Complete Destiny 2 Vault of Glass raid guide with optimized strategies, common mistakes to avoid, and expert tactics
Introduction to Vault of Glass
The legendary Vault of Glass has returned to Destiny 2, bringing with it one of gaming’s most celebrated raid experiences. This comprehensive guide covers every encounter, boss fight, and hidden secret to ensure your fireteam’s success.
The raid that defined Destiny’s endgame is finally back — Vault of Glass now challenges a new generation of Guardians. Whether you’re a veteran from Destiny 1 or tackling this iconic activity for the first time, our complete walkthrough has you covered.
When Destiny launched in 2014, the gaming community quickly recognized Vault of Glass as one of the most demanding PVE challenges available. This groundbreaking raid unlocked just one week after Bungie’s shooter debuted, establishing the gold standard for what Guardians would expect from future endgame content.
As Destiny’s inaugural six-player activity, it pushed fireteams to their absolute limits, requiring exceptional communication and precisely executed strategies. Seven years later, it remains regarded as one of the franchise’s crowning achievements in game design.
Now resurrected in Destiny 2, players are rediscovering this classic raid with fresh eyes — though Bungie has implemented several tweaks to maintain challenge while preserving the original activity’s spirit. These changes include updated mechanics, refreshed loot, and quality-of-life improvements.
If you’re struggling with specific encounters or seeking guidance on hidden mechanics, this in-depth guide provides everything you need to know about conquering Destiny 2’s Vault of Glass raid with confidence and efficiency.
Opening the Vault: Sync Plate Defense
When loading into Vault of Glass, you begin outside the actual raid area — unlike most Destiny raids that start immediately in encounter zones. This starting location was originally a public space in Destiny 1. Your initial objective is straightforward: unlock the Vault entrance.
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Surveying the starting area reveals three Vex sync plates requiring defense. You’ll find one plate on the left side, another centrally located, and a third elevated on the map’s right side. Divide your fireteam into three pairs, with each duo responsible for protecting one plate.
After organizing teams, proceed to your assigned plates and defend against approaching Vex forces. Your collective goal involves maintaining control of all three plates long enough to construct a central spire that unlocks the Vault entrance.
Aggressive enemies will attempt to eliminate you, but more critically, they’ll try to disrupt progress by occupying the plates. Prevent this at all costs and maintain clear plates for several minutes. If any single plate turns red (indicating Vex control), it can reset overall progress. Fortunately, this activity features no true failure state, as you and teammates can respawn freely.
With all three plates secured and the spire completed, the Vault doors will open, allowing proper raid commencement. Don’t forget to collect rewards from the chest immediately inside before progressing to the first real encounter: Conflux defense.
Pro Tips for Opening Encounter
Assign your most mobile players (Hunters with high mobility or Titans with shoulder charge) to the elevated right plate, as it requires the most movement to defend effectively. Use area-of-effect abilities like Vortex Grenades to control plate approaches, and communicate immediately when your plate is under pressure so adjacent teams can provide support fire.
Defending the Confluxes
After navigating the Vault’s initial section, you’ll descend into a new combat arena. Begin by eliminating Vex enemies that spawn throughout the area.
Three Confluxes materialize around the map: left, right, and central positions. Similar to the opening encounter, your objective involves preventing Vex from reaching these Confluxes. Enemies will rush toward each Conflux before kneeling to perform sacrifices — if too many Vex complete this ritual, the encounter fails and restarts.
Initially, you’ll defend single Confluxes sequentially. The difficulty escalates as you must protect two simultaneously, then finally all three at once. Maintain the same three teams of two from the previous encounter. Each pair should prioritize their assigned Conflux while providing cross-fire support when possible.
Remain vigilant for hazardous green residue on the ground; Vex Fanatics within the Vault release dangerous goop upon defeat that spreads across surfaces. Contact with this substance applies a debuff visible on your screen’s bottom left: Marked for Negation.
