If you follow Destiny related gaming news, you’ve probably heard about the infamous Xur, Agent of Nine- who roams about ‘The Tower’ starting from 4am Friday’s to 4am Sunday.
The reason why this guys so special, is because he carries 3 exotic pieces of armor for each class, a special weapon, and sometimes an exotic engram. Of course, the catch to anything ‘Exotic’, is that you can only hold 1 of any kind. This goes for weapons and armor.
In order to purchase really anything from Xur, you need these ‘Strange Coins’ which can only be earned either from engrams, or Weekly Heroic Missions (You can earn up to 9). What I’ve come to talk to you readers is about why I just might be one of the very few players who appreciate Xur.
This week, it’s the Icebreaker, a lovely sniper rifle that recharges ammo.
I think I speak for everyone else when I say this is probably one of the biggest necessities in Destiny. Seriously, buy it if you haven’t. However, there are plenty of other weeks where he would carry less preferred or disliked guns such as: ‘No Land Beyond’, ‘Plan C’- etc. I should mention, these weapons both have their perks- it’s just that he brings them so often.
But the point is, Xur rarely ever brings what people want, and that is 100% fine with me. It just means that Bungie is doing their job. Think about it. If Xur brought what EVERYONE wanted every week, would any body really play the game?
The whole reason why people even take the time to get involved with Raids is for the sheer purpose of earning gear and or weapons, the lack of assurance is what drives us to play in general. Xur not bringing us our most sought possessions is a great thing.
This not only gives people a reason to play after the weekly refresh, but it also gives other players a reason to stand out. In “Crota’s End”, the only way to defeat the oversized Knight, is by having allies take his shield down with gunfire, while a designated swordbearer patiently stands aside finish him off.
Usually that task would require 6 Guardians. Unless if of course, one were to wield a rocket launcher such as the Gjallarhorn. This exotic rocket launcher deploys missiles that split into several projectiles and hone into the target after its timely detonation. It is Crota’s bane.
Months ago, on my second week of playing Destiny, Xur came to the tower. My friend and I saw the weapon in the tower but thought “Who the hell wants this ugly thing?” Surely enough, we made the most grave mistake of our lives in Destiny. The Gjallarhorn proved to take Crota’s shield in at least 2 shots, it was mind-blowing to see it done in action.
Get where I’m going with this? When players realized that the Gjallarhorn was such a delicacy, EVERYONE wanted it! Ignore the past tense, people STILL want it! But we just might never get it. If everyone had the Gjallarhorn, then no one on ‘LFGDESTINY’ would have a description that is specifically flaunting the fact that he/she has this rocket launcher.
That my friends, is the power of Xur. He made everyone appreciate even the smallest of weapons because at some point, these special weapons played their role in the either the raids, or other strenuous tasks in Destiny.
In conclusion, I appreciate Xur and Bungie to the fullest extent because of what they did. No matter how many times I told myself I was leaving the game after reaching level 32, I still play at least 3 times each week, to make sure I earn my share of strange coins and to earn my weekly exotic- hoping that one day, it will in fact be the Gjallarhorn.