Returnal Director On ‘Incredibly Challenging’ Development: ‘We Were Just Learning As We Went’

When Returnal released on PS5 last year, it marked Housemarque's emergence as one of Sony's marquee first-party studios. But getting to that point wasn't easy, Returnal director Harry Krueger says, comparing its development to "Sisyphus pushing up the boulder" and saying that it was "incredibly challenging."

At a talk during GDC 2022, Krueger reflected on the challenges and successes of making Returnal, which was by far Housemarque's most ambitious project to date. They included learning how to design a 3D action game and getting to grips with a brand-new engine, all while more than tripling the overall size of the team.

"It was really just adapting all the time, and that was a real challenge as well," Krueger says. "Everyone was underestimating the complexity of the project."

According to Krueger, one of the biggest challenges was shifting to Unreal Engine 4. While Epic's tech afforded Housemarque plenty of new opportunities, it also meant that the studio basically had to learn the tech on the fly — a recurring theme throughout Returnal's development.

Having only developed 2D arcade games to that point — Housemarque is best-known for its work on games like Super Stardust HD and Resogun — Returnal was a "leap of faith" in which Housemarque had to "build our wings while falling."

"It's not an exaggeration to say that for half of the game's development time it was unplayable," Krueger says. "We were learning how to use the engine, we were breaking things, creating dependencies that we didn't understand [...] we were just learning as we went."

Housemarque's experience was in some ways a throwback to the days of the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation, when developers were still learning the basics of making 3D games. In the course of making Returnal, Housemarque had to learn how to adapt its "bullet ballet style" to 3D space while developing enemies who were interesting to fighting.

The simple act of aiming proved to be an enormous challenge for Housemarque, and even Krueger admits that the studio was only "mostly successful" in that area.

"We were trying to make a 3D game feel as simple as a 2D game, and that was never going to happen," Krueger says. "I think that's why the game feels very hard for players, because trying to shoot and do anything else at the same time is incredibly demanding. And that's why you end falling off ledges and getting killed by cheapshots because you spent all of your time trying to shoot enemies."

Ultimately, the cost of missing in Returnal was too high, Krueger says. In hindsight he feels that the aim assist could have been stronger.

"We punched way above our weight"

One element that Krueger didn't touch on much was the lack of an in-game save, which was a hot topic when Returnal was first released. Housemarque promised to look into the issue, but admitted that it wasn't easy due to the game's intricate systems. Housemarque finally added a suspend cycle option in Returnal's 2.0 update back in October.

In-game saves weren't the only missing feature in Returnal. Krueger admits that Housemarque wanted to include a photo mode and multiplayer at launch, but ultimately had to push them to DLC. Both features were later released as free updates.

Despite these challenges, which included a changing culture and rapidly accumulating debt, Returnal was a success. Krueger says the team was ultimately able to come together and "punch way above their weight," and also says that working with Sony on the project "went really smoothly."

Released last year, Returnal won praise for its haunting atmosphere and its unforgiving action, replete with bullet patterns and other arcade staples. It sold a little more than 500,000 copies by April 2021 while garnering several awards nominations, including a nomination for IGN's Best Action Game of 2021. Sony would go on acquire Housemarque shortly after Returnal's release.

Housemarque recently released a free expansion for Returnal appropriately called Tower of Sisyphus, which adds a new endless mode as well as a co-op option. You can check out our review of the full game here, as well as the rest of the best games on PlayStation 5.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Returnal Director On ‘Incredibly Challenging’ Development: ‘We Were Just Learning As We Went’

When Returnal released on PS5 last year, it marked Housemarque's emergence as one of Sony's marquee first-party studios. But getting to that point wasn't easy, Returnal director Harry Krueger says, comparing its development to "Sisyphus pushing up the boulder" and saying that it was "incredibly challenging."

At a talk during GDC 2022, Krueger reflected on the challenges and successes of making Returnal, which was by far Housemarque's most ambitious project to date. They included learning how to design a 3D action game and getting to grips with a brand-new engine, all while more than tripling the overall size of the team.

