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

Summary

Xur has returned to Destiny 2 with new exotic and legendary gear for a limited time, including weapons like Lord of Wolves and Hawkmoon.
Warlocks can pick up Verity's Brow, Hunters get Lucky Pants, and Titans can obtain Stronghold.
Xur can be found in the Winding Cove in the European Dead Zone, offering quests, exotic gear, and legendary weapons and armor in exchange for Legendary Shards and Glimmer.

Xur has returned again to Destiny 2, complete with new exotic and legendary gear for players to check out for a limited time. Season of the Deep is also in the final stages as both Bungie and players prepare for the anticipated Final Shape showcase later this month. One thing that is definitely changing is Xur as at least one of his exotic weapons won't be appearing thanks to the upcoming inclusion of the Exotic Mission Rotator at the start of Season 22.

In a surprise announcement, Bungie also detailed the future of Commander Zavala. While fan favorite voice actor Lance Reddick passed away unexpectedly earlier this year, Bungie confirmed that Zavala's journey isn't yet over and revealed that Keith David would be taking over the role. Fans will likely be familiar with his work in film and television or his lengthy career voicing iconic characters like Halo's Arbiter or Mass Effect's Admiral David Anderson. Either way, most fans agreed that the role is in safe hands with David.

For the next few days, the weekend merchant Xur has made a return to the world of Destiny 2. Follow this guide for his most current weekend location, news on his exotic cipher quest, as well as a review of all the exotic and legendary gear he's brought for the weekend of August 11, 2023.

Where is Xur?

This weekend, Destiny 2 players will need to head to the Winding Cove in the European Dead Zone.

Take the fast travel point in the Winding Cove from the EDZ in the Director, then run to the back of the zone. Xur can be found standing on a cliff overlooking the zone under a crashed Fallen ship.

Class Armor and Exotic Cipher

Xur's role continues to offer the usual weekly quests, exotics, and legendary gear. Not only are these quests required to purchase a second fated engram, but they're necessary to acquire legacy exotic gear from the Tower kiosk. Players can earn a new cipher by completing strikes and winning crucible or gambit matches. Gain bonus points for playing with clan mates or finishing more challenging activities.

Xur continues to sell even more gear outside his usual content. In addition to his normal exotic gear, Xur now has Legendary Weapons and Armor for sale in exchange for Legendary Shards and Glimmer.

Exotic Armor

Destiny 2 Verity's Brow Exotic — Verity's Brow Exotic

Verity's Brow - Warlock helmet

Exotic Perk:

The Fourth Magic - Weapon final blows with a damage type matching the subclass energy grant Death Throes, which provides a grenade damage bonus and grants you grenade energy. When you have Death Throes and throw a grenade, nearby allies gain greatly increased grenade regeneration for a short time.

A solid exotic with a decent roll this week, it's great for those who enjoy tossing grenades and causing more damage than normal. It is also a handy support tool as it empowers nearby allies, though ultimately this one isn't going to likely replace any of the top performing exotics currently dominating the meta.

Stat Values (65 Total):

Mobility +18
Resilience +12
Recovery +4
Discipline +18
Intellect +2
Strength +11

Lucky Pants - Hunter leg armor

Exotic Perk:

Illegally Modded Holster - When you ready a fully loaded Hand Cannon that deals Kinetic damage or a damage type that matches the player's subclass energy type, each hit from that Hand Cannon increases the damage of the next shot for a short time against a combatant. Hand Cannons ready faster and are more accurate immediately after swapping to them. Provides a small benefit to the airborne effectiveness stat of Hand Cannons while the buff is active.

This is a puzzling one as it not only has the highest individual stat of all three armors this week (29 resilience) but it also has the lowest roll overall. It's a solid choice for hand cannon users only, so it's certainly not a must have this week.

Stat Values (64 Total):

Mobility +3
Resilience +29
Recovery +2
Discipline +14
Intellect +6
Strength +10

A new clip shows how Season of the Deep's exotic armor rework has given a forgotten Destiny 2 exotic a new lease on life.

Stronghold - Titan gauntlets

Exotic Perk:

Clenched Fist - Maximizes guard stats on equipped Swords. Player's take reduced damage while blocking with a Sword. Rapidly damaging targets after blocking shots with a Sword grants restoration for a duration determined by the number of shots blocked.

Similar to the Lucky Pants above, this exotic is very specific to Sword users only, so for those not using them can easily pass on this. However, Season 21 introduced a few updates to Stronghold which definitely make it stronger than it was, though again, its perk is only good for those using a sword so whether or not to pick it up depends on that fact alone. However, the roll on this one is extremely high so at the very least, it may be worth a pickup to replace a worse version.

Stat Values (69 total):

Mobility +20
Resilience +4
Recovery +12
Discipline +6
Intellect +10
Strength +17

Exotic Weapon

A few years back, the Lord of Wolves shotgun was one of the most used weapons in the game thanks to a bug that caused the weapon to basically just melt enemies. While Bungie let the gun run wild in Crucible a little longer than it would have liked, the gun is nowhere near as fearsome as it once was. Even still, it remains a strong close quarters weapon and is worth a look for those who don't yet have it.

The Intrinsic perk is called Shrapnel Launcher which causes the gun to fire a powerful short-range burst of solar damage. However, the Release the Wolves trait is what really enhances this weapon's potency as players that hold the reload button can swap to a longer, more powerful burst.

Weapon perks:

Chambered Compensator
Extended Mag
Composite Stock

Hawkmoon and Dead Man's Tale Rolls

Since Season 16 removed the Presage and Harbinger exotic missions, Xur is also selling both Hawkmoon and Dead Man's Tale with randomized rolls. Players should visit him each weekend as he'll be carrying different rolls.

Hawkmoon Rolls:

Full Bore
Alloy Magazine
Hip-Fire Grip
Textured Grip

The Dead Man's Tale exotic scout rifle from Destiny 2.

Dead Man's Tale Rolls:

Smallbore
Armor-Piercing Rounds
Subsistence
Hand-Laid Stock

Here's the complete rundown of Xur's exotic stock in Destiny 2 for August 11, 2023:

Verity's Brow (Warlock helmet) – 23 Legendary Shards
Lucky Pants (Hunter leg armor) – 23 Legendary Shards
Stronghold (Titan gauntlets) – 23 Legendary Shards
Lord of Wolves (Shotgun) - 29 Legendary Shards
Hawkmoon (Hand Cannon) - 125,000 Glimmer, 200 Legendary Shards, 1 Exotic Cipher, 1 Ascendant Shard
Dead Man's Tale (Scout Rifle) - 125,000 Glimmer, 200 Legendary Shards, 1 Exotic Cipher, 1 Ascendant Shard
Exotic Engram - 97 Legendary Shards/1 Exotic Cipher
A Question - Exotic Cipher Quest