With Thorn's new buff many people who never used hand cannons or even Thorn pre patch don't know how to use it. I've racked up about 7500 kills with Thorn, checked via Destiny Tracker, and I would like to share my tips with you because Thorn is only as good as the person wielding it. And there is definitely someone with more kills with Thorn, I'm not saying I'm better then you. Just here to offer some tips.
[b]PvP[/b]
-When you unlock it's DoT, use it as indicator to see people around corners. For instance, if you land a shot on someone look for the damage ticking away at them to briefly gain an idea where they are.
-Help damage enemies with its DoT. The gun will do 81 headshot, 56 body plus 7 damage for roughly 3-4 seconds. That's basically half of you health. Don't be afraid to shoot people off in the distance or who are running someplace else. You could save your teammates' lives.
-if your not good with hand cannons, play defensively and utilize tip 2.
-strafe and shoot with the gun. If your in a CQC engagement, strafe as best as you can, the burning from Thorn's will hinder the enemies view and strafing will make you harder to hit
-thorn is not the best in CQC or range. At range you will still get outgunned by a Suros or a sniper for instance, if the person using is it is skilled. CQC you will still loose to say The Last Word. But remember, if you can do enough damage before you die, you'll earn that post mortem medal.
[b]PvE[/b]
-treat it like you would any hand cannon. And apply some of the previous tips, not all of them, and you'll come to master Thorn.
If you have any more questions or want more tips feel free to ask. If you have a question about Hand Cannons in general ask away. I have every Legendary Hand Cannon maxed besides New Monarchy's.
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Haven't had a chance to try post-patch, but does it still have armor penetration? If it does, use it against Phalanx shields to place the dot on them.