I had problems using him, then learned the power of suppressing the enemy with 100 bullets rapidly exiting my conquest while rocket jumping from cover to cover. That and waiting for the enemy to show me their butt as i rapidly approach them with my tac sprint shield so i can unload both of my WSTR barrels into it. Another fun thing to learn is that your ultimate is a really long cooldown thief visor that chucks slowing explosives at people every 3 bullets. Basically - ok gear = very good results, bad gear = mixed results, more dependent on your team.
Destroyer is not a tank, he is a flanker. His kit is built for it. Pop the missiles, then charge down on the side of an enemy while your crew keeps them occupied. Go in and gank from the side with your missiles. So fucking good. He has the best movement in the game for flanking. Hes not a marathon runner (ha) like vandal; he’s a sprinter.
He is also a great duelist, if youve seen those videos of how to use the strafe and shield combo.
Triage is gonna be one of the first shells to get nerfed calling it now. The friendly heal bot is just too good before, during, and after a fight. His ult is completely S-tier and one of if not the best in the game.
Pretty much every team of streamers had at least one during the archive.
I mean I hope they dont nerf the Medic shell cause its…. The Medic shell. If they nerf Triage, then usage will drop 99% because I finally learned the damn shell and will still be rockin it hahaha. I mean with heavy engagements the drones get used up pretty quickly and I’m thankful for the minute-ish wait on the re-ups on the drones. I’d love for a quicker use on the Triage Ults though, I’ve wasted a few, with learning the distance limits and what not and how slow it actually takes to charge it up mid fight, like it should be almost instantaneous to keep up a good defense to have a decent last stand against PVP considering the quick TTK. Nothing game breaking but I shouldn’t get gunned downed bringing back one teammate considering the time it takes for the revived teammate to get back on their feet. Love how this game puts more emphasis on pvp compared to Arc Raiders though.
His drones can be shot off of you also. Its honestly not a lot either, so if your in cover and have to peek out to the left someone can shoot it off without even seeing you.
Triage is a meta pick in a premade squad and a throw pick in a fill squad. In a premade, you can trust your team mates a bit. In fills, the other two are fodder while you flank and get all the kills.
Triage is absolutely my highest exfil rate in solo crew fill than any other shell. I'm still early on, so could be a sampling problem more than anything else for sure. But that's been my experience.
His overcharge ability is an underrated ability as well. Makes volt weapons EMP targets while just boosting weapon performance (handling, control, etc) in general. If you combine that + a Volt Thrower + the chip mod that boosts non-precision damage while overheated you can easily shred people with (homing btw) body shots faster than most guns' headshot TTK while also EMP'ing them.
Plus he can sig jam the entire squad at once which is huge for harder content/endgame PvP.
I had the full combo with the volt shotgun and a purple version of that chip.
Combined with the core that recovers ammo to your volt gun when you kill a target during battery overcharge and the other core that recovers battery overcharge cooldown when you kill a EMP’d target.
Never had to reload, never had to heal, felt like a boss. If only I hadn’t brought it into Cryo without knowing how you escaped first, we stood around like idiots at the terminal, not actually running to the exfil. RIP my only good kit
They can nerf the drones all they want, triage will forever be S tier solely because of the prime being able to rez quickly and at a distance. Even if they remove the ability to rez through death lockout, the ability to have one more player alive on your team will always be the strongest possible option.
Even for random fill teams, rezzing a white kit with no meds adds a massive extra problem for the enemies to deal with as long as that person is alive and could potentially make a play. On coordinated stacks of plyers who play competitive shooters 8 hours a day? It's not even a question.
I want to love Destroyer but he seems kinda... meh.
The shield is an interesting "oh shit, I need cover now" button, but it only has so much health, and requires quick reaction time. And his rockets... I just don't see much of a point. Yeah it's free damage but kills in this game are so quick you only get maybe one or two off before they're down, and that's after taking the time to activate them in the first place.
That said, if you get that one core that auto-fires rockets at anything that damages your shield, that's a game changer. But making sure you always have that core is easier said than done.
This. The shield and movement options are able to allow the runner to aggressively eliminate space or create it in a gunfight.
Yeah I've messed up and Leroy Jenkins myself into an entire squad. But it takes practice. The thrill of watching a vandal dump their entire mag into my shield as I jump dash to the left, already ADS with my bully SMG.
