They’re gaining individuality! It’s been going on for a while now, since the Conductor gained the Echo of Command back in episode Echoes and has been messing with the Vex. It resulted in them slowly becoming more individual. Really neat lore tab from back in Echoes that lists some of the stuff random Guardians noted about the Vex acting differently, with the fan favourite being:

Right as I was about to draw, the Hobgoblin waved its hand at me. I figured it was signaling an ambush and I looked around, but it didn’t have any backup. It waved again, and I gave it a little wave back—I didn’t see the harm. Well, it got real excited at that and waved with both arms.

This allowed them to be sometimes more efficient in combat because they have a better way of navigating fighting the Guardians (aka paracausality) if they are free to think individually. They began using actual combat tactics rather than just running at us, as well as making them better at simply processing stuff. Some voice lines from Ikora from Echoes about this and about the difference between the Vex she yoked and the Vex that essentially joined her on their own. Specifically with the Precursors, they aren’t yoked and manipulated through the Echo; rather they’re made more individual and then directed, like an army capable of following specific inputs, rather than mindless pawns.

It also leads to funny things like the Vex having direct beef with Guardians and swearing at us.

This isn’t always beneficial for the Conductor as a section of them have begun rejecting her and her commands, and moving on their own. The problem with individuality is that the Vex are beginning to make their own choices and some of them do not align with what the Conductor wants. An interesting one is from the raid lore book where a Hobgoblin decides to be an artist and the Conductor… Doesn’t like it one bit:

A Hobgoblin holds up useless, shining pieces of scrap to weld to its body. Its hand is very steady as it applies the solder.

TELL ME WHY.

Its hand jerks back. It lifts its face as a sunflower to that which gives it life.

V^ directive(original/HOBGOBLIN)==observe==judge==enact || IF(independent)=true THEN directive(modified/HOBGOBLIN(independent))==observe==create==build (self, other, beauty) ^V

An aspiring artist? Useless. A waste of mind.

The Conductor drains it of radiolaria and destroys it. This is not the only time this happened, so for individualistic minds that the Vex are becoming, this might’ve contributed to them breaking away from her command. If she wants them to be individuals, she should treat them as such, right?

The lore book we get for collecting datapads also adds to this, letting us know that the Vanguard and Guardians are well aware of the Vex slowly breaking away from the Conductor; at least some of them:

Dedicated observation of the Nessian Schism leads me to believe that Maya’s control over the Echo of Command has begun to dwindle. I witnessed several groups of Vex roaming in loose bands, seemingly without patrol routes. I saw one Goblin sit on the ground and watch an insect with childlike interest for some time.
I discovered a group of Choral Vex frames, devoid of life, warped and twisted, driven into the ground like corpse daffodils in early spring. They were drained of radiolaria, perhaps in a punitive measure. If the Conductor is forced to mete out such draconian punishment, then her hold over the Collective must truly be imperiled.

Probably the most damning is this lore tab where the Vex actively and directly tell the Conductor that she’s not welcome anymore:

-The Collective has processed your threats-
-You flee to Vex networks and attempt to claim sovereignty over our Minds-
-The Collective is uninterested in your ambitions-
-You will tap the fourth dimension and exhaust your usefulness-
-The Collective executes a response-
-Return and be Expunged-

So, now that some of the Vex are individual and can think for themselves and have interests and personalities for themselves, they rejected the Conductor and some of them have decided it’s time to wear clothes and form a criminal syndicate on Mars. Honestly, one of the most realistic scenarios for them. What to do with their free time? Crime of course.

One of the most exciting developments in the recent stuff for me. Everything with the Vex and their changes has been a delight, I can’t wait to see where else it leads.

I would kill for Vex friends.