Malok, Pride of Oryx

"Dutiful Malok. Many offerings of Light did he make at the Shrines of Oryx."

- Eris Morn

Malok, Pride of Oryx is a Taken Knight who rises to power in the aftermath of the defeat of Oryx, the Taken King, becoming a prime candidate to seize Oryx's vacant throne, thus serving as the main antagonist of the April Update. He is first encountered in the story Mission Pretender to the Throne, where the Guardian tries to stop Malok from occupying the throne. He is met again in the Blighted Chalice Strike, where he plans to roost a nest of Taken and lead them on a full-scale assault on The Last City. A fireteam of Guardians pins him down there and finishes him off for good.

Biography
Originally an unnamed Thrall spawned under Savathûn, Malok was begat to turn against the Taken King himself by tithing upon his tribute to fuel hers under the cloak of deceit and cunning. Her ploy failed as he selfishly took Oryx's tribute for himself instead and grew in strength till he became a Knight.

Malok's thievery was known and ultimately became Taken by Oryx to taunt his sister, giving him his aforementioned name (meaning My Poison in the Hive tongue) in mockery of her failed machination. Thus Malok was condemned to serve the Taken King up until his demise at the hands of the Guardians.

Unlike most Taken, which exude blights wherever they go, Malok was able to control the Taken Blights at his disposal; empowering them at his command and becoming formidable enough to taking claim of the Osmium Throne.

Gameplay
Malok is encountered more than once in the April Update. He is first met in the mission Pretender to the Throne on the Dreadnought, where he plans to threaten the Guardian upon their arrival. To show his might, he sends forth a wave of Taken to fend off the Guardian. The Guardian succeeds, but Malok escapes to the Shrine of Oryx. The Guardian confronts him again in the Blighted Chalice strike, and he has some deadly tricks up his sleeve. His mere presence covers the floor in a dark mist that disables recovery and agility, and throughout the fight, he will continue to summon Taken Blights. These blights will bring forth waves of Taken minions that should be disposed of quickly. Destroying the blights will also clear up space for Guardians to gain a foothold on the battlefield.

Like most Knights, Malok is armed with a Boomer for long-ranged explosive attacks, and if a Guardian gets too close, he will pound the ground with his fist to create a shockwave that will instantly kill them. However, after sustaining enough damage, Malok drops his Boomer, and then he resorts to dark magic, thus signifying a change in his tactics.

His first attack is an ability typical of Taken Knights: sending forth a barrage of Solar projectiles that linger on the ground, creating a fiery trap. This attack has a very long reach, and the "Shadow Touched" debuff he casts on the floor makes it all the more difficult to avoid. The best defense from this attack is to find adequate cover.

After reaching a certain health threshold, Malok will begin sending out Axion Bolts like those of Taken Centurions. They are fired in clusters of four, and should they all manage to home in on your fireteam, they will quickly cause a team wipe. These darts must be destroyed in order to reduce and even eliminate the chances of dying from homing, long-ranged attacks. This change in tactics makes Malok a very dangerous foe, and therefore should be engaged with caution, as he doesn't even need to get close to score a kill.

Trivia
Malok was first identified by two items added to Destiny's database by The Taken King: the pulse rifle Grasp of Malok, which drops from the Will of Crota strike, and the strike-exclusive Hunter helmet Hood of Malok.