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Way back in the day, Xur, the Exotics vendor who only shows up in Destiny 2 on the weekends, required you to pay for his spiffy wares in a currency called Strange Coins. In Destiny 2, Strange Coins went away, only popping up later as part of the Dares of Eternity activity. With the currency changes that came with The Final Shape, you’ll start finding Strange Coins in your pocket again, and you’ll need them to buy stuff from Xur again.
The thing is, it’s not immediately clear where you can get Strange Coins from in the game, as they’re no longer earned from Dares of Eternity or Paraversal Hauls. You’ll need a lot of them to buy stuff from Xur, as everything he sells, from Exotic weapons and armor to Legendary gear, requires Strange Coins. Here’s what we know about Strange Coins and how to earn them.
How To Get Strange Coins in Destiny 2
The main process for earning Strange Coins is taking part in Ritual activities. Those are the main Destiny 2 activities, like Strikes, Crucible matches, and Gambit matches. Notably, you don’t need to mess with the new Pathfinder system to earn Strange Coins–they just drop when you complete activities. Also of note: there is a cap of 99 Strange Coins you can hold at a time, so be sure to spend them once you reach that point.
Strange Coin activity sources
VanguardCrucibleTrialsIron BannerGambitOnslaught
You’ll always get Strange Coins from completing Ritual activities, but the number you earn is random. The minimum is two Strange Coins per activity, and the max is four. For context, much of what Xur sells is at least going to run you a handful of Strange Coins. Legendary armor and weapons come in at 17 Strange Coins, Exotics are 23, and Exotic Catalysts are 74. That probably means you want to regularly knock down Ritual activities to keep the flow of Strange Coins coming.
Ritual activities appear to be the most reliable source of Strange Coins, but they’re not the only source. We’ve also seen them pop up among rewards from activities such as campaign missions in The Final Shape and Overthrow in the Pale Heart, but those aren’t reliable sources–they seem to pop up randomly as you’re doing activities in the world.
Favor of the Nine
There is one counterintuitive way to get more Strange Coins, though: Spend them. When you spend 47 Strange Coins with Xur, you’re rewarded for your brand loyalty with a timed buff called Strange Favor, which gives you a chance to get an additional Strange Coin for every Strange Coin you earn. What’s more, the buff can stack, so you can burn several of them at once to increase your chances and maximize your Ritual activity earnings.
Strange Favor can only be earned once each week and then lasts for 11 days. Collecting additional stacks of it in future weeks–up to a max of three stacks–increases the effectiveness, meaning you’ll earn more Strange Coins. Earning Strange Favor again refreshes the buff’s duration, so once you get up to Strange Favor x3, you can keep it indefinitely if you keep spending 47 Strange Coins each week. You can check on your progress toward earning it for the week by hovering over the Favor of the Nine listing on the “More Strange Offers” page, under the Loyalty Program of the Nine section.
It should be easier than ever to buy things with Xur each week, as he’ll now be offering more Exotic weapons, plus select Exotic weapon catalysts, various currencies and materials, randomized items like Ritual engrams, and more.
Check out the rest of our guides for The Final Shape, and read our review of The Final Shape while you’re at it.
Every Exotic Weapon and Armor In Destiny 2: The Final Shape (So Far)
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