"It was really just adapting all the time, and that was a real challenge as well," Krueger says. "Everyone was underestimating the complexity of the project."

According to Krueger, one of the biggest challenges was shifting to Unreal Engine 4. While Epic's tech afforded Housemarque plenty of new opportunities, it also meant that the studio basically had to learn the tech on the fly — a recurring theme throughout Returnal's development.

Having only developed 2D arcade games to that point — Housemarque is best-known for its work on games like Super Stardust HD and Resogun — Returnal was a "leap of faith" in which Housemarque had to "build our wings while falling."

"It's not an exaggeration to say that for half of the game's development time it was unplayable," Krueger says. "We were learning how to use the engine, we were breaking things, creating dependencies that we didn't understand [...] we were just learning as we went."

Housemarque's experience was in some ways a throwback to the days of the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation, when developers were still learning the basics of making 3D games. In the course of making Returnal, Housemarque had to learn how to adapt its "bullet ballet style" to 3D space while developing enemies who were interesting to fighting.

The simple act of aiming proved to be an enormous challenge for Housemarque, and even Krueger admits that the studio was only "mostly successful" in that area.

"We were trying to make a 3D game feel as simple as a 2D game, and that was never going to happen," Krueger says. "I think that's why the game feels very hard for players, because trying to shoot and do anything else at the same time is incredibly demanding. And that's why you end falling off ledges and getting killed by cheapshots because you spent all of your time trying to shoot enemies."

Ultimately, the cost of missing in Returnal was too high, Krueger says. In hindsight he feels that the aim assist could have been stronger.

"We punched way above our weight"

One element that Krueger didn't touch on much was the lack of an in-game save, which was a hot topic when Returnal was first released. Housemarque promised to look into the issue, but admitted that it wasn't easy due to the game's intricate systems. Housemarque finally added a suspend cycle option in Returnal's 2.0 update back in October.

In-game saves weren't the only missing feature in Returnal. Krueger admits that Housemarque wanted to include a photo mode and multiplayer at launch, but ultimately had to push them to DLC. Both features were later released as free updates.

Despite these challenges, which included a changing culture and rapidly accumulating debt, Returnal was a success. Krueger says the team was ultimately able to come together and "punch way above their weight," and also says that working with Sony on the project "went really smoothly."

Released last year, Returnal won praise for its haunting atmosphere and its unforgiving action, replete with bullet patterns and other arcade staples. It sold a little more than 500,000 copies by April 2021 while garnering several awards nominations, including a nomination for IGN's Best Action Game of 2021. Sony would go on acquire Housemarque shortly after Returnal's release.

Housemarque recently released a free expansion for Returnal appropriately called Tower of Sisyphus, which adds a new endless mode as well as a co-op option. You can check out our review of the full game here, as well as the rest of the best games on PlayStation 5.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Moon Knight Director Discusses Killing ‘Orientalist’ Tropes for MCU Series

Marvel’s Moon Knight may be based in Egyptian mythology but it certainly doesn’t play up to the age-old Orientalist tropes.

During an interview with IGN, director Mohamed Diab explained why it was important to subvert expectations when it comes to the character’s Egyptian heritage.

“As an Egyptian, seeing us always portrayed in the wrong way, always portrayed with this... we call it orientalism,” he explained. “Look, we are very exotic, and we are... it dehumanizes us. And where women are submissive, and those kind of tropes.”

Moon Knight draws his powers from a deity known as Khonshu – the Egyptian lunar God, voiced in the Marvel series by F. Murray Abraham.

However, Diab explained that the othering of Egyptian people means that it’s important for them to be seen as human beings – not fetishized as guides and desert wanderers as we’ve seen in cinema countless times before.

“It was very important for me to portray us as normal human beings,” he added. “Even the location itself, showing Cairo, which always we see the pyramids in the middle of the desert, even though if you just looked a little bit to the right, the pyramids are in the middle of the city, and it’s twenty million people, and we have skyscrapers, and it's a normal place just like this.”

The recent Moon Knight trailer gives us a brief glimpse of the character’s Egyptian backstory via the character Khonshu, who appears to Marc Spector amid an Egyptian museum exhibit.

“Killing those tropes, having the chance to show that... even though in the music, if you heard the songs, we have an art scene... beautiful Egyptian composer, Hesham Nazih, with this beautiful score that is Egyptian, but it's international at its core, it's universal. So that all drew me, I had this dream I put together, me and Sarah Goher, my wife and my producer, and all my projects. She's a producer in the show now. This two-hundred-page pitch saying everything that I just told you, and we got the job and is the show that we did today.”

Moon Knight suffers from dissociative identity disorder, adopting several personalities throughout the series, including a veteran mercenary, a consulting detective, and even a weirdly-British gift shop worker.

One thing we won’t see is any outdated Egyptian stereotypes.

Moon Knight stars Oscar Isaac in the lead role alongside Ethan Hawke, Gaspard Ulliel, May Calamawy, Lucy Thackeray, and F Abraham Murray.

Moon Knight is set to premiere on Disney+ on March 30, 2022.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Moon Knight Director Discusses Killing ‘Orientalist’ Tropes for MCU Series

Marvel’s Moon Knight may be based in Egyptian mythology but it certainly doesn’t play up to the age-old Orientalist tropes.

During an interview with IGN, director Mohamed Diab explained why it was important to subvert expectations when it comes to the character’s Egyptian heritage.

“As an Egyptian, seeing us always portrayed in the wrong way, always portrayed with this... we call it orientalism,” he explained. “Look, we are very exotic, and we are... it dehumanizes us. And where women are submissive, and those kind of tropes.”

Moon Knight draws his powers from a deity known as Khonshu – the Egyptian lunar God, voiced in the Marvel series by F. Murray Abraham.

However, Diab explained that the othering of Egyptian people means that it’s important for them to be seen as human beings – not fetishized as guides and desert wanderers as we’ve seen in cinema countless times before.

“It was very important for me to portray us as normal human beings,” he added. “Even the location itself, showing Cairo, which always we see the pyramids in the middle of the desert, even though if you just looked a little bit to the right, the pyramids are in the middle of the city, and it’s twenty million people, and we have skyscrapers, and it's a normal place just like this.”

The recent Moon Knight trailer gives us a brief glimpse of the character’s Egyptian backstory via the character Khonshu, who appears to Marc Spector amid an Egyptian museum exhibit.

“Killing those tropes, having the chance to show that... even though in the music, if you heard the songs, we have an art scene... beautiful Egyptian composer, Hesham Nazih, with this beautiful score that is Egyptian, but it's international at its core, it's universal. So that all drew me, I had this dream I put together, me and Sarah Goher, my wife and my producer, and all my projects. She's a producer in the show now. This two-hundred-page pitch saying everything that I just told you, and we got the job and is the show that we did today.”

Moon Knight suffers from dissociative identity disorder, adopting several personalities throughout the series, including a veteran mercenary, a consulting detective, and even a weirdly-British gift shop worker.

One thing we won’t see is any outdated Egyptian stereotypes.

Moon Knight stars Oscar Isaac in the lead role alongside Ethan Hawke, Gaspard Ulliel, May Calamawy, Lucy Thackeray, and F Abraham Murray.

Moon Knight is set to premiere on Disney+ on March 30, 2022.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Sons of the Forest Delayed to October

The Forest developer Endnight Games has announced that the sequel Sons of the Forest has been delayed to October.

Endnight Games announced a May 2022 release date last November but admitted in a tweet that the team had been too ambitious about the game's progress.

"To be able to deliver our vision of the next step in survival games, we’ve decided to move our release date to October 2022," it said.

The game was first announced in December 2019 and promises more of the terrifying open world survival-horror that the first game became known for. Sons of the Forest will once again drop players empty-handed on a spooky island where they must forage, craft, and build to ensure their own survival.

