Destiny 2: Xur Exotic Armor, Weapon, and Recommendations for April 12

Friday's are once again meaningful to Destiny 2 players ever since Bungie updated Xur's inventory alongside the start of Season of the Drifter. Part of the appeal was the addition of Forsaken exotics to Xur's usual stockpile of year 1 exotics with a rotating selection of perks.

However, this season also kicked off a weekly questline called Invitations of the Nine, giving players a chance to learn more about Xur's mysterious group called the Nine. Each week, players can spend a small number of legendary shards to take part in a weekly quest that's typically centered around a particular destination and strike found there.

Here's where Destiny 2 players can find Xur, details on what the latest Invitation of the Nine quest entails, as well as what exotic items are on offer for the weekend of April 12, 2019.

Where is Xur?

Players logging in this weekend can find Xur back inside the Tower hangar.

Fast travel to the main Tower point and immediately head left down the staircase and into the hangar. Run left again and go behind the Dead Orbit section to find Xur up on a metal walkway overlooking the mountain range.

Invitation of the Nine Quest Week 5

Added as part of the Joker's Wild annual pass update, the Invitation of the Nine quest for week 5 takes players to Mercury. Here are the details:

Strength - Collect 9 samples from defeated Vex, Hive, and Cabal on Io. Complete strike "The Garden World."

Class Armor

It's another week of class gear that isn't from Forsaken. Thankfully, there are still some strong gear pieces this week for those who don't yet own them. On the plus side, the most recent patch has added Year 2 exotics to the Fated Engram loot pool, so they may be worth picking up now.

Here are all three gear pieces for this weekend:

Starfire Protocol - Warlock chest armor

The unique looking Starfire Protocol is the Warlock armor for this weekend's visit. Focused entirely around fusion grenades, Fusion Harness provides players with 1 extra fusion grenade charge and they also recharge faster when the player makes a kill with an empowered weapon. Fusion grenade kills also recharge the rift ability faster.

Many players have been praising the exotic armor when paired with the Dawnblade’s Attunement of Grace tree. This support build allows players to use an empowering rift basically letting them have two healing grenades. Plus, the added damage not only recharges the rift but kills made from an empowered weapon also recharge the grenade faster as well. It's a decent choice this week, but considering the lower popularity of fusion grenades, Starfire Protocol can be skipped.

Gear Rolls:

Mobility OR Recovery
Unflinching Bow Aim, Unflinching Fusion Rifle Aim, Unflinching Kinetic Aim
Scout Rifle Reserves OR Special Ammo Finder

Lucky Pants - Hunter leg armor

It's been a while since Xur has had the Lucky Pants in stock, armor which is best suited to hand cannon users. Its intrinsic perk Illegally Modded Holster, loads one round into the chamber of stowed hand cannons after a precision hit. In addition, hand cannons ready faster and have a bonus to accuracy after switching to them.

These aren't the most glamourous exotics out there, but considering how strong hand cannon weapons are at the moment, especially in the Crucible, the Lucky Pants do have value. In addition, Bungie continues to bring back popular and strong exotic hand cannons like Thorn and Last Word, so these are definitely worth picking up and using.

Gear Rolls:

Resilience OR Mobility
Fusion Rifle Dexterity, Hand Cannon Dexterity, Outreach
Scout Rifle Scavenger OR Special Ammo Finder

Dunemarchers - Titan boots

The Dunemarchers boots are a subclass neutral exotic that focuses on sprinting. Through Linear Actuators, players have increased sprint speed and build up a static charge while running. Once the player uses their melee ability, the charge is used up and chains damage between nearby enemies.

Dunemarchers are a decent choice, though there are much better Titan exotics available that should be used over these like the One-Eyed Mask or other subclass specific items.

Fixed Gear Rolls:

Mobility OR Recovery
Fusion Rifle Dexterity, Hand Cannon Dexterity, Outreach
Scout Rifle Scavenger OR Special Ammo Finder

Exotic Weapon

The Jade Rabbit exotic scout rifle is Xur's weapon of the week. This unique looking weapon will be a benefit to players that can hit their shots accurately. The Fate of All Fools is the weapon's intrinsic perk, giving bonus damage to players that can land a precision shot after chaining multiple body shots on an enemy. This also returns ammo to the magazine as well.

The main issue with this exotic is that it's a scout rifle, a weapon type that has remained notoriously underpowered for quite some time. With the weapon class in dire need of tweaking combined with The Jade Rabbit's slow rate of fire, players are likely going to struggle taking it into the Crucible against the pulse rifles, shotguns, and hand cannons that typically dominate. Therefore, it's likely better suited to PvE activities, but even then, there are better choices out there.

Here's the complete rundown of Xur's entire stock in Destiny 2 for April 12: