First and foremost, hello person on the internet reading this! My name is Aura and this guide I've written is intended to help you improve as a PvP player, specifically in regards to learning and understanding map control and why it's so goddamn important. Some of this information might be old news to you, but veteran or newcomer, hopefully this guide will help you in some way, if even only a little. For the most part, I'll be referencing the Control gametype, but the same overall principles apply to the other gametypes in Destiny too. I won't really go over weapon types or tell you what to use either; that's up to you to decide. Like sniping? Keep sniping. Like using blink with a shotgun? Well, that works too. Anyway, just as a brief 'about me' before we begin: - I'd rate myself as pretty much average on my bad days, and quite good on my good days. Nothing incredible, just all-around solid overall in Destiny PvP. My k/d has always sat above 2.1x (as an average) for pretty much the entire time I've played. - 90% of the time I probably play by myself in PvP, the other 10% is usually with 2-4 friends at most. As such I play with randoms almost exclusively and my win rate barely sits above 50% on average. (More often than not, it's you, not me, team. Sorry :/ ) - I don't use a mic, mainly because I couldn't be bothered to plug in my headset adapter all the time. Introductions out of the way, let's begin. I'll condense these sections into spoiler tags for ease of use. There's also a fair amount to cover, so if only one particular section interests you, you can easily access it. I know walls of text are annoying, but I'll try and alleviate it to some degree. [b]1. What exactly is 'Map Control'?[/b] [spoiler]Map Control is more of a blanket term for a lot of little things that all go on at once during gameplay e.g. - What position do you and your teammates all hold on the map, as well as your opponents?, - What zones does your team control?, - What zones doesn't your team control? - Who has heavy ammo? Who doesn't? - What side of the map are you spawning/respawning on? - In any given individual encounter, do you have the advantage or the disadvantage? I.e. Are you the guy hiding behind the wall with a shotgun waiting for an easy kill, or are you the guy who is being baited into getting killed like an idiot? Etc. All these little things often determine who is going to win and who is going to lose. It seems like a simple concept on the surface, but I've seen it neglected countless times. Once you begin to become aware of how all these little things work however, you'll notice when other people clearly aren't aware of it. You might witness a guy hastily run around a corner only to get shotgunned in the face, when he could've pressured with a grenade or super, or you'll find yourself as the only one trying to pressure a side or zone while trying to flip spawns. Sometimes it's an uphill struggle, but if you can pull it off, you get clear results. As a team however, you can quickly and sometimes completely shutdown the opposing team before the game is even halfway over. Good teams have effectively won the game within the first minute. One other very important aspect of map control to remember is to not get too deep into enemy territory. Not because you're taking on potentially numerous people at once, but because there's a very high chance you may just flip spawns, but in the other teams favour. This is just as detrimental as throwing yourself at any given spot and dying over and over again; you might have just crippled your teams position on the map and forced them into a terrible respawn location.[/spoiler] [b]1.a An Example of Map Control[/b] [spoiler]We'll use Blind Watch as our example because it's a very easy to understand map. Blind Watch favours the team controlling B and C. Even though A's side of the map has the high ground, it's only useful outside, whereas both zones B and C are mostly closed off (B considerably more so). Pushing or controlling A serves little to no purpose unless the other team is stumbling around in the dark. Once you control B and C, all you need to do is let them come to you, more often than not by defending B from the lower heavy ammo spawn. Knowing all of this, let's craft a scenario: [i]It's Control on Blind Watch. Your team controls Zone A, the other team controls Zones B and C. The majority of your team is consistently pushing B from either the higher entrance, or the middle entrance, and for the most part, aren't getting anywhere whatsoever and are effectively feeding the other team kills and points.