When Bungie released Destiny‘s newest expansion, Rise of Iron, it encouraged me to pick the game up one more time. After playing through the campaign, strikes, and incidental missions, I started to wonder about Rise of Iron vs. The Taken King.
These two expansions brought many changes to existing enemies and gave them radical new powers. So it begs the question: which enemies are the most annoying in all of Destiny?
Annoying Destiny Enemies
It’s worth noting that this list isn’t about how tough these enemies are or how easy they are to kill. Nor does it include bosses. I’m talking purely about obnoxious basic enemies.
10. Taken Hobgoblin
Vex Hobgoblins are bad enough. When the Taken King makes them wibbly wobbly goths, Hobgoblins become so much worse. Most of what makes the Vex variant so rude is retained. This includes being cheeky and hiding 100 yards down the way, taking pot shots with a high-power sniper rifle, and generally making stupid noises.
Their Taken heritage, however, gives Hobgoblins a powerful new ability. When taking damage – even fatal damage – causes Taken Hobgoblins to launch three energy bursts in your direction. These arse rockets pack quite a punch.
Irritating two Taken Hobgoblins is a surefire way to get yourself killed.
9. Taken Centurion
Continuing the Taken theme, the Taken Centurion is a powered up version of a Cabal general. Usually protected by an Arc shield, a Taken Centurion isn’t easy to bring down. His Taken powers, though, make him one of the rudest enemies in the game.
First of all, Taken Centurions have a short-ranged teleport. And they use it as often as if the entire planet was a giant game of Taken hopscotch. Try launching a rocket at one and it’ll happily jaunt out-of-the-way like it’s the most fashionable dance craze on Mars. But worst of all is its new attack.
Taken Centurions launch a black and white ball of Taken goo that flies through the air and tracks Guardians. It bounces off walls and tracks you while you are invisible. These bouncy balls, on contact, deal a tremendous amount of damage – nearly an instant kill.
Imagine the sheer joy when Malok, a Taken boss, launched five. I’m sure there’s a lewd pun in there somewhere.
8. Exploder Shanks
Shanks are small hovering enemies that work for the Fallen – a race of spiky, mechanical rat people who are mad at Guardians for one reason or another.
Shanks themselves are rude enough for not having a crit spot (how am I supposed to raise my precision accuracy?). But what really takes the biscuit is the Exploder Shank.
Making noises that sound like a remote-control car running out of batteries, Exploder Shanks do the utmost to sneak up on players. At which point they promptly explode. Again, the damage is significant.
Exploder Shanks are the biggest wild cards during boss fights or any other respawn restricted zone because of their propensity to wipe a team.
7. Hobgoblins
Even before being controlled by Oryx, the Taken King, Vex Hobgoblins are a pain in the ass. Not because of their cheeky sniper rifles, not because they always seem to end up in the weirdest places, but because of their shields.
When a Hobgoblin receives damage, it crouches into a defensive position and summons a flame shield. It can’t do this, however, without a head. So Guardians have two choices: aim for the head and have the Hobgoblin charge you clumsily like it wants your lunch money or hit the weak spot and go make a cup of tea waiting for the shield to dissipate.
When your passive aggressive Vanguard boss is complaining about you taking too long to save the world, I really don’t have time to play checkers with a crouching, fiery Hobgoblin.
6. Taken Phalanx
These enemies are less funny and just frustrating. I’ve wasted more than my fair share of super charges on squadrons of Taken Phalanx just for the sheer joy of watching their achy-takey faces melt.
Why, you ask? Lets forget about trying to shoot past the massive shield (it’s as big as they are) while Taken whatsits blow up and make your screen shake. Lets focus purely on the asshattery that is a shotgun shield.
Not had the pleasure of meeting a Taken Phalanx? Allow me to explain.
Shortly after raising their shields, Taken Phalanx will flash an energy burst that deals good damage, knocks you back to old Russia, and outranges most shotguns. They must enjoy scenery, because I’ve never seen more of these than near long, no-respawn cliff faces.
5. Servitors
Servitors are, as far as I can tell, giant purple beach balls that the Fallen (those rat people) worship. Not for any reason other than they’re probably a lot of fun to play volleyball with.
When Rise of Iron was released, SIVA (an ancient weapon that spent its time setting up festive looking banners around Russia) took some Servitors on Weight Watchers. So…they’re slimmer but still as annoying as ever.
Generic infantry usually back up a Servitor. It shoots out volleys of big purple bullets that make your screen shake like a child that downed a 2L bottle of cola.
Given their bulky nature, Servitors have sizeable health pools. Which means that if you have the misfortune of meeting one, you’re there for the whole afternoon trying to shoot it out the sky.
4. Splicer Dregs
Dregs are Fallen meat shields. Pointless enemies that guard the first mission. They are, it seems, the butt of Fallen jokes. I can just imagine some Vandals and a Captain making rude remarks about how utterly pointless the Dregs are. So when SIVA came along and juiced them up, Dregs were out for revenge.
But Dregs were clever. They knew they had to play to their strengths. What was something that Dregs did better than anyone else in Destiny? Dying. Empowered by SIVA, a Splicer Dreg, upon death, will release its soul in a bullet of pure hatred. This bullet lumbers towards Guardians and destroys their shields (i.e. do lots of damage).
It seems as though Dregs have taken a page from the Taken Centurions’ book. This postmortem bomb tracks you and gleefully sidesteps if you shoot it.
3. Psions
Psions are Cabal dwarves. A sort of mixture between Snow White and Tron. Tiny children, I guess, in glowing purple body suits with pop guns. Sound innocent enough, but, like sand, Psions tend to get everywhere.
Psions aren’t terribly threatening by themselves. Their guns are more comic relief than anything else. If a Psion gets too close, it can send out a wave of energy that does slightly more than tickle.
What gets Psions on this list, however, is their ability to cancel health recovery. Being so small and having a penchant for flanking,
Psions are always available and always happy to twist the knife when it comes to needing some extra health to fight actual enemies.
2. Knights
Knights are commanders in the Hive insect army. They’re big, glowing, and tend to show up at the worst times. Like during the King’s Fall annihilator totems, for instance. Being on balconies is no issue for Knights. With three eyes, I’m sure their balance is superb.
Knights are auditioning for the role of Batman in the next reboot of that franchise. They have a utility belt that has every gadget under the sun.
Far away? Knights have Boomer cannons. Close up? Knights also have swords. Taking damage? Knights have a shield made of stone.
I’m just waiting for the day that Knights have grappling hooks to latch onto the back of my Sparrow like the Terminator.
1. Adept
The Adept is a special Acolyte that appears in the King’s Fall raid. While it behaves like a normal Acolyte, the Adept has a surprise in store for any Guardian that might shoot at it.
Easy to kill – even easier with a grenade – the Adept is a sneaky enemy. It tends to hang around in groups of Acolytes, hoping that you’ll kill it in error. Should the Adept die, it transforms nearby Acolytes into miniature Ogres.
Like the Splicer Dreg, the Adept has discovered how to use a Guardian’s bloodlust again his/her fire team. Not being able to slice, dice, puree, and slaughter enemies willy-nilly goes against every impulse in a Guardian’s body.
What Are Your Hated Destiny Enemies?
What about you, Guardian? Have these enemies been the bane of your grind for Light levels?
Or was there something more insidious around?
