Nobody wanted the Destiny Content Vault, but now we all know how it works — destinations and activities move into the DCV each year, to be replaced with newer content. There are currently nine strikes in the DCV, so if you never got the chance to play them or if you just want to reminisce, here’s my ranking of them from worst to best.
9. Destiny 2 Vaulted Strikes — The Hollowed Lair
The DCV may annoy a lot of people, but it also helps a lot of people never have to play The Hollowed Lair again, so it’s impossible to say if it’s bad or not. If you never played The Hollowed Lair, it was a long hike through the Tangled Shore to one of the most irritating and drawn-out strike bosses in Destiny 2 history, second maybe only to Exodus Crash. The Fanatic’s boss fight mostly involved him throwing up an unbreakable shield, shooting lightning everywhere, and then teleporting you into the air and slowly pulling you towards him. Oh, and he’d periodically leave to summon a bunch of goons to fight you. It wasn’t even a hard fight, just a very slow and annoying one. If you think you know what it was like based on fighting the Nightmare of the Fanatic in Season of the Haunted, you have no idea.
8. Broodhold
I’m sorry, I just never liked the Tangled Shore that much as a destination. It’s all kind of monochromatic and same-y, especially when it comes to a strike like Broodhold that mostly takes place in Hive tunnels. This one had kind of an interesting premise, as it saw Guardians taking out the Hive consort of one of the Scorn Barons from Forsaken. I like how you engage In Ananh a few times through the mission, too. But Broodhold was never at the top of my list, and when it entered the DCV when Witch Queen came out, I wasn’t sad to see it go.
7. Destiny 2 Vaulted Strikes — A Garden World
Mercury was a divisive part of Destiny 2, and its strikes were no different. A Garden World had some gorgeous terrain in the Infinite Forest, sending Guardians back to Mercury’s past before the Vex started turning it into a big computer. It always felt kind of long, and by the time you climbed all the way up the tower to fight the Root Mind, it had overstayed its welcome. Depending on how fast you could deal out burst damage, the boss was either a cakewalk or could drag on, potentially even causing wipes for unprepared fireteams when it threw up a shield and unleashed Vex minions in an open arena without much in the way of cover.
6. Tree of Probabilities
The other Mercury strike, Tree of Probabilities changed things up by pitting Guardians against Cabal as well as Vex in the Infinite Forest. There was a fun sparrow section, and the idea of fighting a Vex simulation of Cabal is pretty cool. The fight against Valus Thuun could get weird, and even if you defeated him early you still had to hike your way to the end of the mission. Still, though, a solid strike and definitely my preferred of the two Mercury ones.
5. Strange Terrain
The lesser Mars strike, in my opinion, Strange Terrain was a snappy mission with a tolerable boss fight against the Hive Wizard Nokris. That fight featured an orb-chucking mechanic similar to the much-loathed one in The Corrupted, but you at least were just trying to hit stationary crystals rather than a moving target.
4. Savathun’s Song
Titan’s only strike, Savathun’s Song took you deep into Hive-controlled territory to rescue a fallen fireteam of the least-capable Guardians to have ever risen from the grave. Overall a fun strike with a neat premise that gets a callback in Witch Queen, but now mostly remembered for Taeko-3’s terrible voice acting exacerbated by the odd timing of the voice clips.
3. Destiny 2 Vaulted Strikes — The Festering Core
Oh The Festering Core, we hardly knew thee. Introduced in Shadowkeep and vaulted only a year later with the release of Beyond Light, The Festering Core took Guardians through a Vex structure being gobbled up by Taken. The vibe was similar to that of the Whisper mission, with Guardians clamoring across irregular structures overlooking vast, yawning chasms. Maybe it’s just because I never got the chance to get sick of it, but I loved The Festering Core and wish it hadn’t gone away so soon.
2. Will of the Thousands
Now we’re talking. Most strike bosses in Destiny 2 are just bigger versions of existing enemies, but since Will of the Thousands originated as a story mission in the Warmind expansion, it’s a little different. Here, you get to fight the Worm God Xol, who it turns out is kind of a pushover. But Will of the Thousands had it all — fighting your way into a Warmind base, using the Javelin to blow up Hive, and finally taking on a gigantic boss that can kill you just by flopping onto the arena. For all of Warmind‘s shortcomings, it at least got a great strike into the rotation.
1. The Pyramidion
Asher Mir and Ikora Rey lead you into a Vex structure to get revenge on the Vex that killed Asher’s fireteam and took his arm. The Pyramidion always made you feel like a hero, dodging Vex security lasers and plunging down through confusing architecture until you finally take on a gigantic Hobgoblin in a huge arena. RIP Asher. (Unless…?)
Well, that’s all of them. Maybe we’ll see some make a return someday — who knows. Let me know in the comments if you agree or disagree with my rankings. I’m sure there’s someone out there who actually liked The Hollowed Lair. Maybe.
If you’re looking for more help with Destiny 2, we have guides covering how to unlock the Solar 3.0 fragments and grenades, how to get the new Jotunn catalyst, how to farm Vestiges of Dread and Opulent Umbral Energy, all Exotics, new weapon Patterns, seasonal mods, and Season of the Haunted triumphs. In addition, we’re covering all patch notes, bugs and top issues, Bound in Sorrow quest steps, and Calus Bobbleheads. We’ve covered how to get Opulent Keys, Bound Presence in Containment, Crown of Sorrow H.E.L.M. upgrades, Iron Banner Seal Triumphs, and the Trespasser Catalyst. And lastly, we’ve written on how to find a Loyalist Commander for Battles Lines Triumph and the Cek’ik Boss.
