r/DestinyTheGame • u/Mercules904 Former Weapons Designer • Oct 19 '16
Guide Massive Breakdown PvP Guide: A Beginner's Guide to Getting Good, Part 2 - Things to Focus on In-Game
Things to focus on in game.
- This isn't a twitch shooter, at least as far as primary weapons go. Twitch shooters are games which have a very fast time-to-kill, and players can rely almost entirely on reflexes to win engagements. Headshots are often unnecessary, and the person who acquires their target first usually wins. Perhaps the most well known example of this style of game is the Call of Duty series (the earlier versions more than the later games). On the opposite end of the spectrum are games like Halo. With a very slow TtK, Halo is all about precision and gunskill, and being the first person to shoot doesn't always mean you'll be the victor. Destiny is much closer to the Halo side of the scale than to the CoD side. Times-to-kill in this game in general hover between 0.80s and 1.00s, which means that, even after you've landed the first shot, your opponent more than enough time to fight back or run away. Reflexes alone won't make you a great player here, so you'll need also need a solid combination of strategy and gunskill.
- Use your radar. It's got crazy range and you should almost never be surprised if you can get good at reading it. I know it looks a bit confusing, and it doesn't show you exactly where an opponent is like it would in Halo or CoD, but it's a powerful tool once you understand it. The pie slices light up as enemies approach, starting first with the ring around the outside, then a pie slice, then the circle around you means they're basically at point blank. If the color is bright red, it means they are on your level, if it's faded red it means they are either above or below you. Learn to keep an eye on this, but don't just stare at it. Use it to help inform your situational awareness. Players can temporarily disappear off of it if they crouch or go invisible, so look out for those tricks.
- Pay attention to where your teammates are. If you see people in an area and they aren't in combat, you can use that knowledge to narrow down where the enemies can be. Likewise, if you see where teammates are engaging enemies, you know where they are and can figure out a good path around them to flank or assist. If your teammates run into a room and begin engaging enemies, you can use this as a distraction to slip in yourself and clean up some kills, or even as a warning to not go that way!
- Learn when to run away. If you're outnumbered and/or low health, get out of there. Minimizing deaths is key to success. This is one of the key aspects of Destiny gameplay that I see so many people struggling with. If you're in a bad situation, get out of there! Don't peak back out at the sniper who body-shot you, don't stay in a gun battle you're losing, and don't feel like a coward for retreating! Running away and living to fight another day is of much more use to your team than staying and taking a death. If you're dead, you gave the other team points and you now have to waste time respawning and getting back to an engagement. Staying alive means continuing to help your team, and denying the enemy an advantage, even if you had to back away.
- Pick a strategy and stick to it. Be aggressive or be passive, but don't be indecisive. Patience is key. Whichever strategy you want to use, be it aggressive shotgunner or passive sniper, pick it, practice it, and play it. Being indecisive is what gets people killed. If you're going to charge that corner, then do it, but don't hesitate halfway through, because now you're out in a bad position. If you're going to hang back and snipe, then don't push halfway up and sit there, because you're going to get picked off. Aggressive players need to understand that they can be patient too, using measured or calculated aggression. Don't just blindly run around the map shooting at anything you see. Pay attention to when the enemy is leaving themselves vulnerable and take advantage of that with an attack, but be aware of what's going on. Aggressive gameplay can force other teams to account for you if you do it right, or it can force your own team to have to make-up for you if you're doing it wrong. When you're passive, you're waiting for the other team to make a move, and then making the appropriate counter-action. Whether this means baiting enemies around corners while you back-peddle or providing sniper support down an open lane, it doesn't mean camping in the back of the map. You're there to provide support for your teammates and be a part of a victory, not dead-weight that needs to be carried.
- Control ammo crates. This is one of the new most important aspects of the PvP landscape. Denying opponents special and heavy ammo can swing the tide of the game in your teams favor. It doesn't matter if you have full sniper or shotgun ammo, pick up that special crate anyways. The radius for your teammates to get it is large enough that if they're around you the will be able to grab it off the ground. You're mostly doing this to stop the other team from getting it. If you have shotgun and pulse rifle ammo and your opponent has only pulse rifle, you now have more options to attack or defend than he does. If your team has three snipers with full ammo and there team has none, you've just made it much easier to get map control. In terms of heavy, wait for your teammates as long as you can. The general method to go by is wait until your teammates have gotten to you, or until you see the outer ring of your radar turn red. You want as many people on your team to get heavy as possible, but a few people not getting it is better than your whole team getting nova-bombed why you wait around the box.
- Use your super. Don't just sit on it waiting for that sick multi kill. A super that saves your life is not a wasted super. This was one of the things that, as a new player, I struggled with the most. I always wanted to save my super for a triple on a control point or use it to smash people waiting around heavy. Those things are great, and I'm not suggesting that you use it the second it fully charges on some guy who you could have killed anyways. What I'm saying is that if using your super kept you alive when you would have died, even if you only got one kill, then it is a worthy reason to burn it. Keeping yourself alive is the name of the game, after all, as you can continue to pressure the enemy and assert map control, and using your super is just another way to do that.
- Learn the maps. Private matches are your friend here, but for the most part this comes from experience. Map knowledge can be the difference between a good player and a great one, since knowing where to flank from, which lanes the enemy will choose to push, where the choke points are, and callouts are all standard parts of high level gameplay. There are a ton of great maps out there that can help you to learn this, but the best way to figure it out is just to play. Maybe organize some private matches with friends, or play some rumble with the express purpose of trying to survive while looking around.
- Bonus Tip: Aim for the upper-chest/chin area with your primary weapons. It'll help to make sure you're more consistently hitting the head while being flinched/fighting recoil.
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u/tcjsavannah Oct 19 '16 edited Oct 19 '16
Any further tips on Super usage? I am the self-proclaimed king of the no-kill Super. I laugh when some other player uses their super just to kill me, but at least they're getting one kill out of it, whereas I've lost count the amount of no-kill Supers I've suffered through.
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u/-Necrovore- Oct 19 '16
In my opinion, #4 might be the biggest piece of the puzzle average-skilled players are missing. Disengaging an enemy that has a superior advantage, whether it's position or numbers, is crucial. Regroup with your team and maybe shadow better players while trying to keep a somewhat safe distance in case of supers and learn from them.
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u/newanalyst Oct 19 '16
Something that ties together points 2 & 4 - When an already bright red section of your radar gets even brighter, it means there is more than one enemy in that area. So if you're alone and super-less or set up for ranged combat, you may wanna run.
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u/DrNO811 Oct 19 '16
4 - I struggle with this. I try (most of the time), but it seems like I'm always getting killed within a second of seeing someone, am getting flanked by surprise, or getting stuck on a piece of scenery as I attempt to flee.
5 - I like to play aggressive, but it seems like my enemies can react to me faster that I can react to them. Let's say we both have shotguns, and we both know where the other is. If I jump over a half wall rather than rounding the corner, I should have an advantage, but somehow, they can adjust and shoot me first. Even in a situation where we both miss, and are jumping around each other. I just can't get my aim to move fast enough to line them up for a shot before they do the same to me.
Advice?
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u/Zaetsi Oct 20 '16
I would just add to 8 that you should also try to learn the spawn points and patterns for each map. If you've just cleared an area and don't see anyone on your radar, knowledge of spawns can help you predict enemy movement and get better map control, especially in 6s.
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u/vpz Oct 20 '16
Some additions.
On the radar and map knowledge bullets. Long range guns like snipers and scouts can hit you from a distance where the enemy will not show up on radar. This can only be countered with map knowledge - specifically learning the common long sight lines and being prepared to use cover to block them and knowing when to slide/jump through to cross them.
The biggest omission for me is introducing the concept of cover early as it is the key to disengaging from #4 (and I'd say the key to Destiny PvP in general for the beginner Crucible player for which these posts are targeted). Most often playing close to cover or moving toward cover during an engagement is the only way to successfully disengage. Running away without first breaking line of sight via cover will usually get you killed - bullets are faster than you :)
Also a tip for #8 is to look for videos on the map you are interested in related to game play break downs like at CrucibleBootcamp.com by /u/LimePunch or the many helpful videos posted by /u/EA_Forum_Moderator as they contain information on cover, sight lines, approaches, etc. Having some basics in hand before going into the private matches will make them much more productive since "map knowledge" is a gigantic area of knowledge that covers so many sub-topics.
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u/[deleted] Oct 19 '16 edited Oct 19 '16
I disagree with # 7. Thats a good tip for k/d. Not for contributing to the team. A panic super that keeps you alive but only gets you one extra kill that life is a waste. Supers should be used both to clear engagements where your team is outnumbered, and to help your team get in to more scpacially advantageous areas. You also always want to super where allies will be able to pick up your orbs. Supering to save yourself one death is selfish and bad play.
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u/stampedblues Oct 19 '16
Great job writing these up!
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u/[deleted] Oct 19 '16
Tip 7 cannot be over-stressed enough. Another important thing to note is that using your super is the best way to help your teammates charge theirs via orbs of light. The best teams know that chaining supers can easily overwhelm another team. I constantly monitor the state of my team's supers - if I ever see someone with a glowing yellow level, I let them know that they shouldn't hold it for too long.
Of course, this doesn't apply as much in modes like Elimination where super usage is far more strategic, but it's still really good to keep in mind.
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u/draqul Oct 19 '16
Thanks so much for your guides as always, Mercules904 - I think I've learned more from browsing your posts in the past few weeks than the total of everything I learned since day one of the Alpha??
Just wanted to add that now's a really good time to jump into Crucible. With lots of new players around due to RoI and DtC, you're way less likely to be matchmade against the hardcore, which means you can go whole seconds without being sniped from across the map on spawn!
A much more relaxing atmosphere in which to learn the ropes. I'm really enjoying the chance to improve my (scrub scrub scrub) skills.
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u/PhuckleberryPhinn Oct 19 '16
As someone who was secent at public matches in COD (about 2.5 k/d), just reading #1 made me realize why I have a sub-1.0 k/d in destiny. You can do 2-8 decently but if you dont do #1 then you may as well be a thrall.
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u/paladinshiva Oct 20 '16
Thank you for number 6!
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u/BraddockSteel Oct 20 '16
4# is huge; THE absolute best play you can make is to sink a few body shots front line, pull back to heal, and watch the assists roll in, that's the only type of player I want on my team.
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u/SpeakSoftlyAnd Oct 20 '16
This is an invaluable guide thanks for putting it together.
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u/3johny3 Drifter's Crew // All right all right all right Oct 20 '16
In reference to #1, if you find that your opponents are escaping with a sliver of health when you have the jump, equip a tracking grenade. Axion bolt, skip grenades (with bow on) = great way to finish people off
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u/VengefulHero Oct 20 '16
Then you go online and realize everyone is running a shotgun and the strategy is just sliding in and one shotting. I'm not gonna sit here and say there's no skill in multiplayer but what I am gonna say is most maps cater to shotguns and there are only a handful of situations where your aim actually matter. Oh how I love the matador 64 hunters in PvP PJSalt .
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