Ran strikes with all 3 characters last week up to max vanguard marks and i didnt get a hopscotch worse yet not one dropped for anybody with all those runs! So coming to believe how rare it must drop! Maybe I will have to tell my son he is grounded unless he carries me in trials to get a Messenger (JK I'm an ass but not that much!)
Ive noticed the the 3 scope randoms making a big difference between the spare changes and Party Crasher ive rerolled.
Ran strikes with all 3 characters last week up to max vanguard marks and i didnt get a hopscotch worse yet not one dropped for anybody with all those runs! So coming to believe how rare it must drop! Maybe I will have to tell my son he is grounded unless he carries me in trials to get a Messenger (JK I'm an ass but not that much!)
Ive noticed the the 3 scope randoms making a big difference between the spare changes and Party Crasher ive rerolled.
Ran strikes with all 3 characters last week up to max vanguard marks and i didnt get a hopscotch worse yet not one dropped for anybody with all those runs! So coming to believe how rare it must drop! Maybe I will have to tell my son he is grounded unless he carries me in trials to get a Messenger (JK I'm an ass but not that much!)
Ive noticed the the 3 scope randoms making a big difference between the spare changes and Party Crasher ive rerolled.
I don't necessarily agree with all of the author's ideas or comments, but there are some nuggets there and it is definitely worth reading. I re-rolled my Hopscotch after studying his info, but came to a different conclusion about what perks to roll for. I stopped when I got:
Red Dot OAS scope sight, Spray & Play, Smallbore, Glass Half Full
It took an anxious 20+ rolls to get this combo. Spray & Play (increase reload speed when mag is empty) and Glass Half Full (increased damage for second half of the magazine) synergize to put more damage on targets (taking crits from 38 to 41), and Smallbore increases range and stability. The rifle has a 27 round mag with those perks, so ammo isn't a problem and I can regularly dip into the bottom half of the mag without a lot of concern.
As it turns out, the scope sight you choose has an effect on aim assist (aka target acquisition), and the perks Rodeo & Counterbalance don't produce the effect we look for in a pulse rifle. I can confirm that Counterbalance is a waste of perk space for a pulse rifle. Not 100% convinced on Rodeo. The author reinforced what I believe, in that "stability" is the most important perk for a pulse rifle. Burn aside, I believe the Hopscotch is the current best pulse rifle in the game, though there are several that work very well.
For example... The Vanguard vendor currently sells an 55A-AllFate pulse rifle that does a good job.
Shooting from small hill and tree just outside C, to B.
For what it's worth, I've been getting easy kills on the enemy at B flag. It's far enough the enemy is so small it's difficult to accurately aim at them. I initially started doing this as an annoyance factor in support of my teammates. I soon noticed the kills were frequent. Visually, I never thought a pulse rifle was effective at such ranges.
Nerf 2.0 hit the Hopscotch hard. The pulse rifle comparison in the following link shows (updated specs) that the Hopscotch's "impact" was downgraded from 14 to 9, but with a slight bump in rate of fire. According to Bungie, the Hopscotch was given specs closer to those found in a medium impact pulse rifle instead of the high impact version it had been. Hard to be positive about it...
On the other hand, the Spare Change's mag round count was increased from 18 to 21 (the way I have mine rolled), which is a good thing. According to the updated specs, I can't see anything that hurt the Spare Change - same impact, same rate of fire, same stability, etc. For the time being, it looks like it'll go back into my primary slot for the crucible.
There appears to be a new pulse rifle that is close to what the Hopscotch used to be... called the "Harrowed Smite of Merain", which drops during the hard mode TTK raid. You can see a comparison of Destiny's best legendary pulse rifles at the following link:
Bought the Iron Banner pulse rifle "Nirwen's Mercy" once reaching level 5. It's basically a repainted post-nerf 2.0 Hopscotch Pilgrim, with a few minor differences. This one is painted green instead of blue... Its aim assistance is 65, where the Hop's is 50. The Nirwen's has a range value of 36, where the Hop has a 42. There are also minor differences in recoil direction and stability.
