Blighted Chalice

"The Taken King is dead. Yet still his armies writhe and claw at our worlds. Even as you led the assault on the Dreadnaught, a powerful Taken warbeast fled for the safety of the Shrine to Oryx. The would-be Prince Malok works to perfect a dark sorcery. He must be destroyed."

- Eris Morn

Blighted Chalice is a Level 36 Strike available in the April Update. Guardians must confront the formidable Malok, Pride of Oryx, a pretender to the throne of the vanquished Oryx, the Taken King.

Objectives

 * Enter the Hellmouth
 * Enter the Circle of Bones
 * Destroy Minions of Darkness
 * Hunt Malok
 * Reach the Shrine
 * Clear a Path
 * Kill the Acolytes
 * Destroy Malok, Pride of Oryx

Transcript
{Loading screen}


 * ERIS MORN]: The Taken King is dead... yet still his armies writhe and claw at our worlds. Even as you led the assault on the Dreadnaught, a powerful Taken warbeast fled for the safety of the Shrine of Oryx. The would-be prince Malok works to perfect a dark sorcery. He must be destroyed.

{Gameplay}

''The trio of Guardians land in The Summoning Pits. In the center of the arena, Malok roars a challenge, and disappears as several Taken appear, blights set behind them. The Guardians kill the Taken and reach the exit, only to find it boarded shut, with three Hive locks sealing them in.''


 * GHOST: They've sealed the door with Hive Runes... (sighs wearily) Of course they have.

or


 * GHOST: (facetiously) Anybody home? Right. The door's sealed with Runes. Let's get to work.

or


 * GHOST: Sealed door, Hive Runes... know what we need? A Tomb Husk.

''Large groups of Hive ambush the fireteam, including Thrall, Knights and Wizards. They are all eliminated, and one of them drops a Tomb Husk. One of the Guardians obtains the Husk and uses it at the door, disintegrating one of the locks. More Hive appear, and as they are killed, a second Husk is dropped, reclaimed, and used. Once the third group of Hive is eliminated and the final Rune destroyed, the door to the Summoning Pits finally opens, releasing over a dozen Cursed Thrall. The trio of Guardians use the narrow space to wipe them all out instantaneously. They make their way back to the Circle of Bones, where several Taken blights appear. Large groups of Taken enemies, including Captains and Centurions, attack the fireteam. The Guardians destroy them and move on to the Hall of Wisdom.''


 * ERIS:The Taken exude blight wherever they go. Just one of the agonies of their existence. Malok has begun to control that blight, empowering it at his command.


 * GHOST: (awkwardly) ...so... now we know.

or


 * ERIS: Oryx may be gone, but the sympathetic vibrations of his shrine still resonate across the cosmos. There is power here... great power.


 * GHOST: (sarcastically) I was wondering why we were here.

''Every inch of the Hall of Wisdom is covered with Taken blight. An entire army stands between the trio of Guardians and Malok. Working together, the fireteam eventually kills and removes the entire Taken presence. They eventually reach the Shrine of Oryx, now overwhelmed by Taken. A large sphere of interdimensional matter now fills the space where the Shrine previously sat.''


 * ERIS: The Taken power twists, shapes... the average Thrall does not live long enough to see its frame re-formed. Malok has lived with his power for many, many years, His hideous skin is a sign of his age, his cruelty.

or


 * ERIS: Beware the blight, Guardian. Malok's power is absolute here.
 * GHOST: The blight is the black goo, right? What is that stuff, anyway?
 * ERIS: Darkness, given form by Malok's cruel will.

or


 * ERIS: The beast is close! I can sense the blight that drips and seethes within.
 * GHOST: (whispers to Guardian) How can she see this stuff, with that whole... 'blindfold' thing?
 * ERIS: I see far better now than I ever did with my own eyes.

''The Guardians reach the final hallway, smothered in Taken blight. The presence here is so heavy, it burdens upon the Light of the Guardians, robbing them of their speed and health recovery. A lance of Thrall, led by a Captain, bottlenecks the Guardians and attacks them within the blight. The Guardians kill them and find the source of the blight and destroy it.''