If marked by this status effect, you’ll die instantly when the Templar’s next Ritual of Negation occurs approximately every minute. To remove this effect from your Guardian, move to the map’s center and stand in the cleansing pool.
After successfully defending the Confluxes, collect your loot from the chest and prepare for Oracle elimination.
Advanced Conflux Strategy
During the three-Conflux phase, position one player from each team slightly forward to intercept approaching Vex before they reach the Conflux. This creates layered defense and reduces pressure on the actual objective points. Use weapons with high stagger potential to stop charging enemies, and coordinate Supers to manage large waves efficiently rather than using them as emergency buttons.
Destroying Oracles
This raid segment is frequently considered among the more frustrating encounters. This phase introduces Oracles: luminous orbs that materialize throughout the area accompanied by distinctive chimes. Your task involves destroying every spawning Oracle — but with a significant mechanic change from Destiny 1.
To initiate the encounter, Oracles briefly appear then vanish. This preview allows you to memorize their locations. However, you must also note the precise sequence in which each Oracle appears.
Unlike the original encounter where you could destroy orbs in any sequence, Destiny 2’s updated version requires shooting them in the exact order they appear during each phase — failure to do so wipes your team and restarts the encounter.
The encounter progresses with increasing complexity: one Oracle spawns followed by enemy waves, then two Oracles appear with another Vex wave, continuing this pattern up to seven Oracles simultaneously. You must eliminate them shortly after appearance while maintaining proper sequence to avoid unnecessary wipes.
This mechanic creates frustration potential — you might perfectly clear six waves but miss one Oracle in the seventh round, forcing complete restart. Every player must know all Oracle spawn locations and their appearance order before each phase begins.
Invest time learning their audio cues and mastering patterns so if teammates fall, others can assume their Oracle responsibilities. This knowledge proves invaluable not only for this encounter but also during the upcoming boss confrontation.
Oracle Mastery Techniques
Assign specific players to specific Oracle locations rather than having everyone shoot randomly. Designate callers for each sequence who vocalize the order clearly. Use weapons with high rate of fire and generous ammo reserves — auto rifles and machine guns excel here. Practice recognizing the distinct musical notes each Oracle produces, as audio cues often provide faster identification than visual scanning.
Templar Boss Fight
After Conflux defense and Oracle elimination, you’ve reached Vault of Glass’s first boss encounter. The Templar fight features straightforward mechanics but demands exceptional survival skills and damage optimization.
First, note the Relic that appears in the arena. Organize your fireteam with one primary Relic holder and a designated backup in case the first player falls during any phase.
The Relic wielder represents this fight’s most critical role. While functional as a melee weapon, the Relic serves two primary purposes. First, it can cleanse teammates — holding the fire button generates a protective bubble that removes Negation marks, similar to the central pool during Conflux defense.
Cleansing allies remains absolutely essential during this boss fight. Listen carefully for teammates reporting marks and assist them immediately. Delayed cleansing results in instant death and likely team wipe.
Secondly, the Relic enables additional boss damage. Your Super charges remarkably quickly while holding the Relic, though it functions differently than standard Supers. Activating this ability projects an energy burst — aim this at the Templar’s shield to temporarily disable it, creating damage opportunities.
Before initiating damage, free any detained players (trapped in Vex containment fields). After dropping the Templar’s shield, random teammates become encased — quickly destroy these bubbles (via shooting) to release affected Guardians for damage contribution.
Without the Relic’s Super, the Templar’s shield remains impenetrable. Maximize each damage phase by clearing additional enemies and ensuring full team coordination before shield removal. With proper setup, you should require only three or four damage phases maximum.
Throughout this encounter, three Oracles spawn with previously established rules applying. Unlike Destiny 1 (where Oracle elimination during Templar was optional), failure to destroy them in Destiny 2’s version wipes your team.