Endnight Games has remained fairly quiet otherwise though has shown off a few slivers of gameplay in the various trailers its released since the announcement.

In our 8/10 review of the first game, IGN said: "I’ve never been terrorized, stalked, or fascinated by enemy AI quite like I was in The Forest. It’s a harrowing survival ordeal that knows how to play with tension and create the sense of a real world with complex inner workings and mysteries I was eager to discover."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Sons of the Forest Delayed to October

The Forest developer Endnight Games has announced that the sequel Sons of the Forest has been delayed to October.

Endnight Games announced a May 2022 release date last November but admitted in a tweet that the team had been too ambitious about the game's progress.

"To be able to deliver our vision of the next step in survival games, we’ve decided to move our release date to October 2022," it said.

The game was first announced in December 2019 and promises more of the terrifying open world survival-horror that the first game became known for. Sons of the Forest will once again drop players empty-handed on a spooky island where they must forage, craft, and build to ensure their own survival.

Endnight Games has remained fairly quiet otherwise though has shown off a few slivers of gameplay in the various trailers its released since the announcement.

In our 8/10 review of the first game, IGN said: "I’ve never been terrorized, stalked, or fascinated by enemy AI quite like I was in The Forest. It’s a harrowing survival ordeal that knows how to play with tension and create the sense of a real world with complex inner workings and mysteries I was eager to discover."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Destiny 2: Where Is Xur Today? Location and Exotic Items for March 25

The man with no plan, Xûr, is now live in Destiny 2 for the weekend until next week's reset. If you're looking to get your some shiny new Exotic armor or weapons for your Guardian, look no further.

Each week, Xûr has a random assortment of Exotic armor, one for each Guardian class, as well as a random Exotic Weapon and an Exotic Engram available for purchase. In addition to his Exotic wares, he's got a random collection of Legendary weapons and armor to deck out your Guardians.

We've rounded up all the info on Xûr for the week including where to find Xûr, which Exotic weapons and armor are available, as well as which Legendary weapons you should pick up, either for PvE or PvP.

Where Is Xûr Today?

Xûr can be found at The Tower on March 25 through March 29. To reach him, travel to the landing point at The Courtyard and make your way to the Hangar. You'll find ol' snake-face chilling near the stairs at the back of the Hangar area.

Note: Xûr is a bit buggy today. If you don't see him standing where he should be, go to orbit then load back into The Tower. It make take a few tries to work.

What's Xûr Selling Today?

Xûr has had a weird couple of weeks lately. His armor this week has all the same stat roll that you can pull out of your collections. If you're looking for a good weapon to bring into the new playground of The Witch Queen's Throne World, there are some decent options, but nothing stellar.

Exotic Engram

Telesto - Exotic Fusion Rifle

Foetracer - Exotic Hunter Helmet

  • 4 Mobility
  • 6 Resilience
  • 16 Recovery
  • 10 Discipline
  • 6 Intellect
  • 6 Strength
  • Total: 48

Dunemarchers - Exotic Titan Leg Armor

  • 13 Mobility
  • 7 Resilience
  • 6 Recovery
  • 6 Discipline
  • 6 Intellect
  • 12 Strength
  • Total: 50

Ophidian Aspect - Exotic Warlock Gauntlets

  • 11 Mobility
  • 6 Resilience
  • 7 Recovery
  • 6 Discipline
  • 6 Intellect
  • 12 Strength
  • Total: 48

Exotic Weapons

Starting with the release of The Witch Queen, Xur also now offers a roll of Hawkmoon and Dead Man's Tale each week.

Hawkmoon - Exotic Hand Cannon

  • Paracausal Shot
  • Hammer-Forged Rifling
  • Alloy Magazine
  • Killing Wind
  • Polymer Grip

Dead Man's Tale - Exotic Scout Rifle

  • Cranial Spike
  • Smallbore
  • High-Caliber Rounds
  • Snapshot Sights
  • Composite Stock

Telesto is the indeed the besto, and if you don't have this awesome fusion rifle that breaks the game on a regular basis, then you should pick it up. Hawkmoon's roll might be pretty good in PvP, but nothing amazing.