[/i] This is by far one of the most common things I've ever seen on Blind Watch, and it's so ****ing stupid how often people just throw themselves at the other team expecting a different outcome. In this example, if your team as a majority keeps pushing B and can't claim it, you've lost. End of story. Pack up, go home. Now, how do you turn this situation around so that it's in your favour? Since we already know the team controlling B and C has the advantage, your main goal here is to flip spawns. The length of C to the rear special ammo spawn serves as the swappable spawn point for the team controlling B and C on Blind Watch. If you can neutralise C or capture it, and remain in that area long enough for your teammates to spawn there, you've flipped the spawn, and just given your team a much better position to attack from.[/spoiler] [b]2. Heavy Ammo & Supers and how they affect Map Control[/b] [b]2.a Heavy Ammo[/b] [spoiler]Heavy Ammo spawns roughly 3 times per match in Control and as you're no doubt aware can give a team of players a huge advantage. That being said, if you are the kind of player that pre-emptively sits at the heavy ammo spawn and takes it all for yourself immediately before your teammates arrive, YOU, yes, YOU, are the [b]problem[/b]. [i][b]DON'T[/b][/i] pull heavy unless you're providing it for at least 1 other team member at minimum, or are taking it purely to stop the other team from taking it. The more people on your team with heavy ammo, the better. Preferably 4+ players at any given heavy drop. Moving on, once you have heavy ammo, those are the moments when you and your team should be making the push to put pressure on the other team, take their zone/s and regain map control if you lost it. On the opposite side of the spectrum, if you and your team have heavy ammo and have the lead, you need to be ready to defend your zone/s just as much as the other team wants them, or if your team is clearly better than the other team, destroy them thoroughly. A little side note not many people are aware of: heavy ammo that has been dropped in proximity to you actually stays active for quite a while. Consider leaving the heavy ammo for a minute or so, let the other team waste theirs, then claim the heavy ammo that dropped earlier and surprise the other team with your own. It works more often than not, and surprisingly well at that.[/spoiler] [b]2.b Supers[/b] [spoiler]Supers are your big grand moments to look cool and kill guys. Though, wasting your super is an incredibly dumb move. If you're trying to capture a zone and you know a bunch of guys are crowding in it, getting that Fist of Havoc or Nova Bomb kill that results in 3 or more fatalities is much better used compared to wasting it on the lone guy as a backup plan. For individual Supers, and their proper applications when maintaining/taking map control, see the following: [i]Fist of Havoc[/i] - Smashing into a group all around a zone works both ways for maintaining or taking map control. Aftermath is very useful so use it. [i]Ward of Dawn[/i] - When trying to protect a zone/maintain map control, obviously popping your bubble on top of a zone is the way to go, but you want either Armor or Blessing of Light for the increased damage resistance/shield. - When trying to take a zone/take back map control, hang back, pop a bubble where your team can funnel through it, and either give them Blessing or Weapons of Light. [i]Nova Bomb[/i] - Same thing with Fist of Havoc; throw it at a group of guys to protect/take zones. Vortex, and larger explosions/prolonged vortex effects upgrades are both very useful for flushing people out of an area. [i]Radiance[/i] - Grenades obviously come to mind, so if you're proficient with them and have a reasonably quick cooldown, use them. Though fusion grenades have the appeal of a guaranteed kill when you stick someone, solar and firebolt grenades are much better for area denial. - Self-res shouldn't be squandered, so if you're planning on reviving, don't do it when there are 5 guys around you. - Flame shield + reduced damage + longer radiance makes you a tank. You can easily take or defend areas as a Sunsinger. [i]Golden Gun[/i] - It's a guaranteed kill and you're a major threat when you have it active. If you're trying to take back map control, don't stand in one spot and shoot. Shoot and move and push the other team into disadvantageous positions or away from areas they control. - You can pop a Titan's bubble with 2 golden gun shots, and most never expect it to happen. It's very useful for removing a team's safe haven. [i]Arc Blade[/i] - Don't just run up to people or you'll likely die against 3 or more guys. Be smart with it and flank. - It's not useful for defending a zone unless you're in there with several other guys, so don't activate it and then rush at the other team cause you'll likely die.[/spoiler] Continued in the next post: [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/113281454/0/0/1]Map Control and You: Part 2 - The PvP Maps of Destiny and Map Control Examples specific to each one.[/url]