[quote][quote]TRIGGER WARNING: This is my opinion and could be considered controversial. I just want to have a productive discussion around measuring player skill and balancing pvp in a fair and measured way. Please don't flame me, I'm not here to fight anyone or flame anyone.[/quote] -That is appreciated. There should be more of that in the forums. [quote]I like PVP in destiny 2. Its fluid, dynamic and at the end of the day, sometimes really really funny. The gunplay is so so crispy and good that I fall in love with my hand cannons over and over. Its the only reason I play destiny 2 at all. I mean, its beautiful![/quote] -I agree completely. [quote]Its is true that after a while you "git gud" to a degree, but that doesn't change the fact that you can't hold w candle to the gilded flawless guys with 8.0 k/ds and hacker like ADS skills.[/quote] Not if you maintain that belief and focus. They are only human, like you. What do they know that you do not? [quote]I believe K/D is nothing more than a toxic pissing contest for kids who have never ever heard of the words "rent due" or "ooh hey. Your gonna be a dad" or even comprehend the concept of grass. K/D scores are a beyond terrible measure of a player's skill despite it being propped up by community members like its the be all, end all. [/quote] That's certainly fair. The concept of grass seems a little pointed. KDs are an insufficient measure of a player's skill. I wholeheartedly agree. That being said, they are a metric to be considered amongst other factors. What is this person's win% in the game mode in question? What is this person's most frequent load out? What is their accuracy with that load out? Number of kills. Do they play the objective? Do they play the right objective? Do they play it with effort and intention or are they just taking up space and giving the enemy kill clip/desperado? Are they flipping the spawn? Are they anchoring us at A side of Dead Cliffs? KD tells people right away whether you're preserving your life or even trading. Are people toxic about it, sure. Should we be hiding it? No. Is it irrelevant after a point? Yes. It can be farmed. People will intentionally queue their friends and give themselves 50+ win streaks. People align themselves with associates they don't enjoy the company of simply to maintain it. But being a .4 to a 1.0 is what it is and speaks volumes. [quote]Its literally a cancer everyone in the trials community has contracted and makes trying to find/put together an LFG team a real pain. I believe it should be done away with all together as a measuring format. [/quote] If the LFG is saturated with other .6s, why can't you guys befriend one another and endeavor to improve as a collective to earn your adepts like everyone else. Are you seeking to be carried? [quote]How can I ever raise my awful K/D if I'm always matched with people who are way above my skill level or get straddled with people who are far below mine? How does one "git gud" while still living a life as a normal human being without bionic thumbs?[/quote] Stay alive. You're entering what is meant to be the competitive play list. But there's no safety in playing scared and slow. Positioning and timing are everything. Learn how to play 3s in the other game modes if you want to compete. Get good by taking your licks like everyone else did in the time you have to play.... Instead of doing the same thing and expecting a different result. You don't have to no life the game, use the time you have to practice specific skills and implement them. [quote]I dont mind matching against gods in 6v6, cause sometimes its fun to shoot them in the face with a rocket, but when we start talking trials, everyone is all venom, fire and brimestone over k/d cause no body likes losing and everyone wants that adept loot.[/quote] So then... you understand? [quote]Its created this toxic elitism where one cannot improve one's self while trying to balance life on the hand without making life changing alterations to one's routine in order to get a piece of a digital content item in a game where there is no real profession esport or monitary incentive to be good at shooting people in the face, in a digital form. Just to be an arm chair general. It just isnt worth losing sleep, real jobs that pay real money, sanity, mental health, life, limb (I once broke a thumb in a six hour galran raid boss fight, but that's my fault for being stupid - never healed right) or romantic partners over.[/quote] So you want to go play one of those eSports and not be picked there? You can certainly improve yourself without requiring a carry from people with higher KDs. It begins by asking the right questions. To yourself and to people that are more knowledgeable. Whether the medium is real life or a digital construct that won't compensate you monetarily. But just a nice dopamine drip. [quote]If there was ever a hill to die on. This would be it for me. Im sick of the elitism from players who believe they are THAT much better because have excellent invis/stompee fletwinters/sniper/jottuun game. Thank the gods at bungo for recognizing the issue and nerfing stompees and shotguns[/quote]. That was based on usage rates, content creators, and the shrill cries of the masses. You can strafe two steps to avoid jottun... As long as it's in the mid-long range. [quote]I know we can do better. So how do we do better as a pvp community? When did being a salty toxic sweat become mandatory for getting a piece of digital hardware that you don't even really own? Its a game man. It doesn't need to be that serious.[/quote] We can all certainly do better. In our interactions on the forums. In the game. In life. And and in our performance. We do better as a PvP community by sharing our knowledge and understanding from our experience so others can avoid our mistakes. And learn from them before making them. [quote]If a small subset of the community INSISTS on being toxic, extremely salty or mega sweaty - why can we just give those dudes a game mode for them and never talk about it again? You guys can have your pvp pissing contest all you want, just don't do it at my expense or get the idea that trials was made for you and you alone.[/quote] I think games after 7 should provide armor ornaments that look like demontors or vaal hazak armor. People would stop resetting those cards then. Weapon ornaments. It's cosmetic, so people wouldn't need to be mad. And it would be earned, so it would show not everything needs to be from Tess to look nice. It can be acquired as an achievement.