The sixth Thargoid Titan, Thor, is no more. On Friday, August 16 2024, news came out of Col 285 Sector IG-O c6-5 that Thor had become vulnerable. Brave Commanders from across the galaxy, many right here in our Elite Dangerous community, loaded up their Thargoid pulse neutralisers, caustic sink launchers, and guardian nanite torpedo pylons - as well as a healthy amount of thermal vent beams - and flew straight into the eye of the maelstrom. As soon as we learned that this latest flower of doom was in bloom, we set a bounty asking Just About Elite Dangerous members to report back from the battle, and they delivered.
So if you’re curious but not quite ready for this kind of challenge or you just want to know how it all went down, you’re in the right place. Below you’ll find first-hand reports, videos, and images, direct from players involved in the Attack on Titan (Thor):
Tarzan put out a rallying call for support: “As you pass through the cloud of toxic gas, the energy surges, and endless caustic mines, there looms the mighty Titan Thor, awaiting humanity’s response. It is here, as the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, that we need our brothers and sisters to fight, to push the Thargoids back, and defeat the death flower! Glory to mankind!”
Pilots from across the galaxy heeded the call. Even those with little ones and furry friends to factor in, like Spidey002:
“As members of The Fatherhood Wing, we know that life comes first. My fellow pilots - Jammin411 and Crush3r - and I had limited time to fly. I had to pick up my little pilots from school, so my fellow pilots were already at the Titan when I logged in. We got a couple of good runs in against this existential threat before Jammin had to bail for a work call and Crush3r’s co-pawlets made a mess in the cockpit that needed to be dealt with (a mess so foul he smelled it in his VR headset). I made three or four more solo runs before my AX missile racks ran dry. I escaped with just over 50% hull remaining and about 14 million in bonds.”
With stakes so high, even rookies like Fenix-Legend pulled up their socks and rose to the occasion:
“I’ve been playing Elite for less than a month, and there’s a lot I haven’t tried, but I decided to dive right in! Following two weeks of trading and gathering materials for engineering upgrades, I managed to buy an Anaconda with the best internal components. Then I read up on optimal modifications and realised my weapons would be ineffective. After scrambling to replace them with an arsenal that would work against Thargoids, I patiently awaited the day that we would attack Thor. I thought I’d be ready, but oh boy, I couldn’t have been more wrong…
“Just reaching that corrosive cloud weakened my ship. I was thrown around by a pulse, chased and destroyed by lesser Thargoids, and was struck by a missile that destroyed my cargo hatch and limpets. It was rough, but I made it through. And once Thor was in sight, I saw squadrons working in unison, each with a specific role and everyone doing their job perfectly. The other pilots there did what they could to help me survive; repairing my ship and getting the Thargoids off my tail.
“I don’t know how much I contributed, but I got to witness the great work the community is doing and the tremendous effort they’re putting in. My last sighting showed that Thor was having a very bad time, its health rapidly declining.”
They say that instead of cursing the darkness, one should light a candle in the hope that others may see it and light theirs too. JRamirezSV refused to sit around and let others do the hard work, and he captured these great shots of the assault:
Slamscape took an Imperial Courier, a Vulture, and a Diamondback Explorer (DBX) into the fray, knowing that what they lack in armour and firepower, they make up for in speed and running cold, “plus they look cool”. Here’s the footage of them giving Thor Hel:
GraphicEqualizer wasn’t going to let everyone else have all the fun. They dove straight into a bombing run in their kitted-out Mamba:
Nor was LittleBigYin, who conducted multiple bombing runs and captured this epic shot of the action:
And yet neither gods nor alien capitals are slain so easily. Reacting to the onslaught of human forces, Thor rallied its defenders. We received an image-laden report from Moonshade Gaming on the Wrath of Turtle Bay (WoTB) squadron’s struggles against the mothership’s defences:
“Combat Operations against Titan Thor, 17 August, 3310:
“WoTB squadron pilots have returned from a series of successful forays into the heart of the maelstrom surrounding the Thargoid Titan designated Thor. Engineer Ram Tah's AGF shielding has worked wonders at protecting the Guardian-hybrid power plants, FSD boosters, and shard cannons equipped to our Python MkII's, affording us the ability to inflict significantly more damage against the Titan's thermal core.
“There have been reports from squadron pilots that, while sometimes helpful, the presence of Pilots’ Federation forces in the maelstrom has introduced an added level of difficulty to their mission. Due to the higher presence of human forces, the Titan is on higher alert with larger patrols of scouts, interceptors, and Glaive-class hunters, and this is simply upon initial entry.
“While it has been suggested that it might be best to hunt and destroy these Pilots’ Federation ships to reduce the Thargoid presence, command staff in WoTB have determined that sharing CMDR Mechan's fate of being tried and convicted for crimes against humanity is not in the best interest of the squadron.”
