Wow, amazing post Soul! Really fantastic stuff. If people want to do a "VoG Conspiracy Theory" run sometime let me know. Most of the theories you've mentioned have already been tested and disproved but I always have fun messing around in VoG with like minded-people. Speaking of theories...
Oracle Serenade
There are some possibilities related to Oracle spawn order and their corresponding tones (potential connections to Hobgoblin spawn order/location need further investigation). I've posted it before, but
some musicians on Reddit broke down how one of the Destiny "in orbit" themes,
The Great Unknown is mimicked by
the tones played as Oracles spawn during their encounter.
One theory that (I think) has been disproved by now is that one team member must destroy the correct Oracle spawns in order to act as the "conductor" and play the song's ascending and then descending scale (i.e. need the "XX destroyed an Oracle" to pop up for each correct note). Probably doable with some planning but not a super strong theory imo, pure speculation based on a very cool musical Easter Egg.
Gorgons: The Real Final Boss?
A much more promising theory lies in the Gorgon maze. Put simply, the Gorgons
as a singular unit are a VoG boss that no fireteam has ever defeated. They have the Ultra Skull name indicator as well as a Vex Axis Mind Grimoire card, which hints at their potentially hidden boss status. Every other Vex Axis Mind is considered a story, strike or raid boss (from Zydron the Gate Lord to Sekrion to Atheon).
- Gorgon = Ultra (Skull name indicator):
- Templar = Ultra = Raid Boss:
- Atheon = Ultra = Raid Boss:
- Scrota = Ultra = Raid Boss:
- Skolas = Ultra = "Raid" Boss:
- Omnigul = Ultra = Strike Boss (rekt by 4th Horseman):
- Skolas = Ultra = Story Boss:
Ultras are Bosses, Majors are Not:
- Gatekeepers in VoG and CE = Majors:
- Ir Yut = Major (as if we needed more proof she wasn't a boss):
- Sword Bear: The Last Action Hero = Major:
Time Present and Time Past
I can't think of an Ultra Skull that wasn't also a raid/strike/story Boss, but it's certainly possible. Strangely,
Bungie.net's API data refers to the Gorgons as 3 variations of Majors. But there are a lot of oddities in their naming conventions if you look at the entire game's enemy list. Some in-game Majors are listed as Ultras while some in-game Ultras are listed as majors (e.g. Omni-ghoooul).
Additionally,
an enterprising Redditor ran the data for 17,000+ HM clears and saw that every single Gorgon kill had counted as the Major2 variant. So far no Major0 or Major1 versions have ever been discovered in a player's raid data,
not even Luke Smith (Disclaimer: no idea if that's actually Luke's profile).
Every other listed VoG enemy is present and accounted for, so their absence is either a mundane technicality or a hint at something deeper
. It's interesting to note that the Minotaur and Gatekeeper enemy types also have 3 Major variants listed, according to the 3 time points of future/present/past. If the numbering convention holds true, the implication that we only interact with "Precursor Gorgons" raises more questions than answers.
Most importantly, how did we encounter these enemies from another time if we haven't reached the time travel portals yet? Did they come to us? Do the concepts of "precursor" and "descendant" hold any relevance for creatures like them? Are there other-time Gorgons waiting to be discovered or is the entire point that they don't exist?
Become Legend
Surprisingly, nobody has ever met the seemingly straightforward myth-buster requirements. All 8 Gorgons in the NM maze (6 in the main area, 2 on the right side by the ass mat chest) must be dead simultaneously while the entire fireteam is in the darkness zone. Allowing a single one to respawn is equivalent to a boss regenerating health, and the increasing strength of their immunity shields means your odds of success drop precipitously for each respawn.
The basic idea is to coordinate your fireteam's attack so that the first Gorgons die at the same time. You only have 30 seconds to kill all 8 before they start respawning, but this timer doesn't start until the first Gorgon death. The other consideration is that the Gorgon's Gaze wipes your team in 10 seconds, but the catch is that any Gorgons activated within the same "gazing" window are timed relative to the first activated Gorgon. So if you start shooting Gorgy-2 five seconds after Gorgy-1, but before G-1 has died, then you'll only have 5 seconds to ice G-2.
....I realize this probably sounds kooky. But if anyone is curious to learn more, check out these links. With a team of 365 Horns and 365 FVerdicts or BHams (maybe some Nighthawks and Weapons of Light bubbles), this challenge is far more attainable now than ever before.
Additional Reading
Original Kill-All-Gorgons Theory with Mythological Connections
Detailed Follow Up Post: Kill All Gorgons
long post will read through it in a little bit!
