Taniks, the Scarred

"Taniks has no House. He kneels before no banner, owes allegiance to no Kell."

- Variks, The Loyal.

Taniks, the Scarred is a renegade Fallen mercenary with no House, but affiliated with the House that pays him.

He is first seen working for the House of Wolves during the Wolf Rebellion in The Shadow Thief Strike and later reappears in the Deep Stone Crypt Raid.

Early History
"A Kell cut off his arms. He built himself new ones. Then he killed the Kell with them."

- Does Not Bow

Taniks was once loyal to an unknown House, but docked into subservience by his Kell. He then built himself new prosthetic arms and killed his former Kell out of revenge. Taniks later renounced his pledge to any House and refused to adhere to their arbitrary customs and traditions.

Inspired by Sekris, Baron of Shanks, who prolonged his lifespan through cybernetics, Taniks was among a new generation of Fallen mercenaries who modelled their brutality and cybernetics after Sekris. He built a reputation among the Eliksni as an undying huntsman and infused his physical body with mixtures of technologies pilfered from legendary treasure troves. This continued to the extent where he was considered more machine than Fallen.

Battles with the City
"Taniks didn't announce himself. Didn't say a word. Just laughed a few times and tried like hell to kill us all... Which meant the boogeyman had a face—the boogeyman was REAL."

- Cayde-6.

During the early City Age, the Fallen Houses placed a large bounty of Glimmer and Ether on an infamous crew of Hunters, which included Andal Brask, Shiro-4, and Cayde-6.

Taniks sought to claim this bounty and ambushed Cayde, Shiro, Nian Ruo, and Lush during a cache run. He murdered Nian and destroyed Lush's Ghost before they could escape. Andal was later informed of the news and sought to kill Taniks out of revenge. One night, Andal and Cayde stayed up late drinking and decided to make a Vanguard Dare. They decided that whoever failed to kill Taniks would become the new Hunter Vanguard, while the winner lived the life of a free Hunter.

Cayde first succeeded in killing Taniks and Andal kept his word by becoming the new Hunter Vanguard. It was later discovered that Taniks was not dead at all and prompted Cayde to talk Andal out of his position as the Dare was made in a compromised state. Taniks was later killed by Cayde again, however Taniks' body was hauled off by his Crew.

Taniks became a pain to the Last City and this led to Osiris joining the hunt and the Speaker enlisting Saint-14; who was infamous amongst the Fallen, to find and kill the mercenary himself.

In the Battle of the Twilight Gap, Taniks returned after surviving both his encounters with Cayde. There he became acquainted with the infamous Baroness, Eramis, the Shipstealer, and followed her assault against the City. Taniks fired thunderous blasts from his Scorch Cannon and created explosions of blood around him while laughing maniacally. However, the Fallen Houses failed their "Final Attempt" attack and retreated in defeat.

Later, Taniks proceeded to murder Andal in cold blood and forced Cayde to replace his old friend as Hunter Vanguard.

Prison Breakout
"And still you wonder why I refuse my house-pledge. You could conquer the system, but you'd rather adhere to these arbitrary customs. Aksor belongs to Winter, and Eramis does not."

- Taniks, the Scarred.

At some point Taniks would join the Reef Wars and kill many Awoken. Later, Draksis, Winter Kell of the House of Winter would hire Taniks to free Aksor, Archon Priest from the Prison of Elders, who was captured during the Reef Wars. Taniks at first recollected how the Winter Kell once called him a self-serving scum who spat at his banner-less armor, but had to refrain himself from ripping out his arms and legs as he believed Draksis would seek his services later on.

While Taniks held payment above pride, he also sought payment in blood and battle that was worthy of his time. He took the job, but charged twice his usual price out of anger that he will miss the opportunity to free the fiercest of the Eliksni warriors such as Eramis, Pirsis and Calzar. He criticised Draksis for wanting to free the impotent Archon and insulted his Winter troops for being pathetic. He clarified his reasons for remaining Houseless as he despised the Fallen Houses that were guided by arbitrary customs and argued that they could conquer entire Solar System if they were to organise itself with the greatest of Fallen generals.

The Shadow Thief
"I remember Taniks from the Reef Wars. Many Awoken dead. Clever, clever creature."

