I have made recent attempts at higher level missions and "exotic" bounties, and it has never quite dawned upon me the importance of [b][i]Elemental Damage[/i][/b]. This is basic level knowledge but I felt it wouldn't hurt to document it for any passer by, and if it helps at least one person, it is worth the time to type it. Let's begin with the basic concept. Have you ever been fighting a higher level ugly mug, and he's just a real pain in the backside? You shoot and shoot but as soon as you get his shield off, you need to reload. You throw your mag off to the side, reach in your (endless void?) of storage for a new one and pop it in. You ready your aim and... great, full shields again. A fight like this, has occurred many times to me and up until this point it has never really processed through my head that I've been head banging a rock wall. Carrying the correct damage type for the correct enemy is vital to your success in the higher up missions. The best part of the whole thing is that Bungie has made it quite simple to know what type of ammo works for what enemy, so let's make a clear little chart right here for that. [i](= defines what damage type should be used for what shield)[/i] [b]Red Shield[/b] = [b]Red Ammo (Solar)[/b] [b]Blue Shield[/b] = [b]Blue Ammo (Arc)[/b] [b]Purple Shield[/b] = [b]Purple Ammo (Void)[/b] [i](White Ammo simply means basic damage. Your damage output will be reduced by the shield, clearly labeled "resist" when enemies are hit)[/i] [i]Note: I could put the shield types for each enemy but it seems that at higher levels, enemies will sometimes have different shield types outside of there normal routine.[b] I cannot verify the accuracy of this statement.[/b][/i] [u]Planning ahead:[/u] Before you start any high level missions, scope out what you think you need. For example, we were going for an exotic bounty that contained [u]Wizards[/u] with [b]Solar Shields[/b] and [u]Knights[/u] with [b]Arc Shields[/b]. We adjusted our Specials, Primaries, and Heavy equipment accordingly. [i](note: the elemental damage will effect mainly the shield of the enemy, not the enemy themselves, once the shield is gone, all damage to that target will have a fairly normal average with any weapon, of course level of weapon comes into account, ect. ect..)[/i]. Likely, you will pack [b]multiple[/b] instances of Heavy and Special weapons that will need to be switched out depending on the threat. As of the most recent update [i](1.01 I believe)[/i] you [b]lose[/b] [b]50%[/b] of your current ammo count upon switching to a new weapon mid mission. A good plan is to try and predict what will be needed next, and instead of picking up every ammo drop you find, leave it there until you need it when you switch! I [b]can not[/b] stress enough the importance of having ammo packs with you [b]ESPECIALLY[/b] if your mission has the "Juggle" skull on [i](No ammo for your equipped weapon will drop)[/i]! Ammo packs have a [b]10 minute cooldown[/b] between uses across all types so make sure you know which one you need most. [u]Know what your skills do![/u] It's important you know what damage type your skills do, it is viable to switch between sub-classes to address the most imposing or important threat because the only drawback is resetting cooldowns and super [i](Don't waste a good super, try to use it before switching)[/i]. For an example, My [b]Golden Gun[/b] for my [b]Gunslinger[/b] sub-class will inflict [b]Solar Damage[/b], and my abilities [i](flaming throwing knives)[/i] and grenades [i](incendiary for Hunters)[/i] will as well, whilst my [b]Blade Dancer[/b] sub-class has [b]Arc Damage[/b] output [u][i](Do not use your Blade Dancer to attack enemies, this is fruitless and will likely get you killed, instead use the invisibility perks to focus on your team and your own survival and rely on your grenades.)[/i][/u] and grenades [i](Flux, Arcbolt)[/i]. So whipping out my [b]Solar Damage [/b]Sniper and [b]Gunslinger[/b] Sub Class to deal with a onslaught of [b]Solar Shield[/b] Wizards, and then switching to my [b]Blade Dancer[/b] and [b]Arc Damage[/b] Fusion Rifle for a few [b]Arc Shield[/b] Knights is a perfectly viable strategy. [u][i][b]Take the time before missions to discuss with your team who should bring what Elemental Damage with what Abilities to the fight depending on your enemies![/b][/i][/u] I hope this helps someone out, or if not, is just a good reminder of battle strategy. Until Next time!