Tales From The Trials Part II (With Videos!) (& Heartbreak!) (Destiny)

by Doooskey, Kansas City, MO, Monday, June 15, 2015, 15:55 (3689 days ago)
edited by Doooskey, Monday, June 15, 2015, 16:05

Ok... So, my team and I ran Trials for the first time together this weekend. We got rolled over in our first 8 practice games (going 2-6). Then we bought the buffs and went in for real and managed to go 9-0, miraculously and unbelievably. I told that story a few days ago here.

We kicked off part two of our Trials runs last night, and man was it a blast.

We had two practice matches in the Control playlist where we all played really bad... Trials is so different from the 6v6 chaos of Control. I am actually thinking of doing a quick write up of how different they are, and how being good in one may not translate to the other - and why I think that may happen. I am starting to wish we had a 3v3 Objective type playlist every week.

Anyway... So we jump into Trials, and get matched up against a fairly aggressive team. They go up 3-0 real fast. Again, I am thinking my double win boon is going to get wasted. Here is the video of the game from that point on. We adjusted our strategy after the 2nd round, lost the 3rd, adjusted again for the heavy round, picked up a win. Then we win the next two rounds, tying it 3-3. In round 7, we have a crazy Super Off in the middle room by the door to the high bridge outside. A Titan revives his teammate and then Fist O Havoks, just as I throw a Nova Bomb. My Nova Bomb kills the Titan, but the revive animation protected the other guy, and he wakes up to victory. They won because of the timing delay on the revive. 4-3. My team isn't one for complaining... Ok, wait I am. Anyway my teammates aren't. We buckle down and take the next two rounds. I felt for these guys, because we gave them their 3rd loss, and honestly they played really well. That's the brutality of ToO.

Game 2
We win our next game, something like 5-2. Nothing interesting to tell. Our card is at 4-0 now. We were just aiming for 6 wins, so things are looking good.

Game 3
These guys get ahead of us (which is pretty usual for my team, part of why I share these stories is because I think we are all pretty average Crucible players, one guy on my team is above average and very good at times, but for the most part, our team is average, we don't win because we are better shots or snipers, but because we work together and push together. No one on our team is consistently #1, we all share the role of MVP). This video picks the game up from 3-2 (they are up) to the end. The first minute shows some basic ToO strategy. We get to the middle room (I am not going for the High Bridge outside because of how the other team is playing), they kill one of our guys and I go for the revive, but only one guy pushes from their team. I get the revive in time, so he just dies, deep in our territory. This match is now 3v2 in our favor. So we wait things out, kind of boring for a bit, but patience is key at times in Trials. I get my Axion Bolt and throw it in, as soon as I see a hit, I rush - knowing if I take one down, 2v1 is easier than 3v2. I take the guy down, and survive. I am telling my guys to push as soon as I hit with the Axion Bolt. They rush, and clean up. The next round goes well, we get a 3v1 advantage, but I make a huge mistake and don't cover a body (way too late on my shotgun), the guy revives his friend, who happens to have a Fist of Havok. He kills all 3 of us, but luckily I kill him just as I die. Round tied. Our first tied round. We win the next two rounds, and I learn the power of Axion Bolt grenades on this map in ToO...

Game 4
Not how to take the High Bridge outside...

The power of a good flank

The rest of the game

So... we are 6-0, still have our loss boon, and suddenly 9-0 seems possible, maybe even likely. I am pretty surprised, as we are all running alts that we are less comfortable with in PvP.

Game 5
This game starts with the shortest round we have played yet. It's glorious, particularly in retrospect.

As soon as we win this round, the game gets really laggy. First one red bar guy on their team... Then everyone. Then one guy on our team. Off and on, off and on... We trade through the lag. We start to assume they are cheating. Every time we go up one, the lag starts again. We get up 4-3, and one of our guys turns on Arc Blade to finish it quick. The lag comes strong, he gets booted, (Olive Error). It's 2v3, with lag. We fight, we lose. The last round is a heart breaker. They push very aggressively, we are down a guy. They have an arc blade, we get beat. We check their game history, message some of the guys they have played, and several messaged back about the same thing happening (lag, losing a guy). We report them through the proper channels.

At this point, our 3rd has a loss due to D/C and our loss boon gets spent (I suppose I'd rather lose in the match due to lag, than get D/C'd.) We are running out of time, and we decide to pick it up later.

At least now I have experienced all that Trials has to offer... Getting Stomped. Stomping ourselves. Stomping others. Epic comebacks (both against and for us). Flawless visit to Mercury. Final Round Snipers. Thornaggedon. And some form of Lag Cheating... Which is the only think that leaves me sour from all of the above.

Now me and one friend have a 6-0 card, and the other is 6-1. We are going to try and finish tonight. We will see how it goes.