This (Destiny)

by ckamp, Wednesday, February 18, 2015, 09:51 (3819 days ago) @ iconicbanana

Because at level 27, I topped the charts

And look at the level 9 guy with a 1.4 K/D ratio! How is he able to hurt *anyone*???

Of course, because Bungie.net is dumb, so now that I'm level 28 on my Titan, it displays him as level 28 in all past games, instead of as the level that I actually was when I played it. Regardless, a level 27 should not be smoking level 32 players in a straight up 1v1 situation, but I was doing that all game.

"But your weapons are so strong!" Not really.

Suros at 316, Praedith's Revenge at 300, The Swarm at - I am totally serious - 277.

So bringing my best gear is clearly not a requirement. I went into IB last night expecting to get roflstomped out the door. I'm 5 levels below raiding players! There should be no way that I could compete with them. And yet.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm a pretty good PvPer. I understand where the spawns are, how to flip them, where to camp, where the sight lines are etc. I know the IB maps inside and out. My strategy is well above average. But that should not matter.

When I, as level 27, come around the corner and run into a level 32 warlock with Thorn, there should be no doubt as to who will win that fight. But it was me, every damn time (Hawkmoon was a different story). Sure, my sniper rifle took 3 body hits to kill someone where it only takes 2 in the regular Crucible, but who's hitting the body? Not this guy. Not with that gun.

Again, we've been sold short on the value of gear in IB. It's frustratingly small. I guess level 20 characters might have some trouble, but at 5 levels below cap and 4 below the average player, the only thing I noticed was the sniper body hits. I didn't more quickly than my level 31 hunter, and my time to kill was basically the same, too.

What gives?

I think part of the reason 32's get smoked has to do with who is playing IB. Level is not an indication of skill in crucible.

Anytime Bungie puts out an event like this with rewards, it draws people into the mix who would not be playing otherwise. Instead of fighting the people who play crucible all the time for fun, you're getting people who may hate crucible, but are playing for the rewards. As such, as a skilled player, you're probably already hitting the top tier players on a normal basis in crucible. Now however, there are a lot more less-skilled players in the pool and you are rolling them.

I noticed this phenomena too. I'm not a slouch, but I do much better in IB than in regular crucible.