- Variks, the Loyal

Hired by the House of Wolves to steal from the Dark, Taniks would lead the Wolf pack to plunder the Hellmouth. Variks having tracked Taniks movements since the Wolf uprising, would enlist a fireteam of Guardians to kill him. He would inform them that Taniks did not see them as an enemy, but as a trophy to collect.

Taniks, relishing at the challenge of the Lightbearers, would briefly engage them before retreating to his Ketch and jamming their comms. He then challenged them in the ways of the old and called upon the Wolves to unleash their military might and impede their progress by sending waves of Fallen, including a Walker upon them.

With tremendous effort, the Guardians destroyed the Walker and wiped out their enemies before cornering Taniks as he taunts them in Fallen dialect. He is eventually killed much to Variks' delight and rewards the team treasures from the Queen.

SIVA Perfected
"He talks. How is that possible?" "Maybe Taniks was more machine than we thought. He's not alive: perhaps he never was."

- Commander Zavala and Ikora Rey

During the aftermath of the SIVA Crisis, the leaderless Devil Splicers form an alliance with Taniks' Crew and rebuild the Fallen mercenary. Enhanced with SIVA, Taniks becomes Taniks Perfected and seeks to reclaim his old territory. Variks quickly informs Ikora and Zavala of his return and the Vanguard enlist the Guardians who fought with Saladin to hunt him down.

On arrival, Zavala notes how the Splicers are experimenting on nearby Hive and asks the Guardians to end this quickly before another SIVA outbreak occurs. As they approach the Dusk Warrens, Taniks encounters them near the lift to his Ketch, but is forced to retreat. Zavala is shocked that Taniks is able to talk since they believed the Splicers were only reanimating his body with SIVA. Ikora comments how Taniks maybe more machine than Fallen and perhaps he was never alive to begin with. With his Ketch still intact, a jamming field disrupts the Vanguard communications.

After fighting through the Splicers, Hive and a Perfected Walker, the Guardians manage to corner Taniks by his command bridge. Taniks is armed with his signature Scorch Cannon which is modified to allow Shock and Void blasts. His SIVA abilities also generate a immunity shield where nearby SIVA crystals need to be destroyed in order to disable the shield. The Guardians prevent SIVA from restarting Taniks' mercenary operations and slew him.

Nightmare of Taniks
"Years ago, Taniks tore the Vanguard apart over a mere bounty. Andal Brask was murdered in cold blood, and the Hunter Vanguard was left without a leader. Taniks would ultimately die on the orders of Cayde-6."

- Eris Morn

Taniks would continue to haunt the Guardians as a Nightmare recreated by the Pyramids. Eris Morn would send the Guardians to hunt down the Nightmare of Taniks as its Essence of Isolation was essential to forge armor to suppress the Nightmares and breach the Pyramid. The Nightmare would be defeated by the Dusk Warrens after the Guardians breached into the Temple of Crota. However his nightmare would continue to plague the Guardians as it reappears in the Altars of Sorrow and Nightmare Hunts.

Beyond Light
"There is evidence of Fallen giving themselves to technology... The mercenary Taniks is one example—more machine than Fallen now, an abomination in the eyes of traditional Fallen belief."

- A Blind Eye Towards Tomorrow.

Following the failed raid to capture Outbreak Perfected, Eramis would relive a dream of the Twilight Gap. She remembered how Taniks aided her crusade against the City, but awakens when she sees her fellow allies evaporate into ash. She later forms the House of Salvation and at some point they recover Taniks' body.

Her House established a stronghold on Europa and they rebuilt Taniks and kept secret him in the Deep Stone Crypt. Upon learning of the deaths of Phylaks and Praksis, Eramis retaliates by ordering Atraks to return to the Crypt and prepare the "body", in reference to Taniks. Later, Eramis acquires the Vex Radiolaria necessary for the Crypt while Variks narrates a flashback regarding her past. Taniks is featured twice alongside Eramis and her allies by Variks, who comments how she found new family among them.

