A few tips on the early rounds (Destiny)

by Chappy, Arlington, VA., Wednesday, July 08, 2015, 20:46 (3424 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

Excellent guide, CruelLEGACEY!

I'm sure there are multiple strategies for the earlier rounds, but in case anyone is having trouble here are strategies I've used:

Round 1 (Hive with Exposure and Brawler): I think this round is intended to give you a sense of security and confidence; it plays out like any other Hive round. Run to the left side and split your team across the two raised platforms with cover. A Black Hammer sniper can speed up the larger enemy kills.

Round 2 (Vex Destroy Mines with Grounded and Airborne): Run to the right side; there's cover and you can snipe all the mine locations (a couple of them are a little tricky - if in doubt or pressed for time use a tracking rocket). Harpies can fly up to the platform, but otherwise all enemies must funnel through a single set of stairs to approach you - have one person cover the stairs and left side open area, one person (furthest to the right) cover the right side of the open area, and one person floating between cover on mine duty and support.

Round 3 (Cabal Destroy Mines with Catapult and Arc Burn): For the first wave, run to the back left raised platform and clear adds. There are clear fire lanes on the left and right, but watch for jumping Cabal - they can jump right to the center of your platform. For wave two and three, put two guardians on the raised, sloped platform between the center mine and the left mine, and one on the ramp leading to the top of the "crows nest" right side structure. The two guardians should send rockets into the back spawn doors a few seconds after they open to create some breathing room. They can move as a unit to the left or center mine to clear them quickly. A hunter here is preferred to leverage his invisibility if it gets crowded. The single guardian should pick off adds until the right side mine appears, then move to the roof of the structure and dismantle the mine from there (there's a small corner above the mine where you can disable it). Don't spend too much time on the roof, or a shielded Centurion will eventually spawn above you. A titan here is preferred to leverage a bubble for protection, or a Warlock for self-res since he's running solo.

Round 4 (Fallen Kill the Target with Specialist and Juggler): For the first wave, run to the left or right platforms (whichever you prefer) and clear adds. Watch for splash damage. For wave two and three, get out your shotguns and stand just beside the door where the VIP spawns. Wave 2 will have 2-3 Captains precede the VIP. You can dispatch them (and the VIP) very quickly with concentrated shotgun fire, then return to your safe platform for the rest of the wave. Wave 3 has 4-5 Captains precede the VIP - you'll probably need to reload. A titan with a blinding bubble opened just in front of the spawn door makes this much easier, but don't get too secure - the Captains begin their melee inside the door and outside of the bubble and can hit you, so keep moving in there. The VIP will often run through the bubble, but he'll still be blinded along with the rest of the adds and easy to pick off.

Round 5 (Fallen Kill the Pilot Servitor with Trickle and Small Arms): Run to the left or right platforms (whichever you prefer) and clear adds. There's not much to this battle - stay alive and damage to the Servitor when you can. The adds come in waves; we focus on clearing until there's a lull, then focus fire on the Servitor until new adds spawn. A Titan bubble with Weapons of light can speed this up (so can a black hammer sniper and a couple of Gjallarhorns).