Many Destiny veterans were disappointed that they had to wait an extra week before the first appearance of Xur, but he’s finally here. The mysterious merchant has shown up for the first time in Destiny 2, and there are some notable changes to the way he operates.

The most immediate change is in regards to Xur’s location: He is no longer confined to social spaces. He’ll actually show up on planets in Patrol zones, potentially in curious spots, as his debut showing on the branch of a giant tree demonstrates. The way in which you find him has also changed pretty significantly.

Bungie has apparently deemed the prospect of hunting for him across entire planets too daunting. Although he’s not shown on the main Director screen, zooming in to view a specific planet now shows an icon for him on the map. You can even set a waypoint to guide you right to him, which will come as a disappointment for those who looked forward to the task of tracking Xur down.

As in the first game, Xur still sells Exotics (see what Xur is selling this week here). And as we previously learned, he does so in exchange for Legendary Shards, not Strange Coins. That will provide you with some extra reasons to consider how you want to spend Legendary Shards, which are obtained by dismantling Exotic and Legendary items, throughout the week.

Xur will return each Friday and stick around until Sunday. Today also marks the debut of another part of the game, as the Trials of the Nine multiplayer mode will come online for the first time. That is set to go live at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET / 6 PM BST.

Source: GameSpot