Outside of the latest rumors, Destiny 2 has seemingly entered a lull period to allow players to catch up on the rush of content and challenges added throughout the first half of the season. The Solstice of Heroes entered its second week, no doubt keeping players busy upgrading their Solstice armor for their classes. Thankfully, the lull doesn’t seem to be applying to Bungie as the studio continues to prepare for August 24 which sees both the next season as well as the highly anticipated Witch Queen reveal event.
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As fans continue to march forward in anticipation of August 24, the exotic merchant Xur has returned to Destiny 2 offering players exotic gear for a limited time. Follow this guide for his most current weekend location, news on his exotic cypher quest, as well as a review of what he’s currently selling for the weekend of July 16, 2021.
Where is Xur?
This weekend, players will need to head to the Tower hangar to find Xur overlooking the snowy mountains.
From the default landing zone, immediately head to the left and following the path down into the Hangar. After entering the hangar, head left again past Arach Jalaal and his Dead Orbit crew and up a metal stair case. Xur is standing on a metal platform at the back of this room overlooking the mountain ranges below.
Class Armor and Exotic Cypher
While Xur’s role is essentially the same as it was prior to the Beyond Light expansion, the exotic merchant also has weekly quests that players can acquire to unlock an exotic cypher. Not only are these required to purchase a second fated engram, but they’re necessary to acquire legacy exotic gear from the new kiosk. Players can earn a new cypher by completing strikes and winning crucible or gambit matches. Gain bonus points for playing with clanmates or finishing more challenging activities.
Other than that, here are Xur’s three gear pieces this weekend:
Ophidian Aspect - Warlock gauntlets
This armor is subclass neutral item that enhances combat ability through its perk, Cobra Totemic. With it, players can ready weapons and reload them much faster than normal. In addition, it also extends the Warlock melee range.
Ultimately, these are solid exotics because they help improve the combat of the game, especially in PvP activities. Having extended melee range is also beneficial for many Warlock subclasses, especially players who like using Devour. This item did receive a buff inside of the Season 10 update which gave them an increased lunge range for all Warlock melee attacks even if the ability is on cool down. The stat roll is also pretty solid, so these are a buy for Warlock players this week.
Arc Enhanced. Stat Values:
Mobility +3 Resilience +10 Recovery +17 Discipline +6 Intellect +15 Strength +10
Ophidia Spathe - Hunter chest armor
Just on sale a couple of months ago, Ophidia Spathe is back in stock with Xur for Hunter players. Scissor Fingers is its unique perk which grants Hunters two throwing knives instead of the typical one.
For those who enjoy rolling the Gunslinger subclass, the Ophidia Spathe synergizes particularly well with the Way of a Thousand Cuts and Gambler’s Dodge. It essentially allows the player to nearly continuously throw knives. This week’s edition is also high in strength for those looking to create a build with that value. Either way, this is a solid, if unspectacular exotic for Hunters this week. For those who prioritize strength builds, this may be the one to go for this week with an absurdly high 26.
Solar Enhanced. Stat Values:
Mobility +16 Resilience +12 Recovery +3 Discipline +2 Intellect +6 Strength +26
Severance Enclosure - Titan chest armor
The Severance Enclosure comes with an exotic perk called Spheromatik Trigger which unleashes a damaging explosion after an Arc, Solar, or Void melee final blow. Finishers and final blows against more powerful enemies increase the radius and damage of the explosion.
While it may not be the best Titan exotic, it’s no doubt a fun one to play around with especially in this current season. Similar to the Warlock’s Felwinter’s Helm exotic, many of the seasonal mods and Warmind Cells can result in room clearing damage when paired with this gear. Ultimately, it’s not a required purchase by any means, though it may be worth it for those who want to mess around and have a bit of fun. The roll is also the weakest of the three this week, but it’s still likely better than most people’s collection roll versions.
Arc Enhanced. Stat Values:
Mobility +14 Resilience +2 Recovery +13 Discipline +13 Intellect +16 Strength +2
Exotic Weapon
While not a go to weapon, the underrated hand cannon Sunshot is back on sale this weekend with Xur. Sunburn, the intrinsic perk, causes the weapon to fire explosive rounds and causes enemies to become highlighted after taking damage. Its other unique perk, known as Sun Blast, causes targets to explode after being killed, not requiring a headshot like the similar perk, Dragonfly.
Once viewed as a mediocre exotic weapon choice, the hand cannon has since become a solid option in either PvE or PvP content, even with a large selection available to players this season. It’s a 150RPM hand cannon with explosive rounds, capable of chaining damage to multiple enemies that are too close together. It’s also advisable to grab the Sunshot catalyst from certain playlists for it as it increases the weapon’s range and stability even further.
Additional perks:
Chambered Compensator Accurized Rounds Textured Grip
Here’s the complete rundown of Xur’s entire stock in Destiny 2 for July 16, 2021:
Ophidian Aspect (Warlock gauntlets) – 23 Legendary Shards Ophidia Spathe (Hunter chest armor) – 23 Legendary Shards Severance Enclosure (Titan chest armor) – 23 Legendary Shards Sunshot (Hand Cannon) - 29 Legendary Shards Exotic Engram - 97 Legendary Shards/1 Exotic Cypher A Question - Exotic Cypher Quest
Destiny 2: Beyond Light is now available PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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