Gambit Mechanics Explained and Impressions

[GazzaGarratt 11,035]

Gambit has been out for nearly a month now so thought it would be good to get some thoughts/impressions from everybody since The Gambit Bungie Team have explained some of the mechanics and we've also had news of Sleeper Simulant getting a slight tweak.

 

Clarification on Gambit's Primeval Slayer Buff

Everyone knows that death heals Primeval, but not everyone knows all of the intricacies of how the Primeval Slayer buff works. The Gambit Design team wanted to clear up some misconceptions.

There appear to be some misconceptions about the “Primeval Slayer” buff in Gambit, particularly with how the leading team’s buff count affects the trailing team’s, so we’d like to take this opportunity to shed some light on it!

• Our intent for the Primeval phase is that the team that summons first gains advantage.
• The number of Primeval Slayer stacks held is unique to each team.
• If one team is significantly advanced in their Primeval Slayer stacks, the team that is behind receives ‘bonus’ stacks when spawning their own Primeval. However, the number of bonus stacks received is always going to be less than the leading team’s current total. Think of it as a tow cable trailing behind the leading team.
• There is a limit to the catch-up mechanic’s generosity. Even if the leading team is at Primeval Slayer x10, the lagging team will never start out with more than a few stacks when spawning their Primeval.

Our twin goals have been hitting the right balance between elasticity and competitiveness and fostering close, dynamic games. Now that Gambit is out in the wild, we’re closely monitoring the conversation around the Primeval phase (and playing a ton of it ourselves).

Happy Hunting,
The Gambit Design team

[GazzaGarratt 11,035]

I'm around Gambit Infamy Rank 10/11 so I've played quite a bit now.

 

I absolutely LOVE this game mode. I think the Primeval Slayer buff works perfectly. It may be harder if you're not in a team because a less co-ordinated strategy means you will struggle to keep off invaders and kill incoming blockers if you have spawned the Primeval first.

 

Sleeper remains the go-to gun for invading. You definitely can use and win with other guns but because it's super easy to use, once you have the option it's kinda just too easy to not use anything else. Bounties to use Rocket Launchers, etc do help to combat it a little. Let's see if the hit box reduction it gets will impact it when they eventually release it.

 

Definitely try to group up as much as you can - the only part that @Stretch616 said last night was about Invader energy against 4. 6 may be more beneficial. Hell, I would love to see more 6v6 activities but you I'm really excited for Gambit private matches which they've confirmed is coming soon.

 

Maps wise I love most of them and how the variants work. I don't like the Prison of Elders one, more because there's so many holes you can fall off it's really difficult to navigate. But as the enemies change it gives more variation to maps which you can take for granted e.g. when Tracer shanks spawn with Fallen, or Turrets with Cabal, having a player on Dreaming City map stand back high taken stuff out - @crispymorgan did this well with his trusty bow a few nights ago.

 

I'd go as far as saying it's one of the most exciting and refreshing game modes I've ever seen introduced into a video game.

 

Let's hope there is some contenders for Sleeper in the not too distant future.

[TigerBurge 2,375]

Don’t invade as soon as the enemy spawns their Prime Evil. It’s worthless. They haven’t got their buff yet so they aren’t doing much damage to their PE. Wait for them to start damaging their PE then lay into them. 

[GazzaGarratt 11,035]

22 hours ago, TigerBurge said:

Don’t invade as soon as the enemy spawns their Prime Evil. It’s worthless. They haven’t got their buff yet so they aren’t doing much damage to their PE. Wait for them to start damaging their PE then lay into them. 

I agree, although I wouldn't wait too long. Just invading can put the other team on edge. Getting 1-2 kills puts the team out of sync.

 

If you're way ahead I can see how people feel like the blockers on top of the Primeval and Envoys can be a pain but it would just be a breeze if they weren't there. It makes it interesting that you know a game isn't over. Equally, you need incentive to keep the other team from just quitting.

[techno 3,507]

Interesting reading the Twitter post you liked, people seem to want the catch up removed I kind of agree, I said it this weekend and teams are deliberately waiting to bank and spawn primevil second to spawn loads of blockers for opposing teams to deal with. I also think there's something fishy with how you dominate a team in first round who then suddenly become pros in the subsequent rounds or vice versa, do one team get harder enemies?

