Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Destiny Quick and Dirty Beginner's Guide

Resposted from gameskinny

[gtdroptop: I've edited this down for brevity, check out the original for anything you'd like to know more about]

Destiny Quick and Dirty Beginner's Guide


Everything you need to know to get started in Bungie's Destiny!
by

Destiny is more than your average shooter. There are classes, special abilities, leveling, exploration, and more. Things seem daunting at first, and players new to the game might wonder about some of the things you can do in the game.

This guide will cover the basics of Destiny including:
  • Gear - The types of things you can equip.
  • Controls - Helpful tips for doing things in Destiny.
  • Classes - Each class and the differences between them.
  • Tower - What it is and everything important about it.
  • Game Modes - Explanations of each game mode currently available.

Gear

There are 8 different gear slots. For details on the weapon options visit the Destiny Weapon Options guide.
  • Primary Weapon - Your main weapon and what you sue the most/have most ammo for. (Dropped ammo is White)
  • Special Weapon - Secondary weapon that's more powerful and has less ammo than your primary. (Dropped ammo is Green)
  • Heavy Weapon - Special weapon that does a lot of damage and has low ammo. (Dropped ammo is Purple)
  • Helmet 
  • Gauntlets 
  • Chest Armor
  • Leg Armor
  • Class Bond - Special visual item unique to your class.
Sometimes you'll loot gear that looks green and says Encrypted Engram. You have to decode them to see what the gear is and use it. Do this by going to the Cryptarch at the Tower.

Grimoire Cards

See gameskinny if you're interested, but these are not critical to gameplay.  Venisia wrote a Destiny Codes article for free grimoire cards and other goodies.

Controls

Most things are simple and natural to anyone who has ever played a first-person shooter. I found a few things that people should know however that aren't clear. 
  • Aim down the sights of your gun (using left trigger) when you can. For weak enemies it doesn't make a big difference, but you will get significantly more accuracy while aiming down the sights.
  • When you unlock heavy weapons, hold the weapon swap button (Y) down to switch to it.
  • Click the right stick when targeting someone to interact with them.

Classes

There are 3 classes in Destiny. They are: Titan, Warlock, and Hunter.
  • Titan is like your soldier class. They have more defense than other classes and the ability to shield allies.
  • Warlock is like a Mage class. They can glide and use magical abilities to destroy their foes.
  • Hunter is the rogue/thief of the game. They use knives, attack quick, and can do a lot of damage in a short amount of time.

Tower

This is the social space/vendor area of the game. You walk around in 3rd-person and with your helmet off to show you beautiful face. You can also meet with other people to form fireteams before adventuring or doing Crucible. I'll explain the places listed on the map below.


  • Vaults - You can deposit gear in here to give you more room in inventory. This is also shared for your account, so you can give items to your other characters
  • Cryptarch - Where you go to decode and Encrypted items you get
  • Postmaster - When you get a quest item to turn in, you go here
  • Gunsmith - Sells guns

Game Modes

  • Story - Missions that explain the game's story and progresses you through the game.
  • Patrol - Free-roam areas that also have missions you can complete if you choose. (Awards Vanguard Reputation)
  • Strike - These are missions for 3 players. The enemies are harder than normal and has very strong bosses.
  • Crucible - The competitive multiplayer of the game.  [NOTE: Bada Bing will *not* be playing crucible.]

Bounties

See gameskinny if you're interested, but these are not critical to gameplay. 

Destiny Companion App

See gameskinny if you're interested, but this is not critical to gameplay. For more info, check the Destiny App description.
Originally Published Jul. 18th 2014

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Clan night tonight. 9pm PT. Destiny.

I may be on as early as 8pm, so ping me if you're on early.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Official Destiny Live Action Trailer – Become Legend


Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Clan night tonight. 9pm PT. X1 Titanfall.

Title update release today. May be the last week to play Titanfall though...

Friday, August 29, 2014

Destiny available now

Now available for pre-order and pre-download now in the Xbox One in-console game store. Gets you the pre-order bonuses, and also lets you have the game all pre-installed and ready to go so that you can play instantly at midnight launch.





OD and I have chosen to go with the Digital Guardian Edition, which includes the expansion pack and some other niceties. Details on the different editions here:

http://www.destinythegame.com/wheretobuy/editions

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Clan night tonight. 9pm PT. X1 Titanfall.

Porter and cooler both on? Is it possible?

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Clan night tonight. 9pm PT. X1 Titanfall.

Odds that Cooler shows up two weeks in a row - 2:1

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Clan night tonight. 8:30pm PT. X1 Titanfall.

Note the earlier start time.

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

No clan night

In Sequoia national park and decided not to bring my Xbox. You should review the new black market in Titanfall though!

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

No clan night tonight

Destiny hangover

Monday, July 28, 2014

August Games with Gold

Xbox Live Games with Gold for August 2014

For the month of August, Xbox Live Gold members can look forward to two new free games on both Xbox One and Xbox 360. Crimson Dragon and Strike Suit Zero will become free downloads on August 1st, replacing current Xbox One Games with Gold titles Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition and Max: The Curse of Brotherhood. Now is a good time download those two if you haven’t already.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Destiny Beta Tips

Some things I learned in Destiny today:

  • The green "uncommon" items (armor and guns) are all upgradeable.  The white items are all non-upgradeable.  Needless to say, I mainly just use green items now.
  • Your vault and glimmer are shared amongst all the characters under your gamertag.  So you can store something you find as a Hunter, and then use it for your Warlock class.  It also means that your vault space is limited.
  • Armor is class specific.  You Warlock can not use your Hunter's armor, but weapons are not class specific and can be shared across all your characters.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Beta Tips for Competitive Multiplayer, Strikes and more

