Vault Of Glass Raid Launched

Vault of Glass was the first raid in the original Destiny, as well as one of the hardest and most beloved. It was set on Venus and pitted the Guardians against a faction of the Vex whose leader possesses power over time. Developers Bungie promised to bring back this raid in the sequel last year, as part of the announcement for their Destiny Content Vault policy. While perhaps not enough to make up for the removal of so much content, this promise has been enthusiastically received by most long-time players. On May 22, the promise has been fulfilled – the Vault of Glass raid is once again on the menu, with some minor but interesting changes made to keep up with the updated gameplay.

What Do You Need

A major selling point for this raid is that it has no special requirements. Free to play users don’t need to buy the Season Pass to take part. There are no Power limits either. That said, a minimum of 1300 Power is recommended for players who don’t want to face a much steeper challenge. High-DPS weapons like Izanagi’s Burden or the Witherhoard would be very effective for quickly taking down bosses and weaker groups, respectively. On a melancholy sidenote, Venus is still gone. The Vault is accessed through the new Legends destination on the Director. The raid is still set there and its first encounter takes place on the outside, but the other areas of the planet remain absent, at least for now.

Updated Raid

Moving on to the raid itself, veterans will find most of it very familiar. The overall layout, the unique enemies, and most of the mechanics are the same as before. However, there are still a few significant changes to the experience compared to the original version:

• Wyverns and Overload Minotaurs have been added to the enemy roster for the raid, including the final boss fight;
• Oracles must now be destroyed in the order in which they spawn, which is also indicated in the Vex Song heard during the encounter;
• Special armor mods can be found in secret chests and installed in Vault of Glass armor sets, providing unique bonuses during the raid, such as increased damage against one of its enemy types.

The overall effect of the changes has been to make the fight a little more challenging. As well as ensuring that it would be appropriate to the current meta, the goal was to make up for the player base’s greater familiarity with the raid compared to its first release. Greater coordination between players is required, especially to keep track of the Oracles and their order. Between that and the numerous puzzle sections, players struggling to get through the raid may wish to look into PvE coaching to get a better understanding of these mechanics.

Old and New Rewards

For 24 hours after the Vault of Glass re-release, a few dedicated players were able to unlock a special Triumph by conquering the raid in Contest Mode with Power caps. Completing the Triumph in the Challenge Mode entitled the players to a special reward. The first team to do so has received a real-life belt with their names on it. Finishing the raid by May 25 entitled players to a Raid Ring, while doing so by June 1 yielded a code for a Raid Jacket. If you have done so, you can buy those real-life items at any time before 5 PM GMT on June 30. There is also still a chance to earn an exclusive art print by playing through the raid during the Season of the Splicer.

Many players are likely to find the in-game rewards at least as compelling. With the demotion of the Deep Stone Crypt to the Powerful reward tier, Vault of Glass is now the only raid giving out Pinnacle rewards. The original weapons found in the Vault are here again, after a fashion. Like the other weapons from the first title, they have kept the same names and appearances but have different mechanics. The Legendary arms’ perk pools include some long-established Destiny 2 perks, seasonal perks, and one total newcomer: Rewind Rounds, which reloads an empty magazine based on how many hits you’ve scored.

The Vex Mythoclast Exotic Fusion Rifle has attracted the most attention. By default, it fires one projectile at a time with every shot. Kills power up its unique Temporal Unlimiter perk, which lets it alternate between the standard Fusion Rifle charged shots and its more brisk default firing rate. It may be further powered up with a Catalyst, which increases its stability with Unlimiter charges. Additionally, each class can assemble a unique and nostalgic full armor set that will be able to integrate the previously mentioned mods to assist in future runs.

More to Come

Whether you missed out on the raid’s debut or not, there are still some exciting features yet to come. June 15 should see the beginning of weekly raid challenges, which add a special win condition to one of the encounters. Fulfilling those conditions during a run will earn you a special Triumph and one of the rewards from the encounter’s loot pool:

Starting on July 6, Vault of Glass will also be available at a Master difficulty. Inspired by the similar high difficulty mode in Nightfall: the Ordeal Strikes, this version should make runs more complicated with extra modifiers, but also offer a shot at Adept-level loot, such as upgraded Timelost versions of the dungeon’s weapons. Such weapons would have improved stats and the ability to use Adept weapon mods. Further details on the rewards and the Master rules are not yet available.

The Destiny 2 Vault of Glass launch has been a huge success. Although some fans were ambivalent about rehashing old content, most welcomed it both as a nostalgia trip and a serious challenge. The modifications to the raid’s original formula were fairly well-received as well, being in keeping with the current design philosophy which places a high premium on teamwork. Given this encouraging feedback, it is likely that we will see more old content return to the series in the near future. In the meantime, players should have their hands full with rounding out the Vault of Glass Triumph Seal.