As part of our new Destiny PvP Spotlights, we sit down with various players and streamers that focus on the PvP side of Destiny. Today, we meet with Wendler34.
JBeck: Introduce yourself.
Wendler34: My name is Ashton. Just graduated last fall with a BS in Economics. Mainly play on two platforms being PS4 and PC. PS4 my tag is A_Wendler34 , and PC my Bnet is just Wendler. Twitter handle is @Wendler34 and i Stream on twitch, will be getting into a more set schedule soon, but that's at twitch.tv/wendler
JBeck: When did you start playing video games?
Wendler34: Starting playing when i was, idk about 5-6 years old. My dad had a Sega Genesis, but on one of my birthdays i got a Nintendo 64 with Smash, Pokemon Stadium, Starfox.
JBeck: What was the first game you began to take seriously?
Wendler34: CoD: MW2. Got into a larger Clan from people I met during those days. Some I still talk to, to this day. I did GB’s when I could, but it was hard given school and sport commitments.
JBeck: What drew you into Destiny as a series?
Wendler34: Mainly Bungie. I never could own an xbox as a kid due to the subscription service for online, so i never fully got to enjoy Halo as much as I wanted to. I played at my friends but a majority of my time back then was to CoD or Battlefield. So I saw this as an opportunity to finally enjoy a bungie game and dive into its loot system, pvp, etc.
JBeck: What was your main (class/race/etc)?
Wendler34: D1 was weird, I took over a new character each year. Y1 was mostly titan, Y2 I took over Hunter, and Y3 I started mixing in more warlock. I would say at this point in D2 though, i am a hunter main. Also, Exos are Besto
JBeck: Which game mode feels the most comfortable to you? Why?
Wendler34: In D2 its Clash, Its just natural to slay out when you play with people who's playstyles you recognize. In any game mode to this point i would say its a tie between Demolition from CoD and King of the Hill in Halo. Mostly due to the same reasons.
JBeck: What stands out to you about the series versus other games?
Wendler34: PvE elements along with class trees/weapons avail to use. Taking MMO like elements, into a FPS was pretty crazy and an awesome idea.
JBeck: What adjustments did you make coming from Destiny 1 to Destiny 2? Did you change loadouts/characters/etc?
Wendler34: I knew when 4v4 was coming it was going to be more team focused. I maybe took it a little more serious in finding what the Meta was going to be and using it. As early on in d1 i went against the meta and didnt really care as much about it. Other then that i didnt really change anything.
JBeck: Currently you are rank Diamond in DTR Trials ranking. What do you think that is attributed to?
Wendler34: Playing with people who’s playstyles iI know, which is important in a team based shooter. I have solid individual skill, but it becomes magnified when you play with those you are used to playing with, vs. those you arent. I owe a lot to learning from playing with Kjhovey and another friend named KJB who I met through hovey. They helped take my gameplay to the next level.
JBeck: What loadout do you use for trials/quickplay/competitive play? Do these change depending on the map?
Wendler34: Quick Play is just me trying different loadouts out seeing what works vs what doesn't. Like using quiver with a sidearm/scout, etc. Competitive is usually Full Meta, so at this current point in time its antiope/lance/shotgun or fusion rifle, Exotic armor is Wormhusk just to counter 4 stacks that do it. Trials is just a more “what am I feeling today” kind of deal, depends on who I'm playing with. I don't really change my loadouts based on Map as most of the maps have the same base sightlines.
JBeck: Run us through a trials card for example. How do you prepare? What strategies do you go through?
Wendler34: No really extensive prep, just more or less what is the map and how to play said map. Any survival map is usually centered around getting first pick to power control, then communicating when a wipe occurs and running spawns. For instance, Shores it's a lot more about getting to A-Door to lock down grotto/dark/shrine vs Javelin-4 where everything revolves around B then moving to power right outside center rocket.
Countdown is just communication and adapting on the fly. I have concerns around the respawn timers and not losing tokens, but originally you would always get the plant off asap and defend, or get the early pick if it was provided to you and move to plant. Right now you are just better off rushing the opponent and ignoring the objective completely.
JBeck: Many have expressed their concerns about the current state of Destiny 2. What are you looking forward to ?
Wendler34: Im looking forward to more objective modes and to make snipers good again. Right now no power weapon in the game is as hard to use or as punishing to use as a sniper is, which just sucks. Ever since I started playing shooters, between Metroid Prime Hunters all the way through CoD sniping was my jam. It would be nice to have it back.
JBeck: Turning to competitive play, with Private Matches do you see yourself entering events with a team?
Wendler34: I would say yes, as long as the rules are within reason. There were a lot of things I had the ability to test in D1, things that were “banned”, that didn't deserve to be banned. We had to stop testing due to the hate received from doing so. As fallout mentioned and others, long as there is statistical reasoning I would be down. We need to welcome as many different playstyles and roles as possible, not just limit them to one.
JBeck: With the changes coming, where do you see trials/comp play going in terms of the Meta (weapons)?
Wendler34: Right now its already out there, on console at least its either Antiope/Lance or Vigi Wing/Smg sidearm. It would be nice to see a little touch up sandbox update in July, as Hamrick has already tweeted the sandbox team is deep in work at the moment. For September, people have mentioned it's a “best of both worlds” for the weapon system. I think a lot of the weapons are solid, maybe a little adjustment to snipers you'll see in the mix, maybe we will see more at E3.
JBeck: How do you work around the team shot atmosphere that Destiny 2 has a reputation of?
Wendler34: The base problems are that none of us expected it to be 4v4 only, 24/7, which raises some irritation. At the same time though, the current game is a team-based shooter. It requires teamwork to win and playing with people you are used to playing with. The easiest way around this is communication and playing with people you are used to. Anytime I enter ranked its with people I know.
If you want to have the best time in destiny 2 you need to team up with friends or make new ones. If you truly care about maximizing your odds to win this is the best way to do it right now until the experience is changed. For some reason in D2, people are afraid to find new people to play with, even though in D1 we all came in solo, and found those we play with today.
There's no point in continuing to play ranked solo, banging your head against the wall KNOWING you will play against a 4-stack a majority of the time. Doing this and continuing to complain the game is rough on solo players doesnt fix the problem and eventually you become the problem. There are options out there on LFG, Bungie.Net, and even in different streamers chats, so group up and fix your odds. You may lose some games still in a 4-man, but you will still put yourself at a better advantage to win then playing solo. If you care about winning, this is your best option until things are changed.
JBeck: Up to this point, what has been your biggest achievement as a player?'=
Wendler34: Don't really have a major achievement just due to time constraints with other things I considered more important. I have more time now, but there just hasn't been a game out there yet I want to invest into. Just kind of in limbo at the moment, hopefully one comes to the table soon.
JBeck: Where do you see yourself once you go through crucible labs and the highly-touted “September Updates” arrive?
Wendler34: Just depends how the game plays out. If competitive/private matches are available ill prob find a team to attack it. Maybe i'll dive more into pvp streaming aspect. It's just too hard to know right now. Time will tell.
As stated you can follow Wendler34 at @Wendler34 and his twitch at twitch.tv/wendler.
We will be back next week with another Destiny Spotlight. See you all soon.
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