Beta is now live, a day early.  Here's some tips reposted from reddit:

General

  • Dance!
Because why not?
  • Try Out All The Classes
Destiny has 3 different classes to choose from, each with varying Super abilities and play styles. Are you all about precision? The Hunter and its Golden Gun may be what you’re looking for, or if you just want to cause massive damage over a large area, you may favour the Warlock or Titan. The beta will give you the opportunity to get a proper feel for each class, allowing you to better prepare for the full game.
  • Find the Weapon That’s Right for You
Destiny has an array of weapon types and they all work very differently. If you happen to find a particular weapon type you are comfortable with that’s great, but don’t be scared to try out the other types, you may find something you like even more.
  • Be Online During the 26th
Bungie have revealed that if you are online during the 26th, you’ll receive a special emblem for your character in the full game as a token to show that you were a part of the beta and helped in the development of Destiny.
  • Make Use of the Fresh New Bungie.net
When the beta launches, Bungie.net is going to get a shiny new update, with lots of new features and ways in which you can interact with your friends and community. During the Alpha, we were given a taste of what was to come, such as a clan building feature, which allows you to create your own clan and invite others to join. Another feature was being able to view all of your characters in great depth along with detailed stats and more.
  • Upgrade Your Gear
This sounds like a pretty obvious point, but I during the Alpha I found myself often forgetting to upgrade my gear. Whenever you view your equipment, look for a ‘plus’ (+) icon in the corner of each gear slot, as this indicates that there’s an upgrade available.
  • Aim For The Head
Another obvious point, but definitely important. Landing headshots deals critical damage against your foes, so do your best to make the shots hit.
  • asixpointedheart on Orbs of Light
This is most relevant in PvE, but understanding how Orbs of Light work is important: When an enemy is killed with the Golden Gun, Nova Bomb, or Fist of Havoc, an orb is generated. These are for your teammates. By picking them up, their Supers recharge that much more quickly. This means, especially in PvE, that it's often more effective to use your Super on the smaller mobs -- not enemies like Elite Captains. You want to generate as many orbs as possible, so you and the rest of your fireteam can chain Supers together.

Competitive Multiplayer
  • Use Your Sparrow (If You Can)
Just ‘cause you are in a PvP match that doesn’t mean you can’t use your Sparrow! Well, it does on most maps, but on the Moon map ‘First Light’ you are able to use your Sparrow to get around. It’s a really useful way of getting straight back in to the fight after you’ve died, or if you need to get out of a hairy situation quickly.
  • Always Pick Up The Special/Heavy Ammo
Heavy and Special ammo are VERY useful. Currently, they spawn after the first 30 seconds, then after that they spawn every 60 seconds until the game finishes. If you pick up an ammo drop, any team mates within 20 metres will also receive the ammo that was picked up, so always make sure to pick it up if you are nearby.
  • Switch Weapons On The Fly
Playing on a close quarters map and you wish you had your Shotgun but you have a Sniper rifle in your Special slot instead? Don’t worry; you are able to switch out your weapons at any time. HOWEVER, any time you switch out your Special/Heavy weapon to another weapon you will lose all of the ammo you had for that type of weapon, so be cautious!

Co-operative Strikes
  • Bring Consumables
Consumables are items that are used to replenish ammo and can also provide temporary buffs to player characteristics. These are very useful during Strikes, especially on the ‘Legend’ difficulty. Consumables can be bought from a vendor in the Tower.
  • Use a Headset If You Have One
When it comes to co-operative play, communication is key. This also applies to competitive multiplayer but I feel it’s more important during Strikes. Making use of a headset will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of your Fireteam when taking down tough Strike bosses.
  • Keep A Tight Formation
Don’t wander too far from your teammates; if you die during a Strike, it is up to your fellow Guardians to revive you. If you die and you’re half way across the map, it can make things particularly difficult for the rest of the group and could potentially end up causing your Fireteam to ‘wipe’ forcing you to restart the Strike all over again. Sticking close to each other makes it easier to revive and minimizes the risk of wiping.
  • More points from Local_Seattle_Man
When you choose your strike there are percentages next to your gear letting you know how effective you're going to be during the strike. This is not a wise thing to ignore you will make it harder for you and more importantly you will make it extremely difficult on your team if you're under geared.
While sticking together for the trash is a good idea be mindful of boss mechanics. (e.g. the giant spider robot in alpha was easier to handle if you split to each side of the map and mid operated more as a medic.

No clan night tonight

Spend time with your family and SO. Destiny Beta opens up tomorrow, most likely at 10am PT.

Monday, July 21, 2014

Destiny Beta Starts on Wednesday

The Destiny Public Beta will begin on July 23, 2014 on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One platforms, and will end on July 27, 2014.

Access to the Beta is guaranteed available to those who have pre-ordered a copy of Destiny through participating retailers (see below).

The Beta encompasses most of the major game modes and activities that will be available in the final game. An Xbox Live Gold subscription is required to download and play.

Players who play the Beta on July 26, 2014, beginning at 2:00 PM Pacific Daylight Time, will earn an exclusive emblem for the retail version of Destiny.

See DestinyTheGame.com/beta for a full list of participating authorized retailers.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Clan night tonight. 9pm PT. X1 Titanfall.

Just 3 more Spectres to unlock my last Hemlock attachment.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Clan night tonight. 9:30pm PT. X1 Titanfall.

I'm all hooked up in Hawaii.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Clan night tonight. 9pm PT. X1 Titanfall.





Thursday, June 26, 2014

Destiny Beta in late July

http://m.ign.com/articles/2014/06/26/destiny-beta-hits-xbox-one-and-xbox-360-in-late-july

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Clan night tonight. X1 Titanfall. 9pm PT.

I'll be on.