 * ERIS: Beware, Guardian! The blight will drain your strength, your speed! Do not let Malok dominate this shrine!

''The trio of Guardians reach the shrine room, where several Taken Acolytes guard the area. They are dealt with quickly. Suddenly, Malok warps into the room, and fires upon the Guardians with a Boomer. Several groups of reinforcements rush to Malok's aid. Taken blights spawn everywhere, severely limiting the Guardians' movements. They either wipe out the reinforcements, or focus fire on the blights as they battle the Prince. After enough damage is done to Malok, he falls to one knee; his Boomer is destroyed. He then begins to attack the Guardians with fire projectiles, similar to Taken Knights. As more enemies are summoned and destroyed, Malok's head begins to throb and ripple. Eventually, his head explodes with a sickening squelch. Still alive, Malok becomes enraged, summoning blankets of Taken blight, armies of Captains, Acolytes and Phalanxes, and firing several Axion Darts from his head, in Centurion fashion. However, the fireteam cooperatively deals the fatal blows to Malok, killing him and ending his incipient reign.''


 * GHOST: We've taken back the shrine from the Taken! (childishly) ...that they took through... taking.
 * ERIS: Without Malok to channel Taken energy here, the blight will abate. And Oryx's shrine will quiet. That is my dream, Guardian. That one day the Moon will lie dead and still like the tomb it is.

or


 * ERIS: Malok's power over the blight was impressive... you are a credit to the Tower, Guardian.
 * GHOST:(astonished) Did she.... did she just compliment us?

Eris sighs loudly and deeply, in an almost over-dramatic tone of annoyance.

''As the Taken blights are lifted, the large sphere in the center starts to shake and fill the room with light. With a blinding flash, and a reverberating warble, the residue is destroyed, and the Shrine is empty once more.''

Mission ends.

Enemies

 * Taken
 * Hive
 * Malok, Pride of Oryx

Walkthrough
Players will start in the room where Phogoth was killed. Malok will be standing on the other side, but for a brief moment. He will summon minions to his aid and then teleport to the Shrine of Oryx. There will be a door on the upper platform with three locks that can only be unlocked with Tomb Husks, which will appear after each wave of enemies. As they make their way to the Shrine, they will have to destroy Taken Blights and the troops they spawn.

Once in the Shrine, there will be a group of Taken Acolytes protecting it. Kill them all and then Malok will spawn. Like most Knights, he is armed a Hive Boomer that he uses to hammer the player with long-distance explosive attacks, and any Guardian that gets too close will trigger his "Fist of Darkness ability", in which he slams his fist on the ground to create a gigantic shockwave that will instantly kill them. Malok's mere presence covers the floor in a dark mist that casts the "Shadow Touched" debuff, which disables Guardians' recovery and agility. The only way to create safe spots is to destroy the Blights that he summons throughout the fight, as it will also lessen the amount of minions spawned on the battlefield at any given time. After sustaining enough damage, Malok drops his Boomer and starts to change his tactics.

Malok will then begin to fire a barrage of Solar projectiles that create a lingering flame spot, an ability typical of Taken Knights. These projectiles naturally have a very long reach and should be avoided. Soon after his health reaches another threshold, he will fire Axion Darts in clusters of four. Should they all manage to home in on their target(s), they will quickly wipe out a three-Guardian fireteam. The "Shadow Touched" debuff will make avoiding these far-ranged attacks all the more difficult, so destroying the Taken Blights will make this fight easier to manage.

Trivia
Sometimes, during the fight against Malok, in the back of the Shrine where two Taken Phalanx spawn periodically, a group of Taken Thrall will sometimes open a set of doors, from which players can enter the room inside the Shrine itself. There is nothing of note save for a luminous green "pillar" and the Taken Blight's "Shadow Touched" debuff does not extend there. The doors can be opened from the inside but not on the outside.

List of appearances

 * Destiny
 * April Update