Vox Obscura is an Exotic mission in Destiny 2 featuring timed objectives in order to stop the Cabal on Mars, rewarding Guardians with Dead Messenger.
Vox Obscura is an Exotic mission in Destiny 2 introduced during Season of the Risen, the first season of The Witch Queen expansion. During this mission, Guardians are tasked with shutting down a Cabal operation on Mars led by a huge Psion named Qabix, Insurgent. Vox Obscura is also one of the more challenging activities that players can complete to earn Pinnacle Gear weekly. With the right loadout, however, Guardians will be able to finish this Exotic mission on Normal and Master to earn its rewards.
Much like the Exotic Harbinger and Presage missions that were part of the Beyond Light expansion, Vox Obscura will reward players with a Witch Queen Exotic weapon called Dead Messenger upon their first completion. Dead Messenger is a Wave Frame Grenade Launcher that has some of the most unique perks in the Destiny 2, making it perfect for many endgame PvE activities. With The Fundamentals, players can change the elemental damage type of Dead Messenger to either Void, Arc, or Solar, allowing them to take out enemies with any of these types of shields easily. Additionally, the Exotic Grenade Launcher also has an Intrinsic perk called Trinary Vision, which fans out the energy wave into three paths whenever the projectile makes contact with the ground. Completing the mission again on Master will reward Guardians with the Catalyst for Dead Messenger.
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Whether or not players are looking to complete Vox Obscura or Normal or Master difficulty, each class of Guardian should use the best Void 3.0 builds in Destiny 2 during this Exotic mission. Warlocks, Hunters, and Titans all have access to the same Void Fragments in Destiny 2, but their respective Aspects help determine exactly how their loadouts should be built. Players looking to complete a Solo Flawless Master run on Vox Obscura should stick to either using a Hunter or Warlock, however, because Sentinel Titans may have a harder time using their Supers and abilities in tight spaces. Nonetheless, everything below will be covered for each class.
The loadouts below are recommended for a full team of Guardians taking on Master Vox Obscura. While both difficulties contain the same pathways, the Master difficulty contains additional mission modifiers that make the Exotic mission more challenging. Players who are looking to complete Vox Obscura on Normal will be overprepared with these loadouts as they follow along with the best Void 3.0 builds in Destiny 2.
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There are quite a few differences between the Normal and Master versions of Vox Obscura. Guardians will need to clear the Master version if they want to get the Risen Title in Destiny 2 as well. During the first part of Vox Obscura, Guardians will need to fight their way into the hangar on Mars that is protected by a few Cabal reinforcements. Though not overly difficult to clear on Normal, the Master version will have a Barrier Champion outside of the hangar and an Unstoppable Champion on the inside. Additionally, both versions will have an Unstoppable Champion down in the valley to the left of the main entrance. Before clearing out the hangar, the Fireteam should get rid of the valley Unstoppable Champion to make the next part easier.
Once the hangar has been cleared, Guardians can take one of the Cabal vehicles and ram through the door and into the troops that spawn as soon as the entrance is breached, starting the timer. All Guardians in Destiny 2 will need to work on clearing out the remaining red bar enemies and the Cabal tank, allowing Amanda Holliday to bring the Fireteam a Drake. One Guardian will need to command the Drake tank while the others use the smaller Cabal vehicles to approach the airfield, clearing out enemies along the way.
After reaching the airfield, the Guardian in the Drake will need to tank out the two Cabal tanks and three signal towers. Once they are destroyed, the timer will stop and the remaining enemies in the area will need to be defeated. There are a few Champions in the area that players will see as they approach the Bunker, but they can easily be defeated with Arbalest and either Unstoppable Pulse Rifles or Hand Cannons in Destiny 2. Unstoppable Champions can also be defeated with the Drake, and once all enemies are defeated the Fireteam can move forward into the Bunker.
Upon entering the bunker, the Fireteam can use a banner to replenish their ammunition and abilities, but it also starts a 10-minute timer. On Normal, the only threat players will need to worry about is the Unstoppable Champions. On Master, however, additional mission modifiers will be active such as Match Game, Equipment Locked, Shielded Foes, Champions Mob, Chaff, and Pestilence. Match Game requires players to damage enemies with shields, namely those with Void or Solar shields in Vox Obscura, with an energy type that matches the shield in order to break it. Chaff will disable the radar, and Pestilence will cause defeated Psions to spawn live Void grenades at their feet.
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Void 3.0 Titan builds in Destiny 2 can be useful during this part of the mission as their abilities offer a lot of protection in the narrow hallways. Additionally, by using a Grenade Launcher with Blinding Grenades, a Warlock teammate can keep most of the enemies distracted while the rest of the team handles the Champions. Once a Champion's health is low enough, a Hunter teammate can finish them to generate more ammo.
Continuing through the bunker, the Fireteam will need to clear three rooms of enemies, along with a couple of hallways filled with combatants and flame traps. Each room has a Psion protected by a shield that can only be killed by walking into it and attacking the enemy up close. Afterward, Guardians will need to defeat the head Psion in the room, then hack the computer terminal behind them. The Gjallarhorn Rocket Launcher with its Catalyst is great for clearing out rooms and the hallway quickly, provided players aren't standing too close to enemies. Once all three rooms are cleared, the Fireteam can descend deeper into the bunker from the center of the hallway to take out one final group of enemies before reaching the boss.
The boss, Qabix, Insurgent, has three different attack patterns and is accompanied by red bar enemies, including Barrier Champions on Master Vox Obscura. Additionally, Qabix can be defeated in no less than three phases. Once the Psion loses a third of his health, three Psion commanders similar to the ones in each room will have to be defeated up close again. Once they're gone, Qabix's shield will drop and they can be damaged once again. Every weapon in Destiny 2 can damage the boss, but Hunters should finish the Barrier Champions to generate more ammo for the team.
In addition to his weapon, the Fireteam needs to be careful not to get hit by the Psion's bombardment of Solar grenades or trapped in a Void bubble. Both are easy to avoid by shooting the grenades and keeping distance from Qabix, but they can instantly kill a Guardian if they're hit. Once the Qabix has been defeated, listen to the Psion propaganda broadcast, then claim the reward from the treasure room to complete Vox Obscura in Destiny 2.
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Destiny 2 is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Google Stadia platforms.
Kaleb is a freelance writer for Screen Rant who regularly contributes to both of the Gaming Guides and Gaming Features sections. He has a BA in Digital Media Production from the State University of New York at New Paltz, focusing on the preproduction and production stages of TV & film. He also has an affinity for finding out the origin stories/inspirations of games and every character in them. Although he's a mid-90s baby, Kaleb started gaming with Super Mario Bros, Pokémon Blue, Pac-Man, and Duck Hunt. Kaleb also has a limited Journalism background in NY politics, corporate shareholder activism, cybersecurity, and ESG (environment, social, & governance). He spends too much time watching Pokémon Nuzlockes and rewatching Letterkenny, Brooklyn 99, and anything Star Wars or MCU-related. Contact Kaleb on Twitter @CaptnKahleeb.