Forum:Takedown on the Almighty

The Takedown on the Almighty is a Cabal Takedown released following the Season of the Worthy. A culmination of every feat in the Season of the Worthy, Guardians must return to the Almighty and destroy the source of a psionic barrier that the Red Legion had unleashed in a desperate effort to prevent the destruction of the Almighty. Players are prompted to carve through the fierce Cabal opposition and race through the rusted machinery of the massive war ship, gathering new, unique Red Legion themed gear and weaponry, as well as an opportunity to gain the Heir Apparent through fiercer opposition and more relentless encounters.

Overview
After the culmination of all of the Guardians' efforts, Rasputin was finally ready to blow the Almighty off its collision course towards Earth. However, the remaining sister of the Red Legion Flayers, Amtec, caught on to the Vanguard's goal and made a desperate ploy to shield the Almighty and keep it on its path down. After discovering the recent development, Zavala would reach out to any Guardian capable, asking them to board the Almighty and take down its shielding and end the Red Legion's threat to the Solar System once and for all.

Unlike Raids and Dungeons, the Takedown lacks heavily mechanic based encounters, instead, relying on numerous enemies and the progression through them, save for the boss encounters, in a similar fashion to that of Strikes. For balancing, the difficulty of the Takedown will scale to the number of present players and the Fireteam Leader's power level and choice of modifiers. Most prominent of these features is the unforgiving checkpoint system, only offering three save spots: the beginning, after defeating Val Sartuum and after defeating Primus Kala'tam for those who embarked on the Heir Apparent weapon quest.

Boarding
When players first land on the Almighty, they will first be met with a path leading to a room with ammo crates, an orb generator, a hastily placed vault and a bunch of constantly flickering security terminals, depicting the many chambers and hallways of the Almighty bustling with Red Legion patrols, all getting into positions, placing defenses and activating weaponry and vehicles, as well as one, if the players are playing the Takedown before it's release, slowly counting down in Cabal numerals, showing the time remaining before the activation of the Takedown. For players prepping for World's First, once the timer hits "zero", the door automatically opens, while players returning to or playing the Takedown later will be given the option to pull a lever to start it, opening the door to the rest of the Almighty.

Vex Siege
Once the door opens, players will be greeted by three looming Thresher gunships and a Harvester approaching a skirmish on a distant, lower platform, where Cabal guards can be seen engaging rampant Vex units emerging from a breach in the adjacent wall. Players will then be greeted by a small Vex contingent revealing themselves from another nearby breach, providing the Guardian(s) a way to reach the carnage. After entering the breach, the team will be met with a massive force of disheveled, headless Vex flanked by seemingly mint-condition Vex units. While simple grunts such as Goblins, Laser Rifle Hobgoblins and Harpies don't pose much of a threat, enemies such as Cyclopses, berserk Line Rifle Hobgoblins and berserk Minotaurs will easily end a run then and there. For more difficult runs or if more player are present, there is a greater chance a Champion will spawn, so the player(s) should remain vigilant for any game-changing factors such as that. After deposing the massive Vex army, the barrier blocking deeper access will open but before a massive flock of Harpies and an Ultra Hydra emerge from it. After either killing the Vex's response or evading them, players should be met with a massive rocky slope leading down to a blown-open Cabal door. There will be a bunch of Vex adds on the slope that can be ignored, but shouldn't be, as well as a decently sized group of Cabal reinforcements at the bottom. Usually, the squad will consist of a bunch of Legionaries, a line of Phalanxes creating a massive barrier that envelops the distant door, two Incendiors and a Centurion, but on higher difficulties or with a larger squad, a Colossus or two will be present or Cabal Champions will replace a few of them. From above the carnage on a catwalk above, Psions might provide sniper fire for their allies. Once the squad guarding the door is killed, a new squad will emerge to replace them, mostly armed with close-range or melee weaponry such as War Beasts, Gladiators, Slug Shotgun troops as well as some berserk Legionaries and Blood Guard Centurions. Once the reinforcements are killed, the player(s) will then be granted access to the platform they first saw after leaving the "safe-room".