The result is that the Nirwen's pulse rifle is not quite as stable as the Hop and that the Nirwen's recoil direction produces a sorta up and to the right slant to the 3-round bullet climb. Still, it's the current best pulse rifle I've used for crucible games were level matters. In games where leveling has been disabled, the Spare Change with its 38 high-impact criticals and longer range wins the day, and the post nerf Hopscotch is better than the Nirwen's in the same games because the post nerf Hopscotch has less bullet spread and more range. Iron Banner and Trials of Osiris are where Nirwen's would be a better choice.
The Nirwen's offers a couple of scope sight choices that are worth noting. The top bubble choice (Red Dot-OAS) is best for mid-range maps and the middle choice offers a little more magnification and slightly longer range for maps like Pantheon.
PS: I used a Red Death a fair bit in this Iron Banner. I don't like it, never have, and I don't do well with it. The old 170 Spare Change I have produced more kills for me in this Iron Banner. Leveling matters... the normal 38 criticals for Spare change were reduced to 27s in Iron Banner. Still, I did better with it than I did with the Red Death and its 33 criticals. Patterning both rifles on a wall in the Cosmodrome tells the story.
Nirwen's is the best overall primary I've had post TTK. I've dabbled with a lot of things, and they've all left me mostly at "meh". Nirwen's is just a good, solid pulse rifle, and the best you can get (reasonably).
I also enjoy the Boolean Gemini, except it seems like it can just be a giant assist machine some times.
Nirwen's is the best overall primary I've had post TTK. I've dabbled with a lot of things, and they've all left me mostly at "meh". Nirwen's is just a good, solid pulse rifle, and the best you can get (reasonably).
I also enjoy the Boolean Gemini, except it seems like it can just be a giant assist machine some times.
The Boolean is a good solid scout rifle and it works well for me in PvE. Unfortunately, I'm pretty meh with a scout in the crucible. Pre 2.0, for me, choosing guns for the crucible was settled science. Hopscotch/Spare Change for a primary, Invective or a sniper for a special (depending on map) and Radegast's Fury rocket (w/grenades and horseshoes) were my go-to guns.
This go-round, I used about everything I had at some point trying to find something that stuck... I can feel good about the Nirwen's pulse rifle, a 290+ Invective and a 290+ G&H rocket for leveling enabled crucible. I'll still likely use some of my old stuff for "leveling-disabled" crucible.
Tried out the Nirwen's Mercy yesterday in a crucible match without having unlocked the stability perks yet. It is a beast.
I haven't been a fan of pulse rifles, more of a scout rifle guy, but like the Hopscotch. I'll probably be using the Nirwen a lot in the crucible going forward.
The Nirwen's is really nice, but I decided against it to save my marks. I'd probably only use it as a crucible gun, so I didn't want to waste my marks when I have plenty of good weapons.
My current crucible favorite is the Herja-D pulse. Mine has reactive reload (increased reload after a kill) and crowd control (increased damage after a kill) along with a nice stability perk (don't remember which one), so it's very nice in PvP and PvE.
Overall, pulse rifles seem to rule the roost in Crucible now - with lots of good choices based on your preferences.
My current crucible favorite is the Herja-D pulse. Mine has reactive reload (increased reload after a kill) and crowd control (increased damage after a kill) along with a nice stability perk (don't remember which one), so it's very nice in PvP and PvE.
I like the Lyudmila-D for the Crucible, but you need the right perks. It's got high impact and there's plenty of range to spare to trade for stability (e.g. hand-laid stock perk) I've got one with Rodeo and Army of One.
The Spare Change.25 is still dropping in the crucible. I saw a year 2 version drop for another player this morning at 285. My son has seen just two drop since TTK was released, so they are somewhat rare though. I used my year one version in a couple mayhem and a 3v3 clash games. It produced 38 criticals.
Thanks for the tip Zikan! As it turns out, the Lyudmila-D pulse rifle can be ordered from the gunsmith this week. You can see how it compares to the other pulse rifles by clicking:
In short, it's a 4-shot high impact (38 criticals) legendary pulse rifle with excellent stats (except for a low aim assist). On Wednesday, I'll have 3 versions to choose from. I plan to choose one having the best stability.
