Looped

"No one's heard from Cayde-6 since the Hunter took off for an uncharted world. Track him down."

- In game description

Looped is the eighth story mission of Destiny 2, and the first mission on Nessus.

During the course of Looped, the player meets the Exodus Black's AI Failsafe, is introduced to the Vex, and must find a way to save Cayde-6 from himself after he has gotten stuck inside a Vex teleporter. The player manages to battle through the Vex and meet Cayde, but his malfunctioning teleporter causes him to disappear before he can be rescued, leading into the next mission Six.

Enemies

 * Vex
 * Hapax, The Convergent Mind

Objectives

 * Find Cayde-6
 * Investigate the source of Cayde-6's signal


 * Find Cayde-6
 * Investigate the source of Cayde-6's signal


 * Get to Cayde-6
 * Head to the coordinates Failsafe provided to find Cayde-6


 * Defend Cayde-6
 * Destroy Hapax, The Convergent Mind, to protect Cayde

Transcript

 * Reach level 7 and complete mission “Looped” on Nessus.


 * Complete world activities or Crucible matches to level up
 * No one's heard from Cayde-6 since the Hunter took off for an uncharted world. Track him down.


 * Start Mission

Loading Screen
Ghost: Commander Zavala needs the Vanguard united again. While he prepares for the assault on the Almighty, we're going to find Cayde and Ikora. Luckily we picked up an odd signal from Cayde's Ghost. It's being boosted somehow from a centaur called Nessus.

Ghost: Which is strange. Centaurs are really just big rocks in the outer reaches of the solar system. There should be nothing there.

{End Loading Screen}

Cutscene

 * A series of panning shots introducing the Vexified environment of Nessus, with mysterious Vex structures and alien flora.


 * A large tower jutting into the sky. The Wanderwing flies into the scene, circling around the tower.

Ghost: So much for nothing being here. Let's get to high ground so I can pin down Cayde's location.


 * The camera levels with the top of the spire just as the Wanderwing flies overhead once more, dropping off the Guardian.

{End Cutscene}

Gameplay

 * Artefact's Edge
 * Nessus, Unstable Centaur


 * The player spawns in at the top of the tower, with the option to either jump down directly, or utilise the gravity lift immediately in front of them for a controlled descent.

Ghost: Here we go. Tracking Cayde's signal now. I think I'm getting something.

Cayde-6: In over my head... Vex trap... Failsafe?

Ghost: VEX TRAP?! What is Cayde getting us into this time?

Ghost: Something around here is blasting that signal into space. We find that something, we'll find Cayde.


 * Find Cayde-6
 * Investigate the source of Cayde-6's signal


 * The player sees a crashed Jumpship in the corner of the map and approaches

Ghost: There! The signal's coming from that wrecked ship!


 * Scan Signal


 * The player interacts with a terminal on the hull of the ship.

Failsafe (Cheery): Hello! Are you here to rescue the Cayde-6 unit?

Ghost: Whoa! You're not Cayde!

Failsafe (Cheery): The Cayde-6 is currently caught in a teleportation loop. He's over there. (Voop!). Now he's over THERE. Oop!

Ghost: He's moving? Well that's... complicated.

Failsafe (Cheery): I can help you. (Depressed): But I'm going to be super unpleasant about it.

Ghost: I'm sorry - what?

Failsafe (Cheery): I have uploaded his new coordinates to you. (Depressed): Against my better judgement.

Ghost: Uh... OK...?


 * Find Cayde-6
 * Investigate the source of Cayde-6's signal


 * In the area immediately surrounding this crashed ship is Ghost Scan NE-AE-1


 * Ghost: "This is like a... cornerstone of Nessus. Put here by the Vex to mark linear time. It's been 127 of our years since Nessus last travelled through our system. I don't know how many Vex years that is."


 * The player heads off towards the new coordinates in Hallows

Failsafe (Cheery): May I help you with anything else?

Ghost: Yeah... are you OK? You sound a little... off

Failsafe (Cheery): I am the Exodus Black's failsafe. Call me Failsafe! I boosted the Cayde-6's signal in hopes he would be rescued. And look! Here you are!

Ghost: Oh, I see! She's just an AI. A malfunctioning AI.

Failsafe (Depressed): I heard that. (Cheery): At your service!

Ghost: Centaurs are supposed to be just giant icy rocks. How did all this happen?

Failsafe: A robotic alien entity called the Vex have achieved 92.014 percent conversion of the Centaur Nessus


 * Hallows


 * The player enters the underground cavern in the Hallows, finding Cayde trapped, levitating above the ground and unable to escape from a transparent Vex...thing

'Ghost: Cayde!

Cayde-6: Someone there? Listen, don't ask me how this happened - I don't have time to explain what I don't have time to understand.


 * Cayde and the Vex thing/cage in which he is trapped vanish as Vex units start arriving to commence battle with the player

Failsafe (Cheery): Warning! The Vex will vaporize you!


