SGA: Make it rain heavies
Great post on reddit today from /u/toleressea:
http://www.reddit.com/r/DestinyTheGame/comments/2t1vyk/the_importance_of_heavy_weapons_in_raids/
About Me:
I'm 27, married (aka I don't have infinite time to work with), and I love to Sherpa raids in Destiny. Learning the mechanics of raid content in and out and then teaching it to others in a fun manner is one of the greater joys I've found in this game.
Note: There may be some raid content spoilers in the body of this post.
It sure might be possible, but boy would it be easier.
You've made it to Confluxes! Unfortunately, you've also been wiping for 45 minutes with no end in sight. That left conflux keeps getting overrun, regardless of the THREE guardians you have positioned there. Getting truly frustrated, you call out, "I'll cover center instead of right", with an aim to getting an eye on left, to see what the heck is going on over there. It's then you notice they're trying to take down Minotaurs with Auto Rifles only.
You might get it eventually, but boy could it have been quicker. You get the idea. We've all been at that point where your heavy ammo hits 0 and you ask yourself a question, "Is it worth spending the heavy ammo synth? Can we make it without it?" How you, and every member of your fireteam, answers that question is unbelievably important to your success.
A lot of guardians think they can get by, and they just want to save their glimmer. I understand the perspective, and I'll explain why it's not efficient further down.
I can say that without a doubt, the thing that has the greatest impact on our effectiveness, how quickly we clear the content, is the frequency with which raid members fire their heavy weapons and use heavy ammo synthesis.
It's critical to point out that Gjallarhorn is not necessary for your heavy weapon to be useful.
I've also raided every bit of content in Destiny as it's released, which means I appreciate what it feels like to down a boss without a full raid of max-level guardians. The point I'm making about heavy weapons is relevant regardless of your level and the level of the raid you're in.
Here are some classic examples of current raid content where heavy weapons can really make or break the check point:
Vault of Glass:
Not counting strange coins, it costs 950 glimmer to buy a single heavy ammo synthesis. That means with a maximum 25k glimmer, you can buy 26 heavy synths (24,700 glimmer). It takes about 45-50 minutes to farm 25k glimmer using the most popular Exclusion Zone farming method.
The key is understanding how expensive every raid wipe actually is. You have to stop looking at how much glimmer each heavy ammo synth costs, and start looking at how many heavy ammo synth you could have bought with the time you spent wiping in the raid.
You wiped for 30 minutes on Gatekeepers? You could have bought 12-13 heavy ammo synth with that time, good for 60 minutes straight, popping one every 5 minutes. The reality is that most often, you don't end up using them on cooldown. Additionally, if everyone in the raid is using their heavy weapons, the content is cleared quicker, costing everyone less glimmer. It's about sharing the load, a lighter concept.
All too often, that one guy with a Gjallarhorn ends up spending 90% of the glimmer in a raid, as everyone else assumes "he's got it covered." I've been that one guy. I'm happy to do it, but I appreciate it a heck of a lot more when my fireteam is firing their rockets, even rare quality ones, right beside me. This brings me to my last point...
Note: I use boots with +heavy ammo, regardless of the bug, because I'd rather have 7 rounds when I pop a synth than have rounds carry over wipe after wipe after wipe...
This isn't 100%. There's always that guy, who stoically refuses the necessity of the thing, convinced that those blessed with Ghorns deserve to spend every ounce of glimmer they have so he can have a chance at getting his own.
After a week of raiding, I usually use between 5 and 10 heavy ammo synth per character (not counting my Titan, because Ruin Wings are amazing). I usually buy a minimum of 20 per character with strange coins each time Xur shows up.
Note: Don't be that guy who uses heavy ammo, a wipe happens anyway due to this or that, and then complains LOUDLY to everyone how X guardian cost them their heavy ammo. We're all in the same boat; suck it up, Guardian.
I understand that some of you feel as though you simply don't have time to farm the glimmer and strange coins to stay stocked up. I heartily believe that you'll actually redeem time with this method, and I think you'll have more fun doing it. It's fun to use heavy weapons - Bungie did a great job with them, and not just Gjallarhorn.
TLW (tl;dr) The willingness of raid members to use heavy weapons is directly proportionate to the time it takes to clear raid content, lessening the load for everyone.
Edit: Formatting
I'm 27, married (aka I don't have infinite time to work with), and I love to Sherpa raids in Destiny. Learning the mechanics of raid content in and out and then teaching it to others in a fun manner is one of the greater joys I've found in this game.
Note: There may be some raid content spoilers in the body of this post.
We've all been there (well, some of us).
You're at the gate of Vault of Glass, and you've been faithfully obliterating every Minotaur that comes your way on the right side with Corrective Measure. The center looks to be holding pretty solid as well. The only catch is that the two guys on the left seem to be dying every 30 seconds or so. After a few times of scoping in to help them out, you realize that you never see them using anything but primary weapons. You've been at this gate for 15 minutes now, and all you're hearing is "We're level 31, I don't need to waste heavy ammo synthesis for this."It sure might be possible, but boy would it be easier.
