#TotD: Spend your abilities early in Lake of Shadows GMs
Don’t “save” your abilities in the opening of Lake of Shadows – use them early and often.
In Grandmaster Lake of Shadows, the first outdoor area and the cave section are mega‑lethal, waiting to hoard your grenades, rifts/barricades, and crowd‑control Supers usually gets you surrounded or deleted by champions and mobs before you even reach a safer position.
Sherpa Secrets: How the Pros Do It
- Unload your abilities as soon as the first big add wave + champions spawn. Grenades, Supers, rifts/barricades both remove pressure and create space early.
- After that initial burst, rotate to long sightlines with primaries while your cooldowns recharge; staying ranged and covered reduces wipe chances.
- Chain Supers with teammates. Early ability usage generates orbs that fuel later Supers, drastically improving clear speed and survivability.
Quick roamer tip:
Avoid powering through hordes without abilities – in Grandmasters, ability economy often matters more than saving them for later.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Even experienced players get caught off guard in Grandmaster Lake of Shadows. Avoid these pitfalls to survive the deadly opening:
- Saving abilities too long – Waiting to use grenades, Supers, or rifts often gets you deleted by the first champion wave.
- Ignoring champion shields – Not breaking shields quickly delays the encounter and leaves you exposed to lethal damage.
- Overcrowding corners – Tight spaces in the cave section make AoE attacks from mobs and champions devastating.
- Poor rotation – Staying in the same spot or pushing too aggressively without cooldowns leaves you vulnerable.
- Not chaining Supers with teammates – Using abilities in isolation wastes orb potential and reduces team damage output.
Pro tip:
Step back, spread out, and use your abilities strategically but early – surviving the start makes the rest of the strike much smoother.
Best Loadouts for This Section
Choosing the right gear and abilities can make the deadly opening waves much more manageable. Here’s what the pros recommend:
Grenades / Abilities:
- Arc or Void grenades for crowd control.
- Barricade (Titan) or Rift (Warlock) for team protection and orb generation.
- Supers with AoE or crowd-control potential – e.g., Well of Radiance, Hammer of Sol, or Chaos Reach.
Primary Weapons:
- Scout Rifles or Pulse Rifles for long sightlines.
- Adaptive or Rapid-Fire weapons to handle both majors and mobs efficiently.
Secondary / Heavy Weapons:
- grenade launchers with control frame for close-quarter cave sections.
- Rocket Launchers or Linear Fusion Rifles to quickly burn down champions.
Armor / Mods:
- Mods that reduce ability cooldowns or enhance ability energy generation.
- Recovery-focused mods for survivability in lethal areas.
Quick Team Coordination Tips
Even the best loadout won’t save you without solid teamwork. Follow these quick tips to survive the deadly opening of Lake of Shadows GM:
- Call out champion spawns early – Let your team know where shields and dangerous enemies appear to plan ability usage.
- Split abilities among teammates – Avoid everyone dumping Supers at once; stagger them to maintain constant crowd control and orb generation.
- Assign one roamer – Have a teammate move slightly ahead or to the sides to pick up orbs, spot threats, and keep pressure off the main team.
- Stick to sightlines and cover – Spread out but maintain line-of-sight for revives and crossfire support.
- Communicate cooldowns – Let your team know when your grenades, rifts, or Supers are ready so you can chain them efficiently.
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