Vox Obscura

	This page describes content which is not available in the game.
	"Vox Obscura" was moved into the Destiny Content Vault in Lightfall.

Vox Obscura
Information
Season	16
Type	Exotic Mission
Quest	Kill the Messenger (Normal), Vox Revelata (Master)
Starting NPC	Empress Caiatl
Start	Savathûn's Throne World map icon
Location	Mars
Recommended Power	1550 (Normal), 1580 (Master)
Description	A Psionic propaganda transmission threatens to destabilize the Vanguard's Cabal allies. Breach the rebel stronghold to discover who's behind the new Psionic offensive.
Friendly NPCs	Commander Zavala, Amanda Holliday, Empress Caiatl
Enemy Types	Cabal, Psions
Bosses	Qabix, Insurgent
Prerequisite	Complete first four steps of Operation Elbrus quest
Rewards
Equipment	Dead Messenger
Items	Ivory Empress

"(Normal),1580(Master)" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 1550.

Vox Obscura is an Exotic Mission from the Season of the Risen. It tied into the Kill the Messenger and Vox Revelata Exotic quests, which rewarded the Dead Messenger Exotic Grenade Launcher and its catalyst, respectively.

This activity took place on Mars, but was accessed from an icon on the Savathûn's Throne World map. Normal difficulty was unlocked, along with the Kill the Messenger quest, after completing Week 1 of the Operation Elbrus quest. Completing Vox Obscura on Normal unlocked Master difficulty, as well as the Vox Revelata quest.

This mission was removed from the game and added to the Destiny Content Vault with the release of Lightfall. It returned in Season of the Witch as part of an Exotic mission rotator, along with Presage and Operation: Seraph's Shield.

Story

The Exotic Quest takes place in Meridian Bay, on Mars. Empress Caiatl's Psions intercept a Psionic broadcast that is persuading those with Psionic abilities to defect from Caiatl's Cabal and join their Psion conclave, which is allied with the Black Fleet. Caiatl states that she cannot be seen fighting her own people, so she sends in the Guardian to deal with the Psionic propaganda and shut it off. Commander Zavala accompanies the Guardian on the comms while Amanda Holliday provides air support around the bunker where the broadcasts are coming from.

Difficulties

Normal

Vox Obscura
Information
Location	Mars (Savathûn's Throne World)
Players	1-3
Power	1550
Expansion	Season of the Risen
Description	A Psionic propaganda transmission threatens to destabilize the Vanguard's Cabal allies. Breach the rebel stronghold to discover who's behind the new Psionic offensive.

Modifiers

• Champion Foes - You will face Unstoppable Champions.

Rewards

• Seasonal Gear (Common)
• Season of the Risen weapons
• Ivory Empress Exotic Sparrow (Possible drop)
• Dead Messenger Exotic Grenade Launcher (Complete the Kill the Messenger quest)
• Vox Revelata quest (Complete the Kill the Messenger quest)

Master

Vox Obscura
Information
Location	Mars (Savathûn's Throne World)
Players	1-3
Power	1580
Expansion	Season of the Risen
Description	Despite the Vanguard's recent victories, a dissident Psion faction continues to release Darkness-inspired propaganda. Return to Mars and learn how far the conspiracy goes.

Modifiers

• Champion Foes - You will face Barrier and Unstoppable Champions.
• Pestilence - When defeated, Psions spawn Void grenades at their feet.
• Equipment Locked - You will not be able to change your equipment after this activity starts.
• Match Game - Enemy shields are highly resistant to all unmatched elemental damage.
• Champions: Mob - This mode contains additional Champions.
• Shielded Foes - You will face combatants with Solar and Void Shields.
• Chaff - Radar is disabled.

Rewards

• Season of the Risen weapons
• Ivory Empress Exotic Sparrow (Possible drop)
• Dead Messenger Catalyst (Complete the Vox Revelata quest)

Walkthrough

The Barrens

The mission begins with the Guardian being deployed to Mars outside a Cabal hangar. After eliminating or bypassing a small patrol of Cabal forces, the Guardian must hack into a door to access the back wing of the base's hangar. Inside, there are minimal resistance consisting of a handful of Psions and Scorpius turrets.

The Guardian must reach a bay with three Interceptors, take one, and use its cannons to destroy a marked wall, creating an exit into The Barrens. Upon exiting with the Interceptor, a countdown timer of 4:30 (later increased to 8:00 minutes in Season of the Witch) begins, warning of an imminent orbital bombardment.

The first objective is to clear a landing zone for Empress Caiatl by defeating a Goliath Tank. Using ranged weapons is recommended for quickly eliminating the tank. After this, an Unstoppable Champion will spawn in a small building, which must also be defeated. Once these threats are cleared, Amanda Holliday provides the Guardian with a Drake Tank for the next section.

