Raids in Destiny 2 are among some of the hardest endgame activities that players can partake in. In general, they contain a variety of complex mechanics and overwhelming waves of enemies that necessitate having at least six players on the team for each encounter. Despite this, some Destiny 2 players are able to complete these tough activities with less than that, although they often rely on glitches that avoid player-based mechanics. It's what makes the case of one dedicated Guardian all the more commendable, as his strategy for a solo Atheon clear had him doing the work of six.
Vault of Glass is an original Destiny raid, but it's mechanics can be just as overwhelming for first timers. Essentially, a lot of the raid involves Atheon attempting to erase Guardians from existence. This entails a bunch of teleporting different groups of players, clearing mobs, shooting Oracles, and carrying the Relic Shield. Even with six players, the Raid is far from an easy one without the proper knowledge and good coordination. However, Destiny 2 fan and content creator VoteforShifu was dead set on soloing the powerful enemy.
To beat Atheon, VoteforShifu spent a month experimenting with different strategies and theorycrafting with friends. Due to the nature of the raid, completing it with less than two people is more or less impossible. Technically, this forced VoteforShifu to rely on using a finisher glitch in order to circumvent the teleportation phase, though he still participated in each mechanic required in order to activate the damage phase. The result is an extremely impressive run, as VoteforShifu effectively pulled off the World's first solo Atheon in Destiny 2.
The other astonishing fact is that the entire run was more or less ten minutes long. In order to do enough DPS, VoteforShifu stacked some extremely powerful buffs in order to deal around 2.6 million damage per phase. Granted, it wasn't enough to one-phase Atheon, and even the YouTuber admits that the damage wasn't as good as it could have been. Still, after the thousands of attempts it took him, the feat is truly incredible to witness.
Some felt that the use of the finisher glitch meant that the feat wasn't as admirable, though others felt differently. Atheon's teleport is pretty much unavoidable, and not to mention, VoteforShifu managed to juggle all of the roles of a six-man fireteam, DPS included. Most Destiny 2 raid attempts fail based on the latter alone, even with six experienced Guardians. His run is as close as anyone can get to a solo Atheon run, and combined with the intense difficulty, VoteforShifu has in a way made Destiny history.
Destiny 2 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.