Destiny 2: Xur Exotic Armor, Weapon, and Recommendations…

Friday is back once again, which means it's time to play hide and seek with Destiny 2's unique salesman Xur. In addition to a new inventory of year 1 exotic merchandise with randomized rolls, Xur being back also gives players another chance to finish quests related to The Dawning.

With week 2 of The Dawning in full swing, players have been finding various ingredients in order to create cookies for many of the NPCs in the game. Not only is Xur included as part of this, but giving him Strange Cookies unlocks a new Dawning triumph and goes towards completing a unique quest related to the spacial sparrow that players can upgrade over the course of the event.

Here's where players can find the shifty merchant and what he's selling in Destiny 2 for the weekend of December 21, 2018:

Where is Xur?

Players can find the exotic merchant back in the Last City, behind Dead Orbit inside of the Hangar. Fast travel to The Tower and immediately head left to head down to where Amanda Holliday works on her vehicles.

After entering the hangar, head left again past Arach Jalaal and the 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

It appears that the Agent of the Nine isn't in the holiday spirit this week, offering items that have been seen often in the past weeks and months. This week, Xur is offering one subclass neutral exotic from each of the year 1 expansions.

Apotheosis Veil - Warlock helmet

The Warmind exotic Apotheosis Veil essentially keeps Warlocks charged with energy when activating their super. Through the exotic perk Insatiable, the Warlock's health, melee, grenade, and super immediately beings to regenerate. Not only that, but also any nearby allies will benefit from the effect as it recharges their class abilities at a much faster rate as well.

Unlike the Claws of Ahamkara last week, the Apothesis Veil isn't quite a must-have exotic item for Warlocks as there are much better options available such as the Lunafaction Boots. Still, Warlocks have much worse options to pick from and its exotic perk is a welcome addition to most fireteams.

Gear Rolls:

Mobility OR Recovery
Fusion Rifle Targeting, Hand Cannon Targeting, Hands-On
Sniper Rifle Reserves OR Machine Gun Reserves

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Knucklehead Radar - Hunter helmet

Like the other exotics on this list, the Knucklehead Radar is an item that can be used in conjunction with any Hunter subclass. It's a useful, yet unexciting gear piece that enhances the player's radar when crouched and keeps it on the screen when aiming down the sights.

This helm is easily outclassed by other Hunter exotics but is definitely useful in certain situations and game modes like the Crucible. Knowing where enemies are coming from even when aiming down the sights really comes in handy. This helm is worth the asking price for those that don't already own it.

Gear Rolls:

Resilience OR Recovery
Fusion Rifle Targeting, Hand Cannon Targeting, Hands-On
Sniper Rifle Reserves OR Machine Gun Reserves

Aeon Safe - Titan gauntlets

Part of the Aeon Cult gear set for all three Destiny 2 classes, the Aeon Safe functions largely the same way as the others. It works best when others are wearing their Aeon gear, something which likely won't be the case these days. Its exotic perk is Aeon Energy which grants added grenade energy to Warlocks, barricade energy to Titans, and dodge energy to Hunters when the user throws a grenade. For teammates that don’t have Aeon gear, they’ll only receive a small energy boost.

Xur has featured this set often but the recommendation remains the same: these exotic gauntlets are not worth anyone's time or resources outside of those attempting to collect every exotic item. There are much better exotics available to Titans that deserve a spot over the Aeon Safe.

Fixed Gear Rolls:

Resilience OR Mobility
Fusion Rifle Loader, Hand Cannon Loader, Impact Induction
Machine Gun Scavenger OR Sniper Rifle Scavenger

Exotic Weapon

Thankfully, Xur's exotic weapon this week is a solid fusion rifle called Merciless. Part of the fun of this weapon is its exotic perk, Conserve Momentum. Non-lethal hits with the gun actually help charge the weapon faster until the player finally gets that kill. Through its other perk, Impetus, players who quickly reload after getting that kill helps to increase weapon damage for a short time.

Merciless excels at clearing out elite enemies and adds as it can deal out high rates of damage after each burst, especially after utilizing its two unique perks. With the recent nerf to the Ikelos shotgun, Merciless has seemingly jumped over it in terms of quick burst damage, making it a great choice for players who like to run strikes and Nightfalls.

Here's the complete rundown of Xur's entire stock for Dec 21: