Editing Valus Ta'aurc

{{references}}

|ability= Summon Cabal <br> High Durability <br> Initial Immunity <br> Quake

|faction= [[Xol, Will of the Thousands|Xol's]] [[Taken]]

After the death of their former unnamed [[Primus]], Ta'aurc became the acting commander of the Siege Dancers.<ref name="Dunemarchers">'''Bungie (2017/8/9)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: Playstation 4, Activision Blizzard, Item Description: [[Dunemarchers#Lore|Dunemarchers]]''</ref> Under his authority, Ta'aurc led the Cabal in on-going attrition to secure [[Meridian Bay]] against the [[Virgo Prohibition]] [[Vex]]. During a pitched battle against the machines, both sides suffered heavy casualties when a orbital bombardment directed by the [[Warmind]] [[Rasputin]] struck the battlefield. Outraged by the unexpected assault, Ta'aurc roared orders to his soldiers to have the [[Ice Reapers]] deployed and locate the entity behind the orbital strike.<ref>'''Bungie (2014/12/9)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Dark Below]] Playstation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]:[[Grimoire:Allies/Rasputin#Ghost_Fragment:_Rasputin_2|Ghost Fragment: Rasputin 2]]''</ref>

Having entered a war with the local Cabal, [[Commander Zavala]] issued a [[Fireteam]] of [[Guardian]]s to eliminate the [[Valus]] and break the Siege Dancers' grip on Freehold; After ambushing several lieutenants, the Guardians pressed upon the Siege Dancers' mobile headquarters stationed at the [[Valley of the Kings]]. After pushing through their forces, Ta'aurc engaged the invaders inside. Despite his efforts and Cabal reinforcements to fend off their assault, however, the Land Tank fell to the Lightbearers and Ta'aurc was killed in action; Rendering the Siege Dancers leaderless and the scout Legions on Mars having lost a major chain in their command.<ref>'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''[[Destiny]]: Playstation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Cerberus Vae III (strike)|Cerberus Vae III]]''</ref>

Five years after his death at the hands of the Guardians, Valus Ta'aurc was risen by the necromantic powers of the [[Worm God]] [[Xol, Will of the Thousands]], whose lingering will persisted amongst the [[Taken]] on [[Io]] following his own death. Ta'aurc was then Taken by Xol, and became '''Ta'aurc, Aspect of War'''. He would be seen occasionally on patrol of the [[Echo Mesa]] and later engaged [[The Guardian]] alongside [[Drevis, Aspect of Darkness]] and [[Urzok, Aspect of Hate]] in battle during their quest for the [[Whisper of the Worm]].<ref>'''Bungie (2018/5/8)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Warmind (expansion)|Warmind]], Playstation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[The Whisper]]''</ref>

When fighting Valus Ta'aurc, it's of the best interest to stay on the high ground as much as possible, that way you have easy access to cover and you have to force Ta'aurc and his legion to come to you and has no chance to use his ground slam. Valus Ta'aurc is stubborn and tends to keep his fire on a target even if they're behind cover. If someone wants to remove his lock on their teammate, a headshot with a sniper is the best, most reliable way to draw his attention. If Ta'aurc roars, get behind cover as that is his call for his missile barrage and it will guarantee a death if it's not blocked with cover, however be aware that he can do up to three barrages in a row. A missile barrage is often also his announcement that he is moving to a new location. Valus Ta'aurc tends to have five locations. Back middle where he arrives, top right and left which is where the team should be stationed most of the fight unless he moves there, directly in the middle of the room, and front middle where the fireteam arrived in the room. Valus Ta'aurc moves often and tends to reach a spot only to instantly move to another unless he locks onto a Guardian.

Valus Ta'aurc is infamous for his high health pool, making him a damage sponge even after his health nerf in ''[[The Taken King]]''. It's best to take the fight slow and clear out the ads that spawn on the higher levels from behind cover from the Valus to make sure that there is as little of a threat while fighting him as possible. If Valus Ta'aurc is nearing death, he will almost perpetually be using his missile barrage, however due to his stubbornness this can be used against him by drawing his attention, then hide behind cover while the missiles hit the terrain while the other teammates finish him off, however be aware he can often change targets mid missile barrage so be near cover just in case along with the fact that the missiles do splash damage, so being right next to the terrain the missiles are hitting is ill-advised. It's best to stay behind it, but a fair distance away just in case.

He appeared on [[Io]] during the Taken Blight [[Public Event]], together with [[Urzok, the Hated|Urzok, Aspect of Hate]] and [[Drevis, Wolf Baroness|Drevis, Aspect of Darkness]], and needed to be killed in order to start the quest for the [[Whisper of the Worm]]. He also returned as one of the final bosses of the quest, and killing him and all other enemies in the room rewarded the player with the [[Whisper of the Worm]].

Valus Ta'aurc appears as one of three final bosses in Dares of Eternity. He is in a shorefront arena, similar to the arena where [[Dominus Ghaul]] was originally fought, fused with the region of The Silent Cartographer from Halo: Combat Evolved on the far left side of the arena. After Valus Ta'aurc appears, he will fight with his normal abilities, moving up and down the upper section of the arena, until a third of his health is depleted. At that point, he will activate an immunity shield powered by Cabal generators, and summon 12 of [[Xûr's Siegebringer]]s. Once all the glowing enemies are defeated, a [[Thresher]] will appear to bombard the players. Destroying the gunship will make it drop a Dares Core, which must be thrown at the generators to call an orbital bombardment upon them, destroying them. With his shield deactivated, the Dares Champion will resume combat as normal, summoning [[Commander of Eternity]] [[Colossus|Colossi]] and [[Gladiator]]s in addition to his normal reinforcements, and moving around the arena more. Defeating Valus Ta'urc will complete the encounter, and possibly the session of Dares.

*Zavala's introduction to the Strike mission where Ta'aurc is fought,  "Whether we wanted it or not, we've stepped into a war with the [[Cabal]] on [[Mars]]," has also become a popular meme within the community as a copypasta. In Dares of Eternity, Xur repeats this line as a nod to the meme in Ta'aurc's introduction.

**''[[Into the Light (update)|Into the Light]]'' {{Nc}}