You've made it to Confluxes! Unfortunately, you've also been wiping for 45 minutes with no end in sight. That left conflux keeps getting overrun, regardless of the THREE guardians you have positioned there. Getting truly frustrated, you call out, "I'll cover center instead of right", with an aim to getting an eye on left, to see what the heck is going on over there. It's then you notice they're trying to take down Minotaurs with Auto Rifles only.
You might get it eventually, but boy could it have been quicker. You get the idea. We've all been at that point where your heavy ammo hits 0 and you ask yourself a question, "Is it worth spending the heavy ammo synth? Can we make it without it?" How you, and every member of your fireteam, answers that question is unbelievably important to your success.
A lot of guardians think they can get by, and they just want to save their glimmer. I understand the perspective, and I'll explain why it's not efficient further down.
What's the alternative?
I've been an avid user of DestinyLFG.com/net, r/fireteams, and the100.io, as they've been released. There are a few friends I often take with me into raids, but on the whole I've been pugging groups (pug = pick-up group) since the first week I raided. I have seen a lot of different people, with a wide variety of attitudes, skill levels, styles, and general badassery to go with it.I can say that without a doubt, the thing that has the greatest impact on our effectiveness, how quickly we clear the content, is the frequency with which raid members fire their heavy weapons and use heavy ammo synthesis.
It's critical to point out that Gjallarhorn is not necessary for your heavy weapon to be useful.
I've also raided every bit of content in Destiny as it's released, which means I appreciate what it feels like to down a boss without a full raid of max-level guardians. The point I'm making about heavy weapons is relevant regardless of your level and the level of the raid you're in.
Are you saying to use it all the time?
No! I'm saying that when it hits the fan every raiding guardian should:- Have heavy ammo synthesis
- Be willing to use it
Here are some classic examples of current raid content where heavy weapons can really make or break the check point:
Vault of Glass:
- Opening the gate in VoG
- Conflux
- Oracles (non-cheese)
- Templar (no teleport non-cheese)
- Gatekeeper
- Atheon
- Lamps (you might say not necessary, I say why not)
- Thrallway
- Deathsinger
- Crota
Dagnabit, but it's expensive!
I hear you, I really do. To counter this common myth, that using heavy ammo synth is too expensive, especially in light of the horrendous heavy ammo bug, we're going to do a little pseudo math now.Not counting strange coins, it costs 950 glimmer to buy a single heavy ammo synthesis. That means with a maximum 25k glimmer, you can buy 26 heavy synths (24,700 glimmer). It takes about 45-50 minutes to farm 25k glimmer using the most popular Exclusion Zone farming method.
The key is understanding how expensive every raid wipe actually is. You have to stop looking at how much glimmer each heavy ammo synth costs, and start looking at how many heavy ammo synth you could have bought with the time you spent wiping in the raid.
You wiped for 30 minutes on Gatekeepers? You could have bought 12-13 heavy ammo synth with that time, good for 60 minutes straight, popping one every 5 minutes. The reality is that most often, you don't end up using them on cooldown. Additionally, if everyone in the raid is using their heavy weapons, the content is cleared quicker, costing everyone less glimmer. It's about sharing the load, a lighter concept.
All too often, that one guy with a Gjallarhorn ends up spending 90% of the glimmer in a raid, as everyone else assumes "he's got it covered." I've been that one guy. I'm happy to do it, but I appreciate it a heck of a lot more when my fireteam is firing their rockets, even rare quality ones, right beside me. This brings me to my last point...
Note: I use boots with +heavy ammo, regardless of the bug, because I'd rather have 7 rounds when I pop a synth than have rounds carry over wipe after wipe after wipe...
Being generous with your heavy ammo is contagious.
More often than not, when guardians see their fireteam going crazy with heavy weapons, they don't want to be left out. They want to join in the explosions and general badassery.This isn't 100%. There's always that guy, who stoically refuses the necessity of the thing, convinced that those blessed with Ghorns deserve to spend every ounce of glimmer they have so he can have a chance at getting his own.
After a week of raiding, I usually use between 5 and 10 heavy ammo synth per character (not counting my Titan, because Ruin Wings are amazing). I usually buy a minimum of 20 per character with strange coins each time Xur shows up.
Note: Don't be that guy who uses heavy ammo, a wipe happens anyway due to this or that, and then complains LOUDLY to everyone how X guardian cost them their heavy ammo. We're all in the same boat; suck it up, Guardian.
Don't believe me with all of this? Try it.
Hard mode Crota's End hits tomorrow, and the point I'm making is especially crucial when hitting new content you've never seen before. You want to get a feel for the mechanics and then hit them with everything you have. Don't waste your time wiping over and over again. Get it done, guardians.I understand that some of you feel as though you simply don't have time to farm the glimmer and strange coins to stay stocked up. I heartily believe that you'll actually redeem time with this method, and I think you'll have more fun doing it. It's fun to use heavy weapons - Bungie did a great job with them, and not just Gjallarhorn.
TLW (tl;dr) The willingness of raid members to use heavy weapons is directly proportionate to the time it takes to clear raid content, lessening the load for everyone.
Edit: Formatting
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