Aside from that though, Xûr's Exotic armor isn't great. Unless you need something for a collection, pass on it.

Legendary Weapons

Night Watch - Scout Rifle

  • Corkscrew Rifling/Smallbore
  • Accurized Rounds/Extended Mag
  • Subsistence
  • Explosive Payload
  • Handling Masterwork

Seventh Seraph Saw - Machine Gun

  • Arrowhead Brake/Chambered Compensator
  • Richochet Rounds/Flared Magwell
  • Field Prep
  • Mulligan
  • Handling Masterwork

Escape Velocity - Submachine Gun

  • IS 5 Circle/Model 8 Red
  • Accurized Rounds/Alloy Magazine
  • Overflow
  • Osmosis
  • Range Masterwork

Widow's Bite - Sniper Rifle

  • Full Bore/Polygonal Rifling
  • Appended Mag/Alloy Magazine
  • Feeding Frenzy
  • Opening Shot
  • Stability Masterwork

Death Adder - Submachine Gun

  • Chambered Compensator/Corkscrew Rifling
  • Accurized Rounds/Alloy Magazine
  • Feeding Frenzy
  • Disruption Break
  • Stability Masterwork

Far Future - Sniper Rifle

  • Polygonal Rifling/Smallbore
  • Accurized Rounds/Appended Mag
  • Quickdraw
  • Multikill Clip
  • Stability Masterwork

The Third Axiom - Pulse Rifle

  • Hammer-Forged Rifling/Smallbore
  • Extended Mag/Alloy Magazine
  • Surplus
  • Vorpal Weapon
  • Stability Masterwork

Once again the Legendary Weapons this week are pretty awful with nary a God roll in sight. The only standout is the Night Watch roll, which has a pretty decent PvE roll with Subsistence and Explosive Payload. Other than that: ya boring, Xûr!

Warlock Legendary Armor

For Warlocks, Xûr is selling the Ankaa Seeker IV set which includes:

Ankaa Seeker IV Gauntlets

  • 10 Mobility
  • 2 Resilience
  • 10 Recovery
  • 2 Discipline
  • 2 Intellect
  • 22 Strength
  • Total: 48

Ankaa Seeker IV Chest Armor

  • 10 Mobility
  • 2 Resilience
  • 10 Recovery
  • 2 Discipline
  • 2 Intellect
  • 22 Strength
  • Total: 48

Ankaa Seeker IV Helmet

  • 10 Mobility
  • 2 Resilience
  • 10 Recovery
  • 2 Discipline
  • 2 Intellect
  • 22 Strength
  • Total: 48

Ankaa Seeker IV Leg Armor

  • 10 Mobility
  • 2 Resilience
  • 10 Recovery
  • 2 Discipline
  • 2 Intellect
  • 22 Strength
  • Total: 48

Binary Phoenix Bond

Unless for some reason you really want low-stat armor that's bizarrely focused on a Strength-only build, it's unlikely the Warlock armor this week will do much for you.

Titan Legendary Armor

For Titans, Xûr is selling the Phoenix Strife Type 0 set which includes:

Phoenix Strife Type 0 Gauntlets

  • 10 Mobility
  • 2 Resilience
  • 10 Recovery
  • 2 Discipline
  • 2 Intellect
  • 22 Strength
  • Total: 48

Phoenix Strife Type 0 Chest Armor

  • 10 Mobility
  • 2 Resilience
  • 10 Recovery
  • 2 Discipline
  • 2 Intellect
  • 22 Strength
  • Total: 48

Phoenix Strife Type 0 Helmet

  • 10 Mobility
  • 2 Resilience
  • 10 Recovery
  • 2 Discipline
  • 2 Intellect
  • 22 Strength
  • Total: 48

Phoenix Strife Type 0 Leg Armor

  • 10 Mobility
  • 2 Resilience
  • 10 Recovery
  • 2 Discipline
  • 2 Intellect
  • 22 Strength
  • Total: 48

Binary Phoenix Mark

Again, the Titan armor is all low-stat and Strength focused. Xûr's broken, people!

