Cayde-6 is one of the most popular characters in the Destiny franchise. This Exo voiced by Nathan Fillion has been a constant source of amusement for the fan base and an integral part of the Guardians efforts. Even after his unfortunate demise he continues to be an important part of the game for many players.
In spite of his immense popularity there’s a lot about this character that the average fan is probably unaware of. Details about his past life, important events he was a part of, and why he was so violently ushered out of the game.
10 Human Soldier
Cayde was a soldier prior to the collapse, though it’s unknown what branch of the military or even what nation he was fighting for. His Ghost makes a comment that Cayde is more suited to hunting than he is to life as a grunt. Whether this means he was a guerilla fighter or he just didn’t do well with the strict discipline of the military is unknown.
Regardless he has proven himself to be a capable fighter and has been able to survive many hostile situations using his wit and sheer determination. Whatever his background it has given him skills that have proven useful as a Guardian.
9 Wife and Son
In addition to being a soldier Cayde also had a family, a wife and a son he nicknamed Ace. Not a lot is known about them other than Cayde often wrote to Ace in a journal. This was likely to help him retain his memories of his son and perhaps in the hopes that Ace would one day read it.
There are not a lot of details about his wife, though given the problems Cayde was facing financially it was likely they were not on good terms and there is no mention of her anywhere in his journals.
8 Massive Gambling Debt
Cayde had a severe gambling problem that led to the accumulation of a significant amount of debt. He was perpetually working odd jobs and occasionally turning to smuggling in order to try and pay it off with little success.
Even after wiping his debts clean and starting over he’s managed to rack up a mountain of debt so large that the file keeping a tally of it all was too large to download. Cayde admits the gambling is in a problem, but isn’t something he seems capable or willing to fully shake.
7 Sold Himself To Clovis Bray
He was able to finally wipe his debts clean, at least in his former life, by selling himself to Clovis Bray. After a mission gone sour lead to even more debt added to his total Bray offered to eradicate the outstanding balance and provide him a lucrative job in exchange for his participation in the Exo program.
Cayde quickly agreed not wanting to saddle his family with his debt and knowing it would one day get him killed. As a result Cayde was turned into an Exo as part of Bray’s research.
6 Security For Dr. Maya Sundaresh
At some point after becoming an Exo Cayde went to work as a security officer for the Ishatar Collective. It’s unlikely this was the job Bray was referring to as his corporation was in competition with the Collective.
Specifically he was tasked with the security of Dr. Maya Sundaresh while she conducted research into the Vex on Venus. He enjoyed the work and even began to develop feelings for the doctor, but his advances were rejected by her obsession with her work.
5 Confronted The Darkness
One of Cayde’s strangest memories is being held by a shadowy creature on a ruined planet. Not a lot of detail is given about the moment but was is revealed is terrifying. Cayde tells he was held immobile as the shadow crawled over his body causing pain wherever it touched.
More interesting is that all of his complicated systems were shut down except for the sensors which allowed him to witness the whole thing. Cayde is firmly convinced the shadowy assailant wanted him to experience and see the whole thing before he was ultimately free of its grasp, though to what end no one is sure.
4 Master Hunter
What Hunter subclass Cayde fits into has been a long standing debate among the fan base. Given he wields a hand cannon many have thought him to be a gunslinger. Yet other insist he’s a bladedancer because of his tendency to use Flux Grenades.
It turns out Cayde-6 is all of them and none of them. He represents a mastery over the Hunter class which allows him to utilize skills from all the different subclasses. As such that makes him a Master Hunter capable of teaching new Guardians the ropes regardless of which subclass they are.
3 Lost A Bet To Become Hunter Vanguard
His Hunter Vanguard status wasn’t a result of any decision or need to serve that he made, but the result of losing the Vanguard Dare. The Vanguard Dare was a bet between Cayde-6 and Andal Brask that whoever couldn’t kill Taniks, The Scarred, a mercenary for the House Of Wolves, would become the Hunter Vanguard.
Unfortunately for Cayde not only was he unable to kill the infamous mercenary, but Andal died in his attempt leaving the seat vacant and forcing Cayde to take the role of Hunter Vanguard.
2 Why He Was Killed Off
Cyade-6’s death in the Forsaken expansion came as a shock to the fan base. It was inconceivable for many that the most popular character in the entire franchise would be killed in such a cold manner.
A major part of the reason Bungie offed the character was a result of Nathan Fillion deciding he would no longer provide the iconic voice. After Fillion left Bungie felt it best to end the character rather than continue on with another actor’s voice.
1 Rebooted Six Times
The reasoning behind Cayde-6’s name is that he has been rebooted six times. Each time an Exo is rebooted they lose a little more of their memories and have the numeric of their name go up one. According to the Exo creator Bray an Exo can only go through 20 reboots before they will no longer retain memories or operate properly.
This little bit of lore has given fans hope that Cayde-6 isn’t truly gone, that perhaps a part of his memories are still housed somewhere and the character will return as Cayde-7 having gone through another reboot. Though this is entirely speculation and perhaps wishful thinking by the fan base.