Not only is this his final visit in 2018, but it’s also the final chance for players to complete any remaining Dawning quests related to Xur as well. Once the merchant leaves before the next reset, he won’t be back before the special in-game event ultimately ends on January 1, 2019.
For now, here’s where players can find the shifty merchant and what he’s selling in Destiny 2 for the weekend of December 28, 2018:
Where is Xur?
This weekend, players can find Xur in his usual spot on Titan.
Fast travel over to The Rig and start running to the back of the zone near the entrance to the Solarium. In the northwest corner of the more open section of The Rig, Xur is hiding out in a small house where the Hive and Fallen sometimes battle each other.
Class Armor
For class armor this week, Xur has brought plenty of year 1 expansion content with him including two Warmind exotics and one Curse of Osiris piece for Warlocks.
The Stag - Warlock helmet
Back in the Destiny 1 days, The Stag was one of the best exotics in the game for Warlocks. Here in Destiny 2, it’s not as strong as it used to be but is solid in a lot of ways thanks to being a subclass neutral item. The exotic perk is called Dearly Departed which grants additional rift energy when critically wounded. Upon the player’s death, a healing rift is left on the corpse for teammates to use.
The exotic armor was buffed in the patch alongside Forsaken to give the rift that is dropped a full duration instead of a short 5-second version. There are certainly better Warlock exotics out there, but it’s not a terrible choice either.
Gear Rolls:
Resilience OR Recovery Fusion Rifle Targeting, Hand Cannon Targeting, Hands-On Sniper Rifle Reserves OR Machine Gun Reserves
Ophidia Spathe - Hunter chest armor
Back in Xur’s inventory for the second time this month, Hunters can pick up the Ophidia Spathe chest armor. Its exotic perk, Scissor Fingers, gives players two knives per charge, letting Gunslinger Hunters toss knives more often than usual.
As players have discovered since the Forsaken launched, it synergizes extremely well with the Gunslinger’s newest subclass, Way of a Thousand Cuts and its passive ability, Playing with Fire. Having two knife charges basically ensures that melee energy regeneration is constant. With Brawler active, players will likely be throwing knives non-stop. It’s a very strong piece of armor for both PvE and PvP and is worth a purchase.
Gear Rolls:
Resilience OR Recovery Unflinching Bow Aim, Unflinching Fusion Rifle Aim, Unflinching Kinetic Aim Scout Rifle Reserves OR Special Ammo Finder
Ashen Wake - Titan gauntlets
After a very disappointing last week, Xur has brought the Ashen Wake gauntlets with him this week for Titan players. While this exotic may be better than the Aeon Cult exotics, it’s still a big let down. Bring The Heat makes fusion grenades explode on impact and gives players increased throw speed.
This is another Titan exotic that players can safely ignore for this week. There are much better choices available like the One-Eyed Mask, even for those avid fusion grenade users.
Fixed Gear Rolls:
Resilience OR Recovery Fusion Rifle Loader, Hand Cannon Loader, Impact Induction Machine Gun Scavenger OR Sniper Rifle Scavenger
Exotic Weapon
Xur’s weapon spotlight this week is the D.A.R.C.I. exotic sniper rifle. Personal Assistant is the weapon’s intrinsic perk, giving the player access to critical information like health and distance when the scope is aimed at an enemy. The exotic trait is known as Target Acquired, which is activated when Personal Assistant is used. Essentially, it gives the weapon better target acquisition and deals significantly more precision damage.
Prior to Warmind, the exotic sniper rifle D.A.R.C.I. was one of the damage output kings. Since the other exotic sniper Whisper of the Worm arrived, it has been effectively replaced in most loadouts. However, this is still a very strong weapon to have on hand thanks to its two exotic perks. Another slight bonus is that its exotic catalyst isn’t terribly hard to get, dropping randomly from fighting PvE enemies. In the end, for players who don’t have it yet, D.A.R.C.I. is still worth a buy especially for those without Whisper of the Worm.
Here’s the complete rundown of Xur’s entire stock for Dec 28:
Ashen Wake (Titan gauntlets) – 23 Legendary Shards Ophidia Spathe (Hunter chest armor) – 23 Legendary Shards The Stag (Warlock helmet) – 23 Legendary Shards D. A. R. C. I. (Energy Sniper Rifle) – 29 Legendary Shards Fated Engram - 97 Legendary Shards Five of Swords Challenge Card
Destiny 2 is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
