IB is still absurd. "Bring your best gear" my ass. (Destiny)

by iconicbanana, C2-H5-OH + NAD, Portland, OR, Wednesday, February 18, 2015, 09:43 (3362 days ago) @ Kahzgul

Because at level 27, I topped the charts

And look at the level 9 guy with a 1.4 K/D ratio! How is he able to hurt *anyone*???

Of course, because Bungie.net is dumb, so now that I'm level 28 on my Titan, it displays him as level 28 in all past games, instead of as the level that I actually was when I played it. Regardless, a level 27 should not be smoking level 32 players in a straight up 1v1 situation, but I was doing that all game.

"But your weapons are so strong!" Not really.

Suros at 316, Praedith's Revenge at 300, The Swarm at - I am totally serious - 277.

So bringing my best gear is clearly not a requirement. I went into IB last night expecting to get roflstomped out the door. I'm 5 levels below raiding players! There should be no way that I could compete with them. And yet.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm a pretty good PvPer. I understand where the spawns are, how to flip them, where to camp, where the sight lines are etc. I know the IB maps inside and out. My strategy is well above average. But that should not matter.

When I, as level 27, come around the corner and run into a level 32 warlock with Thorn, there should be no doubt as to who will win that fight. But it was me, every damn time (Hawkmoon was a different story). Sure, my sniper rifle took 3 body hits to kill someone where it only takes 2 in the regular Crucible, but who's hitting the body? Not this guy. Not with that gun.

Again, we've been sold short on the value of gear in IB. It's frustratingly small. I guess level 20 characters might have some trouble, but at 5 levels below cap and 4 below the average player, the only thing I noticed was the sniper body hits. I didn't more quickly than my level 31 hunter, and my time to kill was basically the same, too.

What gives?

I think part of the reason 32's get smoked has to do with who is playing IB. Level is not an indication of skill in crucible.