Destiny 2

[J.T.]

So now that the armor I will probably wear for at least Season 6 has snakes all over it and the Reaper cloak's hood isn't Jedi enough to cover my entire head, it's time to go to a different Exotic.

It will probably be the Ophidia Spathe chest armor since it has the snake aesthetic going on and two melee charges are always good.  I am all about the Flaming Fan Knives in PvP.

I thought about the Sixth Coyote chest armor and going the annoying Nightstalker route but I am really bad at remembering to Dodge when I should, especially in PvP.  Probably because I don't want to get some asshole an extra medal if he kills me while I am evading.

For a guy that loves Hunters, I really do fight like a Titan sometimes.  In Crucible matches, I love running down dudes who are trying to flee so that I can kack them up close.

Edited March 12, 2019 by J.T.

[J.T.]

Well, if this hasn't been patched, the correct answer to "What Exotic Will JT Chose To Go With His Snake Themed Gambit Prime Armor?" is the Ophidia Spathe.

 

Edited March 12, 2019 by J.T.

[J.T.]

Holy crap, if there is anything I hate more than a Mercury flashpoint, it's a fucking Mars flashpoint.

[RIPPA]

Just now, J.T. said:

Holy crap, if there is anything I hate more than a Mercury flashpoint, it's a fucking Mars flashpoint.

Clearly my concept of time is gone because I feel like you are posting the FP is on Mercury every third week

[J.T.]

2 minutes ago, RIPPA said:

Clearly my concept of time is gone because I feel like you are posting the FP is on Mercury every third week

The FP was on Mercury a couple of weeks or so ago, but it had been out of rotation for about a month.  It's been a while

I'm not sure what I hate more about Mars flashpoints:  collecting a frequency stem that I can't shred in singles for nearly everything I do or assholes deliberately starting EPs to hold up Public Events.

Thank God that running the Heroic Story Adventure planetside counts for like 45%.

Edited March 12, 2019 by J.T.

[Eivion]

10 hours ago, J.T. said:

Speaking of my nearly complete set of GP armor, the only problem I have with Gambit Prime is that it favors clans and the only real way to counter it is with a coordinated fireteam of your own.  

I saw last night how ridiculously efficient and effective that a fireteam of each specialty can be (Collector, Reaper, Invader, Sentry) against blueberries, and clans have organizational structure and the sheer numbers it takes to give their players a better chance of winning consistently. 

I have been lucky to not run into that yet, but I fear it so damn much.

10 hours ago, J.T. said:

My Malfeasance got a real workout yesterday in the Reckoning so it's going to be a part of my standard arsenal for at least the rest of this season.

Reckoning actually has me using the Sunshot regularly again. The Malfeasance is great for bosses, but the Sunshot is so much better of taking down the ridiculous number of adds.

9 hours ago, J.T. said:

Well, if this hasn't been patched, the correct answer to "What Exotic Will JT Chose To Go With His Snake Themed Gambit Prime Armor?" is the Ophidia Spathe.

 

Now you know the evil joy I feel whenever brawler pops up.

 

Haven't done the Allegiance Quest, but I have listened to tapes from the Drifter's side of the quest. It sort of confirms suspicions I've had about Aunor and the Drifter.

Spoiler

Aunor is a zealot who is probably more dangerous than the Drifter. Drifter has no little to zero trust in powers like the Traveler and governing bodies like the Vanguard. He has seemingly seen too much damage done by governing bodies like the latter during the Dark Ages and too much dangerous zealotry from those worshiping the former and powers like it. He knows something big is happening and is basically preparing to get the hell out of dodge.

For now I'm definitely waiting to choose sides. The rewards for the current quest don't really seem to offer much and the impact this quest will have seemingly isn't over.

[J.T.]

14 hours ago, Eivion said:

Reckoning actually has me using the Sunshot regularly again. The Malfeasance is great for bosses, but the Sunshot is so much better of taking down the ridiculous number of adds.