Like most early Destiny raid bosses, the Templar features an enrage timer. Excessive duration prompts this powerful enemy to terminate your attempt instantly. Proceed efficiently through damage phases sequentially to avoid enrage and premature encounter conclusion.
Additionally, the boss occasionally teleports throughout the arena, shortening damage phases. However, positioning a teammate in the Templar’s intended teleport location (indicated by a small red circle) before movement locks the enemy in place, extending damage opportunity while spawning additional enemies — choose this strategy wisely.
After defeating the Templar and its allies, collect loot from the area’s chest and advance to the notorious Gorgon’s Labyrinth.
Templar Optimization
Designate one player specifically for blocking teleports — this should be someone with high survivability and awareness of boss mechanics. Use weapons with high burst damage like sniper rifles and rocket launchers during damage phases. The Relic holder should practice the shield-break timing to maximize damage windows, and the team should pre-position before each shield drop for immediate damage application.
Gorgon’s Labyrinth
With the Templar defeated, proceed to the raid’s second major area. After advancing deeper into the Vault’s depths, you’ll encounter hostile Gorgons.
This raid-exclusive enemy type (modified Harpy Vex variants) will decimate your squad if unprepared. Their sole purpose involves tracking and instantly eliminating your fireteam. Consequently, this phase emphasizes stealth above all else.
Your objective involves navigating this dimly lit area without alerting Gorgons. Take multiple attempts to learn movement patterns, study paths, and memorize locations. Your entire team should move cohesively, quickly crossing gaps during safe intervals to avoid these lethal foes. Avoid weapon discharge and unnecessary sprinting.
Initially, follow the left-most wall from the starting position. Progressing forward reveals the first major opening with Gorgons visible throughout. Wait for optimal timing before advancing into the opening, using a nearby rock to reach elevated central terrain. This section can prove finicky — avoid clustering too tightly and disrupting teammates’ jumps.
When prepared, remain left-side and locate a smaller cave entrance across the chamber. Quickly move to this opening and follow the path until exiting the Gorgon-infested zone.
Note that Gorgons can be eliminated — they’re not invulnerable but possess enormous damage resistance. If spotted but wanting to continue your attempt, this requires all heavy ammunition, multiple Supers, and essentially every available resource. Even then, you have mere seconds before detonation, so eliminate them rapidly to preserve the run.
After clearing Gorgon’s Labyrinth, you’ll encounter a straightforward jumping section with disappearing platforms. Even during initial attempts, this segment shouldn’t prove excessively difficult provided you time movements with shifting terrain. Traverse carefully while maintaining close wall proximity. Navigate the extremely narrow ledge, jumping outward and floating inward as needed — you’ll complete this platforming challenge promptly.
Upon completion, a door opens into the raid’s final area. This is where complexity intensifies and challenge reaches its peak.
Labyrinth Navigation Tips
Move as a single unit with the most experienced player leading the path. Use emotes to communicate silently rather than voice chat when possible to maintain focus. If detected, have a predetermined emergency plan — either scatter to different routes or focus fire on the detecting Gorgon immediately. Consider practicing the killing method in a dedicated attempt to understand the damage requirement for future emergency situations.
Killing Gatekeepers
Before beginning proper attempts, familiarize yourself with two Vex plates in the area. Identical to plates defended outside the Vault, players must stand within them to activate effects. These plates open corresponding portals transporting you to different locations — potentially different timelines based on lore interpretation.
The left plate accesses a crimson environment often called Mars. The right plate leads to a vibrant green area teams typically reference as Venus. While unconfirmed locations, these simple labels prove absolutely essential for the raid’s final sections — ensure your team internalizes these terms before proceeding.
When ready for actual attempts, first eliminate a Gatekeeper. Have all six players deploy their most powerful weapons to rapidly defeat this formidable foe.
After the initial Gatekeeper falls, retrieve the dropped Relic and prepare to activate both Vex gates. Maintain the same three pairs from previous encounters. Two players should remain on plates (one each) to sustain both portal activations. Two additional players spread slightly to clear area enemies. The final pair each traverse one portal.
