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Destiny |OT30| Long Live the King

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E

Exploratory

Banned
Zoba said:
Random discussion time.

I want to attempt to explain my reasoning behind my Bladedancer comment earlier. I will preface by saying that I am biased.

Part of what makes Destiny enjoyable to me is the ability to make "big plays" in the Crucible. It's exciting to come out of unwinnable scenarios and it adds replay value to me through sharing it with others. So when I look at the other classes, I view them through the lens of "will they allow me to do interesting stuff in the Crucible?" And frankly, the more I think about it, the closer that answer reaches to "No".

In my opinion, there are really only 3 interesting classes in the game:

The Gunslinger
The Nightstalker
The Striker

And by interesting, i'm referring to their ability to pull off skillful plays that are both rewarding to the player and satisfying to a viewer.

The whole philosophy behind the classes is to make the player feel empowered. I'd say most of us like seeing "cool stuff" happen, whether it's getting out of an impossible situation, maneuvering around the environment to outsmart an opponent, or using the tools in our arsenals to outplay them. When you pull off incredible feats, it makes you feel powerful. When you pull off a skillful feat, it makes you feel good about your abilities. Perhaps just as importantly, it's also entertaining from a viewer's perspective.

Bladedancer, Defender, Sunbreaker, Voidwalker, Sunsinger and the Stormcaller aren't that interesting to me because their abilities don't have that "wow" factor. Blink + blink strike? I find it cheap and lacking in skill. The rest of the classes have some kind of overshield or ridiculous melee range, or cheap grenades like Firebolt, Arcbolt and homing sticky grenades. They're too easy to use and i'm not impressed by it. Furthermore, their arsenal is limited to situational "one tricks" where the strength of their ability wins out moreso than the skill of the player.

But the 3 aforemented classes are an exception. The Gunslinger is a class that is outmatched in almost every way until it pops its super. Therefore, it relies on the skill of the player to bring out the best in its abilities. The reason a throwing knife kill is rewarding to get and satisfying to watch is because it isn't easy to pull off in a given scenario. Any other class melee is either "cheesy" by granting them CQB advantages, or is just a plain melee; on the other hand, almost every knife kill is worth celebrating.

We haven't played the Nightstalker yet, but they have a similar breadth of abilities at their disposal. They can throw smoke and roll behind an enemy to get the drop on them, and that is interesting to watch because there is an involved thought process behind it. (Of course, I don't anticipate it being difficult to pull off and I imagine the class will be abused in Crucible for a while, but i digress).

And lastly, there's the Striker. Everybody knows about AEGabriel and how he makes the Titan look like fun to play. And in many ways it is. You have a shoulder charge and a fast movement, which makes for interesting maneuvers. Your grenades are also important for making those big plays, and the super can pull off some incredible kills, especially when aimed from above.

The reason I'm making this post however is because the delta between the Gunslinger and the Striker is so wide as far as what I personally can get out of the class.

For example, if I encounter a player who is rushing me with a shotgun, as a Gunslinger I am usually able to challenge that with a Hand Cannon and Throwing Knife. Again, it is rewarding to pull off and fun for people to watch. A Nightstalker might try a similar play with Smokebomb + Roll to get around them, and that's exciting because of the timing required.

As a Strike Titan however, my options are more limited: I can try to boost away to reposition myself, or I can try to slide into a shoulder charge to throw them off guard. Most likely, a Titan in that scenario would have a Shotgun as well and contest it that way.

And when it comes to the other classes, I don't see them doing it much different either. Of course, you can still power through the game with raw skill and kill the player without using abilities, but when it comes to making those plays, everything comes full circle.

I may be struggling to articulate the exact feeling I'm trying to describe. It isn't necessary saying that Gunslingers are better than Strikers or the other classes. Rather, I feel as though as a Gunslinger I have more opportunities to pull off interesting kills in interesting scenarios, and that makes it more rewarding. Obviously you can still do interesting things as the other classes (Death from Above Fist of Havoc is probably the coolest super in the game), but to me they're much easier and therefore less rewarding. I'm not fascinated by players who win CQB encounters with Blink + Blink Strike. Popping a Bubble and watching everyone run into it is funny, but doesn't happen in a competitive setting. Throwing a Nova bomb onto a Control point is satisfying to accomplish, but is a bit pedestrian.