Well, your Sunshot is going to get a workout now that Reckoning has Solar Singe enabled for the week.

14 hours ago, Eivion said:

Haven't done the Allegiance Quest, but I have listened to tapes from the Drifter's side of the quest. It sort of confirms suspicions I've had about Aunor and the Drifter.

  Reveal hidden contents

Aunor is a zealot who is probably more dangerous than the Drifter. Drifter has no little to zero trust in powers like the Traveler and governing bodies like the Vanguard. He has seemingly seen too much damage done by governing bodies like the latter during the Dark Ages and too much dangerous zealotry from those worshiping the former and powers like it. He knows something big is happening and is basically preparing to get the hell out of dodge.

For now I'm definitely waiting to choose sides. The rewards for the current quest don't really seem to offer much and the impact this quest will have seemingly isn't over.

This isn't Mass Effect, so I am not really sure how my decisions will REALLY shake out.  I am playing on the meta that I won't be deemed ex communicado  either from doing Vanguard Strikes or from playing Gambit just because I chose one quest line over the other.

From what I've gathered:

Spoiler

From a practical standpoint, the easy choice is to pick Drifter.  The reward package for the Vanguard is one piece of Vanguard armor and some tokens while the Drifter gives you a package that includes one piece of Gambit armor AND one synth of every type. 

Drifter's reward doesn't sound like much, but you're actually getting a four free pieces of Gambit Prime armor once you convert the synths and do your thing in the Reckoning.

From the looks of the quest lines, Aunor may be leading you down the proverbial primrose path so I might be siding with Drifter even though I trust him about as far as I can throw him.

If one of the consequences is that I don't get to finish Aunor's lorebook if I chose Drifter, then I will go Vanguard since I've already got a full set of Reaper armor and Aunor's transcripts are free Triumph points.

Anywho, I've got a full set of Reaper armor and an Ophidia Spathe to swap out for the chest piece and I must say that I look ABSOLUTELY STUNNING~! 

The only thing that annoys me visually about the new Gambit Prime armor for Hunters is that the cloak is full length and it drapes over the exhaust port of my Sparrow when I am riding on it.  I feel that my cloak could catch fire at any moment while I am zooming across the landscape.

I wish the hood on the cloak was more of a Jedi Robe hood, but that is just being nitpicky.

In more Gambit Prime news, I kacked a High Priority Target in Gambit Prime last night and got a Bug-Out Bag SMG with the Curated Roll (Solar Singe / Slideways / Multikill Clip). 

It's a very sold PvE roll, but you won't be taking this thing into the Crucible.  It's good at shredding trash mobs and not much else.  If you insist on keeping it, throw a Minor Spec mod on it to make it better at what it's good at and break it out whenever Solar Singe is up or if you are running Match Game and need to rip through Fire Barriers in a hurry.

Edited March 13, 2019 by J.T.

[RIPPA]

The last quest step for Thorn sounds like it.... SUCKKKKKSSSSS

(The step not Thorn itself)

[J.T.]

34 minutes ago, RIPPA said:

The last quest step for Thorn sounds like it.... SUCKKKKKSSSSS

(The step not Thorn itself)

I've heard that the strike is pretty crazy, but most of the wailing and gnashing of teeth about the Thorn quest is (surprise!) the PvP part.

The enhanced Savathun's Song strike doesn't really scare me that much.  Since melee damage from enemies is modified, a fireteam that is smart and uses distance to their advantage should be okay.

I'll definitely be bringing my Borealis up to snuff for that last quest step and hopefully I can get the Curated Roll for either the Gambit Prime scout rifle or the pulse rifle before all of that.

I honestly believe that someone looked at the Exotics analytics and saw that Borealis and Hard Light weren't getting any love, so they designed a strike where having the ability to rip through all three elemental barriers is a must.

 

Edited March 13, 2019 by J.T.

[RIPPA]

At least you don't lose progress in the PvP part - it is just that people have to play PvP

My issue will be the strike since I have no one to do it with and I really hate using LFGs

[J.T.]

