Kill/Death
Kill/Death
Lots of members here are a lot better than me in the crucible. I'm starting this thread to share what I (as a crucible noob) have learned or believe might be true for playing in the crucible. I'm thrilled to finally achieve a 1.00 k/d.
There are a lot of published MM tips out there that can help, but here are some tips from a noob that are a little different.
1- Play afternoons 3:30-6:00pm, and Saturdays/Sundays at 9:00am-12:00 noon. The younger crowd is out then. Overall, games at those times produce a competitive skill level closer to my own. On the other hand, play weekdays at 9:00am-12:00 noon or later at night and you'll face a much tougher crowd. In case you think younger always equates to easier, know that my 13 year old grandson has a single game high of 45 kills. So, younger players could make competition either good or bad.
2- Expect games to sometimes be easy and sometimes brutal. Most games will be OK, so don't jump out of the crucible based on one or even a couple of brutal games. Just go to orbit after a brutal game and wait for a few minutes before matchmaking again, which should match you with a new set of players.
3- It took a few games on each map for me to learn them well enough to know where the heavy ammo spawned and generally how players played each map. However, expect every game you play to be different. Sometimes, everything goes your way and sometimes nothing does, even with the same or mostly same group of players.
3- Try to recognize early what skill level you're up against, and then either push or lay back. If there's a real nija on the other team, avoid him, or figure out how to ambush him with a team mate. I get a lot of satisfaction from taking out a top player on the opposing team, even if it costs me a couple or 3 deaths. So that's what the dance button is for..... ;)
4- If you're in a party, have the noobiest player among you be the fireteam leader. It "seems" that the party leader is used more often for matchmaking and selecting the opposing skill levels. Purely anecdotal, but it's been true more often than not for me.
5- If you're seeing lag that affects hit detection and player positioning, go to orbit, wait for a few minutes, and try again. The most frustrating games I've played where those in which I couldn't kill an enemy player no matter what I did, but he could me easily. Some of my worst games were those where I stubbornly held on, and died way too many times. I'm not a quitter, generally. Video games don't cause violence, lag does....
6- Stick with the basic Crucible control matches. The objectives keep opposing players focused on more than just killing you. And, if you're on a control point, know that the opposition will come to you. Stay with the original non-DLC maps. Games tend to be more in line with my skill level. Or.... it could be that I don't know the newer maps as well...
I play a Warlock because I enjoy the Sunsinger subclass. The single Firebolt grenade with the subclass set to max burn is awesome. The nade can't kill on its own (itll take 95% of their health) , but it will finish. Get a few non-crit hits and the long burn fire-bolt will, over a few seconds, burn them down. Drop a firebolt onto a control point, and as many as 3 enemies will all get hit. They all look for cover, so run in with your shotgun and melees or whatever.
I play mainly with a Vex Mythoclast, shotgun and machine gun. Though I also do OK with the SUROS or Last Word, shotgun and a rocket. There are a couple maps where I run a snipe - usually cuz those damn snipers need some payback...
I hate the Thorn, though nearly everyone who has one uses it incorrectly. I would use it like I do the Firebolt grenade (drop their shields at close range and then run in). Everyone, including me, ducks into cover when first hit. This works to keep enemies away (or get assists), but it doesn't kill very many. I have the Thorn bounty and will try to complete it soon.
I hate the Bladedancers and Golden guns too. There are so few counters for those. I dance when I do.... Usually after a self revive, once his super runs out. Yep, I dance...
What are your tips? I have a lot to learn...
I pick Bounties that'll complete no matter how bad I am.
Crucible marks will accrue even for the lousiest players.
I enter knowing I will loose. Everything after that is usually a win.
Everybody else's gun is better than mine. No exceptions.
K/D has no meaning to my programming, except I don't talk to players with K/D +2. They are BKs.
Two Lightning grenades catch even the best opponents off guard. Die mother fucker die. Let those Post mortem points roll in.
I take my marbles and go home somedays. I almost never quit, even in the middle of a 5000/500 disaster.
No love for the Thorn? The Thorn is amazing in PvP, it's almost all I use now. Let the trickle damage kill them or keep their shields down to finish off with a grenade. Also, the little damage numbers ticking off can give you an indication if they ran off or hid just around the corner. The Thorn also has very good range for an handcannon. Now, it's not the best for smaller CQC maps, so that's when I might switch to The Last Word.
Yep, I love me some handcannons...lol
Bladedancers can usually be countered by trying to keep your distance and take their sheilds down with primary, then switch to shotty and finish off when they get in range. Now, all of this is assuming you have enough notice to get some shots off. Good Bladedancers can wipe a whole team.
Finally, make sure you take advantage of the ability to reforge new weapons. You can take a mediocre shotty, for example, and make it godly with good perks. I just got my first Matador shotty over the weekend and have had fun with its crazy range and impact.