Also gambit is too grindy the levels too high or points/bounties are set too low. Im nearly at reset I won't be grinding the second reset 

[techno 3,507]

Oh just found out there is one more dumb mechanic when you hit legend the 3000 points you need have to come from wins, so well done bungie you shit on the solo player and give people a reason to quit out🤬

 

So other than teaming up with you guys and doing milestones and bounties im done with this mode until decent changes are made.

[GazzaGarratt 11,035]

Interesting reading the Twitter post you liked, people seem to want the catch up removed I kind of agree, I said it this weekend and teams are deliberately waiting to bank and spawn primevil second to spawn loads of blockers for opposing teams to deal with. I also think there's something fishy with how you dominate a team in first round who then suddenly become pros in the subsequent rounds or vice versa, do one team get harder enemies?
Also gambit is too grindy the levels too high or points/bounties are set too low. Im nearly at reset I won't be grinding the second reset 

I don't think the catch up is that bad at all. The underlying issue I think here is that it is the old argument linking to solo vs team play. It's on the Competitive Playlist so some co-ordination is needed in order to win consistently. Datto said it himself in his recent video very well - you can't solo win a game. You just can't. You have moments that change the game but all 4 need to pull their weight.

I also don't think there's any dodgy play in the team that is 1-0 down plays better because of different enemies, etc. Prime example is look at ourselves. The amount of times we go behind whilst we're having a laugh and then go "oh shit, better play a little" [emoji23]. You don't see it much in Crucible as most modes are one round. We've seen this a lot in Overwatch, sometimes you need a kick in the arse to play better [emoji39]

Oh just found out there is one more dumb mechanic when you hit legend the 3000 points you need have to come from wins, so well done bungie you shit on the solo player and give people a reason to quit out🤬
 
So other than teaming up with you guys and doing milestones and bounties im done with this mode until decent changes are made.

However, if this is true then sucks ass. They've never said this and it's always been a progessional rank system that rewards you further if you win, not 0 if you lose. It's not a deal breaker to the gamemode but it's the first disappointing part I've heard to this gamemode so far.

[techno 3,507]

Yeah it's true I looked it up when I got zero for losing.

On your first point i get that it's going to be hard against full teams but you seem to be rewarded for coming second, last game I played we had the primevil they had 40 some notes but they dropped that much shit we couldn't see the primevil let alone the attackers and they won...exit me no win no points take the penalty for leaving. 

Im also not the only one to think something happens between the rounds, and if they employ " everyone is a winner " mechanics on another part why not here?

 

Changes need to be made imo. Now if it's nothing else spawns but blockers or primevil at that stage it would be a start 

[Baabcat 1,646]

That’s an annoying mechanic if win only counts ? Do points from bounties still count?

 

Also agree the ranks are too big, seems to take forever to get levelled up.

 

Whilst I am enjoying all bits of Forsaken I do think Bungie have ratcheted the grind up a bit too much in too many places. 

[MrBiron 1,447]

On 9/30/2018 at 10:43 AM, GazzaGarratt said:

I agree, although I wouldn't wait too long. Just invading can put the other team on edge. Getting 1-2 kills puts the team out of sync.

 

I played last night with @Nutcuttlit and Marc. Marc had invaded the other team and just as they got their Primeval to no health he got a kill which gave it some health back so we got the win. If I was on the other team I'd have been super pissed 😆

 

I definitely prefer this mode to any other PvP. Regular Crucible is just annoying.

[techno 3,507]

8 hours ago, MrBiron said:

😆

I definitely prefer this mode to any other PvP. Regular Crucible is just annoying.

I actually find gambit way more annoying than regular crucible as long as its control. 

[Baabcat 1,646]

11 minutes ago, techno said:

I actually find gambit way more annoying than regular crucible as long as its control. 

I find Gambit has a lot of ‘awww fuck’ moments. Can be quite frustrating at times

[The3rdWalker 1,269]

Gambit is still a great mode. I think they should consider tweaking the player's reveal time. 2 hunter w/ blade barrage and a titan with melting point pretty much mean an instant kill on the primeval. So the entire process is fun. 

[GazzaGarratt 11,035]

I actually find gambit way more annoying than regular crucible as long as its control. 

Never thought you'd say that! You have played a ton of it though.