On the other hand, back to back knife kills and spinning around to pop another player in the head before sliding into 3 golden guns? That shit's dope. It isn't limited by the situation and it isn't hiding behind invincibility frames. It's just pure, unadulterated badassery.

It's why I chose that song for that video. When I play Gunslinger, I'm a goddamn Cowboy. And cowboys rounding up a bunch of super heroes makes for good entertainment.
Click to expand...

This is a fantastic post and I agree for the most part. I think Voidwalker and Sunsinger can definitely pull off cool plays. The rez plays I've done are some of my favorite. And blink + bomb is fantastic too.
 
W

Wallach

Member
Strikers are definitely awesome, even in PvE I try to find excuses to play mine as much as possible over Defender (flashbangs, pls understand).

The "aerial dodge" and SANIC boots exotics for TTK have me super excited to come back to Striker after getting my fill of Sunbreaker.
 
F

figadapaura

Member
Afrocious said:
Man, I've been hating on Hunters since the game came out. If I go and make a Hunter and actually enjoy it, I dunno what I'd do with myself. *shrug*

I used to give both fig and zoba shit in the middle of raids because they had hunters. Lame capes. Wannabe Kryptonians. Nerds.
Click to expand...

My cape is better than your lame-ass armband.
 
T

Twilight Gap

Member
Exploratory said:
This is a fantastic post and I agree for the most part. I think Voidwalker and Sunsinger can definitely pull off cool plays. The rez plays I've done are some of my favorite. And blink + bomb is fantastic too.
Click to expand...

Sunsinger can be very entertaining depending on how it's being used. Most people nowadays though are scummy Ram + Viking Funeral sunsingers though.

One thing I was hoping to get good at was bunny hopping with The Last Word and Angel of Lighting with a Sniper. That kind of thing is interesting to watch because it's making unique usage of the abilities of the Warlock. Just never could get the a hang of it. I think Sunsinger shines in Trials, but isn't as impressionable elsewhere.
 
G

GutZ31

Member
Exploratory said:
So how do you increase faction rep now? Patrols seemingly do nothing.
Click to expand...
Most factions are kind of impossible to level without some juggling of commendations, or other means that really don't exist anymore.
You will have to wait for the 15th to level factions without restrictions. It's stupid, but Bungie really didn't want us being prepared for the raid.
 
Kalamari

Kalamari

Member
Ya, I must admit, I have been contemplating leveling hunter first rather than titan. That evasive roll looks really fun.
 
W

Wallach

Member
SlenderBeans said:
This thread need good ole' Warlock lovin.
Click to expand...

EkgCXVD.gif
 
F

Frenden

Banned
Hunters are as close to Boba Fett, Dengar, and IG-88 as Destiny gets. And that will always be what I want to be in a sci-fantasy, space opera setting.
 
T

Twilight Gap

Member
Slammin_Hammon said:
Yo man. Thanks for recommending the jewel. The gun rocks. I am glad to not bow to our pulse rifle overlords.
Click to expand...

yep i love it.

but i was playing sweaty skirmish against teabaggers earlier and had to switch to the last word. they chased me into the hut on memento and i was able to drop both of them and hammertime on their bodies.

sigh.

well, maybe if i was on my hunter i would have been able to drop them both with knifes. but on a titan, all i had was my primary and a sniper and i had to rely on a gun.

that's why i made that big post. a sunsinger probably would have been able to plow through that with an overshield. blink would have let me evade them. but as a gunslinger, i can stand up to them with any weapon and embarrass them with knives.
 
S

Slammin_Hammon

Member
Zoba said:
yep i love it.

but i was playing sweaty skirmish against teabaggers earlier and had to switch to the last word. they chased me into the hut on memento and i was able to drop both of them and hammertime on their bodies.

sigh.

well, maybe if i was on my hunter i would have been able to drop them both with knifes. but on a titan, all i had was my primary and a sniper and i had to rely on a gun.

that's why i made that big post. a sunsinger probably would have been able to plow through that with an overshield. blink would have let me evade them. but as a gunslinger, i can stand up to them with any weapon and embarrass them with knives.
Click to expand...

Those trex arms make me so sad lol. Now that I've come back to the light and started maining Gunslinger I'm finding knives to be awesome. So powerful, especially when the opponent isn't specced for full armor and burns out from flaming blade.
 
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