Ottermack and laidcleric needed a seat filled and generously invited me along today for my first few ToO games. For the most part our team (okay, ottermack) laid the smack down and things went very well, seemed almost easy. However, there was one game where we were put on the defensive, against a team that was very well coordinated and relatively unpredictable. They shut us down, in different ways, over and over. It was pretty brutal.

My takeaway though was that nothing but ourselves were to blame. They had great skill, a good team, good execution, and (presumably) good communication. They beat us fair and square, and it wasn't much of a contest. I don't feel bad about losing a round to them, they deserved the win.

I'm not a huge PvPer, but I have to say, ToO was quite refreshing. It's much less about killing as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time (before you die). It's much more counter-strike-ish. If you're godly at PvP, like ottermack, you can set the tone and direction of the match by being fast and kniwng what's up. But you can also just plain be a bit more careful and get more out of it as well. Make every bullet count as it were.

You get a little rush from that feeling of the outcome actually mattering. It's a whole new ballgame and I really approve, bungie did a great job on it.

Oh, and bring thorn. =)

Okay, so both of these are leveled end-game PvP events. Yet in IB I do well, and (so far) in ToO I do quite poorly.

I'm wondering about everyone's thoughts as to why this is? So far the only thing I can think of is the fact that ToO is elimination, whereas IB is regular score-based gameplay.

It sounds like most people have at least experienced crushing defeat in ToO once or twice. Anyone care to sound off on their experiences/opinions on the game type?

Mine is: When it's good, it's great. When it's bad, it's one of the worst gaming experiences I've ever had. Ever.

I have yet to win so I don't know the good side. But crushing defeat is very disappointing. I too have done well in IB and crucible overall, at least in terms of K/D. My average score per game is low, although I have played a good bit of skirmish. But Even looking at control stats my average score is around 2k/game. That in turn means my win % is low too. Around 40%. I think this is because my playstyle is medium to long range, and I rarely push. I'm more defender than attacker, because I get murdered up close.

This is why I thought ToO would be better since its more k/d based. But I suppose my nervousness didn't allow me to play to my peak. It's amazing how crazy it feels knowing that when you're down, you're DOWN.

I also think that since its not matchmaking based on skill, it really shows your skill difference and how well the matching in Crucible is. I know I'm not that great, but merely average. And I think most people playing (ToO) are better than average. I just didn't expect to get crushed.

I'm gonna keep playing and I'm gonna get better. I may not make it to the tower in Mercury, but I'll try each weekend. I'd also like to get a somewhat dedicated ToO team together to maybe practice on Skirmish during the week before jumping in to ToO. I think I play better with some players that others.

Losing my first 6 straight matches the other night as a level 32 with only 32 level guns left me very frustrated. I won't touch ToO until next week or later when I have time to level up more.