Dramatic quote from the gun's description: "The cold sharpshooter's precision of the Häkke Lyudmila-D is a marvel to behold.". :)
Ran strikes with all 3 characters last week up to max vanguard marks and i didnt get a hopscotch worse yet not one dropped for anybody with all those runs! So coming to believe how rare it must drop! Maybe I will have to tell my son he is grounded unless he carries me in trials to get a Messenger (JK I'm an ass but not that much!)
Ive noticed the the 3 scope randoms making a big difference between the spare changes and Party Crasher ive rerolled.
http://i.imgur.com/4CZQWaR.gifv
Dixon
oooh dam thats cold! Hopefully it was just one deleted on loop and not the 21 it seemed deleted to watch!
There's a decent online guide called: Guide to Good Pulse Rifle Rolls
https://www.reddit.com/r/DestinyTheGame/comments/37aert/guide_to_good_pu...
I don't necessarily agree with all of the author's ideas or comments, but there are some nuggets there and it is definitely worth reading. I re-rolled my Hopscotch after studying his info, but came to a different conclusion about what perks to roll for. I stopped when I got:
Red Dot OAS scope sight, Spray & Play, Smallbore, Glass Half Full
It took an anxious 20+ rolls to get this combo. Spray & Play (increase reload speed when mag is empty) and Glass Half Full (increased damage for second half of the magazine) synergize to put more damage on targets (taking crits from 38 to 41), and Smallbore increases range and stability. The rifle has a 27 round mag with those perks, so ammo isn't a problem and I can regularly dip into the bottom half of the mag without a lot of concern.
As it turns out, the scope sight you choose has an effect on aim assist (aka target acquisition), and the perks Rodeo & Counterbalance don't produce the effect we look for in a pulse rifle. I can confirm that Counterbalance is a waste of perk space for a pulse rifle. Not 100% convinced on Rodeo. The author reinforced what I believe, in that "stability" is the most important perk for a pulse rifle. Burn aside, I believe the Hopscotch is the current best pulse rifle in the game, though there are several that work very well.
For example... The Vanguard vendor currently sells an 55A-AllFate pulse rifle that does a good job.
FYI, Red Death effective range.
Venus, Shores of Time.
Shooting from small hill and tree just outside C, to B.
For what it's worth, I've been getting easy kills on the enemy at B flag. It's far enough the enemy is so small it's difficult to accurately aim at them. I initially started doing this as an annoyance factor in support of my teammates. I soon noticed the kills were frequent. Visually, I never thought a pulse rifle was effective at such ranges.
Nerf 2.0 hit the Hopscotch hard. The pulse rifle comparison in the following link shows (updated specs) that the Hopscotch's "impact" was downgraded from 14 to 9, but with a slight bump in rate of fire. According to Bungie, the Hopscotch was given specs closer to those found in a medium impact pulse rifle instead of the high impact version it had been. Hard to be positive about it...
http://db.destinytracker.com/compare/3478790848,2472321204,3478790850
On the other hand, the Spare Change's mag round count was increased from 18 to 21 (the way I have mine rolled), which is a good thing. According to the updated specs, I can't see anything that hurt the Spare Change - same impact, same rate of fire, same stability, etc. For the time being, it looks like it'll go back into my primary slot for the crucible.
There appears to be a new pulse rifle that is close to what the Hopscotch used to be... called the "Harrowed Smite of Merain", which drops during the hard mode TTK raid. You can see a comparison of Destiny's best legendary pulse rifles at the following link:
http://db.destinytracker.com/compare/3478790848,2472321204,3478790850,25...
All you gotta do is hard mode and hope for good RNG!
Bought the Iron Banner pulse rifle "Nirwen's Mercy" once reaching level 5. It's basically a repainted post-nerf 2.0 Hopscotch Pilgrim, with a few minor differences. This one is painted green instead of blue... Its aim assistance is 65, where the Hop's is 50. The Nirwen's has a range value of 36, where the Hop has a 42. There are also minor differences in recoil direction and stability.
