*I should have answered this in the ride along!
From a world building and design stand point, the proximity is quite intentional. We wanted players to see their final goal at one of the earliest points in your arrival on the Dreadnaught. Oryx is taunting you on your way in because he feels you are not even close to worthy of facing him, nor is he concerned with your immediacy to his altar in this realm.
When players first land on the Dreadnaught, they walk along a pathway which directs the players view towards the entrance to the Altar of Oryx. Once in his ascendant realm, players are directed to walk the opposite direction, towards the area where they first arrived on the Dreadnaught. Ideally, players recognize that it's where they first landed. If they paid close attention, they may have a moment of "I know where I am!" and also connecting the journey's start with the journey's end, including the view of the skybox from the altar filled with remnants of the initia...
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