Where is Xur and what exotic armour and weaponry is he selling on the 3rd of November onwards? Is the Graviton Lance pulse rifle worth buying? Read on to find out as part of our weekly item guide.
For the weekend commencing on the 3rd of November, 2017, Xur has brought with him some decent exotic finery. More decent than the D.A.R.C.I. exotic sniper rifle from last time, anyway.
Xur can be found milling around the EDZ (Earth), just north of the Winding Cove fast travel point so point your cursor there and use the in-game map’s Xur icon to easily find him. No aimlessly running round like in the original Destiny.
All exotic items from Xur come with a maximum power level of 270, which is comprised a base power of 265 plus a +5 legendary damage mod (read our guide to infusion for more on this). Not so good for those closing in on the maximum light level of 305.
Unfortunately for those who have been playing the Destiny 2 campaign, this week’s weapon will be something you may already have. If not, avoid buying if you really like pulse rifles because, from a PvE perspective at least, it is a decent choice.
But, and this is worth staying, the Sunshot handcannon’s area of effect damage is extremely potent in PvE (hell, it made it into our ten best weapons for PvE round-up), particularly for when facing swarms of enemies.
Riskrunner, meanwhile, the other exotic weapon you can choose from after completing the ‘Sacrilege’ Red War campaign mission, is also a solid weapon that really comes into its own when facing enemies of a certain damage type, at which point it is a PvE demon.
Anyway, on with the show. Here is our mini guide to each exotic item Xur is selling.
PS: We wrote a guide on how to reach the maximum 305 light level. You can thank us later.
Destiny 2: Is Graviton Lance worth buying?
Depends on the engagement range and how accurate you are. Land all three projectiles and the last one will do extra damage, thanks to the Blackhole perk, which is unaffected by range. 13 lots of extra damage plus critical hits makes it useful in a lot of PvE situations.
The problem is that if you miss the third bullet, the time to kill speed in PvP drops significantly, making it less useful for guardian on guardian combat. But you can still do well with it if your accuracy is top-notch (or playing on PC where controlling recoil is more doable).
You could stick a stability mod or two on to reduce the recoil, although the fact it moves upwards can be useful as your last projectile tends to be heading towards the head if you were aiming mid-body at short to medium ranges.
Buy if you want to complete your collection or really like pulse rifles. For PvP, you can do better elsewhere and without using an exotic slot.
Cost: 29 Legendary Shards
Destiny 2: Young Ahamkara’s Spine (Hunter gauntlets)
If you like trip mines, you will appreciate the Young Ahamkara’s Spine exotic gauntlets. Slap these on your wrists and you the duration a trip mine lasts goes from 14 to 30 seconds, effectively doubling the chance somebody will walk into it and get blown to bits.
Not only that, any enemy that takes a blast but survives can be tracked, allowing you to hunt them down for an easier kill. Unfortunately, it is still easy to see the grenade most of the time and there are better grenades available.
However, the fact they can block an area and require a second or two to destroy can make them useful for keeping an enemy away from a certain area or delay their progress, which may be useful in capturing an area or keeping an enemy from sneaking up behind you.
Not the best, unless you also really want the reduced energy weapon recoil perk, but maybe worth buying if you have no other exotic items for your Hunter class. Your call, Guardian.
Cost: 23 Legendary Shards
Destiny 2 exotic: Mask of the Quiet One (Titan helmet)
The Mask of the Quiet One Titan helmet will be useful for some players because of its decent intrinsic perk, which is called Dreaded Visage. Taking damage grants you melee, grenade and class ability energy and void ability kills grants health regeneration.
Basically, wearing this rewards you for taking damage, making it useful for those who like to get involved in a fight and are playing as a Sentinel Titan. Useful for PvE, then.
In PvP, however, the amount of damage you take is considerably more limited, especially now that fights are 4×4 instead of 6v6. And the Sentinel Titan super is less useful than the other two classes, so buy something else if the Crucible is your preferred jam.
Cost: 23 Legendary Shards
Destiny 2: Nezarec’s Sin (Warlock helmet)
Besides looking excellent, the Nezarec’s Sin features the Abyssal Extractors intrinsic perk, which increases your ability recharge rate when getting kills from Void damage.
That means your void melee will recharge the void melee and shooting and killing stuff with a void-based weapon will also have boost the recharge rate. It is hard to say how much faster as it depends on the number of enemies, but eight or so kills will be enough to see a refill.
Pair up with Devour and you can melee a lot more of the time, hopefully getting kills and recharging your health in the process. More useful for PvE, but it could work in PvP, too.
Cost: 23 Legendary Shards
Best way to get exotics in Destiny 2?
Beating events at a heroic level or completing other end-game content such as the Leviathan Raid, Trials of the Nine or the Nightfall will land you exotic items and engrams. Exotics can also drop at the end of a Crucible or Strike, but this seems to be quite rare.
For farming exotics, you are best off running public events and turning them into heroic events as these are quick to compete compared to other game types and they can be done solo.
How can I get Legendary Shards in Destiny 2?
Legendary Shards can be earned by dismantling legendary or exotic weapons or for completing the activities mentioned above. Finishing the week’s main activities will usually let you afford at least one exotic from Xur.
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