Destiny 2's Season of the Risen brought with it a new Exotic mission called Vox Obscura. Similar to Presage and Harbinger, this mission tasks players with completing a gauntlet of objectives within a given time limit. Completing this mission grants the Dead Messenger, an Exotic Wave-Frame Grenade Launcher that fires a fan of energy instead of a straight line.

Related: Destiny 2: How To Earn Exotic Catalysts And What All Of Them Do

But just like the Exotic missions before it, Vox Obscura is no walk in the park. Beating this mission on Normal can be a challenge, let alone Legend. This guide will cover all modifiers on Normal and Legend, which weapons and subclasses you should bring, and cover the best strategies for beating each encounter.

Updated August 31, 2023, by Charles Burgar: Vox Obscura has returned with the Exotic Mission playlist, adding new rewards to the activity and a stronger version of the Dead Messenger Exotic Grenade Launcher. We've updated this guide with accurate information about the mission, added a section detailing how this version differs from Season of the Risen's version, and created a dedicated reward section that showcases every weapon that drops from this Exotic mission.

How Has Vox Obscura Changed With Lightfall?

Vox Obscura saw minimal changes since its original launch in The Witch Queen. Mechanically, Vox Obscura is the exact same, featuring the same combat encounters and vehicle section near the beginning. The changes made to Vox Obscura are minor but result in a far more solo-friendly experience:

• The vehicle section now has a time limit of 8:00 minutes, up from 4:30 minutes.
• The stronghold section now has a time limit of 15:00 minutes, up from 10:00 minutes.
• Legend is significantly easier than Witch Queen's Master version, mostly due to the removal of Match Game.
• Dead Messenger now has an additional trait column and is fully craftable.
• Season of the Risen weapons now drop from Vox Obscura clears.

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Modifiers And Recommended Loadout

Vox Obscura Modifiers
Surges	Solar and Strand
Overcharge	Grenade Launchers
Threat	Void
Shields	Solar and Void
Champions	Unstoppable
Timers	Vehicle Section: 8 Minutes Stronghold: 15 Minutes
Legend Difficulty
Power Limit	Your maximum effective Power Level is 1,815 (-15 delta).
Equipment Locked	You will not be able to change your equipped loadout after this activity starts.
Champions: Mob	Barrier and Unstoppable Champions are present.
Empath	Enhanced radar. Take increased damage from melee attacks.

Normal is the standard variant of this mission and only features a handful of Unstoppable Incendior enemies. No puzzles or jumping puzzles are present, although you're restricted by encounter timers and a hectic vehicle section. We highly recommend bringing a Linear Fusion Rifle and a burst DPS Super for the final boss.

Legend is significantly harder than normal, featuring tougher enemies that deal more damage, added Barrier Champions, more Champions in general, and enemies that deal increased melee damage. Encounter timers are the same, so the mission itself plays mostly the same. Be sure you have Champion counters before attempting this.

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Subclass
Hunter	Arcstrider or Nightstalker
Titan	Sunbreaker or Berserker
Warlock	Shadebinder or Dawnblade

Hunters should run the Normal difficulty with Arcstrider. With Assassin's Cowl equipped, you'll be able to one-shot most enemies and survive the absurd number of adds thrown your way. For Legend difficulty, Nightstalker is a better choice. Permanent Devour and on-demand invisibility make this a safe pick for solo runs. Use Gyrfalcon's Hauberk to refresh Stylish Executioner for an infinite supply of Volatile Rounds.

Titans can use Sunbreaker or Berserker to trivialize this mission. Sunbreaker is an amazing option for solo players, one-tapping most enemies with Throwing Hammers while buffed with Synthoceps and x3 Roaring Flames. Sunspots also grant constant Restoration, making you virtually unkillable. Berserker is a decent alternative if you prefer that kit's abilities over Sunbreaker.

Warlocks can shut down entire combat encounters with Shadebinder and Osmiomancy Gloves. Throw a Coldsnap Grenade into a room, watch every enemy freeze on the spot, then blow them to pieces with your favorite weapon. Bleak Watcher turrets are also incredibly useful for the final boss. If you prefer more aggressive playstyles, a good Dawnblade build paired with Sunbracers is a powerhouse in activities like this. Activate Heat Rises, use Phoenix Dive, and use your abilities to extend the duration of your dive's x2 Restoration to become invincible.

