The Vault of Glass released last week and my team tackled it head-first. We went in fully prepared, and got our butts handed to us in a few encounters. Despite this, we managed to walk away with not only a clear of the base raid, but the challenge mode too – and we’ve got the emblems to prove it!
As far as raiding experiences go, the Vault of Glass setup was expertly delivered. Even though we were all familiar with the OG version, there were just enough differences that forced us to quickly revaluate our tactics.
The opening of the Vault with the Cyclops was a surprise. Getting sniped by one of those was certain death, which meant having to watch for their spawns while also trying to manage the charging Praetorians.
The Templar’s Well, with its three separate encounters, remains a worthy experience. The Confluxes behaved much the same, though the addition of Wyverns and Champions really forced us to think about our mods and Supers.
The real hangup, at least initially, were the Oracles. I was quick to work out we had to defeat them in the correct order, but it was slow going to try and formulate a strategy to get it done while still avoiding the adds. Xenophage came in handy for a lot of us, which was able to one-shot Oracles.
For the Templar, the only notable difference is that Oracles must be destroyed in the same order. We went for a no teleport run at first, but were quickly overwhelmed when using the old strategy of standing up near R2.
The updated lighting and visuals really became obvious as we crept down into the Gorgon’s Labyrinth and through to the jumping puzzle. It was like being back home, in a place we were all so familiar with. Even the throne room, though brilliant and shiny, was immediately familiar.
The Gatekeeper phase felt like it took us a few wipes to work out that the Praetorians spawn on alternating sides. Once we coupled that with the knowledge that a player could only carry the Relic through the portal every 45 seconds, the relay race mechanic really sunk in. It was interesting to reflect on the Gatekeeper encounter. Originally, there were two Relics that had to be used, which was increased to three when the Age of Triumph was released after Rise of Iron. Now it’s dropped right back down to one.
For the Atheon fight, the introduction of Oracles that must be defeated in the correct order, with that information only available to one team, was a nightmare to work out. Between not being able to visualize where they spawned and not having a dedicated callout system for an hour or so, meant that this was where we struggled the most. Even the damage we were doing to Atheon was lagging behind, despite us all rocking the best things we had. We tried Argent Ordnance with Deathbringer, Anarchy’s and Sniper Rifles, and eventually settled on Salvager’s Salvo with Fusion Grenades – which absolutely blitzed his health and meant we could save our Xenophage’s for Oracle damage.
With the raid cleared, it was just the Challenge Mode that awaited us. Overall, this was actually easier than the first run. We knew the encounters and had our callouts squared away. We just had to work on out strategies for the challenges. It felt like it took a mere hour to get from the start to the Gatekeeper.
The real challenge reared its head when it came to the Atheon challenge. Having one player only able to destroy one Oracle per set was a problem. Between trying to save your Heavy for Atheon and primary/special not dealing much damage, it meant we were hitting some walls. But, we pulled through and claimed the victory with about 4 or so hours to spare.
Overall, the Vault of Glass raid day was an excellent experience. I hope Bungie continues to use this format with reprised raids, whereby teams have to clear it once to unlock the Challenges, and clear those Challenges to reap the rewards. It took something familiar and ensured it was an intense challenge. Bravo. Would do it again.
