I'm not gonna say I HATE the Crucible... But I very much dislike it. As a result, I don't play it at all.

However, I'm working my way towards Thorn. I'm a hand cannon enthusiast so having a sweet exotic is really appealing - so much so that I'm willing to give it a go at the Crucible as demanded. I have to earn 500 points - 100 kills with Void energy - while losing points each time I get killed. This seems daunting...

Questions:
1. How in the name of the Traveler does one get any kills in this arena?!

If you have a Voidwalker Warlock, their melee kills count as Void damage. Defender Titan grenades and charged melee do as well.

2. What's the best game type to try? Control, Clash, Skirmish?

For me, it was control, since you can predict enemy movement better (as you use a shotgun, that comes in real handy). Though I hear taking a couple of friends into Rumble can help. ;)

3. My only Void weapons are shotgun, sniper, and rocket launcher. Only the RL is rare, the rest are uncommon. Will these be effective?

Yeah. Rarity isn't so important in Crucible barring perks. but I used a level 16 Fusion Rifle for most of my kills.

Any thoughts are appreciated!

ps: my kids are really excited for Thorn, so I can't let them down!

Buff incoming, but it does make a cool sound!

I used a Void shotgun and a Void Rocket launcher to get Thorn. It wasn't super easy, but it wasn't nearly as hard as I expected.

Getting kills in crucible:

- You're going to die a lot initially. Don't let this get you down. Your intial forays into the crucible should be to get the lay of the land for each map, as well as a sense of your "time to kill" for each of your chosen weapons. Fortunately for you, the time to kill with a void damage shotgun is basically however long it takes you to pull the trigger. Same with a sniper rifle if you have good aim. And same with a rocket launcher. I find it's easier to get the lay of the land by playing Control, since the control points offer easy references to orient yourself with.

- Once you have the lay of the land, it's time to start racking up those kill streaks. Going for Thorn, you don't want to focus on quantity so much as you want to focus on getting multiple kills in the same life. That means if you take damage, *hide*. I generally duck out if I'm below half shield. You're going to have to play with your spec a little to get a good balance of armor and recovery. You can probably ignore agility as you want to focus on staying alive more than on getting to the zone quickly. Depending on your weapon of choice, killstreaks should be approached differently: Sniper Rifle - find a good line with a relatively safe rear access and snipe away. Avoid sniper duels unless you know for a fact that the other sniper is terrible. As always, aim for the head since that's a 1-shot kill with every sniper rifle. Don't reload unless you have a crazy speed reload perk or your clip is empty. Shotgun: Play control, look for zones actively being captured by the enemy team. Jump into that zone and try to get 2-3 kills before you die. Rinse and repeat. You can also try corner camping, but it's not my first choice. Rocket Launcher: ALWAYS go for heavy ammo when it's on the way. Once you have it, ALWAYS use your rockets first and ask questions later. You should get a minimum of 2 kills from every heavy ammo pickup. If you spy a rocket with "detonates early based on proximity" use that one - it's the best rocket perk in the game.

- remember that your goal is kills with void damage. Always use a void damage weapon whenever possible, even in non-optimal situations, just in case you get a kill. Try to set yourself up for success by playing to your weapon type and play style. Don't be afraid to use your super for extra kills, but if you don't have a void super, don't feel bad if you simply never use the super during a game. Also, focus on getting kills, not on winning the game. I hate saying that, but it's the way to get your Thorn faster.

Play it safe with a sniper in Control. I don't enjoy Crucible that much either (much more of a PvE guy), nor am I that good with a sniper rifle (mostly 2-shot kills), but I found this bounty to be pretty easy. Most of my matches I earned 30-35 void points with around a +15 kill-to-death difference. Stay near the control points that your team has taken (preferably by special ammo drops) and find clear lines of sight toward the other control points. Save your Super for when guys get close to you. I also made use of a void rocket launcher when I could, but the sniper was my main tool.

When I started, I was given the advice of using a fusion rifle or shotgun, but I found I was mostly just trading kills that way or maybe getting two for each death. Hanging back with a sniper was clearly more effective for me for the bounty, and it usually put me in the middle of the pack score-wise, so I wasn't letting my team down by not capturing points.

It really depends on your style really. I'd say Control is the best option in theory, since people aren't 100% focused on kills. Clash is fine too if you do better there. I wouldn't recommend Rumble unless you normally wreck everyone, you can get more kills but unless you do well those are canceled out by your deaths.

I was struggling with this until I found a Void shotgun. The only Fusion Rifle I had had way too long of a charge time to be worth a shit, and I don't snipe often enough to get a good spread with it. If you don't have your preferred weapon then stick with your best available option or keep hitting up the vendor. The raid weapons are good for this if you happen to have them. The AR actually does Void, and the sniper fires pretty fast and can hold a lot of rounds.

Add me, PSN:Numinar and I will join you if not already doing something with non strangers. I don't care if I lose a match because you are farming, it's all good!

Otherwise I have no tips other that left trigger right trigger! Though I am starting to learn the benefits of hip fire in some cases.

As a very lame 1.22 KD I don't know how best to advise you here, other than stick with others and try and pick people off. Some of my favorite games in Destiny are with artificial constraints such as damage modifiers or when I am farming an exotic. You might find out you like a weapon you didn't before or even the crucible itself! Also, don't think of it as a race. Just let it happen! It took me three weeks to get Pocket infinity, 7 natural drops for the rare fusion guns and only today lucked on the Gunsmith for the rest. If you get impatient, you will totaly go all Anakin Skywalker on yourself.

Although how easy/fast was Invective compared to the others? Weird.

Also, totally jealous of Thorn. My leg. hand cannon was my first and so far only 300 damage weapon. Love it but would love to replace it with a crazy trophy gun even more.

- No text -

The second time was only slightly less awful than the first.

If you're up to Raid level, enter the Vault and hope for one of the Void damage primaries you can get as a reward. That'd make this 100% easier.

I'm not gonna say I HATE the Crucible... But I very much dislike it. As a result, I don't play it at all.

However, I'm working my way towards Thorn. I'm a hand cannon enthusiast so having a sweet exotic is really appealing - so much so that I'm willing to give it a go at the Crucible as demanded. I have to earn 500 points - 100 kills with Void energy - while losing points each time I get killed. This seems daunting...

Questions:
1. How in the name of the Traveler does one get any kills in this arena?!
2. What's the best game type to try? Control, Clash, Skirmish?
3. My only Void weapons are shotgun, sniper, and rocket launcher. Only the RL is rare, the rest are uncommon. Will these be effective?

No. You should try to get a void fusion rifle. That's how I got this bounty the first time, and the second time it was a void fusion rifle supplemented with a void AR and a void HMG. A void HMG is really good since you can rack up a huge amount of kills in one ammo drop vs the rocket launcher.

I'd play control or clash.

Thank you all for the, wait for it... Super Good Advice. I'm here all week; try the veal.

Very helpful ideas. My build is all about faster reloads, more ammo, and precision bonuses, so I might try the sniper camper route initially. Good wisdom about learning the lay of the maps first. Wish me luck!

My son and I are jumping on now. He's way better at the Crucible than I am. It's humbling that I have to ask my 11-year-old to be my bodyguard, but he's thrilled. Look us up on 360: oholiab and oholiabII.