After the defeat of Eramis, a fireteam of Guardians is enlisted by the Exo Stranger to raid the Crypt in order to stop her followers from harnessing a chaos they do not understand. After bypassing the Crypt Security, the Crypt AI notes that Clarity Control was breached by a single unregistered Exo and a single life form of unknown biology and were detected by the Crypt laboratory. There Atraks-1, Fallen Exo reawakens Taniks only to anger him when he notices the Guardians. He begins to bash the laboratory glass so he can kill them, but later disappears.

Following the defeat of Atraks-1, the Crypt AI initates its nuclear descent protocol to fend off the intruders. Taniks, now known as Taniks, Reborn, is found by the Rapture, a control room of the Morning Star space station. Taniks engages the Guardians and supressess their attempt to disarm the Crypts protocol with nuclear cores and attacks them with his Molten Welder.



After deactivating the nuclear protocol, the orbital collision into Europa remained active. The Guardians quickly retreated into a lower hallway of the Rapture, but were followed by Taniks who mercilessly blasted them with his Molten Welder. He seemingly perished when the station crashed into Europa, but was later found to have survived the impact.

He re-emerges from the rubbles as Taniks, the Abomination, now more powerful than before and a monstrosity merged with a Heavy Shank. Taniks attacks the Guardians by blasting them with new abilities such as Turbulent Barrage and Turbulent Detonation and creates a Shock Field which the Guardians must enter to deal damage against him. In his final stand, Taniks teleports around the crash site of Restricted and falls to the fireteam.

In the aftermath, if Guardians were to die from his nuclear radiating corpse, it will trigger Taniks to laugh and suggests that the Fallen cyborg may still be alive in death.

Personality and Traits
"He is a murderer...and very good at what he does."

- Variks, the Loyal.

Taniks was once born into the Fallen House system, but quickly despised its traditions after experiencing the humiliating docking from his Kell. Like many others, he grew cold from the cruelty and became a bannerless renegade who followed the footsteps of Sekris. As a mercenary, he only served himself and sought the rewards of bounties to live a life free of Kell rule. He is absent of moral code or ethics, however he will place payment above his pride as he once refrained himself from attacking the Kell of Winter who insulted him.

Taniks is relentless in his effort to fulfil a contract and will employ any means necessary. He is motivated by challenge and a cunning tactician who once ambushed Cayde's crew by surprise. His notable achievements include orchestrating a breakout from the Prison of Elders and murdering the Hunter Vanguard Andal in cold blood. Although he sells his services to the highest bidder, Taniks is bloodthirsty and seeks payment in blood and was present in many battles such as the Twilight Gap, Reef Wars and Wolf Rebellion. He also considers the Guardians to be trophies to collect rather than enemies and loves the thrill of combat by challenging them in the ways of the old.

Among the Fallen, Taniks is a survivor who enhanced himself with technologies of the Fallen, Vex, and Human out of necessity. In the eyes of Fallen traditionalists, Taniks is viewed as an abomination and has gained a reputation of being a undying huntsman. Though a renegade, he is capable of praising his kind and recognises the incredible feats of other esteemed warriors such as Pirsis, Peekis, Calzar, Drekthas and Eramis and holds them in high regard. He marvelled at the prowess of Eramis and hates the customs that guide the Houses and chooses to be Houseless as he believes the Fallen could conquer entire Solar System if they were to organise itself with the greatest of Fallen generals.

Gameplay
Strikes

Taniks, the Scarred
Taniks can be found on the Moon leading a group of Wolf Pack to steal from the Dark. His Ketch, Kaliks-Syn is seen above the Temple of Crota and makes his first appearance near the Fallen lift in the Dusk Warrens. Taniks is supported by Wolf reinforcements who aid him to combat the Guardians. He is a Fallen commander armed with a Scorch Cannon and capable of unleashing devastating Solar blasts from any range and effectively hold down an area.

In addition, he will release Ultra Smash ground attack if Guardians get too close and also able to teleport at long distances. After depleting a chunk of Taniks health, he retreats to his Ketch and laughs as he challenges the Guardians to combat. Taniks can then be found in a room with a stationary Pilot Servitor and send more Wolf reinforcements.

