Destiny 2 Xur location and items, Jan. 7-11

The weekly Exotic item merchant, Xur, hangs out in random locations around the world of Destiny. In Destiny 2, he can appear all over the map, as well as inside the Tower. This week, you can find Xur in the Tower, standing on the back stairs in the Hangar.

Image: Bungie via Polygon

Xur’s inventory this week consists of the following:

• Fighting Lion, grenade launcher: 29 Legendary Shards
• Shinobu’s Vow, Hunter arms: 23 Legendary Shards
• Synthoceps, Titan arms: 23 Legendary Shards
• Ophidian Aspect, Warlock arms: 23 Legendary Shards
• Exotic Engram: 97 Legendary Shards (you can now purchase a second with an Exotic Cipher)
• Exotic Cipher quest: free

As of Season of the Lost, Xur also sells a collection of old armor and weapons — similar to Banshee-44 and Ada-1. Usually, these items are difficult to find and from seasons long past. Each item (whether armor or weapon) costs only 1,000 Glimmer and 50 Legendary Shards.

Xur’s Legendary inventory this week consists of the following:

• Seventh Seraph SI-2, Void sidearm
• Gnawing Hunger, Void auto rifle
• Nature of the Beast, Arc hand cannon
• Seventh Seraph CQC-12, Solar shotgun
• Long Shadow, Kinetic sniper
• Interference VI, Arc grenade launcher
• Stars in Shadow, Solar pulse rifle
• Simulator armor set

Xur’s items drop at a similar power level as your character.

Fighting Lion

The Fighting Lion is an Exotic tube-fed grenade launcher. Its primary perk, Delayed Gratification, causes its projectiles to bounce and explode only when you release the trigger. Its secondary perk is Thin the Herd, which increases damage done to the enemy shield. This grenade launcher also uses primary ammo.

Fighting Lion is a gimmick weapon, but that doesn’t mean it’s useless. If you’re working on any quest that requires grenade launcher kills, the Fighting Lion is perfect — since it rarely runs out of ammo. It takes a lot of time to get used to the Fighting Lion, but it’s a powerful tool in rare situations.

Young Ahamkara’s Spine

Shinobu’s Vow

Shinobu’s Vow are new gauntlets added in Curse of Osiris. Their exotic perk, New Tricks, improves your Skip Grenade and grants you an extra Skip Grenade charge. The worth of this exotic comes down to personal preference. Anything that gives you an extra grenade charge is great. If you like playing Arcstrider and prefer using a grenade-boosting exotic rather than the Raiden Flux chest piece, pick up these gauntlets. If that doesn’t apply to you, skip it.

Xur’s roll this week comes with 62 total stats.

Synthoceps

After a big change, Synthoceps will now buff melee damage and super damage by a flat amount for a full eight seconds after being surrounded by three or more enemies. This is potentially a very powerful Exotic now.

The Biotic Enhancements intrinsic perk offers “increased melee lunge range” as well as “improved melee and Super damage when surrounded.” These are one of the most powerful Titan Exotics in the game, and always benefit you for wearing them. If you don’t have these, buy them!

Xur’s roll this week comes with 63 total stats.

Ophidian Aspect

The Ophidian Aspect gauntlets were first released with Curse of Osiris. Their exotic perk is Cobra Totemic, which causes weapons handled by the wearer to ready and reload faster than normal. As a bonus, melee range is also extended. These are great “anytime” exotics. No matter what kind of activity you’re doing, you’d be better off wearing these gauntlets than not. Pick them up for yourself and see what you think.

Xur’s roll this week comes with 66 total stats.

Exotic Cipher quest

Image: Bungie via Polygon

Starting in Beyond Light, Xur has a new quest for an Exotic Cipher. The Exotic Cipher lets you buy old Exotics from the Monuments to Lost Light kiosk in the tower. You’ll need these items and some other currencies to pick up Exotics like Heir Apparent and Truth.

This week, Xur wants you to complete 21 Strikes or win Crucible or Gambit matches. By finishing the quest, you’ll earn an Exotic Cipher to use however you want.