Vault of Glass return shatters huge Destiny 2 raid record on opening day

The return of Vault of Glass in Destiny 2 marks the biggest raid launch in franchise history, with more players recording day one clears than any previous raid in Bungie’s long-standing franchise.

There’s no denying that raids have long been the most alluring aspect of Destiny. Whether you’re a casual player, diehard veteran, or even a lapsed fan watching on the sidelines, just about everyone stops to tune in and see the latest spectacle.

These punishing six-man activities are unlike anything else in the game and they only come around every so often. Our last original raid arrived in November 2020 with the Deep Stone Crypt. Six months later and rather than implementing a new raid, Bungie brought back the classic Vault of Glass.

Seven years after its release, Destiny 2 players were able to return to Venus on May 22. Now that the day one race is in the books, we have some early data to go off and Vault of Glass has already broken records.

In terms of day one completions, the revamped Vault of Glass had the highest finishing rate of any raid in Destiny history, based on early data from Destiny Raid Report. A whopping 6,783 fireteams made it through the standard version of the activity in the first 24 hours. On top of that, 2,814 squads pushed through the challenge mode variant as well.

Up until Season of the Splicer, the Deep Stone Crypt held the record for day one completions at 5,325. This marks a significant jump with over 1,400 additional teams joining the raid race to smash the previous high.

All Destiny Day 1 raid completions

• Vault of Glass: 22
• Crota’s End: 12
• King’s Fall: 179
• Wrath of the Machine: 2,911
• Leviathan: 761
• Eater of Worlds: 4,545
• Spire of Stars: 19
• Last Wish: 2
• Scourge of the Past: 954
• Crown of Sorrow: 104
• Garden of Salvation: 96
• Deep Stone Crypt: 5,325
• Vault of Glass (Destiny 2): 6,783
• Vault of Glass Challenge: 2,814

Prior to Beyond Light, only two other raids ever cleared 1,000 fireteams: Eater of Worlds and Wrath of the Machine. With more successful day one teams than ever before, Vault of Glass established a new high point for the series.

• Read More: Ultimate Destiny 2 Vault of Glass guide

Obviously, given that it’s a returning raid, players had a better idea of what to expect heading in. Even with the new mechanics and reworked encounters, there’s a good chance familiarity played a role in this new record.

There’s a number of positive factors that we can attribute to this historic moment as well though. In previous years, Raid dates were only locked in a few days ahead of time. This gave teams very little room to prepare for the challenges.

Unless you were a full-time streamer or dedicating every hour to Destiny, getting raid-ready for day one was always extremely difficult.

Now, players are able to leisurely grind over the course of a few weeks. We knew the Vault of Glass date and power requirement weeks out from launch, allowing every player the opportunity to compete on day one.

• Read More: How to unlock the Vex Mythoclast in Destiny 2

Whether you put 100 hours into preparing or just did the bare minimum, this lead-up clearly paved the way for the biggest raid launch in Destiny history.