Once the player(s) approach the platform, they will overhear Cabal chatter from two of the three Blood Guard Elites commenting on the Vex onslaught on their position. From the doorway looking onto the platform, they will see a massive Sol Imminent Hydra, named The Vindictive Mind, protected by overhead Vex Lenses flanked by other Sol Divisive units belonging to it's subtype, all taking fire from the Cabal units protecting the door in the back. After exiting the hallway approaching the platform, the final elite will discover the Guardian intruder(s), demanding the guards to focus fire on them and reveals the presence of a mysterious commander. Most of the platform will be sealed off by Cabal Barriers; to shut them down, player(s) must kill the Vex Mind besieging the Cabal encampments. The Hydra will mainly be protected by frequently summoning Vex cubes that must be destroyed to strip it of its immune shield. Even after then, the Vindictive Mind will retain the 3 rotational temporal shields. But, after disposing of it, the lockdown hiding the Cabal reinforcements will lift, allowing the player(s) to move in on the field commanders. Most of the platform will be littered with Scorpius Turrets, droves of Cabal reinforcements, especially around the Blood Guard units commanding them, as well as at least two Cabal Champions. Here, though, to progress quickly through the Takedown, the player(s) should focus on the named Blood Guard units they overheard on comms. Usually posted in a bunker or a hallway, they can be found by following the source of seemingly endless reinforcements. The named Blood Guard units are resilient and powerful by their own right, and will enter an immune state once they lose half of their health, summoning more reinforcements to back them up. Once the entire squad arrives, the named guards will lose their immune shield. Once two of the commanders are killed, the remaining one will immediately gain an immune shield and run for the overlook above the door. Once they reach the door, they will summon one last major wave of reinforcements backed by Scorpius turrets, Threshers and Cannon-armed Harvesters. Once the squad is depleted, the Threshers are brought down and the Harvesters are forced away, the commander will demand back-up and the deployment of the "elites", and thus begins the next encounter.

The Response
Following the remaining commanders plea for back-up, a psionic rift in front of the door will reveal the Retiarius, one of the new Psion units introduced with the Takedown. Here, the Retiarius will summon their Cabal subordinates and begin engaging the Guardian intruders there. The most dangerous trait about the Retiarius is there ability to entrap and draw out Guardian(s) in cover or in the heat of the battle, either way, their powers make even the most powerful Guardians easy pickings for even something as simple as a War Beast, so it should be a priority to escape those entrapments and kill the Retiarius and any powerful add first. However, a tremendous health pool and its vast amount of reinforcements makes that priority an issue, so it would be advisable to have any weapon or ability that weakens or even just mitigates the threat of the Retiarius. After the Retiarius and its subordinates have been killed, a new special variant of the Psion emerges from a rift on the right side of the arena, the Murmillo. Unlike the support role the Retiarius plays for its allies, the Murmillo plays a more defensive role, constantly creating incendiary cover to protect their allies while torching any unwanted enemy that passes through them. Much like the Retiarius, the immense health pool and constant flow of reinforcements are the most notorious problem these units pose, so player(s) should slowly make their way past any frustrating Cabal add and avoid the burning defenses before making any move against the Murmillo. Though most of the Murmillo's abilities are defensive, Guardian(s) should look out for the Psion's Barbican Targe ability, which temporarily provides cover for their Cabal allies before unleashing a jagged and incendiary wave in the direction it was cast, thus giving the Murmillo minimal offensive capabilities. Once the Murmillo is disposed of, the final Psion variant, the Hoplomachus, will emerge from a rift on the left side of the arena. What makes the Hoplomachus stand out from its brethren's more supportive roles is its expansive offensive capabilities. Most notable and dangerous, but riskiest of which is it's dash ability, which allows it to rapidly zoom towards a destination before emitting a massive pulse of electricity, and repeats it for a maximum of 8 times before stopping for a moment to "catch their breath", briefly exposing them to attacks without the ability to evade or retaliate for a while. Despite the more exposed and combat oriented gameplay of the Hoplomachus, however, their health pool, combat capabilities and reinforcements should not be underestimated, though the dash ability does put them at risk nonetheless.

