This page contains hints, tips and strategies for success and survival in the Destiny 2 beta.
Class Tips
Below you'll find tips and strategies for each of the three Guardian classes: Titans, Hunters and Warlocks.
TITAN TIPS
Both the Sentinel Titan and Striker Titan are great choices for PVE and PVP. Here are some tips that could help your beta gameplay.
- The Titan's Rally Barricade class ability allows you to hide behind a barricade and peek over to shoot at your foes. Your weapon will instantly reload when you duck behind the barricade!
- Sometimes the best offense is a good defense. Holding L1+R1 while having super energy will allow the Sentinel Titan to put up a Ward of Dawn. This will come in handy if you are taking heavy damage and need some cover immediately.
- While in your Sentinel Shield super, you can throw your shield at enemies with L1. Instead of trying to cover the distance by lunging at your opponent, throw your shield at them!
- The Titan Exotic weapon "Sweet Business" becomes more deadly the longer it is fired. Try pre-firing at a wall and then peaking out at your enemies to deal immediate 'sweet' damage!
Warlock Tips
The Dawnblade and Voidwalker Warlocks pack some serious punches in the beta. Here are some ways you can maximize those punches.
- The Voidwalker Nova Bomb will slowly seek out opponents for you and then split into smaller projectiles upon detonation. If you are being chased by a Nova Bomb or want it to detonate it earlier, you can shoot at the Nova Bomb for an early detonation.
- Players can actually drain super energy in order to make their Voidwalker grenades deadlier and larger. This is a new mechanic in the Destiny universe and can be done so by holding L1.
- The Dawnblade Warlock can juke and dodge enemies in mid-air by tapping O or B twice and then pointing in the direction you want to go. This is a new movement ability that previously only Titans had access to.
- Warlocks have a class ability that allows them to deploy a healing rift or damage buff rift. If there is more than one Warlock on a team, a strategic deployment of a healing rift and damage rift can be one of the most effective strategies right now in the beta!
Hunter Tips
The Arcstrider and Gunslinger are back to their rogue ways in Destiny 2. Here are some neat tips you might have missed.
- All hunters have a dodge or tumble class ability. The dodge will automatically reload your weapons and the tumble can avoid damage while giving you melee energy back. Dodging instead of reloading in a firefight can save you some time and get you back in the fight. Tumbling will confuse PVE enemies and give you time to get into cover if needed.
- Dodging actually makes the Arcstrider more lethal. A melee attack after dodging will give you a increased range attack and dodging in your Arcstrider super will make the next Arc Staff hit more lethal. Remember to try and melee or swing right after dodging!
- Golden Gun in the beta will have 6 total shots! Although this might seem insane, the timer for the super goes by really quick to compensate for the extra shots. Make sure to pop your super when you know multiple enemies are near. Activating your super and then looking around for enemies will lead to a sad and lonely Gunslinger.
Crucible Tips
Whether it be in the flag-capturing playlist of Control or the Defend and Attack playlist of Countdown, here are some tips to improve in Crucible.
COMPLIMENTARY WEAPON LOADOUTS
A smart weapon loadout is an important aspect of the crucible, and one of the few things that players have full control over.
Equipping a long distance weapon - such as a pulse rifle or scout rifle - can give you an advantage in the open lanes of Midtown, and pairing that with a short-range hand cannon, sidearm, or automatic will give you protection in the close-quarters encounters you’ll run into on Endless Vale.
BONUS DAMAGE AGAINST ENEMY SUPERS
Players in their super ability will also take bonus damage from your energy primary so be sure to keep that loaded for when you hear the ominous sound of an enemy super activate.
STICK TOGETHER
Always travel with at least one teammate. The increased time to kill in the Crucible makes it nearly impossible to win a two versus one combat situation. Travel with the pack and help each other team shoot and it'll be tough for anyone to outgun you.
ACTIVELY MONITOR YOUR HEALTH BAR
Getting into the habit of actively watching your health bar - instead of just waiting until it starts flashing red - is one of the most important things you can do.
If you’re at half health or below, immediately bow out of the fight to recover, and try to avoid getting into combat when damaged, and remember that being outnumbered almost always ends up with you waiting to respawn. Pick your battles carefully, and be on the lookout for places to find cover if hurt.
ITEM INTERACTIONS IN COMBAT
Destiny 2 now lets players interact with objects while simultaneously still being able to defend themselves. In the new mode Countdown, for example, players can now shoot or melee opponents while setting or defusing a charge. In the original Destiny, using a weapon while interacting with an object or reviving a teammate would have cancelled the action.
REVIVE ACTIONS CAN BE INTERRUPTED
The timer to revive teammates will actually reset if a player takes damage during the revive process. If you are going to try and revive a teammate, make sure you are in a safe location to prevent being caught in the open.
BECOME A HUMAN (OR EXO OR AWOKEN) TURRET
When Titans equip the Rally Barricade skill, they get a buff that automatically reloads their equipped gun when you take cover behind it.
This works on anyone else on their fireteam who uses the barricade as cover, too, meaning you can keep popping in and out from behind the barricade while holding the trigger to become a stationary turret for as long as the ability is active.
FREE CONTROL POINTS
Players no longer have to capture A or C at the beginning of a Control match. It will automatically be captured for you so don't waste time just standing there waiting for nothing to happen!
SOLO POINT CAPTURES
Only one player needs to be in the control circle to capture a point. Having more than one player doesn't make capturing the point any faster.
STACKING WARLOCK RIFTS
The Warlock's healing rift is extremely useful for controlling and defending an area on the map such as Control Point B on Endless Vale, and the damage rift can be vital to give you and your teammates extra firepower while outnumbered.
While each rift helpful on its own, the best use of these abilities is stacking both types on top of each other. Place a healing rift and a damage rift on top of one another to maximize your team's combat ability. A team of Warlocks can coordinate to receive continuous health and damage boosts, making it near impossible for opponents to take a team out.
Weapon and Loadout Tips
Classic guns such as the Auto Rifle, Scout Rifle, and Pulse Rifle are making a return in the Destiny 2 Beta but players will also get their hands on a new archetype of gun: the SMG. Each archetype of gun has a very specific use and utility so choosing your main two primaries are essential both in PVE and PVP.
PVE LOADOUTS
For PVE it is handy to make sure your elemental gun and your power gun are different elements from each other (Arc, Solar, Void). High-level bosses will usually have a elemental shield so having a gun on the ready to match that shield element will allow you to take that enemy down that much faster.
PVP LOADOUTS
For PVP, elemental guns are extremely important as they do extra damage to players in their super. The elemental damage on the gun does not have to match the element of the super so don't forget to whip that elemental gun out when that Sentinel Titan is charging right at you.
GENERAL LOADOUT TIPS
For both PVE and PVP, your weapon loadout should generally consist of a long range gun (Pulse Rifle, Scout Rifle) and either a mid-range gun (Auto Rifle, Hand Cannon) or short range gun (SMG, Sidearm). This will allow you to be covered on all ranges of fights. Don't forget to always try and find ammo for your Power Weapon as these weapons will generally one shot kill your enemies.
