The return of prison of elders with a taken theme has got me thinking...how cool would it be to make the return of Vault of Glass or Crota’s End with a taken twist? This would achieve 2 things: -making old content relevant as it should have been since day one -changing up these activities to make them fresh The Vault of Glass is a fantastic raid. However, the raids following have introduced more and more mechanics; each boss in King’s Fall has more mechanics than The Templar and Atheon combined. I’m not saying that as a bad thing, rather as an observation and a segway into my next thought. Having a take variant of Vault of Glass would introduce some new mechanics into the encounters and make them more engaging. The core mechanics would still be there, but there would be more in the mix. [b][u]Vault of Glass[/b][/u] Level 42 raid Recommended Light: 330 (encounters progress from 320-335) The taken have flooded and vault and are using vex technology to do some real messed up (but cool) shit. They’ve ripped the essence of Time’s Conflux and the Templar out of their dimension and erased their will. The taken onslaught has new power and new capabilities. [b][u]The Trial of Kabr[/u][/b] The entrance to the vault is already open. However, guardians can use the sync plates to spawn a chest in the same place the first chest normally is, just before moving on to the Templar’s Well. [b][u]The Templar Suite[/b][/u] The three phases of the templar fight are somewhat different this time around, however the objective is the same: defend against the Templar’s legions so you may fight and kill it. [i]Obviously it wouldn’t be called the templar, but I’m not coming up with a name cause this is never gonna be a real raid.[/i] ... [b]Confluxes[/b] Confluxes are more or less the same. Instead of confluxes, you are defending hollow blights. The taken will try to imbue them with their unique energy. Doing so would negate all nearby threats. A threat in this case would be anything that isn’t taken. Taken goblins and hobgoblins will approach the hollow blights. Rather than several sacrifices being required to charge the blight, it only takes one. Once a taken has reached the blight, it will charge it with its energy until it is either killed or until it has succeeded; doing so takes about 10 seconds. The taken variant of fanatics comes in the form of invisible taken minotaurs. These -blam!-ers will sneak up on the blight. Upon reaching the blight, the special taken minotaur will become visible, and begin to build up energy. If not killed within 4 seconds of the start of this buildup, it will explode and transfer all of its energy to the blight, instantly wiping the fireteam. Having taken goblins will also encourage smart target selection, they will shield the hobgoblins. ... [b]Oracles[/b] Killing taken oracles expends energy. This energy gathers at the center of the room. This energy feeds power to the Templar. However, this energy dissipates quickly when not constantly gathered. Rather than having X number of rounds with X number of oracles, oracles will spawn constantly, at a rate slightly slower than normal spawns. They will also spawn randomly. Killing oracles as quickly as possible preserves the energy. Killing them slowly will allow the energy to dissipate. Teams are therefore rewarded for coordinating their team and acting quickly. Musically trained ears will also have an advantage here. Enemies also slowly phase into the room. As the fight progresses, more hobgoblins spawn on platforms, and the special taken minotaurs from the previous phase also spawn occasionally; their goal is to detonate the gathering energy in the center (at the bottom of the stairs, where the cleanse pool usually is). If the energy completely dissipates, the fireteam is wiped. This minotaur detonation would therefore immediately wipe the team. While oracles are spawning slower, they are spawning non-stop, and speed is important, and players must be constantly managing enemies as well as watching for special minotaurs. Once enough energy gathers, a relic spawns in the center. ... [b]The Templar[/b] The mechanics are the same: charge the relic, make the templar vulnerable, shoot shoot shoot the templar, rinse and repeat. But, charging the relic will now be a process. Instead of harpies like the vex version of the raid, vex goblins occupy the arena, along with the occasional regular minotaur. Some time after the fight begins, the Templar will spawn 4 oracles in a random order. These oracles must be killed in the order they spawn in. Upon killing an oracle, a orb will appear in its place. A guardian must stand in it. Standing in the orb will make the next oracle vulnerable to damage. When