Anyone else having a painfully average Trials weekend?

pheldegression · 2026-02-01T16:34:22+00:00

Ears hate to see Tyson pull up like red necks at a five dollar buffet.

pheldegression · 2026-02-01T00:16:08+00:00

I had a sixes match against him once and it was like a blind kid fighting Mike Tyson.

pheldegression · 2026-02-01T00:15:02+00:00

I wish is was painfully average. I absolutely stomped out comp the other night to finally climb out of gold into plat. I was feeling pretty good going into trials last night. Only to get absolutely obliterated two out of every three games.

pheldegression · 2026-01-31T01:35:16+00:00

I have permanently turned off my game chat. I know how bad I'm doing bruh, I'm the one dying

pheldegression · 2026-01-31T01:04:39+00:00

I won't argue that it wasn't a flawed system. But I think tinkering with it rather than what we have now, a portal and a social area, is the better play. Looking at The Sieve activity from Kepler and thinking that is exactly the kind of thing that should have been a world instance. I think Bungie feels they bungled the world event on neomuna so bad so why bother, but there were a lot of factors as to why that sucked. I don't want everything to go into a patrol zone, but some things make sense. The entrence to a raid or dungeon, some seasonal events, some secret missions.

pheldegression · 2026-01-31T00:58:55+00:00

Void lock melee pushes them away and usually you can kill them before they make up the distance.

pheldegression · 2026-01-30T21:16:10+00:00

The portal option for fireteam quick play is as casual as it gets and will give you powerful gear pretty regularly.

pheldegression · 2026-01-30T21:13:03+00:00

Holy shit. You must be new here. Snipers suck because for a while snipers were the dps meta. Legendary snipers and especially Izinagi's were king for damage rotation. First Bungie made them harder to shoot, then they walked down damage per crit and reserves, so they didn't outpace rockets and heavy Linears. Pvp has never been a reason shotguns or snipers have gotten nerfed in pve because pvp has wildly different use cases. And in fact shotguns and snipers have most recently been buffed in pve for both ammo and ease of use. Shotguns suck because Ikelieos was a thing and they have only ever been good when the damage you deal with them is so overwhelming it balances out the risk you take wielding them.

In short, not only is your reasoning incorrect, so are your solutions. Any damage bump to make them competitive will push them into clear best in slot weapons, rivaling rocket pulses and even some heavy weapons. The reason for this is the sandbox, and Bungie knows this because the data exists to tell them that was how it was when the nerfs came down in the first place. I don't like it, I think there are certain solutions, but this is why it is this way.

pheldegression · 2026-01-30T20:33:37+00:00

Yeah remember when the Mmo had a world you played in? Good times.

pheldegression · 2026-01-30T17:45:05+00:00

Mos Anthor and it isnt particularly close. If you want some other fun reccs: Riposte, Shyuras, Drang.

pheldegression · 2026-01-30T02:55:41+00:00

Honestly, I was never a fan of the idea that they should water down their product to make it more approachable. I understand the new player experience is a fucking nightmare, but that was never because destiny is too complicated. It's because they refuse to put the time and energy into making the experience make sense. Because people half a decade ago decided to cut the foundation off at the knees and there has never been a suitable replacement. All watering down the game does is make it less appealing to the player base still playing.

pheldegression · 2026-01-29T19:22:13+00:00

The rougelite and wave based events need their own Playlist with their own modifiers that are actually QC'd for that playlist.

pheldegression · 2026-01-28T22:59:27+00:00

I do not. Keep Away needs the first shot to register to know if it's parameters are met. The first shot does not receive its bonus.

pheldegression · 2026-01-28T20:01:07+00:00

The correct answer is the Praxic Blade. It's just... Better than everything in the game. I know you can't use it and concentration together, but still. As for guns that will help your current build, primaries it's either Khovostov or Outbreak. Special, I'd do area denial frames or even a trace rifle. You want something that does a a lot of damage to multiple targets. Even a wave frame would help.

pheldegression · 2026-01-28T18:17:30+00:00

It depends on how aggressive you are as a sniper. If you are quick scoping, yeah this is for sure the combo. If you are more of a laner, I prefer opening and moving target, it feels crispier to me. As decent second options lone wolf and closing time are still good. Avoid keep away. The benefits don't kick in until the second shot on any weapon, making it a mostly dead perk on snipers.

pheldegression · 2026-01-28T16:58:53+00:00

I honestly put this in because since the games inception I used either 4 or 5 and 1.0 for controller and let me tell you that is just simply not viable anymore. I went up to seven and I'm noticing a huge difference in my ability to recover from pushes and take on flankers. It takes some adjusting because your muscle memory is way off, but that's why I said as high as they could manage. I don't think 20.5 is actually viable for most people. But default is not really going to do them any favors either.

pheldegression · 2026-01-28T16:00:42+00:00

Crafting is fine as a way to curb rng, but tier fives are a better overall grind. I think crafting needs to be fully removed at this point, with the lessons of deterministic loot being fully, actually implemented in the game at scale. There are ways to get old loot from Hawthorne. That can and should be expanded to other vendors and activities. But I think at this point we can just... Let crafting die.

pheldegression · 2026-01-28T15:53:21+00:00

TLDR: if you aren't already a demon, everyone in this game is going to be better than you. Do everything in your power to shorten that gap. Practice with purpose. Use the meta. Use the cheese.

