The Taken, a collective of enslaved other races and species that invade the Sol system as a violent and untethered threat in Destiny2. The original Destiny introduced this enemy type thanks to The Taken King DLC expansion. Since then, the Taken have been mostly aimless, until now.
Players will want to know their enemy, and Guardians in Destiny2 has plenty of them, with some of their enemies existing outside the known universe. The Taken is an enemy that they will want to know about, for fear of sharing their fate.
9 Puppet Master Oryx, The Taken King
There is a complex history between the Hive and the Darkness. Throwing the Guardians into the mix will only further complicate things, but that’s what happens when Guardians decide to kill the son of a Hive god. Oryx, the Taken King, led an army toward the Sol system after the death of his son Crota.
The arrival of Oryx saw a new enemy type invade, that of the Taken. Oryx had ultimate control of these enemies. He was their puppet master, taking and corrupting every race other than his own Hive. However, with Oryx’s final death, the Taken were left aimless for a time.
8 Corrupted By Darkness
What makes the Taken different from other races is that they are a collective. The Taken are not a species, but instead a group of different beings. Whether it’s the organic machines of the Vex or the war-craving Cabal. The Taken are made up of every race that the Guardians have fought, with perhaps more lurking outside the known galaxy.
What gives the Taken their distinct color is the Darkness itself, the counter to the Traveler's Light. The power to create Taken is directly granted from the Darkness, and it involves granting the victim the will of their new master, complete with paracausal powers and infinite loyalty.
7 The Witness, Their Original Master
Most fans of the Destiny franchise will remember Oryx as the ultimate villain of the first game, especially thanks to his grand power to take. However, Oryx was not the original master of the Taken. That power was granted by the Witness, an unimaginably powerful entity that wields the Darkness and pursues the Traveler.
The Witness is an entity with a history of the unknown, and its power to take is just one of many feats of its grand power that rivals the gifts of the Traveler. As the Traveler gives its gifts, the Witness gifted Oryx with the ability to create Taken. Now that the Witness has arrived at the Sol system, the Taken follow their new master completely, but they would be killed by the Guardians in this first-person shooter.
6 Primevals, Ancient Taken
The Drifter is a character in Destiny2 who continues to have questionable motives. Through his game of Gambit, Guardians can grab Motes of Darkness to “bank”. In doing so, they can summon a Primeval, which is described as a Taken born of the shadow realm, angry, with a hunger for Light, Primevals are not created through normal means.
There doesn’t seem to be much power within these Primevals, hence why Guardians are just killing them for a good bout of fun in Gambit. However, the lore implications make it seem as if Primevals are anciently Taken, and Light is their bait for an unknown purpose.
5 Taken Guardians
The parallels between Light and Dark continue through Destiny2, and the Taken and the Guardians prove just as much. They are opposing forces, and whereas Guardians are given a new life free of past burdens and death, the Taken are stolen from their individualism and given powers to further corrupt. However, both are slaves, whether it is to Light or Dark.
The ongoing debate in the Destiny community is whether or not a Guardian can be taken, but most people assume they cannot, specifically because of a Ghost, which can always heal and mend the Guardian. However, the first Destiny game saw armor that could let players recreate the Taken look.
4 The Tablets Of Ruin
The powers to take were granted to Oryx thanks to the Tablets of Ruin. Eons ago, Auryx battled Akka, the worm god of Secrets. In his victory of slaying the grand Hive worm god, Auryx was able to steal what secrets lurked on the worm god’s flesh, and in doing so, wrote them upon a set of tablets that he named the Tablets of Ruin.
With these tablets, Oryx was able to commune with the Witness and was since granted the power of the Taken. Without the Tablets of Ruin, Oryx would not have the power he had. In Destiny2, pieces of the Tablet of Ruin can be found in Oryx’s temple on Savathun’s throne world, begging the question of if they still harbor power.
3 Blight Corruptions
New Light Guardians that find themselves on the many planets and moons in Destiny2 may find themselves encountering a strange black orb. These orbs are known as Blights, and they are summoned from the Taken. These Blights are dangerous, and they crackle with energy, the same energy that the Taken exhibit.
These Blights should be treated as extremely hazardous. The purpose of these Blights varies, but it seems that the biggest issue of these Blights is their environmental hazards. Blights can infect life, seeping into the soil and infected water supplies, showing that even without trying, the Taken can destroy life.
2 A Taken Ahamkara
An Ahamkara is a wish-granting creature that can take many forms. The wishes that they can grant are paracausal, and they often bargain for a high price. After the Great Hunt, the Ahamkara were all but extinct, apart from Riven, who was raised under Mara Sov. Imprisoned by Mara Sov, Riven was trapped in the Dreaming City, until Oryx came.
Oryx ‘wished’ for Riven to be Taken, and his wish was granted. Taken by the Taken King, Riven merged with Oryx until his death, when her will was partially restored. With her will intact, Riven was able to control her own Taken on the Dreaming City. That was until the Guardians ventured into The Last Wish Raid to stop the Taken Ahamkara once and for all.
1 The Ascendant Plane
One of the darkest fears in the Destiny universe is that of the Ascendant Plane, a seemingly vast and infinite space, a plane of existence that harbors the unknowns of the Darkness. Within the Ascendant Plane, a powerful Hive can create its universes. Guardians have witnessed the Ascendant Plane themselves, and seen the infinitude of the Darkness.
For someone or something to be taken, it must be transported to the Ascendant Plane and corrupted, altered to serve a purpose given by its new master. The Ascendant Plane harbors many unknowns yet to be explored, but it’s a location where Guardians do not want to get lost.
Destiny 2 is currently available for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.