Players traveling to Mars and Venus immediately face substantial challenges. Each dimension contains a Vex Conflux requiring defense. Continue eliminating enemies until a powerful shielded Minotaur spawns — immediately communicate this development. The Relic-wielding teammate in the Vault must then enter that portal, remove the immunity shield, and assist with Minotaur elimination.
However, this mechanic includes a complication — anyone teleporting with the Relic receives the Teleport Destabilized debuff for 45 seconds, preventing additional portal travel until expiration. Your team must coordinate Relic responsibility instantly, ensuring every player stands ready to assume or transfer it based on circumstances.
Throughout this process, Gatekeepers continuously respawn within the Vault. When this occurs, all four teammates in that arena should concentrate fire on these enemies and eliminate them immediately, because active Gatekeepers close Mars and Venus portals, halting Relic rotation and typically causing wipes.
This creates chaotic intensity, with different teams communicating various needs while focusing on separate objectives. Maintain composure and request assistance only when absolutely necessary. Sustain communication throughout the unfolding chaos, remaining prepared for instantaneous role changes.
After defeating multiple shielded Minotaurs on both sides, another Conflux materializes in the Vault’s center. At this stage, your entire team should return from Mars and Venus, concentrating all attention on defending this final Conflux from additional Vex waves.
Even more shielded Minotaurs appear during this phase, becoming the Relic holder’s primary focus while others manage remaining enemies. Surviving this vicious assault and eliminating all powerful foes enables looting another chest and preparation for the final raid boss — Atheon, Time’s Conflux.
Gatekeeper Coordination
Establish clear Relic handoff procedures before starting the encounter. Designate specific players as primary portal runners and ensure they have appropriate loadouts for add-clear and major elimination. Use the 45-second debuff timer strategically — the Relic holder should complete both portal runs efficiently rather than waiting out timers. Communication should be concise and focused, with portal teams providing status updates and Vault teams calling Gatekeeper spawns immediately.
Atheon Boss Fight
Finally, you’ve reached Destiny’s Vault of Glass raid conclusion. Congratulations on progressing this far, but the ultimate challenge now begins. The Atheon confrontation remains among Destiny’s more frustrating boss fights for various reasons. It can prove buggy, and sometimes circumstances unfold unfavorably despite correct execution. If attempts fail, maintain determination and persist.
Similar to the previous challenge, this boss fight centers on Mars and Venus portals, with two players dedicated to maintaining these plates and keeping portals open.
However, team selection isn’t voluntary this time. Completely randomly, Atheon teleports three players to either location. You cannot choose participants or plan timing/location. Therefore, all six players must understand every potential role thoroughly. For explanation purposes, use two designations: Home and Away teams.
Once three players teleport away, they must announce their destination. Inform Vault teammates whether you’re on Mars or Venus so they can quickly activate the correct Vex plate and open the portal.
For the three Away team members, you’ll arrive in one location with a Relic available. Have one player claim it and immediately cleanse since you’ll be Marked for Negation, requiring periodic cleansing throughout. In this instance, cleansing interruption gradually blacks out your screen — recalling a Destiny 1 mechanic — making near-constant cleansing imperative for the Relic holder.
Two simultaneous events occur for this team on Mars or Venus: first, several devastating enemies inside require immediate elimination. They can annihilate you instantly, and during this encounter, single deaths often cause failure.
Concurrently, Oracles reappear. As before, these orbs require elimination in their spawn sequence before completely ending your attempt. However, while two players focus on Oracles, the remaining teammate must maintain vision clearance with the Relic. All three must support each other, moving through the area together, and addressing every Oracle based on Home team callouts — detailed shortly.
Repeat the Oracle elimination process three times, and immediately after destroying the final Oracle, quickly return to the Vault for damage phase participation.
