Destiny 2 guide: Bungie’s three tips for building the perfect Gambit loadout

Destiny 2: Forsaken’s Gambit mode will be available to everything during the Sept. 1 free trial. Before you can dominate in the field, you’ll need to have the right tools and right powers for the job.

We spoke with Gambit’s initial design lead, Lars Bakken, and current design lead, Robbie Stevens, to ask what tips they might have for Gambit players. So let’s talk about what Bungie thinks you should be prepping before each match, and how you should adapt on the fly.

For a broader look at how to win in Gambit, check out Bakken and Stevens’ 13 Gambit tips.

Consider your role and play appropriately

There are plenty of roles you can play in Gambit, whether you want to take out big PvE enemies or rocket your way into the PvP side of things. Knowing how you want to play is key to setting up your loadout.

As simple as it sounds, Bakken suggests picking a loadout you already love for the Nightfall or the Flashpoint:

Weapons like shotguns, sniper rifles, fusion rifles, and an accompanying primary weapon of your choice are perfect. If you want to stay up close, bring that shotgun. If you want to guard the bank, consider a sniper. Just pick a primary that can comfortably make up for the slack of your other weapon.

PvP players should do well with the same kind of loadout that they’d use in the crucible. If you use Vigilance Wing, a sniper rifle, and a rocket launcher in PvP, bring that with you into Gambit if you plan to invade.

Use your loadouts that already work, but try and make sure that you’re at least mildly flexible, so that you can tackle any situation that comes your way without too much of a deficit.

Don’t be afraid to swap your loadout

It’s OK to be wrong, and sometimes that includes your loadout. If you aren’t happy with what you’re using, don’t be afraid to find a safe corner, hop into your menu, and swap out for something better.

But this doesn’t just apply to being wrong. Sometimes you need to swap up your role mid-round or mid-match. Thankfully, Stevens says that Gambit doesn’t punish swapping weapons as harshly as the Crucible does, and you’ll keep a much larger portion of your ammunition from the swap.

It’s important to adapt to your opponents’ strategies and the strategies of your allies. Have a bunch of your favorite guns ready to go, and don’t be afraid to experiment.

Your subclass is everything

When preparing to take on Gambit, you need to take a long, hard look at your class and their abilities. What Exotics do you have? What pairs well with your favorite class? Before the new subclasses get introduced in Forsaken proper, evaluate what you already have access to.

Use the same subclasses you would for PvP or PvE if you want to devote yourselves to one of those aspects of Gambit. But also consider that Gambit is a hybrid mode, meaning that you’ll be doing a bit of both most of the time. Consider, then, Supers that help you succeed at either.

Bakken describes a few, important subclass choices for the free trial:

• Titan hammers deal large damage to enemy groups, but are also devastating in PvE.
• While you may not usually consider six-shot Golden Gun as a good PvE Super, consider how useful it could be against Blockers or a front filled with powerful enemies.
• You might not love Nova Bomb’s slow moving version in PvP, but consider how useful it is in PvE. Is it worth losing the speed for the potential big damage of the PvE Slow-va Bomb?

It’s unlikely that you’ll ever find the perfect loadout for both facets of Destiny 2: Forsaken’s Gambit mode, with the perfect Exotic to boot. But you need to find something that can be flexible and powerful — and also fits with how you like to play.