Is That Worth Buying?

Analysis 47 comments
Published on: Mar 6, 2015 @ 3:10

Xûr is in town offering new gear. What’s worth your hard-earned Strange Coins?

Remember to finish the Urn of Sacrifice quest before he leaves!

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Inventory

Item Class Subclass Type Strange Coin
Ice Breaker Any Any Sniper Rifle 17
Helm of Saint-14 Titan Defender Helm 13
Young Ahamkara’s Spine Hunter Gunslinger Gauntlets 13
Skull of Dire Ahamkara Warlock Voidwalker Helm 13

Be sure to test your luck with Exotic Chest Engrams!

[divider]Ice Breakerice breaker xur

This sniper rifle hits like it has the Traveler’s weight behind it. It has very high Impact rating, so precision shots will be rewarded. It packs quite a punch in PvP too, but usually you’ll want to stick to using it in PvE.

Should I buy it?

Ice Breaker is one of the best sniper rifles for PvE. The utility of regenerating ammo can’t be understated, so if you don’t have this, now you’ve got another chance.

It will also replenish some of your other special weapon ammo! If you are out of special ammo, switch to this gun and wait for a few seconds, and then switch back to your special weapon of choice.

Alternatives

Stats Compared to Other Sniper Rifles

  • Above Average: Impact, Range
  • Below Average: Stability

Notable Perks

  • No Backpack: Cannot be reloaded. Regenerates ammo over time.
  • Mulligan: Missing a shot has a chance to return ammo directly to the magazine.
  • Ice Breaker: Ice Breaker’s victims spontaneously combust, dealing damage to others nearby.

[divider]Helm of Saint-14helm of saint-14 exotic review

Helm of Saint-14 is what a PvE Defender Titan dreams about. With bolts, a crest and big metal plates, Helm of Saint-14 looks like a futuristic knight, and the luminous purple glow is also a very nice touch.

This helm has an OK roll of 106/114 Intellect (max is about 130), more than the last time it was sold.

Talents

  • Rain Blows – Increases melee attack speed.
  • Inverse Shadow – Increased Super energy gained from killing minions of the Darkness.
  • Starless Night – Your Ward of Dawn blinds enemies who enter it.

Should I buy it?

Starless Night will blind any enemy (aside from bosses) that enter the Ward of Dawn bubble. Being able to blind enemies is incredibly useful in PvE and even PvP, and adds a new depth to the Ward of Dawn.

When enemies enter the Ward of Dawn, they’ll be unable to consciously react. Being overwhelmed by any number of enemies is nothing this helmet can’t handle; it’s a great way to get easy punches on powerful enemies which you wouldn’t normally engage up close.

The bubble can now be used in a more aggressive manner, completely blocking off choke points.

This is a perfect helmet for a Defender – buy it!

Alternatives

[divider]Young Ahamkara’s Spineyoung ahamkara's spine

These gauntlets lose some credibility in PvE as Tripmine grenades are not a popular choice due to their singular targeting habits and are usually swapped out with something that provides more area of effect damage.

They’ve got 91/98 Discipline, slightly more than the last time they were sold.

Talents

  • Special Weapon Loader – Increases the reload speed of all Special Weapons.
  • Ashes to Asset – Replenish Super energy when you kill an enemy with a grenade.
  • Improved Tripmine Grenade – Tripmine grenades last longer when placed.

Should I buy it?

Young Ahamkara’s Spine will double the time your the tripmine lasts for, just like the Sunbreakers with the Solar grenade. With Tripmines this is especially useful, lasting a total of 30 seconds, if you’ve got enough Disipline you can breifly have 2 out at once!

What is also great on these is the Ashes to Asset perk, which gives you more super energy for grenade kills. It’s always good when the perks support each other, and with enough Discipline, you’ll be able to have 2 tripmine grenades out at once for a few seconds.

The typical Special Weapon’s Loader perk will reduce the reload speed by about .7 seconds.

These are not bad gauntlets for PvP, but ultimately we recommended that you wait for an Exotic helm such as Achlyophage Symbiote.

Alternatives

[divider]Skull of Dire Ahamkaraskull of dire ahamkara exotic review

A first-time sale, this intimidating helmet will give you more durability when using the Nova Bomb and Super energy with grenade kills.

This helmet has a low stat roll of only 94/101 Intellect, while the maximum could reach up to ~130.

Talents

  • Energy Projection – Increases grenade throw distance.
  • Quintessence Transfer – Replenish Super energy when you kill an enemy with a grenade.
  • Delusions of Grandeur – You take reduced damage while using your Nova Bomb. Your siphon abilities are also improved.

Should I buy it?

Personally I’d much rather have Obsidian Mind for PvE, but you should probably pick this up for PvP; who knows when Xur will sell it again.

Energy Drain is a 5 second buff that accelerates the rate of grenade recharge and can be increased to 8 seconds with Delusions of Grandeur.

This helm is designed for the Voidwalker who wants to use the Soul Rip/Embrace the Void talents. It entirely revolves around giving you a larger up-time on the Energy Drain buff, which will give you more grenades (leading to more kills).

If you’d like to use your grenades and Super a lot, the Skull of Dire Ahamkara will allow you to throw grenades further, which hopefully results in better accuracy. Energy Projection definitely isn’t the most useful perk to have though, and may never even help you.

This helm will give you Intellect, increasing the passive charge of your Super, which meshes well with the other two perks.

The increased effectiveness of your Energy Drain ability (“siphon”) is wonderful, as it’ll allow you to have more grenades at your disposal. More grenade kills means more Nova Bombs!

Alternatives