Hunter Legendary Armor

For Hunters, Xûr is selling the Swordflight 4.1 set which includes:

Swordflight 4.1 Gauntlets

  • 10 Mobility
  • 2 Resilience
  • 10 Recovery
  • 2 Discipline
  • 2 Intellect
  • 22 Strength
  • Total: 48

Swordflight 4.1 Chest Armor

  • 10 Mobility
  • 2 Resilience
  • 10 Recovery
  • 2 Discipline
  • 2 Intellect
  • 22 Strength
  • Total: 48

Swordflight 4.1 Helmet

  • 10 Mobility
  • 2 Resilience
  • 10 Recovery
  • 2 Discipline
  • 2 Intellect
  • 22 Strength
  • Total: 48

Swordflight 4.1 Leg Armor

  • 10 Mobility
  • 2 Resilience
  • 10 Recovery
  • 2 Discipline
  • 2 Intellect
  • 22 Strength
  • Total: 48

Binary Phoenix Cloak

Gross armor for Hunters as well. Xur, what are you doing, man?

That's a wrap on Xûr for this week, Guardians! Let's hope that Bungie fixes Xur's issues soon so we can take a deep dive into his tantalizing armor offerings going forward. For more on Destiny, check out some of the new weapons and gear you can find in The Witch Queen and read about how Sony's purchase of Bungie fits into its larger plans.

Travis Northup is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @TieGuyTravis and read his games coverage here.

Destiny 2: Where Is Xur Today? Location and Exotic Items for March 25

The man with no plan, Xûr, is now live in Destiny 2 for the weekend until next week's reset. If you're looking to get your some shiny new Exotic armor or weapons for your Guardian, look no further.

Each week, Xûr has a random assortment of Exotic armor, one for each Guardian class, as well as a random Exotic Weapon and an Exotic Engram available for purchase. In addition to his Exotic wares, he's got a random collection of Legendary weapons and armor to deck out your Guardians.

We've rounded up all the info on Xûr for the week including where to find Xûr, which Exotic weapons and armor are available, as well as which Legendary weapons you should pick up, either for PvE or PvP.

Where Is Xûr Today?

Xûr can be found at The Tower on March 25 through March 29. To reach him, travel to the landing point at The Courtyard and make your way to the Hangar. You'll find ol' snake-face chilling near the stairs at the back of the Hangar area.

Note: Xûr is a bit buggy today. If you don't see him standing where he should be, go to orbit then load back into The Tower. It make take a few tries to work.

What's Xûr Selling Today?

Xûr has had a weird couple of weeks lately. His armor this week has all the same stat roll that you can pull out of your collections. If you're looking for a good weapon to bring into the new playground of The Witch Queen's Throne World, there are some decent options, but nothing stellar.

Exotic Engram

Telesto - Exotic Fusion Rifle

Foetracer - Exotic Hunter Helmet

  • 4 Mobility
  • 6 Resilience
  • 16 Recovery
  • 10 Discipline
  • 6 Intellect
  • 6 Strength
  • Total: 48

Dunemarchers - Exotic Titan Leg Armor

  • 13 Mobility
  • 7 Resilience
  • 6 Recovery
  • 6 Discipline
  • 6 Intellect
  • 12 Strength
  • Total: 50

Ophidian Aspect - Exotic Warlock Gauntlets

  • 11 Mobility
  • 6 Resilience
  • 7 Recovery
  • 6 Discipline
  • 6 Intellect
  • 12 Strength
  • Total: 48

Exotic Weapons

Starting with the release of The Witch Queen, Xur also now offers a roll of Hawkmoon and Dead Man's Tale each week.