Potential war crimes aside, the Thargoid’s renewed pressure got to some pilots, like LunchAndDinner, who following a mishap became the Titan’s lunch and dinner. Fallen pilots, we honour your sacrifices!
Casualties were high. As CAVEIRARJ reported, it looked like the day might be lost:
“Our small squadron has been devastated, ships lost, experienced combat pilots and bounty hunters have recovered emergency pods. We thought we were ready for this fight!”
And yet humanity, always resourceful, will not go gently into that good night. Here’s CAVEIRARJ again:
“Our pilots evolved with engineers and ship manufacturers; we used new manufactured ship platforms, combined our experience in adapting new technologies and materials, tried new attack tactics, and we’ve managed to advance in this war. Soon, Commanders!”
AndyFirebladeMuza was among those who raged against the dying of the light. We intercepted a transmission from his escape pod:
“This is CMDR Andy Fireblade Muza, reporting live from the battle of Titan Thor. At the moment of writing, Thor has two fully intact hearts remaining as well as one that’s received slight damage.
“Without issue, I managed to navigate my way through the horrid caustic cloud to the Titan’s lair. The heat vents were all closed, so I waited patiently to pounce. I selected combat mode, and chose nanite torpedoes and the good old beam laser as my weapons of choice for this phase of the assault. I positioned my ship just above the Titan’s surface and kept my thermal vent beam laser firing to make my Chieftain cold and keep it cold.
“After what seemed like an age (30 seconds), the heat vents opened, and I pounced. I targeted the vent, boosted towards it while strafing the ship right, and kept the beam laser firing while waiting for the torpedoes to lock on. Once the torps had locked, I fired and positioned my ship to aim at the next vent. I repeated the manoeuvre until all eight vents were hit and leaking blue-coloured nanite glow.
“The next phase was to head towards the exposed thermal core and let it have it! For this, I selected the beam laser, multi-cannons, and enhanced AX missile racks. I locked on and unleashed all I could unleash.
“All the while I could see enemy Thargoids approaching from all around, including the dreaded Glaives. As I hit the core with everything I had, one of those Glaives was hitting me with everything it had. After taking a lot of damage from my fellow Commanders and me, the core began to close. I started to boost away, but - to my horror - my hull was rapidly deteriorating.
“I heard the Titan scream, but my hull was down to 15% and the Glaive was all over me. All I could do was watch helplessly as my hull vanished and my COVAS repeated “Module Malfunction” as my canopy failed. I was launched into space at the mercy of everything and everyone around me. All I can do now is to hope to be rescued, especially as the alternative would mean an anal probing from the Thargoids. I’m hoping for the former."
As are we, Andy, as are we. The Titan at this stage was almost at breaking point. But Delmarfishy was there to witness its shields recharge once more:
“Thor is pretty! And pretty much dead after all those attack runs we did! See you in the fields, Commanders!”
And finally, following the firepower and sacrifice of so many brave Commanders, the Titan Thor met its demise. After a battle like this, many will vie for the ultimate valour. USCSS claims that they were there for the Titan's death knell:
“The battle against Thor was intense. The Thargoid turrets and fleet wreaked havoc on our ranks, but thanks to a diversionary tactic, we were able to get close enough for a counterattack. I launched an AX missile directly at its thermal core. The explosion was cataclysmic, and Thor was reduced to scrap.”
RicZA was there, and managed to turn on their camera even in the heat of the moment. Here’s the moment humanity prevailed, captured in all its glory:
As for the “scrap” that USCSS referred to, salvage efforts were quickly underway led by those like CMDR Owl. Aegis has begun its scientific analysis programme; here’s the latest from their spokesperson:
“Xenologists from the Alliance, Empire, and Federation are eagerly cooperating to study the Titans’ remains. Military teams are accompanying our research specialists as they seek to improve our understanding of Thargoid biotechnology.
“We are aware that some independent ships are already scavenging the debris, hoping to locate something of value. Aegis advises extreme caution to all pilots when approaching inactive Titans. The immediate area has been reported to be highly corrosive, and individual Thargoids may have survived deep within their motherships. We cannot discount defence mechanisms still being active, or even attacks from smaller Thargoid vessels.”
With Titan Thor destroyed, only two of the eight Thargoid motherships remain active. As Elite players continue to work their way through the lightning deity-named capitals, consider this one a strike. We’ll leave you with the words of Moonshade Gaming: “Another night, another Titan to beat down.”
Did you witness the Battle of Titan Thor? Let us know what your experience was like in the comment section! And let us know if you’d like us to report on the assaults on the remaining two Titans. Some text has been amended and re-ordered for brevity, clarity, and flow. You can find the original wording at the bounty post. Cover image credit: JRamirezSV, in-line image credit: CmdrTravisRobicheaux.
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