25 minutes ago, RIPPA said:

At least you don't lose progress in the PvP part - it is just that people have to play PvP

with Hand Cannons and the ability to do Void damage.

And they still complain as if Crimson wasn't a pulse rifle in your hand pretending to be a Hand Cannon.

Crimson + Void Load-out + Void Sub-class = Win.

25 minutes ago, RIPPA said:

My issue will be the strike since I have no one to do it with and I really hate using LFGs

1. No one to do it with?  Who am I?  Chopped liver?
2. Yeah, I am also concerned about the strike since the members of the DARPA clan have been slumming it a lot lately and I ran most of last season solo.  If things don't pick up around there, I may be taking my talents elsewhere when the new season hits.
3. LFG is not so bad.  If push comes to shove and you are afraid of running with squeakers in your ear, just set your requirements to Mic Optional and unplug your headset.

Edited March 13, 2019 by J.T.

[RIPPA]

Honestly my biggest issue is sucking with people I don't know

But yeah - my refund final hit so I will be all in come this weekend

[J.T.]

13 minutes ago, RIPPA said:

But yeah - my refund final hit so I will be all in come this weekend

Aha.

Yeah, you would probably have to deal with it yourself if your plan is to game over the weekend as my Saturdays and Sundays are notoriously booked solid.  

I've got custody this weekend I am getting dragged to the new Madea joint since we all went to see Captain Marvel last weekend.

Edited March 13, 2019 by J.T.

[RIPPA]

I have so much catchup to do - I am in zero rush

[J.T.]

1 hour ago, RIPPA said:

I have so much catchup to do - I am in zero rush

I do not envy you when you start doing Black Armory forge ignitions.

[J.T.]

So yeah.  There are two separate triumphs for the Allegiance quests which means if you want to get both triumphs, you have to run the other quest on another character.

Pick the real direction you wan to go in with your main and then go the other route with your mule.

I'm not terribly sure I want to go through the trouble of leveling up one of my alts from the 300s just for that shit.

Edited March 13, 2019 by J.T.

[RIPPA]

Well - you should have various boosts available to jump an alt up

Like I still haven't created a Hunter yet and I get the little flashy icon where I think I can instantly get to 500 now.

Then tie in the bounties from Drifter and you should be good 

The Actual levels part goes fairly quickly - like devoting one play session to that character gets a lot done.

The bigger issue is I think - THINK - you have to finish the main quest line first

[J.T.]

For folks interested in the new Gambit Prime lore, here is Byf's rundown.and analysis.

The links to the five narrative prevuiews at Bungie located in his vid description.

One cool thing:

Spoiler

We know that the Drifter is a rogue guardian, but his Ghost finally makes an appearance at the end of Narrative One.

One cool thing that links Season Four to the current season:

Spoiler

Cayde's ghost should not have been able to be damaged by a normal weapon.   Sundance was destroyed by a bullet made from the same substance that the Weapons of Sorrow (like Thorn and maybe the Whisper of the Worm) are made out of..

The question of who created and / or smuggled the bullet to the imprisoned Barons remains a mystery but it is obvious that Uldren and the Fanatic had help from the outside.

Of course, Variks helped that along by staging the Prison of Elders riot to mask his escape so that he could go and try to unify all of the houseless Fallen under one banner.

Nice flavor text to explain why the Scorn Barons haven't been able to kill any more Guardians since escaping from the Prison of Elders.

 

Edited March 13, 2019 by J.T.

[Eivion]

6 hours ago, J.T. said:

This isn't Mass Effect, so I am not really sure how my decisions will REALLY shake out.  I am playing on the meta that I won't be deemed ex communicado  either from doing Vanguard Strikes or from playing Gambit just because I chose one quest line over the other.

Honestly, I'm liking you and leaning towards Aunor purely for the Lorebook and Triumph.

[J.T.]

18 hours ago, Eivion said:

Honestly, I'm liking you and leaning towards Aunor purely for the Lorebook and Triumph.

