How to play Ajonah in Crucible

Ajonah is the long-range sniper character in Crucible. She has a harpoon rifle that operates the best from a distance, and at this range, she can pelt opponents with a barrage of well-timed shots.

Abilities

Ajonah has three primary abilities available to her. Beyond her special abilities, you can fire her main weapon while looking down sights or from the hip. When looking down sights, Ajonah’s movement slows down, but she has increased accuracy and has increased damage if she hits a target.

Her first ability is her grappling hook. You can use it to attach to the side of walls or on the ground, launching her forward into the air. The grappling hook can send Ajonah a decent distance ahead, allowing her to reach locations most of her allies could not or as an escape. There are two charges attached to it if you choose the Tidal Reach essence upgrade, which is available at level one. You can fire one of these charges off and launch into the air, and then fire off another to extend the overall distance. The grapple charges do take time to cool down. At level four, Ajonah becomes invisible after using it.

The second ability is jamming shroud. When you activate it, Ajonah slams the shroud down into the ground where she’s standing a small bubble surrounds her. The jamming shroud prevents enemies from detecting this area, making it an ideal item to hide her location. At level two, she can hit an active jamming shroud to explode, damaging and pushing enemies away from its center.

The third ability is squid mine. These mines latch onto a surface, and when enemies are close to it, the mines attach themselves to them, exploding and slowing them down. You have the option for your level five ability to increase the slow of these mines.

To optimize all of Ajonah’s abilities, you want to readily use your grapple to traverse around the map or to reach objectives before your allies can arrive. From there, use the jamming shroud to cloak your position and set up a sniping position, waiting in locations where you know the enemy team will have to come through. Alternatively, you can set up mines near or on the objective to give enemies a false sense of security before attacking them. The mines are a great way to slow enemies down while they hunt you, giving you more time to close the distance using your grapple. Make sure to optimize your grapple charges as often as possible.

Essence upgrades

Like all Hunters in Crucible, Ajonah has five levels of essence upgrades available to her. At levels one, three, and five, she has the option to choose different upgrades. These different upgrades vary in use and depend on how you like this character.

Level 1

You can choose between Expanded Quiver, Sea’s Bounty, and Tidal Reach at level one. Of the available options, you want to choose between Sea’s Bounty and Tidal Reach. Expanded Quiver adds two additional shots to Ajonah’s primary weapon. Sea’s Bounty will give you an additional squid mine and increase the range you can throw these, potentially using them when entering a fight. The Tidal Reach might be better for those who prefer to have Ajonah with an escape, giving her an additional charge on her grappling hook.

The level two essence upgrade is the same every time and it allows you to detonate an activated jamming shroud, damaging enemies within it.

Level 3

When you reach essence level three, you have the option between Dazzling Burst, Heal in Shadows, and Safe Harbor. All are viable options. Dazzling Burst will cause your enemies to temporarily go blind if you land a critical hit against them with your rifle, which is hitting them in the head. Heal in Shadows allows Ajonah to heal 20 health a second while in stealth. The final choice, Safe Harbor, grants you and your allies 10 percent additional speed while inside your jamming shroud.

Likely the best option would be to go with Heal in Shadows because there are plants all over the map that can have you go into stealth, thus healing you for a brief, and her level four essence upgrade allows her to go invisible when she uses her grappling hook. However, players who prefer to buff their allies may want to go with Safe Harbor, and those who are crack shots behind Ajonah can use Dazzling Burst to cause even more problems for enemies.

Level 5

The final two essence upgrade choices consist of Neurotoxic Venom and Strike to the Head. The first upgrade increases the duration of the slow applied to enemies when hit by the Squid Mines, which is excellent for those who rely on these mines to use for traps. But those who can consistently land headshots against enemies with Ajonah may want to go with Strike to the Head because it changes the critical hit multiplier from 2.5 to 3.0, increasing the overall damage you do every time you hit one. Those who rely on critical hits may prefer to use Neurotoxic Venom, causing even more trouble against enemies who are already in over their heads.

Overall, when it comes to playing as Ajonah, you want to keep a reasonable distance away from your foes and rely on your allies to support you. She doesn’t have too much health available to her, and she’s reasonably squishy. You never want to engage in a direct fight either. Make sure to attack your enemies from afar, and stick close to your allies when attempting to disrupt or secure objectives.