Well for starters I don't like Obsidian Mind in PvP because if you're playing aggressively (Axion Bolt), you'll be using your Nova Bomb often and not always saving it for that 3+ kill. The Ram even though you don't melee a lot, still gives you a nice armor buff. There are better options than both of these for PvP, imo. Are those your only 2 exotic choices? Also, are you actually able to reliably hit with your Nova Bomb while using Lance?

Thanks for the reply! For a while I was using SHATTER with ANGRY MAGIC. It was nice for that 3 kill. My thinking was if I switch to ANNIHILATE then maybe I'll still get close to the area of SHATTER, but my grenades get a bump too. But, you're right that I haven't had as many 3's. I feel like Nova Bomb is such an instant kill I want to use it fairly quickly (hopefully Double Down) and start working on the next one (thus Obsidian Mind). Lifetime in Crucible I get about 11% of kills with Super, which is probably 95% Nova Bomb. Think that should be higher? What're your dream exotics in PvP?

I am a Voidfang guy for PvP. I feel it provides the best consistent benefit that is usable for most of the match. Annihilate gives your Axion a really wide detection blast radius, and Voidfang gives you the extra seeker. For that reason I use Bloom and get quite a few extra kills. It also lets me stack Int/Str since I'm guaranteed a new grenade each spawn anyway, therefore no need for high Disc. This plays right into my choice of Soul Rip as well since I'm basically creating a Super feedback loop. More Str = more Soul Rip, paired with high Int = fast Super, and constant new grenades from Voidfang + Super Energy on Grenade kill (helmet perk) = even faster Super. Also agreed that Vortex with Annihilate gives you close to the equivalent area of Shatter, and imo, less chance of an awkward miss. Using your Nova Bomb for quick double kills and shutting down other Supers is far more valuable than always holding out for that 3+ multi kill. Don't worry, those happen sometimes too!

Looking specifically at column 3, do you know if VORTEX has the same initial attack value on impact as the other two options, SHATTER and LANCE? LANCE gets there[b] faster[/b] so you can't get out of the way, and SHATTER covers[b] more area[/b] (guessing doing less damage). Obviously VORTEX is a good choice for a choke point as it does [b]damage over time[/b]. Which would you use for Rumble or match making Crucible?

If you hit with all 3 pieces of Shatter at close range so they all hit 1 target, that is the most possible damage other than if something got hit with a Vortex and didn't move out AND it was spec'd for Vortex Mastery. In PvP though any bit of the initial (and huge) blast radius of Vortex is OHK. I'm not necessarily going for damage over time with it, although Vortex Mastery over Bloom is always a reasonable choice. Lance would be great but I often find myself overshooting targets. The slight arc on the Vortex is actually part of what makes it so strong I think.

How much Defense would you give up for +2 Armor? My Obsidian Mind is 290 and my Ram is 280. What Defense differential do you think would make those about equal?