Eyes of Blight – Orokin Archives (2024)

19 December 2014 – 05 January 2015

Operation

On Friday (19 December 2014), the event began with the release of Update 15.8 and was set to run for two and a half weeks. Upon logging in, the Tenno received an inbox message from the Lotus.

Inbox message:
All Hands: Incoming Fomorian

Vay Hek is making his move. We have just detected a Balor Fomorian traveling on an interception course with Vesper Relay. The beast moves slowly, but if we allow it to get within firing range, it will surely obliterate our new Relay. We need to destroy it before that happens.

Intelligence reports state that the Balor Fomorian's power core emits a thick energy field composed of deadly omega radiation. In order to break through the field, you will need to craft this Fomorian Disruptor. It will allow you to safely approach the core, and, when activated, it will temporarily disrupt the core, allowing you to inflict damage.

Take note, Tenno: the Disruptor is forged using Omega Isotopes. These are a by-product of a Fomorian's core and only appear on planets when a Fomorian nears.

Move quickly, Tenno. This is the first Balor Fomorian attack, but it won't be the last. When the others come, we must be ready.

—The Lotus

The message included a Fomorian Disruptor blueprint, which was reusable. The blueprint required 3.500 nano spores, 300 cryotic, and 4 omega isotopes, and cost 1.250 credits and 1 minute to build. The Fomorian Disruptor was described as "When activated, it disrupts a Fomorian core's Omega energy field, making it vulnerable. Also shields Tenno from Omega radiation."

A new node was available on Venus, called "Balor Fomorian".

Mechanics and Missions

The Balor Fomorian missions could not be run unless the Tenno had completed the Archwing quest and had a Fomorian Disruptor equipped in their Gear Wheel. To build the Disruptor required a new resource, Omega isotopes, which were an uncommon drop on any non-Archwing mission on a planet that was being imminently threatened by a Balor Fomorian. After the Tenno had crafted a Fomorian Disruptor and equipped it, they could select the event node on the Starchart.

The mission was an Archwing mission of a new type: Fomorian Sabotage. It took place in a debris field on the Grineer Free Space Archwing tileset, with the Balor Fomorian ship looming in the distance. The Tenno had to fly towards the Fomorian while dealing with Grineer Archwing enemies: Dregs, Dargyns, Ogmas, and Zeplens. Much like the final mission from the Archwing quest, the Tenno had to avoid being trapped in the Zeplens' energy nets or being targeted by the Fomorian's siege laser.

The Fomorian was impenetrable until the Tenno destroyed two shield generators on the top of the ship, one on each side. Then, with the shields down, the Tenno could fly into the Fomorian itself via large grooves near the bottom of the ship that became accessible after the generators were down. Inside the massive central cavity was the Fomorian core, protected by a shimmering energy field. The Tenno had to disable the energy field by activating the Fomorian Disruptor in their Gear Wheel (doing so would consume the Disruptors of everyone in the squad, regardless of who activated it). If some Tenno in the squad were not present inside the Fomorian, a warning would flash, saying "Not all teammates within range. Use again to override warning."

After the Fomorian Disruptor was activated, the core was vulnerable for exactly 30 seconds, and in that time window the Tenno had to deal as much damage as possible to the core with their Archwing weapons. There were also 16 prominent, spinning nodes on the core; destroying these would add a 0.25x multiplier to the damage taken by the core (4.0x total if all 16 were destroyed). Grineer Archwing enemies, including Ogma Elites, would be present inside the central cavity and would continuously spawn.

After the 30 seconds were up, the core became invulnerable again and the damage dealt to the core (with node multipliers factored in) was displayed on the HUD, acting as the mission score. The Tenno were then instructed to flee the area before the Fomorian's shields came back up, needing to travel 350 meters away in 30 seconds. If the Tenno did not make it, their score would not be counted for the event. If no Tenno in the squad made it, the mission would fail.

During the Fomorian Sabotage mission, the Lotus acted as mission control, with Vay Hek taunting the Tenno.

(variant) Vay Hek: [maniacal laughter]

(variant) Vay Hek: "You cannot stop progress. All will be Grineer dominion."

(variant) Vay Hek: "Your Lotus is leading you to destruction!"

(variant) Vay Hek: "This is too easy. Tell your Lotus to send more capable fighters next time."

(variant) Vay Hek: "You are running out of time. There will be nowhere to hide from my Fomorians. And when the last of you is gone, I will personally throw your beloved Lotus INTO THE SUN!"

(variant) Vay Hek: "You have already shown me your hand. Now, it is time to see what I have up my sleeve!"

(mission start) Lotus: "This is the threat, a Balor Fomorian. Your mission is to get inside the beast and inflict as much damage as possible. Get in range."

Lotus: "The Fomorian will remain impenetrable until you destroy all its shield generators."

Lotus: "Find and destroy all the shield generators on the ship's exterior."

(upon destroying shield generator, variant) Lotus: "Shield generator down."

