Welcome back to another week Desitny Guardians! This week there has been a lot of happenings inside Bungie, as well as for our community. Starting off first we will be stopping by Xûr’s exchange corner, hitting into the Challenge of the Elders, Looking at the Trials map, and rounding out the info and news that came out during the workweek.
Xûrs Inventory
Up first we have the Titan chest piece called “The Armamentarium“. The name itself sounds a bit beefy eh? Well, that’s because it is, this armor being sold allows Titans to have two grenade charges, Arc Armor, and extra Rocket or Sniper Rifle ammo. If you have yet to unlock this armor, do so now! Granted this armor’s roll support a Striker Titan, it can be used with any subclass you wish to use and still reap the grenade and ammo benefits. The last time this armor was sold by Xûr was Christmas weekend.
For the Hunters we have the boots that make jump puzzles super easy. I am referring to the “Bones of Eao” of course. These boots allow the hunter to have an extra jump (doesn’t work with Blink). So for instance, you have a triple jump equipped, it essentially just became a quad jump. So for all those times in raid where people fail to jump properly, these are the boots for you. These boots aren’t just for raids either, I have seen some people use these to get to areas for collecting ghosts as well. The rolls on this armor this week include Solar Double-Down, Rocket Launcher, and Shotgun ammo. I strongly suggest that guardians pick up these boots, just due to the fact that it allows for more errors and allows guardians to explore maps easier.
The Warlock’s “Purifier Robes” are back again. This armor takes a lot of awareness and understanding to use. Granted it’s exotic perk disorients and blinds nearby enemies, it won’t matter if you are being camped or hard scoped by a sniper. So the big gotcha is to self-rez when it is the appropriate time to do so. This armor can be used in both PvE and PvP game styles as long as it is utilized effectively. The biggest issue guardians run into with this armor is resurrecting at the proper time. Some do it out of instinct, others out of vengeance, and some just not paying attention to their surroundings. Nothing is more frustrating to self-rez just to be shut down again by another Super. Choose wisely with this armor guardians, I chose to pass since I tend to go Voidwalker.
The weapon this week is the “MIDA Multi-Tool“. This Scout Rifle is one of the best in the game for a reason. Not so long ago this Scout Rifle was destroying the Crucible, with it’s low time to kill and explosive rounds disorienting enemies. Since then the weapon has been modified to provide more of a balance. That being said, it is still deadly when used by the right hands. The MIDA allows your movement to be increased, increases agility, and allows your radar to be active while aiming down the sights. This comes in handy a lot, this is because while scoped you can hit far enemies but can be snuck up on from the sides or behind while scoped. The MIDA allows you to maintain your battlefield awareness while still causing havoc for your enemies.
Challenge of Elders
This week’s Challenge of the Elders grants extra bonus points for any precision kills generated. The active modifiers this week are Small Arms and Berserk. Small Arms increases damage with primary weapons only, while Berserk makes it so your enemies don’t flinch no matter how many times they have been hit. I personally went with First Curse since it’s bonus is triggered by precision kills and that it can one shot your enemies in the first two rounds. During the third round, I found that having a Titan with weapons of light made the First Curse one shot precision kill almost all minions during the rest of the challenge. Plus having the Ward of Dawn up from a titan allows you to have a little bit extra survivability if the Berserk perk gets out of hand. Other weapons I went with were Sniper Rifle/Sidearms for special weapons and a Machine gun for the heavy weapon since I can get precision kills with all those weapons types also. Ultimately, the key to this week is to pick weapons that you know you can get precision kills within a timely manner. I myself went with a Hand Cannon which is my weapon of choice.
Trials of Osiris
The map this week for Trials is Widow’s Court. This Earth map is built around Sniper Lanes. Even at the start of the round after a few steps, there is a lane from B-side that can see close to A’s spawn point. Most A teams will either go back church or beach to counteract this unless they have a Sniper on their team who is capable of counter-sniping. If you have seen the movie Enemy at the Gates that is what this map is all about. Sniping and relocating, while trying not to be pincered from behind. Most teams will prefer to run Snipers, but there are some locations where if you can get close enough Fusion Rifles and Shotguns can win a battle. Most teams from what I have seen tend to rush A and choose that to be the center battle point while others stick back and wait to get a body down, and then cover that point. That being said make sure your team is aware of your movements so they can adjust or get to you if need be. This map also causes a lot of people to be hard scoping dead bodies, so if that is the case make sure upon reviving your teammate push their body out of the shot if able. As always feel free to review Orion’s Call Out Maps to get your team on the same communication page.
Bungie News
Yesterday there was so much news pouring out of Bungie that a separate Bungie Day post needed to be made if you missed it you can check it out here. If you have already heard all about the year two Moments of Triumph then hurry up and complete them before September 20th. Bungie has also decided to make this year a memorable one for guardians accomplishments since once you complete the year two book you receive an online discount code for their store (Code is on your Profile Page at Bungie.net). This code allows you to purchase a year two customizable (text) Moments of Triumph T-Shirt. All proceeds from this shirt go to the Bungie Foundation charity if you are unaware of what that is Bungie released a post about it as well here.
In other news, there has not been any more leaks or insight into the Rise of Iron yet, but Bungie is currently testing a new Matchmaking setting. From the post, it looks like they are trying to lean more towards a connection speed quality first and then looking for skill base. So that being said we can start seeing a wider range of players skills during matches at times. But, for now, these have only been tested in the Control game mode of Crucible to see how well it works. We will stand by for more tests and game mode implementation at a future date.