all 4 orbs are stepped in at the same time, the relic is charged, and the energy barrier surrounding it falls. The holder has 7 seconds to discharge its energy before it wipes the fireteam. The Templar doesn’t have a barrier around it. Instead it is shielded by a special taken goblin which can only be hurt by the relic. The relic holder must discharge the energy into this goblin to make the Templar vulnerable. Once the goblin dies, all players standing in an oracle’s orb are detained, and the relic holder has a cleanse shield around them. Players have 12 seconds to do damage before the Templar teleports and the cycle repeats again. This gives players a choice: waste a few seconds to get to the cleanse shield and be safer, save those few seconds and do more damage while being in a lot more danger. [b][u]The Gorgons’ Labyrinth[/b][/u] Throughout the labyrinth are a few barriers. In order to drop these barriers, certain gorgons must be killed. These gorgons are easy to spot because they are red. However, once a barrier is dropped, another is raised just a little ways back. This means all team members must stay close so they don’t get closed out. All players must reach the end for completion. [b][u]Gatekeepers[/b][/u] Just like the original, there is one gatekeeper outside, and one in both past and future. However, this one is a little more dynamic. The first gatekeeper will drop a relic upon death. A player must pick this relic up. The other 2 gatekeepers are shielded. Only the relic can lower this shield. The relic holder must take down the shield so it can be shot down by another player. That gatekeeper then drops a relic, just like the original. The same goes for the other portal. However, once one portal is completed, a hollow blight spawns in the center of the room. The special minotaur variants from earlier spawn in numbers and attempt to detonate them as before. These specific minotaurs are a little different, in that they can only be damaged by the relic. So, while one relic holder is helping with the other gatekeeper, the other is killing these minotaurs. Once the second portal is completed, the relics must be charged. The special minotaurs are then replaced with regular minotaurs so they can be affected by regular weapons. The relics are charged by enemies being killed near them. Minotaur majors spawn from both portals and atop the stairs. These feed energy to the relics. Once a relic is charged, the holder has 10 seconds to discharge its energy before it wipes the fireteam. All three relics must be discharged into the blight within 3 seconds of time. Therefore, players have to coordinate with one another to get their relics charged at roughly the same time. [b][u]Atheon[/b][/u] Once again, he obviously wouldn’t be called atheon. Atheon teleports 1 player minimum to each portal. One portal is randomly selected the “parent” portal. This means this portal will be the one in which oracles spawn. 2 players are left outside. If there are 5 players, a second player is teleported to the parent portal; if 6, one is teleported to the other portal. The parent portal has a few taken hobgoblins that must be taken care of. 5 oracles will spawn shortly after teleporting in a random order. Once killed, a pool of light spawns under them. A player must step in this pool, and the corresponding pool must be stepped in in the other portal. This requires good call outs. The non-parent portal has constant enemies spawning because this side is far less difficult to manage. Once the sequence is complete, relics spawn before exiting each portal. Both relics must be discharged into atheon to make him vulnerable. Once discharged, the relics will disappear and players are free to do damage. At some point during damage phase, which lasts 25 seconds from the time the first relic is picked up, atheon will do a ground slam. This slam sends out a shockwave such that anybody standing on a solid surface is instantly killed. No tunnel vision allowed! [b]Rewards[/b] Oracles - gauntlets, boots, chest Templar - special weapon Gatekeepers - class item, heavy weapon Atheon - helmet, primary weapon, exotic **Each encounter (as well as 4 chests) drops 2 shards as well as the possibility of the above rewards. However, a minimum of 1 weapon/armor drop is guaranteed per raid Templar Challenge Mode - ghost shell Atheon Challenge Mode - artifact All rewards drop at 330. A shard is used to add a light point to a piece of raid gear. [b]This extends to King’s Fall and Prison of Elders gear.[/b] For a full set of raid loot, there are 50 missing light points to achieve 335 light. That’s 50 shards. Maximum of 16 shards per raid; it wouldn’t take too long for a character to reach 335.