Crypto Ranked Guide
I feel like Crypto hasn't been seeing a lot of play recently down to his toolkit, but I've found him to be an excellent competitor in ranked. Through using these techniques I've managed to get into Diamond rank within a few days.
If you're gunning for kills Crypto is not the legend for you, but if you want to play smart and avoid being overwhelmed then he can be an excellent asset to your team. The more defensive meta of ranked means that his toolkit is far more useful and his ability to scout and find other teams in the area is unrivalled.
Here are a few tips to getting the most out of Crypto in Ranked:
Tip 1: Keep checking the giant banners with your drone.
This is something a lot of Crypto players may overlook but it is very important when rotating into new area. I will usually check the banners nearby before I let my guard down to loot. If there is nobody nearby you can be a lot more reckless without as much worry. If you check the banners and you see more than one team it's best to go on the defensive right away to avoid a firefight that will end in you being 3rd partied.
Tip 2: If you've lost a fight, don't be afraidto retreat.
Another useful and underrated part of Crypto's kit is his ability to pick up banners with his drone. If your team has been steamrolled by another team one of the best things you can do is get to a safe distance and recover your team's banners with your drone. I had a game recently where a team of three zip-lined in killing my team-mates instantly. Rather than running in and getting pasted, I stayed back and recovered their banners with my drone and pegged it towards Epicenter to respawn them. In the end we won the game though patience and finding the right positioning.
Tip 3: Favour long range weapons over short.
Crypto really favours mid to long range weapons over shot range, this is down to the fact the majority of the time you are going to be further away from the action than your team-mates because of your drone. Weapons like the Charge rifle & Hemlok are great for Cyrpto as the charge rifle gives you the ability to get eliminations from long distance, and the Hemlok is very versatile in almost all other situations.
Tip 4: You don't have to pilot your drone to get value from it.
This is one of the most important tips for mastering Crypto and playing him defensively, and one of the main things most Cryptoplayers overlook. Players tend to find the drone more distracting when you're piloting it than when it's stationary, here are a couple of useful places to put your drone during a firefight or before one:
- High above a building -Players in the building will have to go to great lengths to fire at your drone, the higher the drone is, the less apparent it will be to your enemy. Try and position it so that any doors or bins around the building are scanned, this will let you know that if someone leaves the building you are at the right altitude to scan them as well.
- In Zipline shafts -This is a great place to put your drone as it will alert you to when people are coming up the shafts in tall buildings. In these shafts in can be very difficult to shoot your drone down, especially while zip-lining. Try and place them right at the top in a corner so that they face down the shaft.
- Behind large signs - Often around large tunnels you will see large signs with Apex on them. Leaving your drone behind these is a good way to scan people as they move past the sign, and unless they go looking for the drone they'll be a bit clueless as to where it is.
- Tunnel vision - This is very handy if you want to hold a tunnel as a defensive position, putting the drone in a hidden position as an alarm bell will signal that an enemy team is on their way. You can be more reckless with the positioning with this as all you need to know is that the team is coming, and by shooting your drone they have already done that.
Tip 5 : EMP at the right time.
Using yourultimate at the correct time can be often quite tricky, it can be easy to get carried away with the damage potential of it and use it before you're ready. Often the best time to use it is right before a push, but you need to know that your team-mates are ready for it. It's also a good thing to note that the EMP will work through any surfaces and you don't need line of sight for it to work. By placing your drone in proximity to the enemy you can then push yourself and tigger your ultimate remotely, this allows you more time to sweep in and attack while the other team is putting their shields back up. Bonus tip - Try running your drone along the ground rather than flying with it, this can make it easier to infiltrate enemy positions without being shot down. Another thing to note here is to save an EMP for the end of a game. Wattsons, Caustics & Gibraltars are incredibly potent in the final few rings, and a well timed EMP can disrupt these players immensely.
Please if you've found this guide helpful please leave some XP, if you have any other Crypto tips of your own, feel free to put them down below*
*Not playing Crypto is not a Crypto tip just FYI! I know you guys too well...
