Playing to your defensive strengths?

You already know and are experienced with your Bubblebro. Consider using him. Bubblebros can do Trials just fine.

2.0 Titan here, and I swear by Defender in Crucible. Probably the biggest mistake Defenders make is playing like Strikers. If you're going to play like a Striker, switch to Striker (and I do; I play about 50/50).

If you're going to play Defender, take up a support role. For me, I like to use a low RoF/high impact pulse rifle (Super Pox VLO with Perfect Balance, Messenger with Perfect Balance, and Hopscotch Pilgrim with Braced Frame all get my top votes). Try to stay mostly at mid-range, and support your teammates' fire. Snipers and Thorn are your primary targets. You want to try and two-burst them. If you're using one of those PRs I mentioned, you can two-burst clear out to sniper range (I'm talking across Pantheon sniper range, not across First Light sniper range), so use that to your advantage.

Use suppression grenade, and do NOT use an armor piece that increases grenade throw distance. You'll mainly use the grenade like a Striker's flashbang or Hunter's incendiary, but your primary usage will be keeping it in reserve when you expect a super is coming up. Someone on the other team activates Arc Blade, Golden Gun, or Radiance, try and get a tab on where they're coming from, and throw your suppression grenade so it lands on the ground near their expected approach. This is where not increasing throw distance comes in handy. You want it to land where you aimed it and stay at or near there, not ricochet off somewhere else from the extra velocity. If you did it right, congrats. You just cancelled their super mid-push, and now they're fucked.

Also, decide beforehand how you're going to be using your bubble.

  1. If it's going to be to pull off a clutch revives or wall off a hallway, use Armor of Light + Untouchable.
  2. If it's going to be to give your teammates overshields and orbs before doing a hard push, use Blessing + Illuminated. Drop the bubble somewhere back from the action, but close enough that you can close the distance with the enemy within the 10 seconds it'll take for the overshields to wear off.
  3. If it's going to give your team 45 seconds of Final Round, use Weapons of Light + Illuminated and make sure everyone has sniper rifles with impact at least equal to Patience & Time. Drop it in an advantageous spot, and now all sniper shots are one-shot body shots.

As cool as 3 sounds, and as great as it is in regular Crucible, I'd recommend against it in Trials. It usually doesn't go as well as you planned. Armor and Blessing are generally much better.

Finally, back up your pulse rifle with your choice of:

  • An auto shotgun like Invective or Found Verdict (preferably Invective; you can blow down Bladedancers and Radiant Skinned Warlocks like nothing if they challenge your supremacy in the thunderdome). These are amazing for defending the bubble, not as good for fighting away from the bubble since they don't have to range of...
  • A Felwinter's archetype shotgun with max range and shot package (preferably Matador 64 or Party Crasher +1 as they're good with follow-ups; Felwinters' fire rate is too slow). If you're dealing with overshielded enemies entering your bubble, use shotgun-punch to get Invective-like results. This also has the usefulness of being great for popping out of your bubble and shotgunning an approaching enemy when they get close, and being generally useful when your bubble is not in play.
  • A high range (makes bolts faster) high stability (easier to control) fusion rifle. This pairs great with Blessing of Light. You'll be weaker defending the bubble, but you'll be much stronger when you step out of it. Pre-charge, step out of your bubble just in time for it to fire, and one-shot your opponents from well beyond shotgun range. Example. It's also a boss for fighting in tight corridors as you can pre-charge, step into the corridor, and bang, they're instadead from quite a ways away.

I would NOT pair a sniper with the pulse rifles. That gives you long range and longer range, and leaves you weak up close. If you want to snipe, use something that's great at close range like The Last Word as your primary.

Also, if you run shotgun, master the art of crouching at corners you expect an enemy to come around, especially if your teammates are nearby. Position yourself a bit forward of them and lay your trap. Oftentimes someone will expect only the obvious radar blips, come barreling around a corner to attack your teammates, when BOOM. Plays well to a defensive player whose aim with their primary just isn't great.

As far as general play... be cautious, know the map, and watch your radar like a hawk. Use a Third Eye primary like The Messenger if possible. If you know where your enemy is, step out from cover, fire a burst, step back, step back out again and fire another burst. The great thing about pulse rifles is they deliver all their firepower all at once, so this is far more viable than doing it with one of the other three primaries, and goes well with a defensive style.

Fight like the Red Baron. He didn't stay alive as long as he did because he was the best. He stayed alive because he knew how to pick his fights and felt no dishonor in running from a fight he knew he couldn't win. If you're facing a bad situation, don't feel a need to be ballsy and attack. Fall back and see if you can get the enemy to spread out and give chase.

/r/CruciblePlaybook Thread