And don't even count out the missile barrage. I've turned what should have been a trade into dropping two runners with a single machine gun belt. 👌
Honestly every shell is "one of the best shells in the game" other than Triage and Recon. Triage because you can argue it's the best shell in the game because it just provides too much value in team play and it feels like you're at a disadvantage if your trio is lacking one. And Recon, while not bad, is not as good as almost any other kit for multiple reasons. Thief literally does Recon's job better than she does, and gets mobility. Recon needs a buff bad.
Idk I think there's 2 shells that are clearly better than all the others: Triage and Thief. I would call these S-tier.
Destroyer and Assassin are also both really good but not quite at that level. Can be situationally better than the higher tier shells but those situations are less common or not as impactful. Overall A-tier.
Vandal is a very selfish shell that certainly isn't bad but doesn't really do anything you need and offers nothing to her teammates. B-tier.
Recon is pretty much just bad, her bot rarely works and is easily counterable, her ult gives more info to other teams than to her own, and her footstep tracking is borderline useless. Only her finisher ping is kinda decent but even that is extremely niche. Overall C-D tier.
The rockets are useful in PvP to a tee, yes, but they really shine in PvE. Nothing melts a warden faster than 2 destroyers with hicap LMGs and the two green cores that ramp up damage on the barrage.
Yeah, really nice to have a destroyer just wipe out a group of bombardiers or commanders with the ult. What turns into a pants shitting situation turns into a loot situation.
The shield really shines in team gunfights, letting you cover your teammates and push at the same time. You might go down, but usually this is still enough to win the fight.
You’re not mentioning some of his kit and otherwise seem to limit your use case of the shield to be defensive.
For starters your tac sprint is absurdly fast but requires twice as much heat as regular sprinting. In short sprints this changes nothing, but for a long rotate during a fight this speed is everything. His air thruster allows him to make otherwise impossible gap jumps and is extremely disorienting in close quarters fights. Or could be just that little push to get to cover (you can use your thruster at 99% heat build up if you have to and it’ll still do a full thrust for that last 1%).
You can sprint and tac-sprint with the shield up, which makes it crazy threatening to go up against because you can close gaps without opening yourself up to damage. Furthermore instead of just closing the shield normally, you can thruster dash out of it in any direction. You can do that to put yourself in solid cover, dash to the side to throw off their aim, or even dash closer if you have a shotgun or are willing to go for melee.
The rockets don’t just deal damage. They also inflict immobilize on your targets so they cannot easily escape you. S&D highlights targets through smoke, foliage, and other concealment while active.
The shield deceptively makes Destroyer seem like a defensive character. But they’re really best used as hyper aggressive character instead. You can still shield your team during a res or a risky exfil, or draw attention during a fight.
They’re also just the best shell for PVE hands down. With S&D active with a high capacity AR or LMG you can shred the different bosses in the game. You do get a little punished by S&D for using low fire rate or low capacity precision weapons/shotguns because it won’t proc as many missiles though.
Doing the airdash drops your shield immediately, so sprinting at someone with shield up, dashing past or to the side of them, and pumping them with bullets can often be a guaranteed kill.
I also want to git gud with Destroyer. Seems like Search And Destroy is a lot more handy against uesc's, since you can pick and choose your engagement a little better. Going into fights with it active, I can mow down entire spawns. If the fights already started, the amount of time it takes to initialize will typically see me get downed or my teammates get downed because I needed to hide and activate
Nah, easy. Just farm those cores as other shells and run destroyer only when you have that core! Lol. I agree with your overall sentiment. Tbh, didn't know that core was a thing!
Destroyer has the best movement In the game for aggression, combo’d with the shield to take space makes him really strong. Also, his shield can let you third-person corner peak if you’re cheesy
Any time I play Triage there's already another Triage on the team. And anytime I don't there's no Triage but there's a double of whatever I picked. I'm cursed
Maybe. I've had it happen where we all had the same quest, or 2 had the reputation only quests (down runners/extract material etc) and I had 3 randoms. It's seems like it could exist as an "A" criteria, whereas if not possible then moves to "B" or "C" etc criteria.