After facing off one of each Psion, the Cabal will then begin to deploy two of the three variants on the field, creating an even greater threat than before, ramping the once slowly escalating difficulties to near impossible without an optimal set-up. To alleviate the threat of the dynamic duos, however, players should prioritize each Psion in the following order, from least problematic to most problematic: Murmilloes -> Retiarii -> Hoplomachii. If two of the same units teleport in on one of the waves, then prioritize one of them before moving onto the other (if two Hoplomachii are present, the Guardian(s) should prioritize one of them unless the other one begins a dash, there, players should make every attempt to avoid them and the trails they make and focus fire on them). Here, the player(s) shouldn't have to worry about Champions (unless set to the highest difficulty and/or there is a decent number of players present), so they should only have to worry about dealing with the Psion Elites for a while. During these waves, players should also make every attempt to watch out for the Harvesters deploying reinforcements due to their Cannons which can quickly bring down the most adamant of Guardians. On higher difficulties, if the modifier is active, there will also be a frequent barrage of missiles that should be avoided at all costs as well. After the 3rd wave of duos, all three of the Elites will emerge from the rifts at each side of the arena. As long as the player(s) remember the Psions that should be prioritized, how to avoid the Harvesters and constant barrage of missiles, things, for the most part, should be smooth sailing after this. Once all of the Elites are killed, the door will open up, revealing one last challenge before the next encounter, a Goliath Tank piloted by the remaining Blood Guard Commander. Once the (slightly more durable) Goliath and its pilot have been destroyed, the energy barrier protecting the door will subside, allowing players access to the hallways leading to the Almighty's immense and powerful Pyroducts.

Bosses

 * Amtec, Equilibrium's Ward
 * Val Sartuum, Insatiable Strife
 * Volam, Adamant Bastion (Mini-Boss)
 * Talan, Enduring Shield (Mini-Boss)
 * Novak, Durable Rampart (Mini-Boss)
 * The Vindictive Mind (Mini-Boss)
 * Primus Kala'tam, Harbinger of the Domina (Heir Apparent Side-Quest)

Unique Enemies

 * Retiarius: A specialized Psion unit that channels Void energy for the purpose of trapping enemy units. Armed with a Cabal Bronto Cannon, these units specialize in creating a singularity that draws in opponents, hurls a leash at a target and pull their opponents towards them or conjure a sphere that traps enemies within it, leaving them so until the Retiarius is killed or the white, rapidly rotating weak point is damaged.


 * Murmillo: A specialized Psion unit that wields Solar energy with the intent of conjuring barrier for their allies. Usually armed with a Slug Rifle (though there is a chance to encounter ones wielding Cabal Headhunters, Projection Rifles, and, extremely rarely, Cabal Magma Launchers), these units have the ability to create barrier shields, a massive dome shield focalized around them, or a massive spiked barbican that temporarily creates cover before unleashing a wave of burning energy in the direction its faced.


 * Hoplomachus: A specialized Psion unit that utilizes Arc energy with the goal of unleashing projectiles and waves of energy against their enemies. Armed with a Cabal Slug Shotgun, these units will either unleash a directed bolt of energy, launch bolts of lightning into the air before quickly coming back down, or dash to a location, creating a trail of damaging electricity before exploding at their destination.

Returning Enemies

 * Barrier Colossus


 * Barrier Hobgoblin


 * Overload Legionary


 * Overload Minotaur


 * Overload Psion


 * Unstoppable Gladiator


 * Unstoppable Incendior