Valus Thuun

"Osiris said that he started to pity the Red Legion, getting trapped in here for infinite eternities. I think they're getting exactly what they deserve."

- Sagira Valus Thuun was a powerful Cabal Centurion and Valus of the Red Legion. He was encountered in both the Tree of Probabilities Story Mission and Strike, serving as the final boss of both.

Biography
When the Cabal first invaded Mercury during the early Red War, Valus Thuun lead an expedition into the Infinite Forest in hopes of finding the map of the engine's simulated realities. In their failed expedition, however, Thuun and his forces became trapped in a combat loop that continuously pitted the Cabal against the Vex while trying to steal the map to the Forest itself. When the Guardian and Sagira arrived to secure the map and find Panoptes, Infinite Mind, the Vex diverted the simulated Red Legion into halting their progress whilst Thuun could destroy the map. When the Guardian was about to engage Khartion, Archival Mind, the Valus took down the Vex Mind by surprise and engaged the Guardian. As they fought, Thuun began falling back towards the map as additional Vex defenses and security activities in an attempt to slow the Lightbearer's advance. It was to little avail as the Valus met his final fate at the Guardian's hand, dooming him to a cycle of endless death upon repeat of the combat loop.

After the death of Panoptes, a glitch in the simulation that trapped Thuun and his forces began to fracture them into copies that threaten to overwhelm and even escape the Infinite Forest. Sensing the temporal anomaly occurring within the network, Ikora, Osiris, and Sagira provided tactical support to the Guardian Fireteams in destroying the simulations of Thuun for good.

Gameplay
The fight against Thuun in both the story and Strike missions are completely identical. Once you have reached the heart of the Atlas Grove and cleared out all of the enemies there, Khartion will teleport in. Almost immediately afterward, the Centurion will dive into the arena and obliterate the Minotaur, commencing the boss fight.

Thuun is supported by multiple Cabal reinforcements, and primarily attacks with a specialized weapons platform with two different modes of fire. The primary fire mode acts like an enhanced Slug Rifle, with a faster fire rate and higher impact, although each shot travels in a slight arc. The secondary fire mode is a unique Concussion Rifle, which fires a barrage of Arc blasts that can knock Guardians back a significant distance. For close-quarters, Thuun will smash his fist into the ground, releasing a shockwave that will pound a player's shield and send them flying in the opposite direction, and occasionally, he will close the gap by using his jetpack to thrust him forward, causing him to smash the ground again. One has to be particularly wary of Thuun's Concussion Rifle, as it can potentially force you away from the fighting space altogether with little effort.

Once the Valus has lost a quarter of his health, a laser grid throughout the arena will activate. Thuun will become invulnerable to damage and retreat over the wall, before more Vex and Cabal enemies arrive. Players will be forced to eliminate all hostiles to lower the energy barriers, before they can pursue the boss to the next area. Thuun will be waiting for you there, and will waste no time in assaulting the fireteam again. He will once again retreat further into the Vex fortress when another quarter of his health has been depleted, followed by lasers will activating and more enemies appearing. After you have taken them out and made it to the final area, the battle with Thuun and his forces will continue. With no where left for him to run, the fireteam will finally have the chance to finish the Valus off.

Trivia

 * Thuun's tactic regarding charging his foes with his gauntlet weapon is very similar to Valus Mau'ual.
 * Valus Thuun's armor and weapons would later be used as the basis for several other Centurion bosses. These include Ghalak the Colossus, Forge Warden; the three Unbowed Legion commanders Shogmar, Mouvurg and Daazaz Dar; Time Wardens Dranurgh and Borduros; and the Imperial Deserter.

List of appearances

 * Destiny 2
 * Curse of Osiris