Thrall

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Thrall
Grimoire Thrall.jpg
Biographical information

Species:

Hive

Sect:

Hidden Swarm
Spawn of Crota
Blood of Oryx
The Silent Brood
Savathûn's Brood
Grasp of Nokris
Xivu Arath's Horde
Lucent Brood

Purpose:

Mob and overwhelm enemies

Combat information

Abilities:

Arc Melee
Rapid Movement

 

"The shadows have claws."
— Grimoire Description[1]

Thralls are the most common morph of Hive. Their main purpose is to overwhelm their enemies with sheer numbers, although individually they are easily dispatched. Feral and fearless, Thralls are a plague upon the battlefield.

Overview

"The Thrall will smother your Light! Do not underestimate them as Tarlowe did!"
— Eris Morn[2]

Thrall are the smallest, weakest and fastest Hive enemies. They usually lack visible eyes, and have an almost skeletal appearance[3] even though they possess skin.[4][5]

Thralls are born from pupae laid by fertile Wizards.[6] Upon hatching, they are fed a larval worm which enters into a symbiotic relationship with the Thrall.[7] If a Thrall can fight and survive well enough, it will become an Acolyte.[6] Otherwise, the worm will consume it from within.[8]

Gameplay

The Thrall are the weakest Hive enemy a player can encounter on the field. However, with fearless zeal, the endless swarm of bone and flesh poses a threat nonetheless.

They lack any form of long-ranged weaponry and will simply run as quickly as possible towards their foe to use their Arc claws in melee. If the Thrall reaches his target while running, it will lunge with both claws raised above its head towards it. Further melee strikes will be various swipes delivered while standing still generally dealing moderate damage.

Thralls are a swarmer enemy with low health, which the Hive use as a form of cannon fodder employed in wave-tactics to either distract enemies from targeting their more valuable units as well as being shock troops trying to disrupt enemy lines and turn the tide of battle. They will rely heavily on their speed while relentlessly rushing down their targets in large packs of up to twelve units while screaming. They often do so with no regards to their own lives and will eagerly throw themselves into the line of fire of enemies or the ranged Hive troops they support which are usually squads of Acolytes but can also include Wizards and Knights with the formers melee variants often accompanying them. They will rarely seek cover and only do so if they can't reach their target, the target is too far away, the nearby higher-ranked troops or a large portion of their own has been dispatched and the area they're sent to contains large amounts of cover. Generally, a Thrall will choose cover that obstructs its entire body and makes it easy enough for them to dash out and ambush hostiles again.

Individual Thralls pose little threat to the player and they can be easily dispatched with any weapon but them obstructing the line of fire, their high numbers and speed will force a player to focus on them first. Their weakspot is the head and one should try to aim there to swiftly dispatch the swarm before it gets too close since it's not only hard to stagger them but individual units will simply run past the staggered one. They can, however, crouch down if a grenade is about to go off nearby or if they're about to be rammed by a vehicle. They can easily be identified even without seeing them as their screams or loud noise can be heard from quite far away, especially if many units attack at once making ambushes difficult. The most Thralls are almost exclusively encountered during scripted events in missions and rarely roam the world or patrol in much lower density. Even if they reach the players, it's hard for more than three Thralls to attack the same target at the same time as they pile up easily. To avoid getting caught, a player can either jump or backtrack while shooting down the ones approaching.

Known Thralls

Variants

Notable Variants
Common Variants
Specific Variants

Trivia

  • The term "thrall" refers to an individual in the power of someone else, such as a slave, servant or captive; the modern term originates from the word for a person in slavery or serfdom in Viking Scandinavia[9]. It is also the name of an undead unit in Bungie's Myth series. Both descriptions are applicable to Destiny's Thrall, as they are zombie-like and live in servitude to the Hive leaders and their own Worms.
  • Given the Hive's odd biology, it may be that Thrall are biologically sterile females, as common to most eusocial species.
  • Ogres appear much like Thrall but larger and stronger. This is because rituals are used to turn Thrall into Ogres.[citation needed]
  • Thrall usually seem to lack eyes, but in some cases, they have three glowing spots on their faces where eyes would be.
  • According to the Drifter, Thrall are vulnerable to having their skulls squeezed.[citation needed]
  • 'Thrall' can refer to a single Thrall or a group of Thrall.[citation needed]

Non-canon appearances

Rising Timeline
Main article: Thrall/Rising

Gallery

Destiny
Destiny 2
General
  • A Thrall jumping out of the shadows at a threat that spotted it

    A Thrall jumping out of the shadows at a threat that spotted it

  • A Saboteur Thrall of Xivu Arath's Horde leaping into battle

    A Saboteur Thrall of Xivu Arath's Horde leaping into battle

  • Grasp of Nokris Thralls

    Grasp of Nokris Thralls

  • A horde of Blood of Oryx Thralls

    A horde of Blood of Oryx Thralls

  • A Silent Brood Thrall ready to pounce

    A Silent Brood Thrall ready to pounce

  • Thralls on the prowl

    Thralls on the prowl

  • A Thrall in the Hellmouth

    A Thrall in the Hellmouth

  • A Thrall in mid-lunge

    A Thrall in mid-lunge

  • A Thrall attacking a Hunter

    A Thrall attacking a Hunter

  • Thrall in the rush of battle

    Thrall in the rush of battle

  • Thrall in mid-lunge from player's perspective

    Thrall in mid-lunge from player's perspective

  • Thrall with Eyes

    Thrall with Eyes

  • High poly render of a Thrall

    High poly render of a Thrall

  • Another Hidden Swarm Thrall

    Another Hidden Swarm Thrall

List of appearances

References

  1. ^ Bungie (2014/9/9), Destiny - Grimoire:Enemies/Hive, Thrall
  2. ^ Bungie (2015/9/15), Destiny: The Taken King - Item Description: Thrallskin Drum
  3. ^ Destiny ViDoc 2: Out Here In The Wild
  4. ^ Bungie (2014/12/9), Destiny: The Dark Below - Item Description: Thrallskin Brace
  5. ^ Bungie (2015/9/15), Destiny: The Taken King - Item Description: Thrallskin Drum
  6. ^ a b Bungie (2015/9/15), Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, XX: Hive
  7. ^ Bungie (2014/9/9) Destiny - Grimoire:Enemies/Hive, Ghost Fragment: Hive 2
  8. ^ Bungie (2015/9/15), Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, IX: The Bargain
  9. ^ Wikipedia: Thrall

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