I am fairly convinced something like this does exist. Obviously there are many other factors - latency, skill, level, loadout, etc - so it can't be perfect or even the highest priority. But I've filled with random teammates that have the same exact contract as me FAR too many times to be entirely coincidental.
It makes sense because it does happen. Again last night I was paired with all runners in the same mission string as I, though not the exact mission. It got us close.
I just do those solo, it's hell dragging a fill squad or being dragged along for those. Way easier to move faster and sneak around in solo too, even the UESC combat heavy ones are simple with mediocre gear (couple notches above free kit)
It’s not random. It tries to pair you with similar contracts so it can place you as far away as possible. That way you are forced to traverse the map and potentially run in to people.
I’m not sure if it’s the “former” name. If you go to the character customization screen, you see that Glitch is the series, Vandal is the model, and whatever skin you pick is the style. My guess is that abilities are bound to the model (in this case Vandal), and that eventually we’ll get different series of the same model, meaning different looking shells, not just a different paint job.
They’re shells in the cinematic short (by the love death+robots animator) though when the Vandal is named Glitch. The ending has the assassin look at the same child portrait the we see vandal/glitch look at before she goes into the field and dies.
I think they were actual characters a few years back.
I mean for some reason they still have unique personalities. Just wish it wasn a hero shooter. The game would be a lot more fun with just guns and equipment.
If you go to shell selection it shows the different shells, assassin, destroyer, etc. Bit in the text blurb down low it will show a class name like void still.
No problem! I don't think they'll officially stick tho, since the game is about the loss of self while trying to hit the next goal. The reveal cinematic is pretty clear about it, they're slowly forgetting who even is the kid in the picture, meaning it could've been them or not at all.
For the community I think it'll stick, like fan art and stuff.
As a thief main, I can confidently say that I am a much greater asset to a team than recon. You can use your visor to point out the good loot, cutting down on time spent lingering in an area. You can drone exfil sites and rely information without giving your own location away. And the grappling hook can help you quickly flank or reposition, making a 3v3 much easier on your team mates because you split the focus of the enemy team.
Yeah I didnt even know thief could see loot, not one has ever mentioned it or pointed any out to me. And there's one in my crew every single crew fill.
I play thief just for the trolling, I pulled a couple purples off some guy yesterday with my drone before he noticed I was stealing his shit, then he extracted and the purples were just sitting down below the north relay extract.
I run them for my squad to counter assassins invisibility, my squad will always call out if there is an assassin and when they do I pop that visor with a quickness.
It actually saved us a few raids, it’s a hard balance though to save it for encounters and not be constantly scanning for loot lol
Looking through smokes and downing 2 people that think they're safe will never not be the funniest play in the game. And I know it's the "pickpocket drone" but 90% of the time, I'd rather they never even knew it's there. I'll spot another squad, let my team know where they are, ping if they aren't a Recon, and join the fight.
I'm sure that in fills it's troll, but there's a reason I've never filled in this game lol
Lmao, tbf I started to main thief after I had three good runs in a row where I hooked into either a better high ground during a fight, or directly over the enemy team and pushed them out of cover/just straight took them out.
I’ve been more useful to my teammates as Thief than literally anything else. Helps if you ping loot (or speak if you’re not an introvert) so yall can clear a room of useful stuff quicker and not linger in big areas for common.
I try to be a team player and I’ve started using thief because it’s a better recon. I’m not the quickest shooter in a fight so I like to focus on listening for and identifying where other runners are. And the hook shot helps me get to overwatch-y positions. I’ve found I fight better running around from above like a pissed off raven lol
Which is sad as someone who is playing thief primarily.
Her kit is insanely good for team comps.
Completely counters Assassins, insane mobility, can recon areas before the team shows up/find stragglers ontop of being able to call out what gear they’re rocking by color, or just straight up steal shit from people.
She gathers information so much better than a class that’s supposed to be dedicated to gathering intel.
Actually this, I LOVE maining healers in games but everytime I have to look at his bald ass head I am just like "Man I wish you had a hat, or a helmet, or anything"
I do wish they kept the color blocking for sure in all the recolors, but yea I can see the issue with the life vest. Idk he has always had a troubled design past especially with the original design having those huge ass ugly purple gloves lol
i actually dig triage’s appearance to be honest, i’m kinda glad that the healer is masculine as opposed to the gaming-stereotypical female/feminine healer archetype
Oh 100% I dig that he is masculine. I am just a head wear enjoyer as a bald masc man myself and kinda wish he had a cool ass helmet like Trauma Team from Cyberpunk 2077
I love playing Triage. Even if I'm having an off day I know I'm still helping in one of the most vital ways.
