I tested that theory out for you... (Destiny)

by Korny , Dalton, Ga. US. Earth, Sol System, Monday, April 13, 2015, 03:05 (3515 days ago) @ ZackDark
edited by Korny, Monday, April 13, 2015, 03:52

But alas, it is PSN-exclusive.

That is a darn shame, friend. But never fear, I gotcha! ;)

Short version: still useless.

Not only did I use Monte Carlo, but I maxed out the Strength of my Warlock, and I still had a very rough time. The perk simply does not work as advertised. The distance still puts you at gunshot range, and only seems to work if the enemy is already backing away from you. In the video, you see that most of the time the enemies simply don't seem to be affected by it.

Heck, if anything, optimizing it puts me at a serious disadvantage, because max Strength only negatively affected my other abilities. Radiance becomes almost useless, no overshield buff puts me on the defensive in every single close-range encounter, and Scorch does not do nearly enough damage on its own to turn the tide back in my favor.

I didn't test with the Claws of Ahamkara, but they will clearly change nothing; the perk is all but useless in PvP, and in PvE you're much better off with the almost-useless Brimstone.

Shield is the way to go.