A couple weeks ago, my brother in law, M1DN1TEassassin joined the Brotherhood with his level 8 Titan. He only has one character and had been a destiny skeptic for a while after the campaign under-delivered. I assured him that the experience got better after the main story was beaten and Raiding became the number one way to play and acquire new gear with your friends. He first watched us raid during our live streaming of the Normal Crota Flawless run. After hanging out on the chat and running some story mode and low level strikes with fellow clan members, I could tell he was starting to see what I was talking about. It wasn’t long until he joined us this past week for his first two Raids. One Normal Vault and One Normal Crota. He was Level 25 when we took him into The Vault of Glass for the first time. Level 27 when we did Crota. The clan went extra mile during both raids to make them feel as close to an authentic first run-through as we could. There was no cheese, no sprinting through all the checkpoints that so many of us know so well. There was patience and teamwork and communication. It was one of the most “pure” raiding experiences I have ever had. I hope you guys enjoy this more tranquil recap. It will be short and sweet and hopefully remind all of us about one more thing that makes Destiny such a great experience to have as a clan family. We shared the lore behind what we were doing in the Vault of Glass during every step. We talked about how beautiful the giant vault door was outside on Venus. We gazed at the rock caverns and plant-life that slowly began to fade as we went deeper towards the core of the planet. We talked about Vex culture and the religious significance that drives them. We filled our minds and imaginations with a purpose for charging blindly as a team into deathtrap after deathtrap. Our high-level guardians felt like Heroes in the Templar's Well. Our level 32 combatants were like Trojan Spartans on the battlefield, unstoppable powerhouses with one mission in mind, stop the Vex at any cost. It was absolutely exhilarating to dodge enemies during the Oracles and Templar sections, all the while shooting the Oracles themselves and then facing the Templar toe-to-toe in his own house. It was really, really cool. There was a renewed suspense in the Gorgon maze, something I haven’t felt in a long time where when one of our new recruits inevitably got spotted by one of the Gorgons and the whole party let out an agonizing yell as if it had happened in real life. “KILL IT!!!!” They screamed. Rockets flew and after the Gorgon was dead, we crept the rest of the maze with a newfound caution and silence so as not to be seen again. The jump puzzle brought some old challenges back to life, since there were guardians who needed to stand at the top and watch the platforms come in and out of existence until they recognized the pattern and could successfully navigate their way across. There were only 2 raid Veterans along for the ride, and we did hit a couple moments of frustration when those with less knowledge of the portals were Atheon’s chosen to enter and face the impending doom of the Oracles. But rather than feeling like a time consuming grind, with every abandonment into the dark corners of time marking another few seconds wasted, the wipes felt unifying and like they were making us stronger. The raid Kinderguardians learned well and were contributing beyond expectations. Once Atheon was killed we celebrated and explored the Vault of Glass itself until Destiny’s timer told us it was time to go. There were some rewarding drops for sure, but the biggest reward was hearing how much our newest member loved the entire experience. It was no surprise to me that he wanted to do Crota as soon as he hit 27. Venturing into the abyss for the first time way back when scared me. It was dark, and I found out all too quickly that Darkness is heavy. I did not feel like a hero, and the clan did a great job of recapturing this feeling as we ventured lamp to lamp together. There were some deaths along the way, which forced spectating and cheers of encouragement for the surviving Guardians. The Bridge brought with it the intense introduction of Swordbearers and Gatekeepers, reminding us all too quickly, that veteran and recruit alike are in equal danger from their attacks. While we ran this raid, we spoke to the differences between the Vex and the Hive, the architectural and aesthetic differences, and we took in the vastly alternate environment that we were venturing into. By the time we got to the Deathsinger, our young 27 was no longer able to do damage to our adversaries and was forced to spend much of his time hiding and spectating as we methodically removed the barriers between our crew and Ir Yût herself. We talked about the massive powers that Crota’s number one Witch possessed in the form of her song, and we tried to only contemplate what sorts of horrors awaited upon the liturgy’s conclusion. We were victorious and much like the Vault of Glass this raid experience felt more and more fun with every checkpoint. We laid out a strategy to kill Crota like the military planning an Isis-compound bombing run. The execution was as natural as it could have been because in addition to it being M1DN1TE’s first run through ever, it was also thebigpeter’s first time running the sword. We want to congratulate Petey on a valiant effort and only forcing us to dispatch 4 Oversouls during the battle. We cheered for Pete when right as Crota was becoming enraged, Peter dealt the final blow and we all claimed our prizes from Crota’s End. M1DN1TE scored himself a Blackhammer, which is not a bad drop for a first timer. This week also brought with it a return from Lord Saladin and his Iron Banner event. We had been waiting for this for weeks. We were preparing, talking about what gear we planned to buy and what Characters we wanted to use. All week we organized each other and formed crazy fire teams of Titan’s, Hunters and Warlocks. The grind was tough, and there were definitely moments where morale was down and controllers were getting ready to be slung across the room in a blazing rage-hate for that guy who should have died or was using ridiculous weapons like Three Little Words. The Banner comes to a close tonight and I cannot think of a singe member of the Brotherhood who did not achieve something from all the hard work. They either got all the gear they wanted or some of it. A few of us even managed to build up 2 characters through the ranks. But I think the one thing that everyone took away from this week, no matter which events you took part in, was that there is no better camaraderie than there is amidst the Brotherhood of Xûr, and that we are the best damn clan this game has ever seen. I’m proud to lead a group of such dedicated and talented individuals. This clan would not be the amazing community that it is without each and every one of you. This week we have some new goodies in the raid sign up. It will go up tonight and contain a new section in each of the respective raids. These new “Lore Raids” will all be on Normal difficulty and their objective will be to take an easier run through the Raids either with new recruits or just to re-experience the atmosphere that Destiny’s endgame activities create. These will only be around for the next two weeks leading to HoW. Then the schedule will change again to reflect the addition of Prison of Elders. FOR THE BROTHERHOOD!