Scablands

With the Drake Tank, the Guardian must travel from The Barrens to the Scablands. Upon arrival, they will find a large arena containing two more Goliath Tanks, three shielded broadcast transmitter towers, and extensive defenses including Scorpius turrets, Psions, and War Beasts.

The primary objective is to destroy the two Goliath Tanks patrolling the area, as they generate the shields protecting the signal towers. The Drake Tank's main cannon and cluster rockets are effective for eliminating these targets from a distance. Players must be constantly moving to avoid guided artillery strikes, which can be stopped by eliminating Psion Spotters in the area.

Once both tanks are destroyed, the shields around the three broadcast transmitter towers will drop. Each tower has a secondary shield with a blue weak point that can only be damaged by the Drake Tank's primary fire. Destroying all three towers completes this encounter and stops the timer.

After shutting down the transmitters, the Guardian must destroy a marked wall to gain entrance to the Cabal base, where they will find a rally banner and the first checkpoint of the mission.

Control Room

Upon approaching the rally flag inside the base, a new 10-minute timer (increased to 15 minutes in Season of the Witch) begins. The Guardian must navigate through the fortified base to reach the control room where the Psionic broadcasts originate.

The path forward is blocked by multiple Psions and Unstoppable Champions (with additional Barrier Champions on Master difficulty). After defeating these enemies, the Guardian must progress deeper into the facility, where they encounter hazardous floor vents that periodically blast damaging blue flames upward.

On the lower floor, the Guardian must defeat three Psion Codewardens to access the control room. These Codewardens are protected by shields that can only be broken by approaching and using melee attacks. Once all three Codewardens are eliminated, nearby terminals become available to hack, which will open the door to the control room.

The control room entrance is guarded by a line of Scorpius turrets. Inside waits the final boss of the mission, Qabix, Insurgent, a large Psion who leads the Cabal rebels on Mars and hosts the broadcasts of Psionic propaganda.

Qabix has three attack patterns that change as the fight progresses: 1. Initially, Qabix can summon blasts of Arc energy to bombard the Guardian's position 2. After losing a quarter of health, Qabix can trap the Guardian in spherical Void cages (shoot the white orbs on the cage to break free) 3. At half health, Qabix begins creating volleys of homing Solar orbs that can quickly overwhelm the Guardian 4. In the final phase, Qabix alternates between Solar and Arc abilities

Twice during the fight, when Qabix loses a third and then two-thirds of its health, three Psion Commanders will spawn around the arena, generating an immunity shield around Qabix. The Guardian must approach each Psion Commander and defeat them to remove Qabix's immunity shield and continue the fight.

Throughout the encounter, Qabix summons reinforcements including Psions and Scorpius turrets, with Barrier Champions also appearing on Master difficulty.

Upon defeating Qabix, the timer stops, and the Guardian can proceed to the top of the control room to intercept the broadcast. A side room to the right of the control panel contains a chest with a golden aesthetic reminiscent of Emperor Calus's opulence. Opening this chest rewards the Guardian with the Dead Messenger Exotic Grenade Launcher and completes the mission.

Rewards

Dead Messenger

The primary reward for completing Vox Obscura on Normal difficulty is the Dead Messenger, an Exotic Wave-Frame Grenade Launcher. This weapon features two unique perks:

• Trinary Vision (Intrinsic) - Projectiles release a fan of three energy waves on contact with the ground
• The Fundamentals - Change this weapon's damage type, cycling between Void, Arc, and Solar

With Season of the Witch, Dead Messenger became fully craftable. Additional barrels, magazines, and secondary traits unlock as players acquire Intrinsic Upgrades from subsequent Vox Obscura completions.

Catalyst

Completing Vox Obscura on Master difficulty and the subsequent Vox Revelata quest rewards the Dead Messenger Catalyst. The catalyst adds the Turnabout perk, which grants an overshield when breaking the shield of a combatant or a Guardian using their Super.

Other Rewards

• Every Vox Obscura completion rewards one weapon from Season of the Risen, each of which is fully craftable
• The Ivory Empress Exotic Sparrow can drop as a possible reward
• Completing the mission on Normal difficulty awards one Intrinsic Upgrade for Dead Messenger, while Legend completions grant two upgrades

Notes

• This mission revisits areas in the Meridian Bay zone on Mars, which originally appeared in Destiny.
• The mission's name "Vox Obscura" translates from Latin as "Secret Voice" or "Hidden Voice," referring to the Psionic broadcasts being intercepted.
• With Season of the Witch's release, Vox Obscura became part of an Exotic Mission rotation system along with Presage and Operation: Seraph's Shield.
• Several changes were made to make the mission more solo-friendly in Season of the Witch:
  • The vehicle section time limit was increased from 4:30 to 8:00 minutes
  • The Stronghold section time limit was increased from 10:00 to 15:00 minutes
  • Legend difficulty became easier than the original Master version, primarily due to the removal of Match Game