I am leaning in that direction, but I will hold off a bit until the data miners all chime in.

Game theory says it would be wiser to side with Drifter since the theme of the content this season is all about him, but I am all about over-analysis and qvetching and that route doesn't really sit well with me.

From what I've surmised about Aunor, siding with the Praxic Fire isn't exactly a good idea either.  I am getting a NO ONE EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION~! vibe from those guys and that's not a good feeling.

I'm probably going to let the Thorn and Allegiance quests sit for a while.  Right now, my mission is to get myself up to 670+ Light so that I can do the upper Tier of The Reckoning so that I can grind synths into better quality Gambit Prime armor and maybe blunder into a curated roll for the GP scout rifle, auto rifle, or pulse rifle.

Speaking of curated rolls, I got the one for the Mindbender's Ambition shotgun last night while running Hallowed Lair for score and then we ran it gimped (Solar Singe / Heavyweight) a few more times to get shotguns for the entire fireteam as well as grind the Oxygen SR2 season triumph.  

I think that fucking Arc Avoidance triumph is broken. 

On two occasions I successfully avoided being targeted by the Fanatic's lance and kept away from the lighting circles (or at least I thought I did) and the triumph still won't unlock.  Either I'm not accounting for something or the triumph is muy broken.

EDIT:  I have learned from the reddits that the flavor text of the triumph is what's broken.  What I suspected was correct:  the entire fireteam has to avoid the Arc damage and naturally I was in a fireteam with a Warlock rando whose favorite strategy was to pop a Well of Radiance right there in front of the Fanatic and fire rockets... and get hit by lighting...  The ranged attacks from the Abomination mini-boss in the final encounter also count as Arc damage, so I will have to be mindful of the need to melt him immediately before he starts spamming his Corrupted Ether blasts.

Edited March 14, 2019 by J.T.

[J.T.]

Oh, and don't forget that it's the strongest week for the Curse.

The Queen is still not present in the throne room, but you can still turn in your Offering for a reward and retrieve the Ahamkara Bones located in that area.

I know,, right?  I also had no idea the devs had tucked away a lore collectable there.

I made my Blind Well run this morning before work.  When I get to the 'rents crib, I'll take a crack at the AC after I finish making dinner for my mom and dad.

She is really milking this cataract surgery thing.   I'm making smothered pork chops with mushroom gravy and green bean casserole for her.

I need to get my eye lanced so I can demand a medium rare Porterhouse and home fries for my meal.

Since I am running the Ophida Spathe regardless of sub-class (even though it only really benefits Gunslinger) I am going to start favoring Exotic Hand Cannons as Primaries since the chest piece gives me Unflinching HC Aim. 

Time to bring back that Masterwork Crimson meta in the Crucible and use my new Mindbeders as my Energy Weapon until I finish the Oxygen SR2 quest or get my hands on the GP pulse rifle..

Edited March 14, 2019 by J.T.

[J.T.]

I have ridden the last horse that threw me and have gotten the triumph for completing all six Ascendant Challenges at least once.  St0MP-EE5s are love.  I almost fucked up and forgot to take the sword along with me for the final jumping puzzle.  The chest you loot to complete the challenge doesn't spawn until you bring it all the way to the asteroid thingie where the portal is.

I also got the Ahamkara Bones, but I still need to go back and get the corrupted eggs.  That will come later.  I was angry because the part where you kill the knights with the sword does not count towards the Ascendant Champion Purification Ritual.   That sucks.

I also got my 500th kill with Jotunn while doing Volundr Forge ignitions.   Now to grind away at the Burden triumph.

God, the Crucible is alive with sweaty douchebags working on the Thorn quest.   Lots and lots of assholes running around with Hand Cannons. For some reason, everyone seems to be packing the IKELOS HC in their Energy Slot and probably because CammyCakes or Datto said they should.

