Back when I first started playing Destiny 2, the weekly visits by Lovecraftian merchant Xur were something to look forward to. Not only did he sell Exotic armor, but I could snag a random new weapon from him as well. Since then, well, Xur isn’t what he used to be. Yeah, his armor offerings have decent stats now, but otherwise, there isn’t much reason for many players to seek him out each weekend.
But Bungie could change all that. They could give Xur something to do that would make players excited to see him again. And, most importantly, it would give him a renewed sense of purpose. Here are some possibilities for making Xur relevant in Destiny 2.
1. Cosmetics
This would go against Bungie’s current ethos of tying cosmetics to the Bright Dust and Silver economy, but there’s no reason why Xur couldn’t serve as a secondary source of this kind of gear, especially older stuff. We already have Bright Engrams tied to the season pass, so why not let players buy one such Engram a week from Xur, just like we do with the Isochronal Engram? I, for one, am sick of getting the same shaders and ship effects — let me at those older sparrows and legendary ornaments!
2. Legacy Pinnacle Weapons
Listen, the old activity-based Pinnacle weapons aren’t even going to be useful in most high-level play come next season. Why not give newer players a way to take them out for a spin? I’m not sure yet how the power cap is going to affect Crucible, if at all, but if Bungie is concerned about everyone suddenly having Redrix then maybe it could only work in PVE or something.
3. Curated Legendary Rolls
You know what’s more valuable to me than yet another pair of Transversive Steps right now? A god roll Truthteller. How about giving Xur one curated roll of a weapon each week for a huge number of Legendary Shards? If that’s too easy, how about just letting him straight-up sell one useful Legendary weapon a week for a nominal shard cost, letting players farm rolls with their accumulated currency?
More Destiny 2:
- Destiny 2 Falling Guillotine Guide
- Zavala is a Traitor: A Destiny 2 Conspiracy Theory
- The Best Hunter Exotics in Destiny 2 (July 2020 Meta)
4. Tailored Exotic Drops
It’s great that Xur sells Exotics with higher base stats now. But a 60+ roll still isn’t much help if the stat spread is busted. Maybe Xur could take a page from the Prismatic Recaster and let us choose an Exotic with a roll weighed towards particular stats.
5. Mods
Ever since Armor 2.0 but especially the Season of Dawn and Charged With Light, mods have become more relevant than ever in Destiny 2. Yeah, Banshee sells one a day, but Xur’s more intermittent presence could mean he could stock rarer and more powerful ones. And with many of the most useful mods in the game rotating out with Raids next season, Xur would be a good place to put them.
6. Currency Exchange
We all have too many Phantasmal Fragments. Spider won’t take them. What am I supposed to do with all of these fragments, Bungie? I’m sure Xur can figure something out, and maybe he can give me Mod Components or Glimmer for them — literally anything to get this junk out of my inventory.
7. Fuck It, Haircuts
Literally nothing else would generate as much goodwill towards Xur as having him be the guy that finally lets us change our Guardian’s hairstyle.
