There are nine different subclasses to choose from in Destiny 2, and most of them play significantly different from each other.
Hunters, in particular, have some serious variety when it comes to how each subclass does what it does. For this list, let's take a look at the Gunslinger subclass, and how to get the most out of it in Crucible:
10 GOLDEN GUN
Unless you've selected the Way Of A Thousand Cuts, the Golden Gun is going to be the supercharge for the Gunslinger Hunters. The Golden Gun can function a little bit different between the Way Of The Sharpshooter and the Way Of The Outlaw, but in general, it's a flaming Hand Cannon that equips when activated.
This Hand Cannon will one-shot any enemy you hit, coming with multiple shots (unless you have the Celestial Nighthawk equipped, but that is absolutely not recommended for Crucible) and a charge that will tick down even when not firing. Ensure that you're about to be in an outnumbered engagement before use, unless you're just looking to drop one enemy, like an enemy with an active supercharge.
9 GRENADES
The three grenade options with the Gunslinger are the Incendiary Grenade, the Swarm Grenade, and the Tripmine Grenade. There's an argument to be made for using any of these three grenades in Crucible, so let's go over the strengths and weaknesses of each:
The Incendiary Grenade is your usual sort of grenade; throw it, it lands wherever it lands, and it explodes. This grenade will light enemies on fire doing Damage over Time (DoT) which can be useful for certain builds that make use of flaming enemies, though that's harder to pull off in Crucible. It's probably not going to net you a lot of kills, but it can be a good way to spread some damage across multiple enemies before engaging.
The Swarm Grenade detonates on impact and lets out multiple drones that hover in place until an enemy gets close enough for them to track the enemy and detonate. This grenade doesn't do an abundance of damage but is a good way to either set a small damage trap or an alarm for a flanking enemy.
The Tripmine Grenade is the one that most would recommend for Crucible. It sticks to whatever surface it hits, activating a red tripwire directly opposite the surface the grenade is attached to. This grenade does a heavy amount of damage and is a good way to ensure enemies either don't come through a certain lane, or pay heavily for doing so.
8 DODGE
There are two dodges available to the Hunter class, and they're the same for each subclass; Marksman's Dodge, and Gambler's Dodge. The Marksman's Dodge reloads your currently equipped weapon upon dodging, making it great for reloading weapons that would otherwise take a while, and staying involved in the fight. This is fantastic for hand cannon users, especially.
The Gambler's Dodge recharges your melee ability upon dodging, provided you're near an enemy at the time of dodging. For those that are in the thick of things a lot, this can be a very nice option, though keep in mind the throwing knife won't activate unless you're outside of melee distance of an enemy.
7 DOUBLE/TRIPLE JUMP
The Gunslinger subclass has the option of three different mobility abilities: High Jump, Strafe Jump, and Triple Jump. High Jump enables the Double Jump to gain a little bit more verticality. If you aren't looking to change direction much in midair, this is probably the option for you.
Strafe Jump enables the Double Jump to have a little bit more control. If you want to change direction in midair, this is a solid option, but is generally not as good as Triple Jump. Triple Jump enables a third jump, allowing for a lot of control when it comes to where you want to go in midair. This can really make it tough for enemies to get a good line of shots on you.
6 WAY OF THE SHARPSHOOTER
The Way Of The Sharpshooter has the abilities: Weighted Knife, Practice Makes Perfect, Line 'Em Up, and Knock 'Em Down. Weighted Knife is utterly incredible for Crucible. Landing the Throwing Knife on an enemy's head deals a bit more than 200 damage, putting just about anybody down in a single hit. It also recharges immediately upon landing a precision kill.
Practice Makes Perfect reduces the cooldown on your Golden Gun with each precision hit. Line 'Em Up enables precision damage with Golden Gun (useless for Crucible), but also increases the duration of Golden Gun a bit, too. Knock 'Em Down increases weapon stability and handling upon landing a precision kill, making outnumbered engagements a bit easier to manage.
5 WAY OF A THOUSAND CUTS
The Way Of A Thousand Cuts has the abilities: Blade Barrage, Knife Trick, The Burning Edge, and Playing With Fire. Blade Barrage replaces Golden Gun as your supercharge, instead throwing a volley of explosive knives. Knife Trick is pretty similar to the supercharge Blade Barrage, but is obviously less powerful as it's just a melee ability. For those that have trouble hitting their target with normal Throwing Knives, this will help.
The Burning Edge recharges you dodge ability quicker when your enemies burn, rewarding good use of the Knife Trick and the Incendiary Grenade. Playing With Fire recharges Knife Trick when you kill a burning enemy, creating a cycle of abilities recharging quicker for burning enemies.
4 WAY OF THE OUTLAW
The Way Of The Outlaw has the abilities Proximity Explosive Knife, Chains Of Woe, Six-Shooter, and Deadshot. Proximity Explosive Knife enables knives to attach to a surface and detonate when an enemy gets near. It's very similar to the Tripmine Grenade.
Chains Of Woe is a great ability that allows you and your allies to recharge weapons quicker upon getting precision kills. Six-Shooter modifies that Golden Gun supercharge a bit by allowing you to fire six quick shots that refund a bullet with each kill. There's not much reason to use this over the normal Golden Gun in Crucible, but it does have its moments. Deadshot allows Golden Gun shots to connect on enemies a bit easier. If you miss often with the Golden Gun, this will help you out.
3 THROWING KNIVES
The melee ability for every Gunslinger is their Throwing Knives. These knives can vary a bit between the different Ways available to the Gunslinger, but in general, it's a distance weapon that does pretty significant damage, especially when hitting an enemy in the head. These really reward an accurate throw, and can end a fight before it really has a chance to begin.
2 WEIGHTED KNIFE/GAMBLER'S DODGE/THE SIXTH COYOTE
One very fun (and very effective) build to run in Crucible is the Weighted Knife and Gambler's Dodge while wearing the Sixth Coyote. As mentioned before, the Weighted Knife is a one-shot on a headshot, and recharges immediately upon getting a precision kill with it. Gambler's Dodge will recharge your melee ability while close to an enemy, and
The Sixth Coyote gives you a second dodge charge. This build is all about having Throwing Knives whenever you need them, and in a skilled hand, you'll find bringing a knife to a gunfight actually isn't that bad of an idea.
1 MOBILITY IS YOUR FRIEND
Mobility is your friend as a Hunter. While Hunter's can't typically tank a ton of damage, they excel at making enemies miss, and capitalizing on it. Abilities like Triple Jump will make it easier to get in and out of engagements alive, as will learning when to engage and when to back it up.