Even though it has a precision frame, I've never really found it to be all that effective in PvP when it comes to getting headshots, but the gun seems to be killing me perfectly fine when used by other players.  I knocked out three matches this morning to finish up my Weekly PvP Challenge and boy was it rough. 

I tried to use Crimson because my Ophidia gives me Unflinching HC Aim, but that was a bad idea.  I kept getting outgunned by dudes packing Last Word and Luna's Howl / Not Forgotten and I was constantly getting two or three tapped by the IKELOS HC.

I finished 1.00 the first match and only had 12 murders, and finished .83 with 11 murders In Match 2.  MW Crimson is supposed to have tasty range to allow you to compete shot for shot with medium range weapons, but I really didn't see where I had a distinct distance advantage vs other players.

I was either getting thwacked at short range from HC users or clipped at medium / long range by dudes with pulse rifles or bows.

Finally, I said Fuck It and went old school with my 660 Go Figure pulse rifle in Match 3 and ended up with 19 kills / 1.73 ER.  Much better.  I'll probably stick with the pulse rifle in the Crucible until I am ready to suffer through the trials of the Thorn quest myself.

Edited March 15, 2019 by J.T.

[Eivion]

Apparently there will be more specific lore and loot attached to what side you choose for the Allegiance quest as things go on.

[J.T.]

On ‎3‎/‎15‎/‎2019 at 8:26 PM, Eivion said:

Apparently there will be more specific lore and loot attached to what side you choose for the Allegiance quest as things go on.

Yeah, I selected Vanguard for my Hunter out of respect for Cayde and Ikora and the remainder of the Aunor lorebook is filling out with my communications with the Praxic Fire.  I felt somewhat icky at the end of the quest line because the Drifter wasn't up to anything terribly shady.... this time...

At least Aunor is off of his back.. for now..

I'm assuming that one of the ?????? lorebooks I have is for the Honor Among Thieves side of the quest line.  I will eventually level up my Warlock to take the Drifter hit and then go back to not playing him.

If you chose Vanguard for the Allegiance quest, be ready for Drifter to hurl insults at you while you are playing Gambit and Gambit Prime.  He is all like I Need More Motes, Snitch~! like every five minutes, but I'd rather have that than have Ikora give my Hunter the stink eye.  I would also be bummed if Holliday were disappointed with me.

:And Holy Fuck, that Invitations Of The Nine shit is fucking awesome.  Where was this level of storytelling when Osiris rolled out?  I am not sure if the Nine are the real "bad guys" of this game or if they are more like the Reapers from Mass Effect or Lovecraft's Great Old Ones and are just amoral assholes playing everyone like chess pieces simply because they have the power to do so.

Edited March 18, 2019 by J.T.

[J.T.]

I am 5% away from the Oxygen SR2.  I spammed Vanguard Strikes last night to catch up on the Precision Kill count.  I got 88 headshots in The Hallowed Lair strike to put me over the bonus.  Crimson = Win.

I'm going to LFG to get some people to run Nightfall Pyramidion with me so I can try to get the Siege Engine tribute and I should roll over 100% for the Oxygen as well.

I'm moving right along on the 21% Delirium as well.  I finally got into some sweaty rando Gambit groups last night and inched my Primeval / Envoy kill count percentage up a bit more.  My teams consistently sucked when I played Gambit during the week.

I should probably start spamming the shit out of Gambit so that I can get my hands on that MG sooner rather than later.

I haven't even started the Thorn quest yet.

I really hate Reckoning Tier 2.   The percentage of early quitters compared to Tier 1 is extremely high.  I may have to start looking on LFG for dedicated fireteams when I am ready to run my dark motes in for better GP gear.

I am pleased to report that the Go Figure pulse rifle still takes heads as well as any other weapon in the Crucible.  I had a 21 murder / 1.91 ER match on Saturday while killing time when my boo was getting ready for our Family Night Put featuring excellent Chinese food and an okay Madea Funeral movie.  

We all enjoyed ourselves so that's all that matters.  Thank God that I get to pick the next movie.

Edited March 18, 2019 by J.T.