Alright, so another weekend rolled around, and you know what that means in Destiny 2 for me sometimes – Xur’s in town, and that Xenology quest is callin’ my name. It’s not like I desperately needed an Exotic Cipher right this second, but hey, it’s good to have one handy, right? You never know when you’ll want to snag something old from the Monument or focus an engram.
Starting the Grind
So, first things first, gotta find Xur. This week he was holed up in his usual spot in the Tower Hangar. Easy enough. Grabbed the Xenology quest from him. Twenty-one points. That’s the magic number. Strikes, Crucible, Gambit – pick your poison. Or, like me, a mix of whatever feels least like pulling teeth at the moment.
I decided to kick things off with some Vanguard Ops. Figured it’d be pretty chill. You get three points for a win or completion, more if you’re with clanmates, but I was mostly flying solo. The first few strikes were okay, standard stuff. Run in, shoot aliens, boss melts, grab loot. Rinse and repeat. You know the drill.
Then I hit a bit of a snag. Got into a couple of really slow groups. You know the type, where people seem to be admiring the scenery more than shooting the bad guys? Or maybe they’re just new. Whatever the case, those strikes dragged on. I was thinkin’, “Man, at this rate, I’ll be here all day.”
Switching it Up
After about seven or eight strikes, I needed a change of pace. My brain was starting to go numb from the same enemy spawns. So, I thought, “Why not some Crucible?” Jumped into a few matches of Control. Wins give you more progress, obviously. My PvP skills are, let’s say, average on a good day, so it was a mixed bag. Won a few, got stomped in a few. But hey, at least it was different from shooting endless waves of Hive.
The Crucible grind actually went by a bit quicker than I expected. Maybe I got lucky with matchmaking, or maybe I was just more focused because I didn’t want to let my team down too much. Still, after another handful of matches, I checked my quest progress. Getting closer!
The Final Stretch and Turning It In
I think I had about five or six points left. Decided to go back to Vanguard Ops to finish it off. Why? Well, it’s predictable. Less sweaty than Crucible when you just want to get something done. Two more strikes, and boom! Quest complete. That little notification popping up is always a bit satisfying, isn’t it?
So, back to the Tower I went. Found Xur still lurking in the Hangar. Turned in the quest, and there it was: one shiny Exotic Cipher. Felt good. It’s like a little reward for putting in the time. It’s not a huge deal, this Xenology quest, but it’s a ritual. A thing to do. Kinda like how some folks do their weekly grocery shopping, I do my Xenology when I remember and feel like it.
Now, what to do with the Cipher? I’m holding onto it for now. Maybe I’ll grab an old weapon I missed, or maybe I’ll use it at Rahool to try and get a better roll on an Exotic armor piece. The options are there, and that’s the main thing.
It’s funny, you do these weekly ritual things in games for so long. Sometimes it feels like a chore, other times it’s just a comfortable routine. This weekend, Xenology felt like a bit of both, but I got it done. And that’s the story of my latest Exotic Cipher acquisition. Nothing too wild, just another Guardian doing Guardian things.
