Destiny 2 Raid Ideation - Part 4

This is my last entry into my Raid Ideation series, where I'll be covering the final two (two!) encounters and their mechanics. I'm going to continue the format from the previous post, with short and to-the-point bullets that outline mechanics and encounter flow.

These encounters function similarly to the pair encounters found in Destiny 2's smaller raids (Eater of Worlds, Spire of Stars, Scourge of the Past, and Crown of Sorrows). In the final boss room, players are introduced to a new boss-specific mechanic during a non-final-boss encounter, which leads into the final boss reveal and subsequent encounter.

Since both encounters take place in the same room, I'll detail the room briefly here:

• The room is large and open, and has the general aesthetic of a Cabal imperial palace interspersed with occasional Vex conflux material and blocky, unnatural Vex surfaces.

• The final boss sits atop a plateau surrounded by six golden plates, centered on the wall opposite the entrance.

• In the middle of the room are several asymmetrical pillars and statues, worn and weathered, which serve as ground cover.

• On the outside rim of the room are add spawn doors and cover in the form of half-height railing that can be crouched behind.

• A grand carpet stretches from the entrance to the throne plateau.

Pre-Boss Encounter - Hands of the Emperor

This encounter reveals the boss and hints at possible mechanics or combat focus in the final encounter, but does not introduce a new boss-specific mechanic and instead focuses on previously introduced mechanics.

• Buff statues are located on the entry-side of the room along the wall, and can be used safely as they are located behind small cover. These allow players to rebuff themselves during the third and fourth encounters.

• Two bosses are present in the room, both kneeling and facing a large Vex named Archaeon, Torobatl Simulant (or something similar).

• Archaeon looks like Panoptes in my head.

• The boss to the left of the Vex is a large Psion similar to those from Sundial and Battlegrounds, and the boss to the right is a large Ghaul-like cabal warrior. They are named High Consul and Dominus of War, respectively.

• The encounter begins when players approach or try to damage one of the three bosses present, though all three will be invulnerable at this point.

• The High Consul and Dominus of War both have unique weapons and attacks, with inspiration from the Sundial bosses' attacks and Ignovun's fireball attack in Proving Grounds.

• They roam around the room and engage directly with players, providing the main source of threat in the encounter.

• Adds spawn during this phase with the same composition as in the second encounter: 1 Shielded Ultra (Vex, Minotaur), 1 Unshielded Major (Cabal, Psion Sniper), and 6 Unshielded Minors (Cabal, War Beast). Killing the Ultra afflicts the closest Endurance player with "Curse of Enervation"

• Tinctures are scattered around the room, and the "Curse of Enervation" debuff can be purged from an Endurance player in the same way as the second encounter (standing near the Tincture when it is shot).

• Purging the debuff in this encounter grants the Endurance player "Might of Emperors", which is a much stronger version of "Might of Champions" from the second encounter. When standing near either of the bosses, it provides 100% damage mitigation and total knockback resistance.

• Damaging either boss requires an Endurance player to stand in close proximity to make them Vulnerable.

• "Might of Emperors" begins decaying after a boss is made Vulnerable, and lasts a total of 45 seconds.

• When both bosses are defeated, the encounter ends and a chest appears. Raid banners can be placed at the room's entrance.

• When the High Consul is defeated, Archaeon lowers its right arm. When the Dominus of War is defeated, Archaeon lowers its left arm. This visual indicator shows encounter progress and implies the boss might have telegraphed attacks or mechanics involving its two arms.

Final Boss Encounter - Archaeon, Torobatl Simulant

For the final boss of the raid, I decided to opt for a long-burn instead of damage phases and short, high-DPS windows. While this might raise concerns of "what if the boss is exploited like Riven", I think sufficient health combined with a damage multiplier on certain mechanic-related weak points would make the fight sufficiently 'uncheeseable'.

• With both the High Consul and Dominus of War dead, Archaeon begins to fight.

• Damage can be dealt at any time, regardless of Endurance players' positioning. This damage is reduced to 25% for Endurance and Wisdom players, and 75% for Agility players.

• Every minute, Archaeon will raise one of its two hands and begin channeling. This changes Archaeon's weak point from its head to the raised hand.

• Whichever hand is raised will mark the corresponding side of the room, tinting it red or giving players a 'danger close' HUD indicator, and debuffing any players on that side of the room with "Marked for Annihilation". This channel lasts 15 seconds, and the debuff indicates how much time is left in the channel.

• At the end of the fifteen seconds, any player on the side indicated by Archaeon is instantly killed. Moving to the other side of the room will remove the debuff and prevent death. During this 15 second period, any player on the marked side will do 150% damage to Archaeon.

• After each channel, two special Cabal Ultras called "Imperial Guards" (giant Phalanx) will spawn. Endurance players must make the Ultras Vulnerable to do damage.

• When these Ultras reach critical health, they become immune to damage even while Vulnerable and must be defeated with finishers.

• The player who finishes the Ultra gains a buff called "Weight of Empires", which is dropped on death as a pool of light. This buff does nothing until the boss' final stand phase.

• Archaeon will channel "Marked for Annihilation" three times in total, spawning the pair of Ultras each time. This allows six "Weight of Empires" buffs to be collected, one per player — they do not stack.

• After the third wave of Ultras, a large wave of Psion Snipers and War Beasts spawns. These adds are divided evenly between halves of the room. "Enrage is near" appears on screen, and players have ten seconds to clear adds before Enrage begins.

• When Enrage begins, Archaeon raises both hands and begins channeling "Marked for Annihilation", which covers the entire room. This channel lasts for 15 seconds, and both hands become weak points.

• If Archaeon reaches 10% health before Enrage finishes, the channel is interrupted and "You feel the crushing weight of magnificence and splendor" appears on screen. A smaller wave of War Beasts spawns, and players have around ten seconds to run to the plates at the foot of Archaeon.

• Each plate (six in total) corresponds to a statue at the entrance of the room, and by extension one of the three buffs. Each plate is connected to a statue by a line of gold that runs along the floor. The outermost plates are connected to the Wisdom statues, the innermost plates are connected to the Endurance statues, and the remaining two are connected to the Agility statues. This should be intuitive as this same pattern has been repeated in each encounter space, and standing on role-related plates was needed to open doors in the first encounter.

• Standing on the appropriate plate will extend a player's "Weight of Empires" buff to other members of the fireteam on plates, stacking up to six times:

  • x0 = 25% outgoing damage

  • x1 = 50%

  • x2 = 75%

  • x3 = 100%

  • x4 = 125%

  • x5 = 150%

  • x6 = 200%

• Archaeon will begin channeling its final attack, called "Total Annihilation". The boss leans forward, bearing its singular eye which begins to glow deep red. This is, obviously, its weak point for this part of the fight. The channel lasts 15 seconds, like the others.

• If players manage to deal the final 10% of health in this last stand phase, they defeat Archaeon.

And that's it! That's the entire raid. I feel like, if I were to compare length to King's Fall, Last Wish, or Deep Stone Crypt, this raid would be on the shorter side. But as far as I'm concerned, that's fine so long as the raid is engaging, has good loot, and an appropriate difficulty level for both premade groups and groups from LFG. While there are certainly kinks and flaws in each encounter's design, this was an entirely solo project of mine with minimal input from friends. Had this process been collaborative, I'm sure many more interesting and innovative ideas would be in these posts. Ultimately though, that's why I'm writing them — I want to enter a landscape, an industry, in which discussions like these are a part of the job and not just a hobby. So thank you, if you've read these D2 'throw stuff at a wall and see what sticks' posts. I hope you'll stick around and check back from time-to-time to see what I'm up to.