Bungie hints that the Vex might be the main threat after The Final Shape

As someone who loves science fiction, artificial intelligence, and time travel, the Vex have always been a favorite of mine. For me, they represented a culmination of these elements, becoming arguably one of the most terrifying forces in Destiny 2. Over the past several expansions and seasons, the Vex have seemingly taken a backseat, with the narrative instead focusing heavily on the Witness, the Hive, and the Cabal, with a healthy dose of Fallen. For those that are worried Bungie is done with the Vex, there’s some good news, apparently there are more Vex stories to come.

Recently, I had the pleasure of being in a Season of the Deep roundtable with a couple of developers from Bungie. Robert Brookes and Nikko Stevens, both senior narrative designers, were a part of the conversation, and while the focus was mainly on Season of the Deep revelations, the pair shed some light on what’s happening with the Vex.

“There are a couple of parts to this. One: keep playing. Literally keep playing Veil Containment. There’s more Vex stuff to come,” Brookes said when questioned about why the Vex have faded into the background, becoming more of a force of nature rather than an enemy faction at the forefront of the story.

Stevens echoed the sentiment, noting that the Vex have indeed taken a step back and that there’s a very good reason for that. “If you are a collection of beings that can time travel and pop in on the timeline at any point, and you see two god behemoths boxing it out in front of you and your goal is like, ‘I want to be standing when these two are done’ you’re probably going to take a step back and be like, ‘I’ma let them take each other out and we’ll see what happens after that’.”

"I think once Final Shape concludes, the Vex might be in a position to do some more stuff."
- Nikko Stevens, Senior Narrative Designer

It sounds as if the Vex, hyper advanced intelligence that they are, see no reason to inject themselves into a situation as volatile as the showdown between the Traveler and the Witness. Stevens goes on to say that they’re in a “wait and see” position.

Right now, the narrative in Destiny 2 is focused squarely on the duelling forces of the Light and Darkness, represented by the Traveler and the Witness. Many of the alien races have already picked a side, with Stevens pointing out that an element of the Vex has also aligned with the Witness.

“We’re trying to bring [the Vex] in a little bit more of a personalized way right now and in a way that connects with the Witness’ story via the Sol Divisive,” Stevens explained. “These were Vex that went all the way back to Destiny 1 with the Black Heart. They’ve kind of been expanded through piecemeal drops here and there up until Spire of the Watcher which was a really big insight into the Sol Divisive and how closely aligned they actually are with the Witness.”

Robert Brookes seemingly has a soft spot for the Vex, much like yours truly. “Vex is my personal favorite faction. They’re just the most alien, the most fascinating, and the most unusual.” Brookes went on to say that he fought hard to get Vex Asher into the Season of the Splicer mission and that he will “always go to bat” to tell more Vex-related stories.

Part of the problem with the Vex is their inherently robotic nature. It can be difficult to give personality to an entity that has communicated exclusively through cryptic programming language, whose goals and motivations are beyond humanity’s comprehension. However, Bungie has added personality to the Hive in the form of Oryx, Savathun, and now Xivu Arath, an enemy race that couldn’t be more at odds with the goals of humanity.

With Asher Mir now ingrained in the Vex and the suspicious connection to the Neomuna people, Bungie might be planting the seeds for what’s to come next for the Vex. Stevens hinted at this quite heavily with his closing remarks, “We get a little bit more information about them coming up in the future and you definitely haven’t seen the last of them. I think once Final Shape concludes, the Vex might be in a position to do some more stuff.”

Could the Vex be the main antagonist for whatever comes after the Final Shape? I’d like to think so and it seems that Bungie is positioning the pieces for this to be the case.

Sam Chandler

Guides Editor

Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he's found his new family here at Shacknews as a Guides Editor. There's nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can message him on X: @SamuelChandler