1. Intro 2. Orbs of Light (video) 3. Heavy Ammo 4. Control 5. Enemy Overshields 6. Level Bonuses For the most part, Destiny is pretty self-explanatory. Your ghost usually explains everything. However, I think there are certain things...certain tactics that should be suggested to new players early on. Here are a few that I came up with that I think will help those who are new to Destiny. Orbs of Light: I really think it would improve the fireteam experience if new players were briefed on exactly how Orbs of Light work. -What are they? -What do they do? -How many different ways can I make orbs? -When is the best time to create orbs? -How many orbs will enemies drop? At first glance, Orbs of Light don't matter. However, when used correctly, they can completely turn the tide in a mission or crucible match. With good cooperation, your fireteam can do this: http://youtu.be/AZqjIPS98U0 Most of the people I play with seem to be afraid to use their super. Whether it's a strike, or a control match, nobody wants to "waste" their super by using it too early. So they save it. THIS IS WRONG. You should be using your super as soon as you get it. Not only does this restart your super timer so you can get more supers in per mission/match, but it also let's your teammates get THEIR supers faster from the orbs you make. In turn, they activate their supers, creating orbs for you to pick up and get your super AGAIN, and thus, a cycle is created, as seen in the video. This is the way fireteams are meant to interact--always communicating, and most of all, SUPPORTING EACH OTHER. Unless you're soloing Crota or playing rumble, you should always be playing in a way that helps your comrades. Because in the end, helping them is really helping yourself. Moving on to the next topic.... Heavy Ammo: This is probably one of the more frustrating aspects of PVP. I can't count how many times I've heard the announcer say "heavy ammo inbound" and I'm standing at the heavy spawn and NONE of my teammates are running towards me. I think the problem is that Destiny never actually explains how heavy ammo works in the Crucible. -When does heavy spawn? -Where does it spawn on each map? -How many times per match does it spawn? -Do I get more points for heavy kills? -What happens if I take the heavy before my teammates arrive to the box? These are all very important questions that can be the difference between glorious victory and disappointment. I play enough pvp to know that: -Heavy spawns at a designated time in each game mode. -There are two heavy spawns on each map (some have 3). -Heavy is NOT shared. If you pick it up before the rest of your team reaches the box, NOBODY ELSE BESIDES YOU GETS HEAVY AMMO. Some of you are mad right now. Some of you are mad because you've gotten screwed so many times because some new guy took the heavy all for himself (and then immediately died). The rest of you are mad because you're usually that team player who tries to wait for your teammates to get there, but they literally run past you, ignoring the free rockets. I think this happens so often because many players don't realize the importance of heavy weapons in the crucible. Specifically, heavy weapon kills. If you didn't already know, heavy kills actually award you more points than primary or special weapon kills. They also increase your likelihood of getting a streak, which also increases your points overall and charges your super faster. Basically, controlling the heavy is a must if you want to win. Speaking of control... Control: The only consistent issue I ever see here is my teammates NOT capturing flags. Or capturing the wrong flag at the wrong time. Here are some control facts new players probably don't know: -Rule #1 in control: It's lopsided as f-ck. Each map has a "good" side and a "bad" side. Learn the sides. If you spawn on the bad one, ignore it and TEAM RUSH B. -Capturing flags charges your super and awards your team points. -Your team receives more points per kills for each flag that you control. -Flags are captured faster when more players are standing on them.*** -Rushing into the enemy spawn to capture their flag will result in a spawn flip. (This is usually a horrible strategy, especially if your team already controls 2 out of 3 flags. New players will often attempt to "triple cap" the enemy. Do not do this unless you have great communication with your ENTIRE fireteam.) Still there? Don't worry, I'm almost done. The last two are for the PVE crowd. Enemy Elemental Overshields (resist!): This one is why you all hate nightfalls. Those f-cking SOLAR shielded Shanks that appear out of nowhere on an ARC burn nightfall, am I right? All jokes aside, this is a perfect example of when knowledge really is power. Yet again, it is never actually explained in the game. If you examine a weapon, it will say "This weapon deals x damage." It will either be kinetic, or elemental damage. The 3 elements of damage are: -Solar -Arc -Void But why does this matter? It matters for a few reasons: -Nightfall burns: A modifier that DRASTICALLY increases the damage of 1 or more damage types. -Enemies will "resist" damage until their shields are depleted. -The color of the shield determines which element it is weakest to. -After a few seconds, the shield will regenerate. This is knowledge that will save everyone a lot of headaches in the end. It also means that guy using a void rocket launcher with 1 rocket in the tube is getting his ass kicked after the strike is over. And last but not least... Level Bonuses: -Short & Sweet: You do more damage to enemies when you are a higher level than them. They completely rek you when they are a higher level than you are. So, for example, if a 29 hunter asks if he or she can help with Crota's End, the answer should always be NO. Why? For the reasons listed above, they'd mostly just be liabilities getting in everyone's way. The point is, do missions that are recommended for your level. It doesn't matter if you have an icebreaker. Or a vex, or a Gjallarhorn. If your level is too low, you need to wait. This is another aspect of the game that is never truly explained, yet makes an enormous difference in pve & pvp if you count iron banner. Hopefully you all find these suggestions helpful. Please feel free to offer constructive criticism and feedback in the comments. Thanks for reading!