Finally, when returning through the Vex portal, the Relic-wielding teammate must perform final cleansing for themselves and both companions before moving to the map’s center to confront Atheon.
The moment you re-enter the Vault, a new buff activates for all six players: Time’s Vengeance. This enhances Super regeneration and damage output against Atheon, making this the optimal period for assaulting the colossal boss. While preparing to eliminate the final Oracle, coordinate with the three Vault players so everyone positions for proper damage phase.
For the three randomly selected players remaining in the Vault with Atheon, your responsibility mirrors the previous encounter. Simply proceed to the appropriate Vex plate — Mars or Venus — and defend it unconditionally. Your duty involves maintaining active portals so teammates can safely return when appropriate.
Complicating matters, the Vault floods with powerful Harpies, including exclusive Supplicants that explode violently upon defeat, demanding constant vigilance. Avoid excessive clustering while defending portals and eliminating these enemies, ensuring complete clearance before Away team return.
Another Destiny 1 raid change involves non-fixed Oracle spawn locations in Mars and Venus. Instead, their sequence and positions manifest within the Vault, requiring Home team communication to Away team. Adding further difficulty, Oracle callouts invert between locations, meaning the order observed by Home team must reverse when communicated to Away team.
With both teams performing correctly, all six players reunite in the Vault with approximately 30 seconds of active Time’s Vengeance. Everyone should rush to the central platform for maximum efficiency. The Relic holder can activate a massive protective shield during damage dealing, occasionally relinquishing the Relic for personal contribution. Exercise caution, however, because abandoned Relics despawn if unattended too long, necessitating team wipe.
Remain alert for another Detain mechanic resembling the Templar encounter. One player receives the Imminent Detention mark, indicating impending Vex forcefield encasement. This player must vacate the platform and distance themselves from teammates, because activated debuff proximity blocks all damage to Atheon, forcing wipe.
After freeing the detained teammate, regroup behind the Relic shield and deploy Supers, heavy weapons, and every available resource against Atheon. With successful execution, you should eliminate approximately half his health. Subsequently, repeat the process, potentially requiring two additional iterations if damage proves insufficient or complications arise.
Shortly after each damage phase, three players randomly teleport again. This undoubtedly represents the most challenging aspect, demanding all six players thoroughly understand various required tasks. Maintain clear communications and address encounter steps sequentially. With practice, you’ll master Atheon coordination and accumulate Vault of Glass rewards efficiently.
Atheon Damage Optimization
During Time’s Vengeance, use stacking damage buffs like Well of Radiance and Weapons of Light for maximum effect. The Relic holder should drop the shield briefly to use their own Supers when safe. Designate one player to watch for Imminent Detention and call it out early. Use weapons with high sustained damage rather than burst damage, as the 30-second window allows for extended damage application. Fusion rifles with particle deconstruction and linear fusion rifles are particularly effective.
Rewards & Loot
Vault of Glass is now available in Destiny 2, with early loot previews accessible via datamined Bungie API information. Several beloved weapons have returned, accompanied by a powerful exotic. Below find complete acquisition details per encounter.
Beyond encounter-specific and random raid drops, a final section area allows spending Spoils of Conquest on additional Vault of Glass equipment, functioning identically to Deep Stone Crypt’s spoils chest.
Notable Loot Highlights
Fatebringer returns as a legendary hand cannon with Firefly, Vision of Confluence is back as a scout rifle with reworked perks, and the Vex Mythoclast exotic fusion rifle makes its triumphant return with updated functionality. The raid also features a full armor set for each class with new ornament options. Master difficulty offers Timelost versions of weapons with additional perk options and built-in mod slots.
Spoils of Conquest Strategy
Farm spoils by completing encounter checkpoints on multiple characters each week. The final chest after Atheon can be purchased once per week per class, offering targeted weapon rolls. Save spoils for weapons that benefit most from additional perk options, and consider farming Master difficulty for Timelost weapons if your team is sufficiently leveled and skilled.
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