Honestly tough, I've just now got back into playing Crucible. I didn't play it for the longest, so I'm still kind of a noob, but it's starting to really grow on me - plus I've scored some really nice weapons out of the Crucible since the latest expansion.
I just leaned this tip last night - instead of peeking around a corner to see where an enemy is and getting your dome blown off, stand near the corner in cover and dance. You'll be able to look around the corner in third person view without taking any fire from that direction.
I can't obsess about my K/D, I doubt it will ever reach 1.0.
I'm forcing myself to use The Last Word since it's supposed to be such a monster, and my K/D is suffering for it. Can't kill a damned thing with it. I do much better with Thorn and Vex.
Titan Smash, that makes me feel good.
TLW is built for CQC and hip fire. It throws me off sometimes as I'm used to ADS. Thorn's got good range and the burn modifier is useful to let you know where the enemy hides. Toss in an Axion Bolt to track them down to finish them off. It just underperforms in close quarters, and can be beaten at long range.
I've been digging the Messenger (adept) pulse rilfe lately, the thing is a headshot machine at mid to long range. Used my void one to finish up a thorn bounty. Going to give it a whirl in IB to see how it performs, leaving the exotic slot for my patience and time.
Yup... TLW has poor range, but within its effective range it hits hard. Hip fire is where it's at (33% damage boost). I always equip it when I run a sniper rifle. Then, I use TLW like I would a shotty - all rapid hipfire in CQC. It falls behind lots of other guns in medium range DPS exchanges. Keep it close (within 2-3x shotgun range) - where it rules.
The Thorn though, I've been pinned down from way across the map by one. The Thorn user couldn't kill anything at long range, but he could piss us off. Till we flanked him... :) Yup, I danced...
Still working on sniper rifle strats, but I think a low(est) zoom scope and a quick switch/aim buff are crucial. The quicker you are to spot an enemy, aim and fire (headshots), the more successful you'll be. Taking lots of time because of a high zoom scope or lack of practice will alert everyone downrange as to where you are. Attemtping a snipe duel under those condtions is a big loser. Think snapshots. It's spooky - takes nerve - having a sniper rifle laser flare in your scope.
Most of the snipers I duel with are not that good in longrange 1v1 combat. They are good at headshots when they have time to pick off random unsuspecting players way across the map, but when in a long range duel against moving targets, they suck. They usually leave their hide (or die there) and don't return to it during that game. To be honest, I haven't killed many with a sniper, but I have driven quite a few off with a sniper rifle. They don't return.
Speaking of snipers.... Shoot to Loot sniper rifles can be used to loot a heavy ammo drop from a distance.
Is that a zen saying Deep? Or is that what your surgeon told you?
Finally got the Thorn.... Wasn't that hard really, or took all that long. After completing it, I feel it was Bungie's attempt to get more players into the Crucible by holding out this big carrot, and along the way teach them how to go positive and survive. I heard someone say that if you have a 0.79 or greater k/d, you can complete the Thorn bounty if you use void to get kills. A kill gets you 5 points toward the 500 you need. A death subtracts 2. I had a few games where I bounced a little positive or negative, and I had a couple games where I got as many as 90 points positive.
Tips for completing the Thorn bounty:
1- Don't be the tip of the spear, but rather follow others into a fight. Let your team mates be the focus, while you use a void fusion rifle or shotty. I helped my daughter complete the Thorn bounty yesterday as well. She followed me into a fight or we held down a control point and let the opponents come to us (safer).
2- Use a void machine gun. Rockets are oh so satisfying, but a machine gun will get you more kills.I used the VoG machine gun Corrective Measure. Daughter used a generic legendary void MG. A MG can give you enough heavy ammo to last from one HD ammo drop to the next. Try to lock down a control point near an HD ammo spawn. Before doing the Thorn bounty I always used rockets. Now, I use a MG, and I try to get our team to lock down and keep a control point near an HD ammo spawn. When heavy ammo drops, I tend to lay back till I stop hearing rocket blasts, then I move toward the red.
Now to the Thorn.... It's not as "all powerful" as I thought it would be. It's a nice stable HC to shoot and has the best most visible sights of any hand cannon. It also has the most range of any hand cannon, which tricks you into attempting to use it for a long range weapon. It can kill with 2 head shots, but not many opponents stay visible when hit once - especially at long range. I get more kills with the Vex - it's more forgiving of my poor aiming skills. I use the Thorn in combo with my Warlock's Firebolt grenade when in close quarters combat. A one-two punch that is amost guaranteed to get a kill - in a fraction of a second.
The Thorn is fun to use though when there are Thorn users on the opposing team - I like giving them a little payback. Even a Ninja phenom will run for cover when hit once.... It's great for holding a control point or for turning the tide of an engagement. Not having shields/health takes the fight out of the best of them.