Hawkmoon - Exotic Hand Cannon

  • Paracausal Shot
  • Hammer-Forged Rifling
  • Alloy Magazine
  • Killing Wind
  • Polymer Grip

Dead Man's Tale - Exotic Scout Rifle

  • Cranial Spike
  • Smallbore
  • High-Caliber Rounds
  • Snapshot Sights
  • Composite Stock

Telesto is the indeed the besto, and if you don't have this awesome fusion rifle that breaks the game on a regular basis, then you should pick it up. Hawkmoon's roll might be pretty good in PvP, but nothing amazing.

Aside from that though, Xûr's Exotic armor isn't great. Unless you need something for a collection, pass on it.

Legendary Weapons

Night Watch - Scout Rifle

  • Corkscrew Rifling/Smallbore
  • Accurized Rounds/Extended Mag
  • Subsistence
  • Explosive Payload
  • Handling Masterwork

Seventh Seraph Saw - Machine Gun

  • Arrowhead Brake/Chambered Compensator
  • Richochet Rounds/Flared Magwell
  • Field Prep
  • Mulligan
  • Handling Masterwork

Escape Velocity - Submachine Gun

  • IS 5 Circle/Model 8 Red
  • Accurized Rounds/Alloy Magazine
  • Overflow
  • Osmosis
  • Range Masterwork

Widow's Bite - Sniper Rifle

  • Full Bore/Polygonal Rifling
  • Appended Mag/Alloy Magazine
  • Feeding Frenzy
  • Opening Shot
  • Stability Masterwork

Death Adder - Submachine Gun

  • Chambered Compensator/Corkscrew Rifling
  • Accurized Rounds/Alloy Magazine
  • Feeding Frenzy
  • Disruption Break
  • Stability Masterwork

Far Future - Sniper Rifle

  • Polygonal Rifling/Smallbore
  • Accurized Rounds/Appended Mag
  • Quickdraw
  • Multikill Clip
  • Stability Masterwork

The Third Axiom - Pulse Rifle

  • Hammer-Forged Rifling/Smallbore
  • Extended Mag/Alloy Magazine
  • Surplus
  • Vorpal Weapon
  • Stability Masterwork

Once again the Legendary Weapons this week are pretty awful with nary a God roll in sight. The only standout is the Night Watch roll, which has a pretty decent PvE roll with Subsistence and Explosive Payload. Other than that: ya boring, Xûr!

Warlock Legendary Armor

For Warlocks, Xûr is selling the Ankaa Seeker IV set which includes:

Ankaa Seeker IV Gauntlets

  • 10 Mobility
  • 2 Resilience
  • 10 Recovery
  • 2 Discipline
  • 2 Intellect
  • 22 Strength
  • Total: 48

Ankaa Seeker IV Chest Armor

  • 10 Mobility
  • 2 Resilience
  • 10 Recovery
  • 2 Discipline
  • 2 Intellect
  • 22 Strength
  • Total: 48

Ankaa Seeker IV Helmet

  • 10 Mobility
  • 2 Resilience
  • 10 Recovery
  • 2 Discipline
  • 2 Intellect
  • 22 Strength
  • Total: 48

Ankaa Seeker IV Leg Armor

  • 10 Mobility
  • 2 Resilience
  • 10 Recovery
  • 2 Discipline
  • 2 Intellect
  • 22 Strength
  • Total: 48

Binary Phoenix Bond

Unless for some reason you really want low-stat armor that's bizarrely focused on a Strength-only build, it's unlikely the Warlock armor this week will do much for you.

