The Witch Queen is unlike any previous Destiny expansion in a number of ways, and the new Vow of the Disciple raid is no exception. Here’s a clip that shows one of the big reasons why in under 30 seconds.
Spoiler warning: Destiny 2’s raids are best experienced with no knowledge of what awaits you, so if you plan on playing Vow of the Disciple soon and don’t want the final boss to be spoiled, turn back now.
Okay, still here? Cool. Now onto Destiny’s new raid boss: Rhulk, Disciple of the Witness. He’s tall, very humanoid looking, and extremely aloof. He reminds me of a cross between the Slender Man and Beauty and the Beast’s Lumiere. And he does not suffer fools.
Here’s a clip that recently blew up in the community of a Destiny player trying to hide from Rhulk behind a pillar:
It’s funny for a couple reasons. First off, Rhulk isn’t supposed to be able to walk there. Apparently now raid bosses can cheese players. Second, he finishes the poor Guardian off with an Olympic-level punter’s kick that one-shots them.
Rhulk is a special raid boss in part because he’s from a new race of aliens never previously seen or mentioned in the game (he’s also the last of his kind for, uh, some very grim reasons). The lord of the space dance is also a big stylistic departure for the series.
Raid bosses tend to be lumbering, hulked-out aliens and fight in a style to match. Rhulk is much more precise, sophisticated, and elegant, the contrast between his power and grace underlying how much of a haughty bad-ass he is. Where they stomped, he kicks. He’d be right at home in Dragon Ball Super or any number of other popular anime. After the above clip started circulating online, players memed the moment accordingly.
You can currently go try to face down Rhulk yourself with five like-minded players at or above the recommended power level of 1520. The Vow of the Disciple raid went live on March 5, and following a series of server-side technical issues, was first beaten over seven hours in by the Elysium clan. They only spent a few of those getting the crap beaten out of them by Rhulk.