(upon destroying shield generator, variant) Lotus: "Good work, now take out the remaining generators."

(upon destroying shield generator, variant) Lotus: "Shield generator destroyed. Take out the rest."

(upon destroying the second shield generator) Lotus: "Shields down. Now get inside."

(after shield generators are down, variant) Vay Hek: "Death, death, death. Death to the Tenno."

(after shield generators are down, variant) Vay Hek: "No. No, you will not stop this."

(after shield generators are down, variant) Vay Hek: "Brothers, do not let the Tenno threaten our destiny."

(after shield generators are down, variant) Vay Hek: "Tenno… Tenno… Tenno are here! Stop them. Stop them at once!"

(upon entering the Fomorian) Lotus: "There's the core. Deploy your Fomorian Disruptor to knock out the power field."

(if the Tenno idles, variant) Lotus: "Tenno, one of you needs to employ the Power Disruptor from your inventory to disable the power field."

(if the Tenno idles, variant) Lotus: "Tenno, the core is protected by a power field. Engage your Power Disruptors to shut down the field."

(upon activating the Fomorian Disruptor) Lotus: "Power field down. The core is exposed. Open fire!"

(once the core is invulnerable again) Lotus: "Hurry, Tenno. That power field will regenerate soon, and you do not want to be in here when it does."

(with 12 seconds left to escape) Lotus: "Power field regeneration imminent. Get out of there, FAST."

(when the Tenno is clear, variant) Lotus: "You've done your part, Tenno; now rendezvous with your Liset."

(when the Tenno is clear, variant) Lotus: "You're out of critical range, Tenno. Get to extraction."

After the first Balor Fomorian appeared near Vespa Relay, another appeared near Strata Relay. For the duration of the event, Balor Fomorians would appear on the map, threatening Relays, at a rate of approximately two per day (with some exceptions). Each Balor Fomorian mission could be ran as many times as desired (provided the Tenno had the necessary number of Fomorian Disruptors), but for each individual Tenno the Operation only tracked 1) if a specific Balor Fomorian mission had been successfully completed, and 2) the highest score achieved on each specific Balor Fomorian.

Each Fomorian had a 2-day countdown to when it would arrive at the Relay and destroy it, and a global health bar (labelled "Fomorian integrity"). The amount of damage done to the Fomorian core by each squad contributed to the decay of the Fomorian's health. If its health was depleted before it reached the Relay, the Fomorian would be destroyed and the Relay saved, but if not, the Fomorian would destroy the Relay, and it would cease to exist on the Starchart. It is important to note that the Relays were added to the game one week prior to the start of the Operation (following an 11-day stress test by selected players).

Chain of Events

The first Relay targeted was Vesper Relay on Venus. When a Relay was targeted, a large red countdown to Fomorian arrival appeared in the centre of the Relay concourse (in addition to the countdown being noted on Navigation). The Fomorian targeting Vesper was destroyed by the community before it reached the Relay, and each Tenno received an inbox message from the Lotus.

Inbox message:
Eyes of Blight: Vesper Relay is Safe

Tenno,

The Fomorians are not invincible; this is proof. Keep fighting – we must save our Relays.

—The Lotus

[diorama of a warframe in Archwing looking upon a Fomorian as it explodes]

Identical inbox messages would follow every Fomorian that was successfully destroyed.

The next Relay was Strata on Earth. This Fomorian ship was not destroyed before it reached Strata Relay. When the countdown reached zero, Vay Hek broadcast a message that was projected onto every screen on the station.

Vay Hek: "Hello… insects! For too long, you have been a parasite upon the great Grineer machine. No longer! The Tenno must learn how truly insignificant they are. Fomorian Commander, fire at will!"

The view then cut to a video of the Balor Fomorian obliterating Strata Relay with a single shot of its devastating siege laser. Every Tenno on the Relay was ejected back to their Orbiters, and the Relay ceased to exist on the Starchart.

Ordis: "Oh dear… I was particularly fond of that Relay."

The Tenno also received an inbox message from Vay Hek, containing a video of his taunt and the destruction of the Relay.

Inbox message:
The End of Strata Relay

Death to the Tenno.

Over the course of the Operation, 20 Fomorian ships arrived to threaten the Relays. Each Relay was threatened and saved multiple times (with the exception of Strata and Leonov, which were destroyed by their first Fomorians).

The second Relay to be destroyed was Leonov, on Europa. As before, Vay Hek sent a gloating message to the Tenno's inbox and everyone on the Relay as it was destroyed.

Vay Hek: "[maniacal laughter] Grineer might has made the Tenno irrelevant. Grineer revenge will make the Tenno extinct! Nothing you can do will stop that. Fomorian commander, you know what to do."

Ordis: "No, no, no, NO! No way are we going to let Vay Hek get away with this! Isn't that right, Operator?

After Leonov was Kuiper, on Eris.

Vay Hek: "[long laughter] Even I didn't think it would be this easy. Are you insects even trying? Fomorian Commander, crush this nest."