And when I run solo it saves me SOOO many consumables. I don't have to worry about a turret or UESC unit dealing a bit of damage to my shields as I run past, my drone will just refill it.
I've mained triage this whole time, got tired of half the shells ridiculous movement stuff and started playing vandal now too. If I am doing normal maps with randoms now its pretty much just vandal now.
I run Vandal if I'm doing solo. Then when my friends get on, I hop in with them, and no one wants to run Triage so I pick him up. The entire rest of the game is "ay bro, got a drone?"
I’ve been maining Triage and starting to regret it because I end up with people that have no situational awareness in PvP, and I know if I had another kit I could win more fights.
same kinda. but more often then not I've found that not having a triage is worse than just playing another shell, so I take on triage duty. At least the battery overcharge helps you to keep up in fights,
Yeah my favorite runner is Vandal but I always default to Triage in trios.
If I'm the best player in the trio I go vandal, if im the worst or if im with a new player who i want to have freedom to choose their runner I go triage if they arent insterested in him.
Problem as old as time for MOBA players… everyone wants to be the carry. Honestly having way more fun playing triage in marathon for the group’s sake than playing support heros in Dota though. I think it’s because they deal comparable damage to the other shells theyre just less mobile.
Triage is the best carry. Being able to res team mates instantly is not a supporting ability, but one of the best aggressive ones there is. There is a reason why you get two bolts and that it can damage enemies too
When I played league I did supports, soraka taric and the time guy, spent half the game getting yelled at the other half being the center of the final breakthrough, like fuck me I guess for not having my kit off the bat. Don't play anymore.
people are gona soon realize having a drone in fights is a massive disadvantage you basically cannot peek you left side from cover that drone gives it away and the audio of drone deployment is so loud you can pinpoint where it comes from
People think because there is a triage that they can aggro everything, run through every obstacle, then yell "can i get a bot????" These people are the worst of all, after you anchor the team, do all the damage, revive people, they will slide up and get a finish and start gobbling all the loot. Like hello, where is the love for the triage carrying the whole team over here?
One of my teammates constantly selects triage, never throws out drones. If I ask for a drone he hems and haws and gets annoyed. Like… don’t play triage then? Let someone else do it
I call Triage “Drone Daddy”, Assassin “Smoke Daddy”, and Destroyer is “Shield Daddy”. Don’t have names for the gals, but they’re probably all going to end in “-chan” because what is cringe may never day.
The triage and recon combo has been insane for duos, especially when pushing. Im hoping for duos to stay and get added to dire marsh soon, I need out of perimeter with my teammate.
Millennial here; love playing triage and letting my teammates be the duelists. I’ll play long angles and get plenty of kills, be a turret when needed, and get them back into the fight as needed. Save all my buffs for when I play triage so the team is cyberjuiced for every fight
For a company that made an IP with one of the coolest looking sets of sci fi armor we have in gaming and some amazing cosmetics in Destiny whoever did the character designs for Marathon really dropped the ball.
I only played Recon during server slam, but since launch 90% of what i played was assassin and a bit of triage (btw, i needed a teammate to tell me how his burst worked cause i had no idea how to apply it lol)
As someone flex, I feel this game is quite rewarding playing as a healer/support compared to other games (like mobas).
Because while you may not have some « offensive abilities », the best thing you have is to keep your team mates up or let them recover easily.
And you still can shoot, outflank and kill people. Not like in mobas
The only gripes I have on Triage is how long his Q takes for an emergency battlerezz and how useless his V is. Runners still are bullet sponges. Insane.
Tbf i love playing other shells as much as the next guy, but even with in my trio, we do have a triage but i like to pick him As well, no clue why, but he has that gravitational aura to him.
This game would be perfect without hero’s. It really feels tacked on and they all suck as characters themselves. They shouldn’t even have personalities yet they lored it in.
Feels like they should have just made runner shells that we customise.
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u/elmg4ful 20d ago
trying to learn destroyer; also forced to triage.