Weapons
Leviathan's Breath	Counters Unstoppable Champions, deals immense damage, and is ammo efficient.
Arbalest	Counters Barrier Champions on Legend difficulty.
Wave-Frame GLs	Forbearance and other wave GLs are great for clearing adds.
Linear Fusion Rifles	Great Heavy weapon type against the final boss.
Rocket Launchers	Deals more DPS than LFRs but burns through ammo quickly.

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Sneak Into The Hangar

Vox Obscura begins with you spawning just outside a Cabal hangar on Mars. You'll need to make your way inside the hangar and steal a Cabal Interceptor. This section isn't timed, so take your time. You can either kill the Cabal guarding the hangar or run past them altogether. We recommend killing them, especially on Legend since one of them is a Barrier Champion. Stick to the outskirts of the base, sniping away at the Cabal with your Bow. Make your way inside when you're ready.

Dealing With A Champion Early

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The Unstoppable Champion that spawns in the base just beyond the hangar can be killed at this part. Before entering the hangar, turn around and head towards a small base. Kill the Unstoppable, then backtrack to the hangar again. This prevents it from spawning in the next encounter.

Three Psions and two turrets will guard the interior of the hangar, nothing your Primary can't handle. Further into the hangar itself will be three Psions—one of which is replaced with an Unstoppable Champion on Legend. Eliminate them, but don't get near the Interceptors just yet. Right when all three enemies are dead, book it to an Interceptor.

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Related: Destiny 2: Ability Cooldowns And Super Tiers Explained

Clear The Airfield

You have 8:00 minutes to finish this encounter.

You'll have just under five minutes to complete three objectives:

1. Destroy a Goliath Tank outside the hangar.
2. Destroy two Goliath Tanks in the airfield.
3. Destroy three signal towers in the airfield.

Hop on the Cabal Interceptor in the hangar and shoot the blast door in front of you. Three shots or ramming it will break the doors open. On Legend, we highly recommend you get off the Interceptor and fight the enemies on foot. Double back to the Interceptor, then make your way to the tank. You'll need to damage the propulsion engines on each side to destroy the tank. Amanda Holiday will deploy a Drake at your location shortly thereafter. Use it to make your way towards the airfield, bypassing all the enemies that spawn. Try to damage the Cabal Thresher on your way across.

One-Shotting Goliaths

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You can instantly kill a Goliath Tank by ramming a Cabal Interceptor into its side. This will cause you to hit its propulsion engines multiple times, causing the tank to explode shortly afterward. There's a small chance this strategy will kill you, so be aware. Even with that risk, we still recommend you do this on Legend since you only need to fight Goliath Tanks at the very start of Vox Obscura.

The Scablands have three signal towers that are protected by an impenetrable shield. Removing that shield will require you to destroy the two Goliath Tanks patrolling the area. Use your Drake tank's main cannon and cluster rockets to quickly take these Goliaths out from a distance. If any War Beasts get near you, simply run them over. You can always get another Drake Tank from the spawn plate just outside the entrance to the Scablands.

Destroying both tanks will let you damage the three towers. Each tower is protected by a cluster of three generators just outside the tower. They glow bright orange. Use your Drake Tank to blow them up, allowing you to damage the tower itself. It'll take two tank shells to destroy one signal tower. Repeat this two more times to finish this encounter, removing the timer.

With the timer removed, clear out the rest of the enemies with either the Drake or on-foot. Ranged weapons work the best here. Some Barrier and Unstoppable Champions will be present here, so be cautious. You can either kill them from a distance or simply ignore them. When you're ready, break the blast door just outside the airfield base with a tank to make your way inside.

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Related: Destiny 2: A Complete Guide To Weapon Crafting

Race To The Control Room

You have 15 minutes to finish this encounter and the subsequent boss fight.

There are three control panels you must activate to unlock Qabix's boss arena. Each panel is marked on your HUD, but it won't be easy getting to them. Use a Rally Banner before proceeding. You'll need to be quick.