Titan Legendary Armor

For Titans, Xûr is selling the Phoenix Strife Type 0 set which includes:

Phoenix Strife Type 0 Gauntlets

  • 10 Mobility
  • 2 Resilience
  • 10 Recovery
  • 2 Discipline
  • 2 Intellect
  • 22 Strength
  • Total: 48

Phoenix Strife Type 0 Chest Armor

  • 10 Mobility
  • 2 Resilience
  • 10 Recovery
  • 2 Discipline
  • 2 Intellect
  • 22 Strength
  • Total: 48

Phoenix Strife Type 0 Helmet

  • 10 Mobility
  • 2 Resilience
  • 10 Recovery
  • 2 Discipline
  • 2 Intellect
  • 22 Strength
  • Total: 48

Phoenix Strife Type 0 Leg Armor

  • 10 Mobility
  • 2 Resilience
  • 10 Recovery
  • 2 Discipline
  • 2 Intellect
  • 22 Strength
  • Total: 48

Binary Phoenix Mark

Again, the Titan armor is all low-stat and Strength focused. Xûr's broken, people!

Hunter Legendary Armor

For Hunters, Xûr is selling the Swordflight 4.1 set which includes:

Swordflight 4.1 Gauntlets

  • 10 Mobility
  • 2 Resilience
  • 10 Recovery
  • 2 Discipline
  • 2 Intellect
  • 22 Strength
  • Total: 48

Swordflight 4.1 Chest Armor

  • 10 Mobility
  • 2 Resilience
  • 10 Recovery
  • 2 Discipline
  • 2 Intellect
  • 22 Strength
  • Total: 48

Swordflight 4.1 Helmet

  • 10 Mobility
  • 2 Resilience
  • 10 Recovery
  • 2 Discipline
  • 2 Intellect
  • 22 Strength
  • Total: 48

Swordflight 4.1 Leg Armor

  • 10 Mobility
  • 2 Resilience
  • 10 Recovery
  • 2 Discipline
  • 2 Intellect
  • 22 Strength
  • Total: 48

Binary Phoenix Cloak

Gross armor for Hunters as well. Xur, what are you doing, man?

That's a wrap on Xûr for this week, Guardians! Let's hope that Bungie fixes Xur's issues soon so we can take a deep dive into his tantalizing armor offerings going forward. For more on Destiny, check out some of the new weapons and gear you can find in The Witch Queen and read about how Sony's purchase of Bungie fits into its larger plans.

Travis Northup is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @TieGuyTravis and read his games coverage here.

WWE Legend Triple H Announces His Retirement

WWE legend Triple H has announced his retirement from in-ring wrestling.

Speaking to Stephen A. Smith on ESPN's First Take, and shared in a tweet from the official WWE account (below), Triple H said his time in the ring was over.

The 14-time-world champion teased the retirement earlier today on his own Twitter account, saying he would be delivering an update on his health and future in the interview.

He told Smith: "As far as in-ring, which I get [asked] a lot, I'm done. I won't ever wrestle again. First of all I have a defibrillator in my chest; it's probably not a good idea for me to get zapped on live TV."

Triple H is considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, debuting in 1990 and gaining fame as a villain before co-founding the D-Generation X wrestling stable alongside Shawn Michaels, Chyna, and Rick Rude.

In addition to the 14 world titles, Triple H is also a five-time intercontinental champion, three-time tag team champion, two-time unified WWE tag team champion, and two-time European champion. He remains the Chief Operating Officer for WWE as a whole.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Thumbnail credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

WWE Legend Triple H Announces His Retirement

WWE legend Triple H has announced his retirement from in-ring wrestling.

Speaking to Stephen A. Smith on ESPN's First Take, and shared in a tweet from the official WWE account (below), Triple H said his time in the ring was over.

The 14-time-world champion teased the retirement earlier today on his own Twitter account, saying he would be delivering an update on his health and future in the interview.

He told Smith: "As far as in-ring, which I get [asked] a lot, I'm done. I won't ever wrestle again. First of all I have a defibrillator in my chest; it's probably not a good idea for me to get zapped on live TV."

Triple H is considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, debuting in 1990 and gaining fame as a villain before co-founding the D-Generation X wrestling stable alongside Shawn Michaels, Chyna, and Rick Rude.

In addition to the 14 world titles, Triple H is also a five-time intercontinental champion, three-time tag team champion, two-time unified WWE tag team champion, and two-time European champion. He remains the Chief Operating Officer for WWE as a whole.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Thumbnail credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images