He then retreats and summons a Wolf Walker to confront the Guardian and then later seen by the corridors of his Ketch. He is cornered by his command station and reappears with half his health depleted. Taniks continues to laugh maniacally as he teleports around the area while blasting projectiles from his signature cannon and recruits more Wolf reinforcements such as Wolf Captains and Noble Shanks. After defeating Taniks, he drops his Scorch Cannon which can be picked up by the Guardians and used to defeat the waves of Dregs who spawn trying to avenge Taniks.

Taniks Perfected
Taniks reappears as a Taniks Perfected, enhanced by SIVA and serves as the final boss The Shadow Thief revisited. Similar to the first Strike, Taniks confronts the Guardians with blasts from his cannon in the Dusk Warrens. He then will retreat to his Ketch after dealing damage against him.

Once in his Ketch, he will continue his barrage and while teleport around the arena to throw the player's aim off. He will once again retreat and summon a Perfected Walker in the next encounter. After battling through the Splicers, Hive and Walker, Taniks will reappear and lock down the hallway with his cannon to prevent Guardians from passing through.

In the final encounter, Taniks is armed with his signature Scorch Cannon which is modified to allow Shock and Void blasts and supported by waves of Splicer reinforcements. He also gains a special immunity shield where SIVA Nodes need to be destroyed to remove his shield. This shield will regenerate until he is finally killed.

Raid

Taniks, Reborn
After navigating through the Morning Star, Taniks can be found by the command deck of Rapture. If approached or shot, Taniks will begin the encounter and be immune to all damage.

Players are required to deposit nuclear cores into the correct boxes to disarm the Crypts nuclear protocol. By picking up the yellow Scanner augment from a Hacker Vandal, players can guide each other to the correct boxes as two will glow yellow.

To collect the nuclear cores, a red Operator augment is required and can be gained by defeating a Operator Vandal. Upon hearing the sound of an alarm, the player with the Operator augment is required to shoot a glowing red panel near one of four the nuclear cores terminals across the room. These can be found by the far left and right walls of the room and other two by left and right side of the upper catwalk. Failure to shoot the panel in time will drop three nuclear cores rather than two.

The cores will emit Radiation debuff which becomes fatal if it reaches 10. To prevent this, players are advised to coordinate their radiation levels by passing each other the cores. Failure to deposit the cores in time will also result them to explode and eliminate the whole fireteam.

Taniks will attempt to suppress the Guardians by turning the box terminals offline. This requires players to pick up a blue Suppressor augment from the Suppressor Vandal and allows Taniks to be stunned when he glows blue. Players with the augment need to stand beneath one of the three circular security drones in the room and need to stun him three times by moving to each drone. One is located in the middle, while the other two are on elevated platform to the left and right.

Taniks will recruit reinforcements such as Overload Captains and Dark Council Guards to prevent the Guardians from depositing their cores and some players with an augment can become deactivated. This will require them to switch their augment with another player from a yellow terminal. After successfully depositing the cores six times, the Crypt AI will deactivate its nuclear protocol and open a hatch in the middle of the room. Players need to traverse the lower hallways of the Rapture to reach an escape pod before the orbital station crashes into Europa. Taniks will mercilessly follows the players and blast them with solar blasts from its Molten Welder.

Trivia

 * Taniks' cloak is orange and features an insignia not belonging to any known House. Whether it belongs to the House Taniks originates from, or is unique to Taniks himself, is unknown. It is also a random strike-exclusive Legendary drop for the hunter.
 * Taniks' is one of three Fallen Ultras found with Scorch Cannons, the others being Skolas and Vosik.
 * Taniks is one of the only Fallen enemies to kill a high authority of the Last City.
 * He leads his own group of loyal Fallen called Taniks' Crew.
 * He is the first Strike Boss to become a Raid Boss.
 * Taniks is believed to have once been a member of an extinct Fallen house called the House of Scar.
 * According to the flavor text of the Legendary Auto Rifle Does Not Bow, Taniks was punished with docking by his Kell; subsequently he built his first mechanical arms and took revenge.
 * It is suspected that Taniks was infused with darkness from the statue in the crypt, for he used void and arc energy in the raid.

List of appearances

 * Destiny
 * House of Wolves
 * The Taken King
 * Rise of Iron
 * Destiny 2
 * Curse of Osiris
 * Forsaken
 * Shadowkeep
 * Beyond Light