Ordis: "Operator, please tell me you will personally destroy every last one of his Fomorians. That is the only answer."

The last Relay to be destroyed was Vesper, after fighting off several Fomorians up to that point.

Vay Hek: "[laugh] Look at you. LOOK AT YOU! Pests, swarming around my Fomorians. You will never destroy them all! Fomorian Commander, take aim."

Ordis: "He's wrong. The Lotus says his fleet is greatly diminished. We can stop him."

In the end, of the seven Tenno Relays on the Starchart, four were destroyed and three were saved. 16 of the 20 Fomorian ships were destroyed.

Below is a list of the Fomorians that appeared in the Operation. Times and dates are in UTC.

Rewards

For each Fomorian, if the Tenno squad managed to inflict at least 1.000.000 points of damage to the Fomorian core in a single mission, the Tenno received an inbox message from the Lotus with a large credit reward.

Inbox message:
Eyes of Blight: This Fight Isn't Over

Your efforts are commendable, but we can still use your help. Take this to assist you on your next mission.

—The Lotus

The credit reward varied according to the difficulty of the Relay's planet, as listed below. This credit reward could only be earned once per Fomorian.

Larunda, Mercury: 50.000 credits
Vesper, Venus: 50.000 credits
Strata, Earth: 50.000 credits
Leonov, Europa: 75.000 credits
Kronia, Saturn: 75.000 credits
Orcus, Pluto: 100.000 credits
Kuiper, Eris: 100.000 credits

Each Fomorian the Tenno successfully sabotaged also awarded an Operation point. Once certain point thresholds were met, the Tenno received an inbox message with the event rewards.

Inbox message:
Eyes of Blight: This Fight Isn't Over

You stared a Balor in the eye and made it blink. You flew into the belly of the beast and struck where it hurts. You have done your part, but I urge you to not rest. Instead, take this reward and use it to finish this fight.

—The Lotus

At 3 points, the Tenno received the Operation: Eyes of Blight emblem and the Rahk Fluctus skin. At 10 points, the Tenno received the Archweapon mods Magma Chamber and Searing Steel. At 15 points, the Tenno received the Imperator Vandal, with a weapon slot and pre-installed Orokin Catalyst. The inbox message was identical each time.

Clan scores were calculated by adding the individual best scores of all clanmembers, divided by the maximum clan size for that tier. Originally, trophies were to be distributed to the top-three-scoring clans in each tier, but after extensive leaderboard exploits (as mentioned in an official post on the Forum), trophies were distributed to all clans that participated, via inbox message from the Lotus.

Inbox message:
A Token of Gratitude

Tenno,

The members of your clan fought hard to drive back Vay Hek's Fomorian assault. To commemorate your efforts, I am awarding [clan] with this trophy.

May you continue to protect the balance.

—The Lotus

Aftermath

After the event ended, the Tenno received an inbox message from the Lotus.

Inbox message:
Eyes of Blight: INTERCEPTED MESSAGE

Councillor Vay Hek,

Your Fomorian assault on the Tenno has been an abject failure. You have exhausted our entire Balor fleet, and yet the Tenno still raid our ships and gather in their Relays. Are you even aware of the resources you have squandered? Do you understand how much oxium goes into a single Fomorian? We put great faith in your abilities, Councillor, but we now see that faith was misplaced.

Perhaps Tyl Regor will prove a more competent replacement.

We await your penance.

—Your Queens

Operation: Eyes of Blight had a lasting effect on the Origin System, by removing four Relays from the Starchart. The Spectres of the Rail update made these destroyed Relays visible on the Starchart, though they were not selectable. In the Law of Retribution Trial, the Tenno defeated Councillor Vay Hek as revenge for the destroyed Relays. According to Cephalon Cordylon, some of the wreckage from the destroyed Relays was salvaged by Maroo to build her Bazaar. In the Pyrus Project, Cressa Tal of Steel Meridian helped the Tenno rebuild Strata Relay.

When this Operation was released on PS4 and XB1, it played out slightly differently, with a different set of Relays being saved and destroyed. The outcome was markedly similar on all platforms, however: three Relays saved and four destroyed. During the Baro Ki'Teer platform parity event, all platforms were changed to comply with the PC build.

After the Spectres of the Rail update, the Grineer turned their war efforts into building more Balor Fomorians to take down the Tenno Relays. Upon winning an invasion against the Corpus and occupying a node on the Starchart, the Grineer would make progress towards their next Balor Fomorian, as tracked in the World State Window. Every few months or so, the Grineer would complete a Fomorian and send it towards one of the Relays, and the Tenno would be given a few days to defend the Relay by destroying the Fomorian. The process was more or less identical to the event, and awarded the Tenno with 200.000 credits and an Orokin Catalyst if the Tenno inflicted at least 1.000.000 damage to the Fomorian core in a single mission. To date, none of these new Balor Fomorians have ever destroyed a Relay – all have been destroyed by the community.

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