Agreed. You've got to commit, and commit hard. Also, don't be terribly wrong or you'll die in a bad spot. =)

This week my biggest problem was going into frontier blind. I was switching up weapons all over the place. Not knowing the map + snipers all over had me much more hesitant than usual in trials. I quickly found that I can't compete with at least half of the snipers at that level, and I also can't compete with TLW up close. There's a middle ground that I'd wanted to exploit, but I have no good weapons for that range. So I ended up getting owned by TLW or long range shotguns up close or nailed with good snipers from a ways off. There was very little middle ground.

My first few matches we were off to a rough start due to the layout of the map. After quickly finding out about the little cheese ledge at the one spawn, as well as the more popular set ups, we were finding our selves getting knicked one by one. The spawn with the cheese ledge had a definite advantage in that you could easily move and get down in the middle without sacrificing cover and/or retreat routes. The other spawn forces you out into spots that can be seen easily from the boxes near the bridge. Ultimately, finding your stride and sticking to it is what saves you. That is what I love about trials, It is SO much more than just how you can aim and shoot a gun. There are times when I can see people on radar and tell (give or take) how long it would take them to get to me, or what options they have to get to me. This is all about map knowledge. This is how I get alot of headshots on people who are coming around the corner looking for me. I look at the radar, and can judge how long it would take them to come around. If they arent around I can scope out and reassess the situation. this was really hard for me this week because of the unfamiliar map. You learn as you go I guess.

The pulse nerf hit my red death hard enough that it's got to hit with 2-4 more bullets depending on headshots. Which means basically another burst, making it not as effective at countering snipers than it used to be. Nirwens is in the same boat, a little better at range, but much harder to use close range.

To that end I did some testing of fusion rifles in the rumble playlist last night. I still have 1-2 more to test with, but in general the damage falloff is close enough that fusions just aren't worth using. I can't 1-shot people from far enough away (short medium range at best, consistently) to justify using a Fusion rather than closing a little more and shotgunning with a longer range shotgun.

I would stick with them and give them a good try. Ottermack uses his darkblades spite exclusively, and it serves him well. I have seen him get some kills from INSANE ranges with it, but he has a pretty good roll on his.

All that said though, my biggest problem was just time on that map in trials. More comfort with the general usage in trials would have helped a lot with my comfort level. More comfort there would have led to more decisiveness, which leads to more victories.

The tough balance is sometimes it's best to wait rather than rush. The key is being intentional about it though -- you want to be the hunter, not the hunted. If you're in the hunted mentality, you're going to do stupid stuff that seems defensive but is just really what the hunter wants. I'm about 40/60 this now probably. Much less than I used to, but I let reactionary thinking defeat me more often than actively controlling the situation, regardless of who has the advantage.

This x1000. Anytime my team has been the "defensive" team, we get killed. We almost always have better luck when moving quickly and even splitting up (to an extent). This biggest part of this is your team has to be ready to react to what happens. You don't want to put yourself in a position to get a kill, but then get killed far away from your team. Yea you got a kill, but now your orb is covered. I think this is why CruelLEGACEY, ottermack, Korny, and a few others do so well together. We know each others general playstyle, and generally what we would do in certain situations.

The tough balance is sometimes it's best to wait rather than rush. The key is being intentional about it though

That's an important point right there. If the plan is to stay back and wait, you still need to do so aggressively and deliberately. By which I mean, "you cover that exact lane, I'll cover this approach, if they swing to the left we rotate here and..." etc. Because none of us knew the map at all on Monday, we were far too reactionary to really stand a chance against the better teams. We had no idea where they would be coming from at any given time.

-- you want to be the hunter, not the hunted. If you're in the hunted mentality, you're going to do stupid stuff that seems defensive but is just really what the hunter wants. I'm about 40/60 this now probably. Much less than I used to, but I let reactionary thinking defeat me more often than actively controlling the situation, regardless of who has the advantage.

I wish I'd recorded a few of my run-around revives on Monday, because they were great examples of what you're talking about here. Several times I found myself outnumbered 3 to 1, but I still managed to control the situation well enough to lead them away from guarding the orbs and make it back for quick revives. Some of my finer moments :)