In Destiny 2, players could finally dive into the Vault of Glass. While some rushed through the highlight of Season 14 in record time, many players gave up angrily, even before they had seen the raid from the inside.
This is what the Guardians were excited about: On the evening of May 22, the Vault of Glass in Destiny 2 opened its gates at 7 PM. The iconic raid dates back to 2014 and was the first raid experience for many shooter players in Destiny 1. Accordingly, the expectations were high.
- A hype built up in the community, and even players who had uninstalled Destiny a long time ago announced their return.
- Bungie itself fueled the cult around the Vault of Glass and its re-release in recent blog posts (via Bungie.net), on Twitter, and even in the game itself.
- For many, the Vault of Glass (VoG) marked a delicious piece of Destiny history that they wanted to indulge in right at launch.
- There was even a race for the prestigious Worlds First – essentially the second Worlds First, since the raid had already been mastered for the first time in 2014. Bungie had some tricks up its sleeve to keep the competition exciting.
MeinMMO explores why the launch was a slap in the face for many and which team was able to push through first.
Here’s how good the chances were: Bungie has not linked the classic raid to any expansions or paid seasonal content. Every Guardian with the free version of Destiny 2 is allowed to take a trip to Venus.
Additionally, the required power level was set at a relatively low 1,300. This can be reached quickly by casual players and even Guardians who have been on long breaks. A nice move from Bungie, as nothing stood in the way of a fun raid night for everyone.
“The raid is simply too hard to enjoy on day one”
At around 9 PM, two hours after the raid started, Bungie announced that the first teams had bombed the final boss Atheon back to the Stone Age.
The first squads eagerly prepared for the following “challenge mode.” Only those who master the second, harder run with extra nasty requirements in every encounter are considered winners of the Worlds First.
Is the raid too hard? However, beneath Bungie’s Twitter post, Guardians mostly had one thing to say: The raid is way too hard.
Even on Reddit, the community is heatedly discussing the raid. In the mega thread (via Reddit) about the VoG, over 3,100 comments have already been collected (as of May 23, 11 AM). Often, you read statements like:
- We are grinding our teeth at the Templar (the first boss) and the first ones are already through?
- The Oracle phase is really tough.
- Many Guardians couldn’t even make it into the raid. At the entrance, a normal Guardian would already be lost.
We can also read your reports about the high difficulty on MeinMMO:
We made it to the Templar, but there we had trouble placing damage properly. The changes so far are not bad. It’s not Copy+Paste, but as a veteran, you still recognize everything again.
I’m curious how it will go tonight without the Contest modifier. The incoming damage was intense.
KingK via MeinMMO
The viewer numbers on Twitch, however, played in favor of the difficulty. Well-known pros like Datto or Gladd had over 48,000 and 60,000 viewers, respectively, watching their competition (via sullygnome).
Hence the frustration: For the first 24 hours, the Vault of Glass is in a competition mode. No matter how strong you level up, it stops at 1,300. This is to prevent hardcore grinders from stealing the show from everyone else solely due to their higher level. But this competition mode also means that the enemies are always stronger than you.
However, the enemies were so strong that a Wyvern only has to look at you funny, and you fall immediately. If you don’t have any special protection mods on your armor, after a foe’s sniper shot, all that remains is the intense red that signals imminent death.
Many Guardians were simply not prepared for a raid so exceedingly difficult in competition mode. Even if you went in with an endgame loadout, the hottest grenade launcher mods, and knew the raid from Destiny 1 by heart, it was anything but a walk in the park.
Thus, many Guardians gave up, even veterans swallowed their pride, and the first round went to the Vex. By the way, Clan Elysium was the first team to crack the raid in “normal” mode and in the even harder challenge run. Bungie confirmed this shortly before 1 AM (via Twitter). Congratulations!
Nostalgia and challenge divides
Here’s how Bungie could have solved it: Since you need to complete the raid in “normal” competition mode for the Worlds First and then conquer the even tougher “challenge mode,” Bungie should have made the normal mode significantly easier.
- A large portion of players did not enter with the goal of securing the Worlds First after two runs.
- Many Guardians were looking forward to the nostalgic trip, chatting with friends from back in the day, and hoped to snag a Fatebringer 2.0 with a bit of luck.
- Those who approached it this way ran headlong into a frustration wall.
If Bungie had only released such tough enemies in the “challenge mode,” they would have done many players a huge favor. Because many Guardians feel cheated and may never look at the raid again – especially those who have just undergone a reinstallation.
These are the good news: Tonight at 7 PM, the competition mode in the Vault of Glass ends. The raid will still be free for everyone to play, but the enemies will no longer be nearly unbeatable.
However, no one knows yet whether the power level will remain at 1,300 and players can only gain an advantage through their equipment and the seasonal artifact, or if enemies may even be above this level towards the end of the raid.
Can you understand the frustration of the players? What do you think, should the old and nostalgic raid be this difficult right away? After all, the competition mode has always been so tough in Destiny 2. Or would it have been better if Bungie had increased the difficulty only in the challenge mode, allowing Guardians to have a nostalgic trip?
Share your opinion in the comments and let us know how your trip to the Vault of Glass went.