See: http://db.destinytracker.com/compare/3478790848,3478790850,3904536202
The result is that the Nirwen's pulse rifle is not quite as stable as the Hop and that the Nirwen's recoil direction produces a sorta up and to the right slant to the 3-round bullet climb. Still, it's the current best pulse rifle I've used for crucible games were level matters. In games where leveling has been disabled, the Spare Change with its 38 high-impact criticals and longer range wins the day, and the post nerf Hopscotch is better than the Nirwen's in the same games because the post nerf Hopscotch has less bullet spread and more range. Iron Banner and Trials of Osiris are where Nirwen's would be a better choice.
The Nirwen's offers a couple of scope sight choices that are worth noting. The top bubble choice (Red Dot-OAS) is best for mid-range maps and the middle choice offers a little more magnification and slightly longer range for maps like Pantheon.
PS: I used a Red Death a fair bit in this Iron Banner. I don't like it, never have, and I don't do well with it. The old 170 Spare Change I have produced more kills for me in this Iron Banner. Leveling matters... the normal 38 criticals for Spare change were reduced to 27s in Iron Banner. Still, I did better with it than I did with the Red Death and its 33 criticals. Patterning both rifles on a wall in the Cosmodrome tells the story.
Nirwen's is the best overall primary I've had post TTK. I've dabbled with a lot of things, and they've all left me mostly at "meh". Nirwen's is just a good, solid pulse rifle, and the best you can get (reasonably).
I also enjoy the Boolean Gemini, except it seems like it can just be a giant assist machine some times.
The Boolean is a good solid scout rifle and it works well for me in PvE. Unfortunately, I'm pretty meh with a scout in the crucible. Pre 2.0, for me, choosing guns for the crucible was settled science. Hopscotch/Spare Change for a primary, Invective or a sniper for a special (depending on map) and Radegast's Fury rocket (w/grenades and horseshoes) were my go-to guns.
This go-round, I used about everything I had at some point trying to find something that stuck... I can feel good about the Nirwen's pulse rifle, a 290+ Invective and a 290+ G&H rocket for leveling enabled crucible. I'll still likely use some of my old stuff for "leveling-disabled" crucible.
Tried out the Nirwen's Mercy yesterday in a crucible match without having unlocked the stability perks yet. It is a beast.
I haven't been a fan of pulse rifles, more of a scout rifle guy, but like the Hopscotch. I'll probably be using the Nirwen a lot in the crucible going forward.
The Nirwen's is really nice, but I decided against it to save my marks. I'd probably only use it as a crucible gun, so I didn't want to waste my marks when I have plenty of good weapons.
My current crucible favorite is the Herja-D pulse. Mine has reactive reload (increased reload after a kill) and crowd control (increased damage after a kill) along with a nice stability perk (don't remember which one), so it's very nice in PvP and PvE.
Overall, pulse rifles seem to rule the roost in Crucible now - with lots of good choices based on your preferences.
I like the Lyudmila-D for the Crucible, but you need the right perks. It's got high impact and there's plenty of range to spare to trade for stability (e.g. hand-laid stock perk) I've got one with Rodeo and Army of One.
The Spare Change.25 is still dropping in the crucible. I saw a year 2 version drop for another player this morning at 285. My son has seen just two drop since TTK was released, so they are somewhat rare though. I used my year one version in a couple mayhem and a 3v3 clash games. It produced 38 criticals.
Thanks for the tip Zikan! As it turns out, the Lyudmila-D pulse rifle can be ordered from the gunsmith this week. You can see how it compares to the other pulse rifles by clicking:
http://db.destinytracker.com/compare/3478790848,2472321204,3478790850,27...
In short, it's a 4-shot high impact (38 criticals) legendary pulse rifle with excellent stats (except for a low aim assist). On Wednesday, I'll have 3 versions to choose from. I plan to choose one having the best stability.
Dramatic quote from the gun's description: "The cold sharpshooter's precision of the Häkke Lyudmila-D is a marvel to behold.". :)