Multiple Psions and Unstoppable Champions (just one on Normal) must be defeated before the path opens. Use a grenade to quickly kill the War Beasts charging you, and use your Primary to pick away at the Psions from a distance. The Unstoppable Champion can be downed in just a few shots from your Linear Fusion Rifle.

Defeating these enemies will open the path forward, flooding the room with a Gladiator and multiple War Beasts. A well-placed grenade will take them out. From there, focus on going left. An Unstoppable Champion and tons of adds will block the path on Legend. If you can go invisible, do so. Otherwise, use your Primary to quickly carve through them. Drop down the manhole when you can.

You'll now enter a cramped hallway patrolled by dozens of Cabal and rigged with flame traps. Immediately duck into the room right next to you. Each room contains an Unstoppable Champion, multiple fodder enemies, a Psion miniboss, and a Psion Commander. Psion Commanders are harmless units that float in one corner of the room. You must run next to the Psion and melee it to kill them, removing the shield of the miniboss protecting the codes. Kill that miniboss, then you can hack the nearby terminal. You'll need to repeat this two more times, navigating a dangerous hallway each time. Invisibility and Volatile Rounds are needed for this part.

Fire Traps

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The hallway connecting each Psionic terminal is laced with fire traps. Touching one of these on Legend will kill you. Hunters can use invisibility and the Omniolculus Exotic to tank the burn damage. Warlocks can blink or glide over the traps. Titans can shoulder charge across the gap before the plates active or use High Lift.

Once you've hacked all three terminals, you can now enter Qabix's boss arena. More Champions and Scorpio turrets will spawn just outside the entrance. Barrier Champions will also spawn on Legend difficulty. At this rate, you have two options:

1. Clear the room as quickly as possible.
2. Run.

If you have access to invisibility at all, we highly encourage the latter. Break the turrets first, then push into the boss room. If you can't go invisible, kill the adds and turrets before stunning the Champions. While stunned, book it for Qabix's room.

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Defeat Qabix, Insurgent

Any time remaining from the Control Room encounter is your time limit for killing Qabix.

Qabix, Insurgent is the final boss of the Vox Obscura mission. This enemy is a massive Cabal Psion that can call down lightning strikes and spawn a swarm of burning projectiles. More importantly, Qabix frantically moves. It's incredibly difficult to hit this boss without staggering it first with an Unstoppable weapon or any hard-hitting Heavy.

Your best bet is to stick near one end of the arena, hugging as much cover as possible. Get a clear view of the final boss, then start sniping at Qabix from a distance with your Linear Fusion Rifle. Supers can also work wonders here, but be sure Qabix is staggered before casting one.

Getting Trapped

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If Qabix traps you in a purple dome, shoot the glowing orbs in the dome's psionic webbing to break free.

This boss has three phases. Removing a third of its total health will spawn three Psion Commanders, one on each end of the arena. You must walk into the Psion's energy field and melee them. Turrets will also span on the center platform, so be careful. Killing all three will make Qabix vulnerable to damage again.

Adds will spawn every time Qabix becomes immune or loses half of its total HP, some of which are Barrier Champions on Legend. Melee units and Psions make up most of the enemy roster here, so watch your back. Grenades and other zoning tools are key for staying alive. Once you've killed Qabix, the timer will stop. Follow the waypoint on your HUD to listen to the propaganda broadcast and finish the mission.

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Vox Obscura Rewards

Your first clear of Vox Obscura will award a craftable version of Dead Messenger, an Exotic Wave-Frame Grenade Launcher that can swap between all three Light elements—Arc, Solar, and Void. This weapon can be further customized at the Enclave, although not all options will be available to start. Additional barrels, magazines, and secondary traits will unlock as you acquire Intrinsic Upgrades from subsequent Vox Obscura clears. You'll need four upgrades to unlock every crafting option. Normal runs grant one Intrinsic Upgrade, while Legend clears grant two upgrades.

Season 16 Reward Pool

Additionally, every Vox Obscura clear will award one weapon from Season of the Risen. Each weapon is fully craftable and has a rare chance of dropping as a Deepsight variant, awarding pattern progress. Perk pools, origin traits, and other weapon properties have not changed.

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Next: Destiny 2: A Complete Guide To The Presage Mission