Unless you really like shitty legendary items from the daily bounties.

 

I'll try and get on again tonight to finish of the weekly on my Titan just to see if i get another free emote. If that's the case i'll knock it out on my Hunter too then its Ghost grinding till i hopefully get a 320. Out of curiosity, what light level were you when your 317 and 319 dropped? I've seen people saying that the Ghosts tend to be around 5-10 levels higher than what they currently are. I'm hoping that's true since my Warlock is 315-317 depending on gear.

 

Also, this new 'no spawning with special in 3v3 or lower' game modes makes for some interesting tactics. I've seen people equipping side arms to spawn with ammo, killing themselves, changing weapons then reviving to transfer it over and people using Ice Breaker to build up some ammo before transferring it to another gun. I hadn't been killed by an Ice Breaker for months! It was a good idea to slow down the snipefest that Trials becomes but they didn't put much thought in it if there are work arounds already. For those who aren't cheesing it though it adds a new level of tactics to the game.If the opponent can get to the special ammo first then we've been pinned down by snipers for the rest of the match. But when we win the first round and get to the special, we've had games where we won 5-0 from just rushing them right at the start of rounds 2-5 and shotgunning them before they can fight back.

[J.T.]

I figured that the changes in Special would herald the return in popularity for ammo regen weapons like Icebreaker and Invective.

[EVA]

The special ammo change definitely takes some getting used to (I died a couple times thinking I had shotgun ammo when I didn't yet), but I do think it benefits the competitive aspect. There is nothing more disheartening than getting all pscyhed up for a game and then getting creep-sniped in less than 10 seconds.

I saw some of the ammo regen specials in play, but honestly, I'll accept that trade-off, especially when it comes to Icebreaker, because it doesn't have the crazy aim assist of some of the Eirene's and 1000yds and the like. You have to be pretty damn good to consistenlty score quick scope headshots with that one.

[J.T.]

The special ammo change definitely takes some getting used to (I died a couple times thinking I had shotgun ammo when I didn't yet), but I do think it benefits the competitive aspect. There is nothing more disheartening than getting all pscyhed up for a game and then getting creep-sniped in less than 10 seconds.

I saw some of the ammo regen specials in play, but honestly, I'll accept that trade-off, especially when it comes to Icebreaker, because it doesn't have the crazy aim assist of some of the Eirene's and 1000yds and the like. You have to be pretty damn good to consistenlty score quick scope headshots with that one.

 

Icebreaker has some of the worst recoil ever and none of the aim assist, so it really doesn't strike me as tactically beneficial unless someone is a really good quickscoper.

 

It doesn't even have Unflinching to help you out, so my counter would definitely be to use one of my high impact PR or SR or something with AP or HC rounds and constantly push, flank and lead with grenades..

[Basara]

Unless they've changed how Icebreaker works i don't think people are equipping it to actually use (though i did get killed buy it in one game). Equip it for 30 seconds, get yourself some ammo then swap out for a better special weapon. Used to work in PVE quite well for Nightfalls with juggler in year 1. 

[J.T.]

Unless they've changed how Icebreaker works i don't think people are equipping it to actually use (though i did get killed buy it in one game). Equip it for 30 seconds, get yourself some ammo then swap out for a better special weapon. Used to work in PVE quite well for Nightfalls with juggler in year 1. 

 

That is pretty much the tactic which is really sad.  Crimson Doubles isn't so important that I feel the need to cheese to win.

 

My friend beat the Shield Brothers NF this morning and got the Maulers with Hand Cannon Loader.  His sobs were audible.

[Basara]

Finished up the Crimson Doubles bounties on my 2 alts and scored the Scheme and Cower emotes. Still no Ghost. We then proceeded to kill ourselves with the Touch of Malice for half an hour to blow through games to try and farm it. Including the games it took to complete the 3 weekly bounties and killing ourselves a hell of a lot we played 47 games. No Ghosts. Goddamn it Bungie! why do you screw everything up? 

[EVA]

HOLY SHIT BUNGIE ACTUALLY DROPPED SOME INFO ABOUT THE FUTURE TODAY.

Not much, but something:

The Spring update will see Light level increase, new gear, and new PvE content.

Expansion in the fall. Destiny 2 in 2017 confirmed.

WE ARE NOT FORSAKEN.

[Basara]

I'll take some new PVE content finally. I'm guessing April time for the first drop and September for the expansion if they stick to the release plan of year one. I wounder how much of this will be free/funded by people buying silver. I'd like to see something Cabal related. Every other race has had something so far.

 

I'm about done with the Crimson Doubles. Still no Ghost and we've played 60 matches now. But we had some fun in there tonight. We started off suiciding like we did yesterday to blow through some games. Until one team started teabagging us after we'd killed ourselves. So we smashed them. They actually sent a message after apologizing saying it was their first game. The guy had a combat rating of 1! It lead to a very interesting, effective tactic that nearly every team seemed to fall for and we ended up winning a lot more than we'd lost. Assuming we we're against teabaggers etc we would dance/suicide for the first 3 rounds, then on heavy we'd scoop it up and kill them. Most people didn't even bother going for the heavy, they just ran straight over to our spawn expecting us to still be dancing there. Then we'd go back to dancing for the next round expect once they got close we'd turn on them and kill them. Then all bets were off for the last 3 rounds. Some people realized we were fighting back and it became competitive but most people still just threw themselves at us expecting another easy kill. Was great fun. I should point out if they enemy team was taking our suiciding as a fee win we didn't mess with them. We only turned it up against the dicks out there.

 

Finally got around to doing a couple of the Golgoroth hard mode challenges. Unfortunately i didn't get it done on my Warlock main as people had to leave but i got it on the Titan and Hunter. I'll try and get my Warlock done over the weekend. I scored 320 chests for both my Hunter and Titan along with 312 boots for the Titan and a bunch of 310 infusion fodder. We had a guy with us we picked up off an LFG since we were down a man who was pretty damn good. He'd done it several times before and once we got the timing down after a few wipes we flew through the 2 runs.

 

Oryx! i'm coming for you next week!