This week in Destiny 2 brought the annual Solstice of Heroes event back, the yearly celebration of Guardians. Similar to last year, the Solstice event doesn’t re-invent the wheel too much as it brings back the familiar armor upgrade process, collecting elemental orbs, and the new mode that takes place within the European Aerial Zone. Players will be making their way to this battleground quite a bit over the next month.

However, the event itself hasn’t been as smooth as it has in the past. Players have taken to the many Destiny 2 social channels like Reddit to highlight issues that have cropped up, with a big one being the actual armor glow from the new Solstice armor. While screenshots and promo materials from Bungie show a vibrant and bright color, the in-game model appears more dull and less exciting. Thankfully, Bungie has already fixed a number of nagging issues players have brought up, and confirmed that the progression for second and third characters is intentionally faster once players achieve the Magnificent armor set.

As players continue to collect orbs and level up their armor, they shouldn’t forget to visit the weekly exotic merchant Xur as he has once again arrived somewhere inside of Destiny 2. Follow this guide for his location as well as a review of what he’s currently selling for the weekend of August 14, 2020.

Where is Xur?

This weekend, players should head to Titan where Xur hanging out in his little house near the entrance to the Solarium zone where the Contact public event is taking place.

Once loaded into The Rig, start heading to the other side of the zone towards the ramp that leads to the Solarium. Before reaching that ramp, Xur can be found inside one of the nearby houses, typically on the left side if the player is facing the Solarium ramp.

Class Armor

As he’s been doing for the past few weeks, Xur is no longer selling collection rolled gear. The armor he now has features randomized stats and perks, which should revitalize player interest in what the merchant has each week. In addition, players can use an Exotic Cypher to purchase a second fated engram from the merchant.

Here are Xur’s three gear pieces this weekend:

Skull of Dire Ahamkara - Warlock helmet

Once more, the Voidwalker friendly Skull of Dire Ahamkara is back on sale. Nothing has really changed with this item in that time, and remains an item which doesn’t stack up as well with other exotic choices like Nezarec’s Sin or Contraverse Hold due to all of its recent nerfs.

For those curious, it’s armor perk is Actual Grandeur which not only provides additional damage resistance when casting Nova Bomb, but kills grant super energy. The amount of energy received back has been reduced, so while it’s always nice to get access to a super faster, the bonus here isn’t substantial. Add to the fact that this week’s roll isn’t great, which means this item is a hard sell.

Arc Enhanced. Stat Values:

  • Mobility +14 Resilience +3 Recovery +15 Discipline +13 Intellect +6 Strength +9

Ophidia Spathe - Hunter chest armor

The rarely seen Ophidia Spathe armor is back in stock this weekend with Xur. 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. It’s also worth noting that of all three items this week, the Ophidia Spathe has the highest roll value.

Solar Enhanced. Stat Values:

  • Mobility +8 Resilience +9 Recovery +17 Discipline +11 Intellect +2 Strength +18

MK. 44 Stand Asides - Titan leg armor

Originally introduced inside of Curse of Osiris, the Mk. 44 Stand Asides are for Titans who like to run. Seriously, Watch Out is the armor perk on this exotic gear and with it, players get an overshield while sprinting with Seismic Strike, Hammer Strike, or Shield Bash equipped. In addition, hits with these abilities recharge a portion of the player’s melee energy.

The value of these boots are based entirely on play style. They’re certainly not the best option out there, but could certainly be useful under the right circumstances. However, they may be worth another look considering they were buffed in the recent sandbox patch Bungie released alongside Season of the Worthy. Like the Ophidia Spathe, the roll on this gear is also pretty good.

Void Enhanced. Stat Values:

  • Mobility +9 Resilience +3 Recovery +21 Discipline +12 Intellect +6 Strength +13

Exotic Weapon

The streak of fusion rifles has finally been broken this week as players can instead pick up the pulse rifle, Graviton Lance. Black Hole is its exotic perk which gives the second shot of a burst high damage and recoil with no falloff. It synergizes with the Cosmology perk as any kills made with the gun cause enemies to detonate and spawn Void projectiles that track other targets.

Pulse rifles remain a very strong weapon class in Destiny 2, so this is already a solid weapon. While effective in PvP, this gun really shines when up against multiple enemies for its ability to cause AoE damage.

Additional perks:

  • Hammer Forged Rifling Accurized Rounds Fitted Stock

Here’s the complete rundown of Xur’s entire stock in Destiny 2 for August 14, 2020:

  • Skull of Dire Ahamkara (Warlock helmet) – 23 Legendary Shards Ophidia Spathe (Hunter chest armor) – 23 Legendary Shards Mk. 44 Stand Asides (Titan leg armor) – 23 Legendary Shards Graviton Lance (Pulse Rifle) - 29 Legendary Shards Fated Engram - 97 Legendary Shards Five of Swords Challenge Card

Destiny 2 Shadowkeep is out now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.