 * A group of Goblins spawn in, attacking the player, introducing the new player to this basic unit as well as the two modes of Vex reinforcements: Vex teleportation and Vex Gates located around this area. With the first wave defeated a Minotaur appears, introducing the player to these enemies. The final wave is a mix of Goblins and Minotaurs now the player has mastered the basics of fighting Vex. The Vex are defeated.

Ghost: So, Failsafe. What exactly happened here?

Failsafe (Cheery): The Cayde-6 attempted to manipulate the Vex portal system. He is now trapped in a non-linear loop. In my defense, I tried to warn him. (Depressed): He's, like, not that smart.

Ghost: This is NOT going well.


 * Get to Cayde-6
 * Head to the coordinates Failsafe provided to find Cayde-6


 * The player heads towards Sunken Cavern


 * Sunken Cavern

Ghost: How long have you been here, exactly?

Failsafe (Cheery): Long enough to the see the Vex convert this entire planetoid, kill all living organisms, reformat molecules, and digitize brain waves for further study. It's a fascinating process!

Ghost: She sounds way too excited about that.


 * The player descends to the main platform in the area where they encounter more Vex, including Hobgoblin snipers, dormant until the player approaches. The player fights through the Vex.

Failsafe (Cheery): You are good at destroying Vex! Much better than my crew was!

Ghost: I'm almost afraid to ask, but... Failsafe, what happened to the Exodus Black crew?

Failsafe (Cheery): Only my Captain can access those memories! (Depressed): And he's super dead.


 * The player proceeds through to the portal between Sunken Cavern and Well of Giants

Failsafe (Cheery): The Cayde-6 is just beyond that Vex Gate. Please proceed.

Ghost: Won't we get stuck like Cayde?

Failsafe (Cheery): Oh, no. My judgement module is much more reliable than the Cayde Unit's


 * Before entering the gate it is possible to interact with NE-SC-2 in the vicinity, reading:


 * Ghost: "They sure put this one out of the way. I was able to access their network for two cycles before they booted me. All I got was something about... endless trees. Or... forest? Weird."


 * The player enters the portal.


 * Well of Giants

Ghost: We're throguh! We're OK!

Failsafe (Cheery): Of course. The Cayde-6 is not far now!


 * The player continues through the area and descends through another large gravity lift, arriving in the area below. Cayde-6 is visible only a short distance away.

Cayde: Hey! Over here! Get me out of here!


 * Hapax, The Convergent Mind teleports in besides Cayde.

Cayde: What's that? That a Hydra? OK, yeah, yeah - no, handle that first. Then me!


 * Defend Cayde-6
 * Destroy Hapax, The Convergent Mind, to protect Cayde


 * The player engages the Hydra. When Hapax has lost 10 or 20% of its health Cayde will say:

Cayde: Hey - you're doing great! I think.


 * Hapax will summon more Vex to come to its assistance, consolidating the player's competencies against the Vex in an integrated boss fight against all the units encountered so far, Hapax, Goblins, Hobgoblins and Minotaurs. If the player stays near Cayde so that Hapax, in fighting the player, at anytime draws near to Cayde, Cayde will say:

Cayde: Hey! Hey, hey, hey, don't lead that thing near me!


 * At 50% Hapax health, Cayde will say:

Cayde: Keep it up! Unless you're loosing, then - DO BETTER!


 * With only one third remaining, Cayde will say:

Cayde: Hey, did you get it? Spinning around so much, I'm trying - oh - I'm trying not to throw up in here!


 * The player destroys Hapax

Cayde: Good job! Now get over here before I disappear again!

{End Gameplay}

Cutscene

 * Cayde floating Vex "non-linear loop" in which he is trapped, gesturing wildly as the Guardian approaches slowly. The bright orange-yellow machinoformed core of Nessus illuminates the scene from behind.

Cayde: Quick! Hurry, come on! I don't know how long this portal is going to stick.

Ghost: Cayde! What have you - ?

Cayde: Stop-stop-stop-stop. Look-look - long story, and it may look like I don't know what I'm doing, but I do - K, maybe not - doesn't matter.


 * Cayde points at something off screen

Cayde: Killing the power source at the origin point should break the loop and get me out of the portal system. Have you got that? Say you've got it. Say something!

Ghost: Fine, I'll say it! We got it, Cayde. Now, how did you -

Cayde: Oh my cotton socks! Did you not hear what I just said?!


 * Cayde vanishes yet again

Ghost: I'm guessing this is why they down't like him leaving the Tower.

{End Cutscene}

{End Mission}

Trivia

 * The display on the crashed ship when interacted with during this mission will show the emblem and Chinese Characters of the First Light Lunar Installation which may identify a relationship between the now wrecked spaceship and the Chinese lunar colony and/or the Aeronautics of China. Alternatively, this could simply be a reference to the Moon of Destiny 1.
 * Cayde's line of "I don't have time to explain what I don't have time to understand" is a reference to the infamous line delivered by the Exo Stranger in Destiny during the mission A Stranger's Call, in which the Exo Stranger said "I don't even have time to explain why I don't have time to explain."