Your comments keep reminding me to ensure I try and get a team of us to go in when I want to play a game of Gambit. My solo experiences have been pretty decent so far but I've only had a handful of games on my own so it could get worse.

[techno 3,507]

14 hours ago, GazzaGarratt said:

Never thought you'd say that! You have played a ton of it though.

Your comments keep reminding me to ensure I try and get a team of us to go in when I want to play a game of Gambit. My solo experiences have been pretty decent so far but I've only had a handful of games on my own so it could get worse.

Not nearly as much as I have crucible.

The reason I've played a ton of it is because I got caught up with getting through the first reset for the drop that's why it pissed me off when the progression changed.

As time goes on and people get used to it it's becoming harder to solo stack. Im definitely down when we're in a group though, infact I can see it only being in a group exept maybe just to get milestone on reset.

[GazzaGarratt 11,035]

Update anticipated to be on October 30th, will make a number of changes to Gambit:

☆ Sleeper ammo reduced from 4 to 2
☆ Sword ammo increased from 6 to 12
☆ Malfeasance boss to spawn more regularly across the board. Will be still less in weakest and middle curse weeks. Week 3 will be far more often
☆ Vanity items that were guaranteed drops from subsequent Malfeasance bosses now won't be a guaranteed drop
☆ Quitter penalties re-enabled, however will be a few more games before penalties are incurred




I think these changes are a good start. Not ground-breaking by any means but they shouldn't be as the game mode has been relatively successful.

Sleeper changes will be welcome, I think this will mean we see far more snipers and rockets going forward - I actually fancy getting Merciless out for the boss for a change.

Any thoughts?

[The3rdWalker 1,269]

Be prepared for Black Talon all day. 

[NCA-Paendrag 2,758]

Bring your Queenbreaker. Works pretty good. 

[The3rdWalker 1,269]

3 hours ago, NCA-Paendrag said:

Bring your Queenbreaker. Works pretty good. 

 

That's another super good weapon for Gambit! Agreed!

[TigerBurge 2,375]

Honestly any linear fusion rifles and really good in gambit for invading. 

[GazzaGarratt 11,035]

The triple infamy last night was epic. Definitely great games had and with a ghost she'll to add an extra 10%, I'm nearly through a whole reset in one night.

 

@techno @Kemp210 @crispymorgan and @Bluebear had some phenemonal games. Some heart breaking losses in there too.

 

I had 2 meatballs spawn late on, both of which we won the games. Thought we lost the first but it's important to send someone through to distract the opposition even if you're winning.

[GazzaGarratt 11,035]

We definitely found a great set up near the end of the night.

 

• 2 Titans running Melting Point (Top tree hammers)
• 1 Hunter Tethering
• 1 Warlock Nova Warp or 1 Titan Sentinel Shield (in other words, roaming void super)

Where earlier in the night we struggled if we lost supers to close out a win, this strat meant ads got tethered at start of Primeval, roaming good super cleared ads and wizards quickly, orbs fed hammer supers. Melting Point on the boss from both Titans in quick succession virtually nailed it.

 

Last day of 3x Infamy today I think so will get my money's worth I reckon. 

[Baabcat 1,646]

3x infamy was fun, got a 5 win streak going at one point, was getting promoted every match.

[NCA-Paendrag 2,758]

Haven't had a meatball spawn in ages. Only spawned 1 time and I have played quite a bit of Gambit. 

 

Had a good game this morning though, where we met a useless team. The other team managed just over 20 motes banked and lost over 60. One guy alone lost 36.

I banked 78 (lost none), over twice than the next on my team. 

[GazzaGarratt 11,035]

1 hour ago, NCA-Paendrag said:

Haven't had a meatball spawn in ages. Only spawned 1 time and I have played quite a bit of Gambit. 

 

Had a good game this morning though, where we met a useless team. The other team managed just over 20 motes banked and lost over 60. One guy alone lost 36.

I banked 78 (lost none), over twice than the next on my team. 

It is middle week for the Curse currently so as of the weekly reset tomorrow, it will be a 1 in 6 chance to spawn the meatball next week. Definitely worth doing quite a bit next week if you want a chance of the ship and sparrow dropping. All 4 of us dropped the sparrow, max 2 people in each game we experienced.