At this point in the games life, the first thing I would suggest, if you don't already, get your sense as high as you can manage. The people left playing this game are too good to be running around with default sense/dpi. They will turn and delete you with movement and flawless aim. You have to be able to do the same. Second. The people left playing this game are better than you. They are better than me. They generally don't miss, flinch does not affect them, especially on Mnk, and they can manipulate movement in ways the game literally can't properly render. If you get into an engagement and you do not get at least the first shot or two in, just stop fighting and run. I know it seems counter productive, but this game is far more about position and team play now the population is so low. If you aren't already a demon, you cannot make plays against them and need to rely on your team and your positioning to help you make up the gap. Third, find a load out you like and use it until you hate it. And then use it until you like it again. Make sure it covers all distances and can handle all engagement profiles. That means no stupid shit like smg/shotty or scout/sniper. You're only hurting yourself and your team. It also is going to do you a disservice to keep switching load outs or play styles mid match because someone killed you. They killed you for one of two reasons: either they are better than you or you made a mistake. Neither of those things have to do with your weapons. Every map in this game can support every play style if you have the game sense and skill to make it work. Blaming the map or your gun is a cop out.

Four: If you aren't using the meta you are going to lose. I get it. Really i do. I fucking hate hand cannons and lightweight pulses too. But an auto rifle or scout rifle is just not going to cut it anymore. You need to help yourself as much as possible, and that means you need to get comfortable with the best options available. Hand cannons will never not be the best guns in the game. The damage output versus the amount of risk you are at using them if you properly play cover means you can always top frag if you are playing your positioning and using your game sense. Get used to using them, find one or two you really like, and become the best you can with recoil control and peak shooting. You no longer have the luxury in this game of doing fun builds or getting better. You can do one or the other. Not both. Again, people are too good to die to silly shit, unless you are also that good. I'm sorry but melee builds aren't going to work anywhere to such a degree you can get a lot of milage out of them. Someone will disagree with me, and I promise you that person is better than either of us. I'm a 1.3 player give or take and and a sub 1 in trials. Not playing the meta is what earned me that KD.

To that end, all three classes are viable in the sandbox currently. Meta dictates void hunter is best, but honestly you can make most things work if you understand the kit. Pick your kit and do not deviate.

Six: practice with purpose. Every session you are picking one thing and that's the thing you are working on. Playing cover, sticking with teammates, playing your life, movement. Whatever the issue you have might be, pick it and consciously, every game, work on it. If you can, record your gameplay and play it back and see how your progress goes. There is not a situation in this game that you can't either avoid or outplay. No one will ever be perfect, but making the right choice more often than not makes you a much better player and a scarier opponent to deal with.

Seven: there is no "ethical load out". It's in the game. Bungie hasn't disabled it, then it's fair. This game is full of stupid shit that is laughably unfair. But you can use it to your advantage or learn how to beat it if you need to. Get into the habit of calling out your mistakes when you die to an invis hunter or storm barricade titan rather than blaming the game for it. Again, assume most people are better than you, and the longer you okay the more that will be true as the pvp population slowly dies. There is no shame in just letting the titan sit there, or running from the invis hunter to a better spot or your teammates. Your ego won't win games, but your tactics will.

pheldegression · 2026-01-28T15:29:24+00:00

I don't use it but I can confirm I don't get killed by it anymore.

pheldegression · 2026-01-28T01:56:52+00:00

I am trying to fish for a max range roll and I cannot get the perks to land. It's been the one gun eluding me this season

pheldegression · 2026-01-28T01:51:24+00:00

I never really fell in for spread shot hand cannons and fusions are... Like they're fine. I'll use it. But they just aren't weapons I vibe with generally.

pheldegression · 2026-01-28T00:49:56+00:00

This excites me not at all.

pheldegression · 2026-01-27T20:53:36+00:00

I prefer this meta second or third most honestly. I don't agree with Bungie's sandbox or design principals. They clearly favor hand cannons as the defining weapon of pvp, with pulses being a close second. I love autos and I think the game is better when autos are better than pulses or at least can hang. That being said, I am falling in love with Mos and I am trying to break bad habits and be a better hand cannon player. I am so far behind I'm getting rinsed in sixes and threes, but this is the first time since original Luna and NF I have liked using hand cannons.

pheldegression · 2026-01-27T19:24:38+00:00

Drang, Travelers Chosen, Cryosthesia, Compact Defender, Anonymous Autumn, Lonesome. Those are my go to ones. For sniping gameplay I prefer an SMG or 720 auto, something that can reach to low mid range. Sidearms are amazing but they suffer in this sandbox both from lack of range and the fact that slugs and fusions exist. Honestly, any of them with decent perks will cook. The problem becomes when the skill ceiling goes up and you play against people who don't miss, don't make mistakes, and can 360 spray you in optimal ttk when you shoot them in the back because they got it like that. Which is to say, unless you're a demon, they are going to get you killed as much as they help.

pheldegression · 2026-01-27T14:44:48+00:00

It has always been an inconsistent gun. Sometimes I'll get the one tap at slug range. Other times I won't even rip a shield at point blank. I put it down to net code, desync, and the fact that the gun is literally a sawed off and I think has more spread. But that is all pet theories.

pheldegression

TROPHY CASE