Things to know if you're new.

This is just a post to help those who didn't participate in the Alpha but are participating in the Beta. Feel free to fill in the gaps. [u]Equipment:[/u] There are 3 weapon types: Primary, Special, and Heavy. [u]Primary:[/u] Assault rifle - typical full auto rifle Hand Cannon - Revolver. Works best with headshot Pulse Rifle - 3 shot burst rifle. Scout Rifle - Semi-automatic Rifle [u]Special:[/u] Sniper rifle - well, it's your every day sniper rifle Shotgun - well, it's your every day shotgun Fusion Rifle - seems to be an energy based weapon. Charge up to shoot 4 quick rounds. [u]Heavy:[/u] Rocket Launcher Heavy Machine Gun Weapons CAN be upgraded. More upgrade options seem to be available depending on the rarity of the weapon. Same applies to Armour. Armour and weapons can be either purchased from the various vendors in The Tower, decrypted from engrams, acquired from treasure chests or picked up as drops from enemies. These drops can be the weapon itself or an engram. The are shaped like a hexagonal die, I believe. The colour of the drop also reveals the rarity of the drop. Rarity works as follows: White - Common Green - Uncommon Blue - Rare Purple - Legendary Gold - Exotic Ammunition randomly drops from enemies. White, Green, and Purple ammo caches are for Primary, Special, and Heavy weapons respectively. Special and Heavy weapons can have elemental properties. These include: Solar(?) (Fire based) Arc (Lightning based) Void Enemies with shields seem to have elemental weaknesses. If shield is blue (Fallen Captain), they are weak against Lightning. If shield is red (Hive Wizard), they are weak against Fire. Void shield (purple) has not yet been seen. Armour pieces are split into 5 categories, one being the class specific armour piece. The pieces include: - Head/Helmet - Chest Piece - Gauntlet/Glove/Arm - Leggings - Class Specific *For the next section, its helpful to note that Subclasses behave like equipment. Meaning, you can switch in between different subclasses as you seem fit. You are NOT stuck with one subclass throughout the game. [u]Classes and Subclasses:[/u] [u]Titan:[/u] Have the most HP and higher defence stat. Armour design seems to be influenced by the medieval knight. Class specific item are sashes worn around the hips. Subclasses include: Striker and Defender. Striker: Super is Fist of Havoc. Jumps to an area and slams the ground for high area of effect damage. Defender: Creates a dome-like construct that negates all incoming damage. Big enough to fit an entire fireteam. [u]Hunter:[/u] Medium HP and defence stats. Armour has that scavenger-type look. Class specific item is a hooded cape. Subclasses are: Gunslinger and Bladedancer. Gunslinger: High single target damage. Can often one shot kill enemies. Works in the form of a Hand Cannon, but you don't have to have one equipped to use. Bladedancer: Not much is known, but they specialise in multi-target damage and prioritise on melee (blade) based attacks. [u]Warlock:[/u] The mage-type character. Lowest HP and defense rating. Armour design similar to coats/trench coats. Possibly influenced by WW1 army generals. Class specific item is a band worn around the bicep. Subclasses include: Voidwalker and Firesinger. Voidwalker: releases the Nova Bomb from a distance to deal high area of effect damage. Firesinger: support subclass. Buffs and restores HP of yourself and fireteam. All classes can use all weapons but each have their own specific melee attack. Titans punch, Hunters use a knife, and Warlocks release a short ranged energy blast, sort of like a force push. Enemies with "??" as their level will receive only 1-2 damage from all weapons and can pretty much kill you in a couple of hits. Not undefeatable, but will take 1-3 hours to kill depending on how many people help out. Trust me, we've tried. Quests are available in the form of beacons scattered around the map. Bounties can be accepted in the Tower to improve Crucible and Vanguard rank. Dynamic events will appear after the surroundings suddenly become dark and the screen starts to vibrate. Engrams are pieces of equipment that are required to be decrypted by an NPC in the Tower before you'll be able to use them. They work similarly to unidentified items in some MMORPGs. The Tower is a social hub where you can do all your character maintenance. You seem to be put into random instances to reduce flooding. This means that you probably won't be able to see the same people the next time you come to the Tower after you decide to leave. This apparently also applies when you decide to go on a Patrol. Maximum number of people in a fireteam during patrol is 3. Maximum number of people in a fireteam whilst in the Tower or the Crucible is 6. Grimoire Cards act as scattered notes that reveal more about the World of Destiny and its lore and are viewable in the Bungie site. They can be collected by finding hidden 'Dead Ghosts' scattered throughout the map, or completing certain achievements in-game. There are also scattered Loot Chests that can grant you either armour or Glimmer (currency). [u]BASIC FIRETEAM TACTICS FOR STRIKES AND MISSIONS:[/u] Well, first of all, it'd help if every single member of the fireteam has access to a mic. That way, communication would be more fluid and effective as things do get a little bit crazy when you decide to play in Legend mode. As for the most part, when dealing with enemies that deal a lot of area of effect damage, it'd be wisest to split up into a V formation. This works best with bosses. They generally can only aggro one Guardian at a time so once aggro is off your team and on you, you'll be providing them with time to heal. However, it is also important to note that every time you use your Super ability, you drop Orbs of Light. These Orbs can only be collected by your fireteam and assists in filling up their own Super bar faster. So, it could come in handy to stay together at times too. The most important bit: if 2 members die and you are faced with an extremely dangerous/risky situation and you don't think you'd survive the process of reviving them, wait it out. Camp at a safe area until at least 1 of your KO'd teammates respawn. You will only be pushed back to your last checkpoint if ALL team members get KO'd. If, however, the Darkness consumes you and your fireteam does become incapacitated, the boss will return to full health and you will lose all Special(?) and Heavy Ammo. HOWEVER, the world of Destiny is vast and is filled with many many surprises and mysteries. This only serves as a sort of bread-and-butter way to work as a team against some situations. It may not be effective against every circumstance and you'd be required to think of your own way through a strike/raid. These are the major things that I can remember during my time in the Alpha. I hope this may be of some use to newer players or to those who just didn't know during their playthrough. Feel free to add things of your own or to make adjustments :) Also, if you have any questions please ask.