Val Ca'uor

"Vex technology on Mercury. Energy on Mars. This system is rich in spoils, if one knows where to look."

- Val Ca'uor

Val Ca'uor is a former Val who became the de facto Dominus of the Red Legion, following the death of Dominus Ghaul during the Red War. Eight months after the death of Ghaul, he ordered a massive Red Legion fleet to attack the Leviathan, causing Emperor Calus to request his assassination by a Guardian raid team. He was subsequently taken down by Guardians aboard the Leviathan's spire, ending his reign over the Legion. He is the final boss of the Spire of Stars Raid Lair.

Overview
"The Dominus was a strong leader, but the Red Legion had more to offer than simply overwhelming force... They think us weak and insipid. I will show them the might of the Red Legion, and they shall not forget."

- Val Ca'uor

In the vacancy that was left behind by Ghaul's death, Val Ca'uor took advantage of the power vacuum and quickly asserted himself as the commander of the Red Legion. After Xol, Will of the Thousands was killed, Val Ca'uor led a fleet against the Leviathan in order to kill Emperor Calus and seize the ship for Red Legion purposes. His forces occupied the Spire of Stars, inflicting many Loyalist casualties. However, a Guardian team was sent by Calus in response, and they raided the spire and killed many of his troops and commanders. Ca'uor was intercepted at the Celestial Observatory just as he struck down one of Calus's robotic proxies. In the following battle, he was overpowered by the team as they use the Leviathan's defenses to destroy his fleet, killing him in a final showdown afterward.

Gameplay
Val Ca'uor's encounter is very structured like a game of hot potato, building upon the previous mechanics of the Spire of Stars Raid Lair. Ca'uor will initially be immune to damage and will attack with his Magma Launcher as well as summoning waves of adds. After some time clearing the adds, Ca'uor will glow purple and will launch a ball at one of the four plates. At this point, every one in the fireteam will get the Greed debuff, which must be removed until it reaches eleven stacks or they will die. To do that, all players must pass the ball around between each other, and the last player who obtains the ball throws it at Ca'uor.

Once the first phase is over, three random players will obtain the Superior Retainer buff. The plates in the front of the room will have red beams of light on them, signaling that a Gladiator is coming down via Ripper Pods onto the plates. Once the Gladiators are down, four players must stand on the plates, and one of the Superior Retainer buffed players must go up the red light shaft in front of Ca'uor and call out which ships need to be destroyed and their corresponding symbols, as with the previous encounter. At this point, two more balls will be launched at two random plates. Two other players must take the balls to the mist in front of Ca'uor, and will be afflicted by the Greed debuff. They must throw it at the fireteam members standing on the correct symbols, who will then throw it at the generators to arm the Leviathan's weapons. After this is done, the plates will receive two more balls players and must throw it to two Superior Retainers, who will then run into the mist, and throw the balls at the ships that were previously called out.

Once both ships are destroyed, a new ball will spawn. The fireteam should ideally make their way next to the large, orange window behind Ca'uor, with one player as a designated "quarterback". The quarterback will get the ball, engulf it in the mist, and throw it to a player. The remaining five players will play hot potato, passing the ball as their Greed stacks increase. After the second ball spawns, the teams should divide into two teams of three, and then divide once more into three teams of two when the third ball spawns. The quarterback will take the balls through the mist and pass it to the other players. Finally, the Calus robot behind Ca'uor will rise up, start floating, and raise its hand. Whoever has the balls should throw them at the Calus robot's hand once it turns purple. If successful, Ca'uor's shield will break and he will stagger.

The fireteam should split into two groups and head to the back rooms. Ca'uor will turn and fire missiles at players, but the back rooms will provide a lot of cover. His weak point is the tank on his back, so at least one player must distract Ca'uor. One way to distract him is have a top tree Arcstrider with Raiden Flux jump up and slam him repeatedly, stunning him and preventing him from launching missiles, as well as leaving his tank open to fire. Another way is to have a Sunbreaker Hammer Strike then activate their Super and hit Ca'uor with it. Warlocks should be in the rooms with Empowering Rift, and everyone firing at him should be using weapons such as D.A.R.C.I. or Whisper of the Worm. If he is not taken down in this phase, the fireteam will start a new damage phase.

Trivia

 * Following his death, the stability of the Red Legion has been left in a disheveled state.
 * Ca'uor's armor and overall build bear a striking resemblance to the Space Marines of the Warhammer 40,000 series. On the other hand, his helmet is more akin to Megatron from the Transformers film series.
 * Instead of possessing a high rank, like Primus or Valus, Ca'uor possesses a lower rank than both. Likely as a result of Guardian strikes, there is a shortage of Valuses and Primuses within the Red Legion.

List of appearances

 * Destiny 2
 * Warmind
 * Joker's Wild