Just hit Rank 5 on my Hunter, and these are tips and suggestions on how to not get your ass kicked this IB along with other things of note: Important observations of IB: 1. It is blatantly obvious [b]SBMM is currently alive and well[/b]. I noticed MAJOR differences in quality of opponent between being in a fireteam with some lower skilled friends and going solo. Also getting the same reports from multiple other people. 2. Lag is still pretty bad. At least 2 red bars a match skipping around ignoring in-game physics and hit detection. It seems apparent to me that Skill is still the primary driver of Matchmaking and Connection is an afterthought. 3. Roughly 45% shotguns, 45% snipers, and 10% sidearms or fusion rifles (seeing more fusion rifles as IB goes on). 4. The three most used primaries are Docterine of Passing, MIDA, and TLW at a distant third. 5. Warlocks hold their Nova Bombs and Titans their FoH for shutting down other supers a majority of the time. It's Clash so chances of multi kills are low, so they save them for other supers. 6. 75% of players are either: Sniping, Head Glitching, &/or Corner Camping. The other 25% rush with shotguns, and most of them are Hunters. Here's a few no-brainer tips: 1. At the beginning of the match, unless you're a great sniper, DON'T run to the sniper duels. Really. Don't even peek around the corner out of curiosity. 2. DON'T stand around in sniper lanes. Unless you're a great sniper with your scopes up. If you're not a good sniper, IB is not the place to practice. Keep in mind the sniper lanes may be behind you or to your side. Know your surroundings. 3. Pick your gun fights and know when to back out of one. If your shield is down, don't go gung-ho against full health guardians. If you're getting spanked in a gun fight, get out. 4. Use your team. Stick by them. If you're by yourself and getting surrounded or losing a gun fight, evade and run towards them. They will help you. 5. Know your opponents and the skill level in which you've been matched. The higher the skill level of Matchmaking, the more conservative you'll need to play. These tips should help you to suck less. If you know these tips, but still continue not to follow them, well those deaths are on you. That's all I've got for now. The one good thing about Clash is that the matches are shorter so raking up should be a little quicker. -------------------------------------------- Edit 1: Just hit Rank 5 with all 3 characters. To follow up, I've amended some of my observations. Seems the meta has shifted slightly since Wednesday and other things have been made more apparent. Edit 2: Rearranged the order of my observations. I think the fact that SBMM is still implemented is the biggest thing I can tell you guys.