Prison of Elders

The Prison of Elders is a prison facility in The Reef, under the oversight of Variks, the Loyal. It is based on the House of Judgment's traditions for settling disputes between Fallen through trial by combat. The Archon Priest Aksor was previously a prisoner before later being retrieved by Taniks and having his soul restored by the House of Winter on Venus. The Prison of Elders is also known to contain members of the House of Wolves that were captured during the Reef Wars, though it also contains Hive, Vex and Cabal inmates who have attacked the Reef. These prisoners are considered "trophies" by the Reef, kept cryogenically frozen for the Queen's benefit. Though since Skolas' rebellion, the Queen now wants the prison cleared out, and has recruited the Guardians to do it.

Gameplay
The Prison is featured in the House of Wolves as part of the new Arena game mode. It is limited to 3 players. Four missions are available each week at different levels. The level 28 mission includes matchmaking and is always random. The other three "challenge" missions are at levels 32, 34, and 35, and require pre-made fireteams. The level 32 and 34 missions rotate weekly; the level 34 mission will be replaced with something new, while the level 32 mission will feature the previous week's level 34 mission. The level 35 mission is always Skolas's Revenge.

A single session consists of 5 rounds of 3 waves each, except for Skolas's Revenge which features 6 rounds. The final round of a session is a boss battle. Players spawn in the Airlock, a small central room that connects to the Prison's four chambers, each home to one of the four enemy races. Once a round begins, a modifier is activated and players are directed to one of the chambers. After completing a round, players must return to the Airlock to begin the next round.

After completing the boss round of a Prison of Elders challenge mission, a gate in the Airlock's floor opens and allows players to descend into a treasure room. The room contains three chests that can only be opened once per session: two small chests that may drop rare items, and one large chest that requires a Treasure Key to open and may drop Reef-themed gear as well as exotic items. Other items that can drop from the chests include Strange Coins and Motes of Light. Players with multiple Treasure Keys may repeat a Prison of Elders session to refresh the large chest so that the Keys can be used; the large chest can be opened multiple times per week, the only limit is the number of Treasure Keys in the player's possession. As of the April Update, Prison of Elders now has two extra game modes: Level 41, which has a chance of hosting Taken enemies and Level 42, which is known as Challenge of the Elders.

As the Prison of Elders is a highly variable environment, see Prison of Elders/Strategy for more details.

Missions

 * Broken Legion - "Valus Trau'ug seeks to prove his might by crushing all who challenge him."
 * Cult of the Worm - "Gulrot, Unclean has been summoned by the Worm Keepers. Don't let the beast's filth spread beyond the prison."
 * Machine Wrath - "Archon Servants have raised their own corrupted Servitor-god, Kaliks Reborn. Defeat it and be rewarded."
 * Skolas's Revenge (level 35 only) - "Skolas and his crew challenge the Guardians who captured him. Face him with a Fireteam of three. End him."
 * The Forever Eater - "Qodron, a Vex chronovore, sees only one outcome: your demise. Prove it wrong."
 * Urrox's Grudge - "The Flame Prince Urrox vows to burn the Light until all that remains is Darkness and bone."

Round Modifiers
Each round features a specific modifier that can force Guardians to adapt their strategy. The modifier is active for the entirety of the round. Skolas's Revenge features two modifiers per round. In addition to existing modifiers, House of Wolves introduces eight new ones:


 * Airborne - Players deal more damage in the air.
 * Brawler - Player melee attacks are more powerful
 * Catapult - Grenades recharge at an increased rate
 * Exposure - Player shields are increased, but don't replenish
 * Grounded - Players take more damage while in the air.
 * Lightswitch - Minions of the Darkness deal far more melee damage.
 * Small Arms - Primary weapons are more powerful
 * Specialist - Special weapons are more powerful
 * Trickle - Abilities recharge at a reduced rate

Critical Objectives
During some waves, Variks will issue a time-sensitive Critical Objective that Guardians must complete during the battle. Failing to complete a Critical Objective will cause Variks to invoke Warden's Punishment, a debuff that immediately kills the Guardians and forces them to restart the round.


 * Destroy Splinter Mines - Mines will appear around the arena. Destroy them within 30 seconds.
 * Defusing Splinter Mines - Capture zones that appear one at a time across the arena. Once a zone appears, players have 30 seconds to capture it.
 * Eliminate Target - Kill a powerful enemy before he escapes the arena.

Gifts from Variks
Occasionally, at the start of a wave Variks will send Guardians a helpful item.


 * Scorch Cannon - a pickup weapon that can fire explosive shells with a timer.
 * Heavy Ammo crate - a single-use ammo crate like those found in the Crucible.

Generic
Generic bosses are fought on round 5 of the level 28 Prison of Elders. They may also appear as a boss during rounds 1-4 on one of the challenge modes. Generic bosses lack any special abilities that challenge mode bosses have.
 * Overmind Minotaur
 * Pilot Servitor
 * Val Aru'un
 * Wretched Knight

Challenge
Challenge mode bosses are much more difficult to fight, as they all come with their own special abilities.
 * Gulrot, Unclean
 * Kaliks Reborn
 * Skolas, Kell of Kells
 * Qodron, Gate Lord
 * Urrox, Flame Prince
 * Valus Trau'ug

Mission Rewards
These rewards are guaranteed for completing a Prison of Elders session and challenge missions. The challenge mission (level 32, 34, and 35) rewards can only be acquired once per week.


 * Level 28
 * House of Judgment reputation (+10 per each of the first 4 rounds, +25 for the 5th round)
 * 1 Cryptarch Engram
 * +6 Vanguard Marks
 * +25 Vanguard reputation


 * Level 32
 * +200 House of Judgment reputation
 * 1 Armor Core


 * Level 34
 * +300 House of Judgment reputation
 * 1 Weapon Core
 * 1 Etheric Light


 * Level 35
 * +500 House of Judgment reputation
 * 1 Armor Core
 * 1 Weapon Core
 * 1 Etheric Light

Crystal Barrows
In addition to the above mission rewards, players can enter the treasure room in the Crystal Barrows. They can open the two smaller chests, which rewards lesser items such as strange coins and motes of light, but the big chest can only be opened with a treasure key, which can be used even on the level 28 version. The chest can drop legendary Queen-themed equipment, legendary Fallen-themed equipment, and (once per character) a level 36 exotic weapon.

Former prisoners

 * Aksor, Archon Priest - freed by the House of Winter
 * Beltrik, the Veiled - escaped during Skolas's uprising

List of appearances

 * Destiny
 * House of Wolves
 * April Update