Thoughts on Opening Gambit and Last-Ditch Effort?

[jakeoti]

Curious as to what people think of the two temporary powers, Opening Gambit/Last-Ditch Effort. They're very interesting since they give some of the best stats of the game, but are also completely useless for most of the match. For Ranked, there's even a chance that Last-Ditch Effort won't even get triggered/used (although it is good as a safeguard thanks to the "if opponents get to 30 or less" attribute). I personally like Opening Gambit for some weapons, like chargers, since it can make establishing a position at the opening really easy, which can hopefully then snowball the match. But, if they shut me down, then it felt like a waste. I guess that's why it's a Gambit...

 

[ϛ(°³°)/`]

I think the general consensus is what you've already mentioned; Opening Gambit gives you a beautiful speed boost but the ability slot becomes dead weight for the remainder of the match. I imagine it would have more of a place in reliable, coordinated team compositions where you can utilise it to get to a perfect vantage point and lock people out of an area until you get a knockout or a substantial initial push to throw the opponents off their game, much like what you would do with a charger. I feel like I'd be able to use it well with some form of Rapid Blaster on Arowana Mall too. If the initial boost outweighs the alternative main ability you'd use, then go for it.

Last Ditch Effort on the other hand seems to be very well received after the update. It gives you bonuses to ink recovery, and main/sub weapon efficiency. It also activates for the final 30 seconds, for the entire duration of overtime, and until the match ends if your opponents have hit the 30 mark in Ranked modes. If your weapon actually needs a bit of efficiency perks, this can be pretty useful.

I generally prefer abilities that aren't situational and give consistent benefits for the entire match and overtime. If I started randomly moving faster during the match, it would totally throw off my aim. I imagine I would have the same problem with suddenly increasing my efficiency and how it'd throw off my rhythm.

 

[Dessgeega]

They have their uses, as ϛ(°³°)/` explained, but yeah, they're pretty situational compared to more conventional abilities.

 

[Aori]

To be honest, I like Opening and Closing gambit- I just never found a use for them in recent matches.

 

[Ansible]

In agreement with @ϛ(°³°)/` assessment.

Pity they're only headgear exclusive. I would enjoy tinkering with a sort of "gambler's build." Oh~ → Opening Gambit with Comeback and topped off with Last Ditch Effort!

Personally, Open Gambit can be a fun one for Rainmaker, especially on maps great for speedrunning—Kelp Dome and Flounder Heights, which can be dunked in under twenty seconds. Otherwise it can useful in gaining influence on mid/the objective at the start of the match or immediately harassing the other team while your team is moving into position. After the thirty second mark you better have some good subs on that piece.

Good scenarios for Last Ditch Effort are pretty obvious. Mainly when your team is performing or countering a ... last ditch... effort. ¬.¬;

 

[Slushious]

As a Turfer, I'm a huge fan of Last Ditch Effort. And with my current (ink efficiency/bomb lethality/ninja) gear set, the bonuses to ink efficiency and recovery just make me cackle gleefully as I firehose my way back out into the fight :D

 

[Zero Meddler]

I find both abilities to be pretty useless. I see no point in abilities that are only active for a specific period of time. Opening Gambit is probably the worst of the two since it's only useful if you can gain the advantage AND KEEP IT (which if you play Turf, you know how easily you can lose the advantage). At least Last Ditch Effort can be useful since in Turf, the last 30 seconds is what really counts since taking the lead then pretty much guarantees victory. In Ranked, it activates when the opposing counter reaches 30 and remains until the end of the game, even in Overtime which can be useful but it is a bit situational. Honestly, I'd choose Tenacity over either one of these abilities.

 

[Cuttlefish]

i love opening gambit, thought it used to be a lot more useful when i was VERY objective focused. getting to the tower/zone/RM first was my priority, and OG certainly helped with that. i want to toy with last ditch effort more, but i haven't come up with any builds for it yet, haha.

they're very situational, but if they suit your situation, then they can be very valuable. no such thing as a useless ability ;)

 

[Zero Meddler]

no such thing as a useless ability ;)

Can't say I agree with this statement in Opening Gambit's or Last Ditch Effort's case but to each their own I guess. =/