Community Focus - Critbuff

I’m Critbuff and I currently call Hawaii home, but that will change soon as my family and I close shop here and move back to the mainland for my next, and final, military assignment. I moved a lot for the U.S. Army over the last nineteen years, but if I had to call any specific city or place my “home,” it would be St. Louis, Missouri.  

I got into gaming when I was very young with the Nintendo Entertainment System back in the mid 1980’s. I was inspired to become a content creator after I started using YouTube as a tool to learn more about Destiny. I watched guides and weapon reviews from other creators and thought I could provide a unique perspective of my own to help other players make decisions about what they might want to use in the Crucible. 

I discovered Destiny while my wife and I were visiting her friend. The friend’s husband was running around in the Crucible on an Arc Blade Hunter. The gameplay immediately caught my attention, but more than anything it was the way the world looked. The characters, the Crucible arenas, seeing the Vault of Glass for the first time, and the user interface all caught my attention. 

I didn’t start playing the game until shortly after The Taken King’s release. I started as a Warlock when I saw how amazing Nova Bomb was (and still is). While I started with the vanilla Destiny for XBOX, I quickly upgraded to The Taken King expansion after just a few weeks of playing the game. 

A little bit of everything, but I suppose I’m best known for my weapons reviews. Rather than rushing to get a video out on everything new, I take the time to get 1,000 kills in the Crucible before I release an official “review.” People always ask me why I wait to get that many kills before I make the video, but the truth is it takes time to learn all the ins and outs of a weapon. 

I also do first impressions videos of the first 100 kills, and I’ll make the occasional PvE build video too. 

I’m a proud Warlock main! There’s no going back after you say “yes,” to the dress. I know it’s not the new hotness anymore, but I still love playing Shadebinder in the Crucible and PvE. The Osmiomancy Gloves and Coldsnap grenades are perfect for punishing overly aggressive players and yellow bar enemies alike. 

My YouTube channel is about gaming as a parent with a full-time job. I spend more than 40 hours a week at my job as a senior public affairs non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Army. I create content I hope is helpful and relatable for other Guardians who also have families to look after and work to get done. 

A know a lot of players who don’t like using the meta. My videos are there to help them find out about that new Auto Rifle that might not have the best time-to-kill, but it’s got character and it’s fun to use. At the end of the day, it’s about finding out what works for you, and that’s not always the meta. 

I’m very excited to see what this Season’s story has in store for us! It’s all spooky and it’s touching to see the main cast of characters confronting their Nightmares. I deployed to Iraq multiple times in the early 2000’s and Afghanistan, too. I know what it can be like to live with some of the things Zavala has undoubtedly endured and seeing him achieve closure this Season (hopefully) is therapeutic for me, too. 

I’m on YouTube and Twitter. I post as many videos as I can, but due to work and the nature of my content, regular scheduling doesn’t always work out. 

This one’s for Hippy (aka Liana): 

A lot of people assume pirates prefer to be in the Navy. But they actually prefer the Arrrrrrrrmy.