Destiny 2: Xur Exotic Armor, Weapon, and Recommendations for May 20

With only a handful of days left, there are still a great many things that Destiny 2 players still don't know about the upcoming Season 17. It appears this is exactly how Bungie wants it, as players are getting desperate to know more including where the story goes from here, when the Season 17 trailer will launch, as well as what the name of the season even is. For now, it appears that players will have to wait until reset on Tuesday to find out more.

In the meantime, Bungie has been more than happy to share gameplay and sandbox related changes including an Iron Banner vendor refresh, various weapon balancing, and even a brand new mechanic being added called Airborne Effectiveness. In fact, Bungie also confirmed that Xur will no longer be forced into overtime by being held hostage by players through the Tuesday reset, something that has become pretty popular this season in Destiny 2.

This is the final weekend that the weekend merchant Xur will be able to be manipulated into overtime for Destiny 2 players. Naturally, he has arrived today with a refreshed inventory of exotic and legendary gear as well. 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 May 20, 2022.

Where is Xur?

This weekend, players can hunt for Xur on Nessus in his familiar tree.

From the Director, head to Nessus and load into Watcher's Grave. Run towards the back of the zone where a massive tree is found. Jump up until players find the huge branch where the merchant is hanging out.

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 clanmates 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

Verity's Brow - Warlock helmet

It's been a very long time since Verity's Brow has been on offer from Xur. It's an exotic helm which was at one point given to all players who finished the Warmind DLC campaign, which is now inside the Destiny Content Vault. Its exotic perk is called The Fourth Magic, which causes energy weapon kills to boost grenade energy for the player and any nearby enemies. This effect can stack up to three times.

The item itself is definitely useful, especially when paired with strong energy weapons like Riskrunner. Similar to the Hunter exotic, the roll isn't particularly great, so it's hard to recommend coming in only at 60 total.

Solar Enhanced. Stat Values:

Mobility +16
Resilience +7
Recovery +9
Discipline +19
Intellect +2
Strength +7

Gemini Jester - Hunter leg armor

Less than a month later, the Gemini Jester exotics are back in stock and unfortunately, they don't quite hit high marks again. The intrinsic perk Misdirection causes nearby enemies to become disoriented and temporarily removes their radar after the Hunter dodges near them.

While this isn't a top tier exotic, though they can be fun to use in PvP against other players. The range of its Misdirection effect is larger than many think and could very easily mess other players up who are not ready for it or perhaps on the other side of a wall even. Keep in mind that this perk can also be a liability as it will trigger the Titan’s One-Eyed Mask perk Vengeance. The stat roll is the lowest of the three items and considering they're not exactly in the meta this season, players can pass on these. The stat roll this week isn't particularly noteworthy and tied for the lowest. As such, it's not neccessary to pick up.

Arc Enhanced. Stat Values:

Mobility +16
Resilience +14
Recovery +2
Discipline +2
Intellect +24
Strength +2

Actium War Rig - Titan chest armor

When the Actium War Rig is paired with an auto rifle or Machine Gun, the Actium War Rig turns the player into a shredder. Auto-Loading Link steadily reloads a portion of your equipped Auto Rifle or Machine gun's magazine from reserves.

Thankfully, Destiny 2 has a ton of viable assault rifles these days including already popular options like the Scathelocke, Summoner, or Chroma Rush. While this may be the highest stat roll this week, it's only by 1 point more, so it's likely that Titans already have a better roll.

Arc Enhanced. Stat Values:

Mobility +7
Resilience +3
Recovery +20
Discipline +6
Intellect +9
Strength +16

Exotic Weapon

The final few days of Season 16 gets a bit of chaos added in. The Telesto fusion rifle has had a very interesting history with the game, responsible for breaking many parts of Destiny 2 in the favor of players. This includes, but isn't limited to helping players cheese the Blind Well event, proc certain buffs and benefits for other players, giving free special ammo in large quantities, and much more. Because of these glitches, the gun has become very player friendly and likely a massive headache for Bungie.

Destiny-2-Telesto-Exotic-Void-Fusion-Rifle

The weapon's intrinsic perk is called Unplanned Reprieve which causes fusion projectiles to attach and detonate with a delayed void blast. It's also paired with the Harbinger's Pulse perk which instantly reloads equipped primary and energy weapons after multi-kills with the Telesto. Naturally, it's a great PvE weapon as its sticky explosives cover a wide area and can clear adds very fast. It's a solid PvP weapon as well, though it really shines once the Masterwork catalyst has been applied to increase the ammo reserves.

Additional perks:

Projection Fuse
Polymer Grip

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:

Smallbore
Alloy Magazine
Eye of the Storm
Textured Grip

Dead Man's Tale

Corkscrew Rifling
High-Calibur Rounds
Outlaw
Composite Stock

Here's the complete rundown of Xur's exotic stock in Destiny 2 for May 20, 2022:

Verity's Brow (Warlock helmet) – 23 Legendary Shards
Gemini Jester (Hunter leg armor) – 23 Legendary Shards
Actium War Rig (Titan chest armor) – 23 Legendary Shards
Telesto (Fusion Rifle) - 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