If you’ve spent any time wandering around the Tower or checking Xur’s inventory on a Friday, you’ve probably seen it. Curio of the Nine. It’s one of those items in Destiny 2 that sounds incredibly mysterious but, in reality, is tied to a very specific, grindy gameplay loop that most players ignore until they suddenly need it for a Title or a specific transmog piece. Honestly, it’s easy to get confused because Bungie has a habit of naming things in a way that sounds like deep lore when it’s actually just a currency or a quest step.
Let’s get one thing straight. This isn't some ancient artifact that unlocks a secret cinematic. It’s a tool. Specifically, it’s a tool for the Starhorse.
If you are a veteran player, you remember the days of the original Trials of the Nine. Back then, "Curios" were flavor text and aesthetic. Now? Things are different. Since the 30th Anniversary Pack dropped, the Curio of the Nine has been the gatekeeper for players trying to maximize their rewards in Dares of Eternity. You’ve likely got a stack of Treasure Keys burning a hole in your inventory, but without understanding the Curio system, you’re basically leaving loot on the table.
What the Curio of the Nine Actually Does
Basically, the Curio of the Nine is a consumable item that allows you to pick up specific Starhorse Bounties. It’s not a passive buff. You don't just hold it and get luckier. You buy it from Xur (the one in Eternity, not the wandering weekend Xur) or earn it through Dares of Eternity completions to fuel your progress toward high-tier rewards.
Here is the thing most people miss: the economy of Eternity is a bit of a circle. You run Dares, you get Strange Coins, you spend those coins on a Curio of the Nine or Starhorse Bounties, and then you use those to get Treasure Keys. If you aren't using the Curios to grab the gold-tier bounties, you are stuck in the "casual" reward tier. You’ll get the occasional weapon drop, sure. But if you want the Forerunner catalyst or the specific ornaments that make your Guardian look like a piece of Bungie history, you have to engage with this specific item.
The Curio is sort of the "ticket" to the harder challenges. Think of it as a key to a much more annoying, but more rewarding, room.
Why Everyone Gets the Starhorse Bounties Wrong
Most players grab a bounty, jump into Dares, and then get frustrated when they don't finish it in one run. That’s because the Curio-based bounties have a "hidden" requirement: you have to finish them in a single go.
If you pick up a bounty that requires a high score and 150 pulse rifle kills, and you go to orbit? Reset. You lose the progress. You lose the Curio. It’s brutal.
I’ve seen people lose their minds over this. They think the game is bugged. It’s not bugged; it’s just poorly explained. The Curio of the Nine acts as a "wager." You are wagering your time and your resources that you can hit the score threshold. To do this effectively, you really need to be playing on the Legend difficulty of Dares of Eternity. On the normal matchmaking version, enemies die too fast. Your teammates will "steal" your kills, and you’ll end the run with 158,000 points when the bounty required 160,000.
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Total waste of a Curio.
Strategies for Efficiency
Don't just pop a Curio and hope for the best. That is how you end up broke and frustrated.
- Check the weekly rotation. Dares of Eternity operates on a fixed schedule. If the bounty requires Vex kills and the rotation is Hive/Cabal/Taken, you are going to have a bad time.
- Infinite Heavy Ammo is your best friend. If you can hit the jump puzzle correctly in the second encounter, you get the Starhorse’s Favor. This gives you regenerating heavy ammo. If you have a Curio bounty active, this is the only way to reliably finish the "heavy weapon" requirements without fighting your teammates for purple bricks.
- The 160k or 180k Score Threshold. If your bounty requires a high score, do not do the level 1600 version. Get a fireteam together for the Legend 1830+ version. The point multipliers are significantly higher, and you’ll hit the requirement by the end of the second encounter usually.
People often ask if the Curio of the Nine is worth the Strange Coin cost. If you are hunting for a "God Roll" of the BxR-55 Battler or the Half-Truths sword (the one with Eager Edge), then yes. It is the fastest way to farm Treasure Keys. If you just want to play the game and don't care about min-maxing, you can probably ignore them and just turn in your coins for Paraversal Hauls.
The Lore Connection (Or Lack Thereof)
We should talk about the "Nine" part of the name. Destiny lore is dense. The Nine are Gaia-form beings—dark matter entities that represent the planets of our solar system. They use Xur as their meat-puppet to interact with us.
When you use a Curio of the Nine, you are essentially interacting with their pocket dimension. The "Starhorse" (the celestial equine that looks like it’s made of stars and bad puns) is apparently a higher-level entity or a creation of the Nine meant to "test" us through "intergalactic game shows."
It’s weird. It’s very 2021-era Bungie humor.
But from a purely factual standpoint, the Curio isn't a lore item anymore. It’s a mechanical one. In the past, "Curios" were things like the Emerald Coil or Void Drive that upgraded Rare sparrows to Legendary ones in Destiny 1. Nowadays, the term is almost exclusively used for the Dares of Eternity ecosystem. Don't go hunting for deep philosophical meaning in the item description; you won't find it.
Common Misconceptions and Errors
A big mistake I see in the community is people thinking you can "stack" Curios to get better drops. You can’t. Holding more than one doesn't change the RNG of the final chest.
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Another one? Thinking they expire. Curios of the Nine don't have an expiration date in your inventory. You can hoard them. However, since they are so easy to get once you start grinding Strange Coins, there is really no reason to keep more than five or ten at a time.
Also, a lot of players confuse Curios with "Strange Cookies" or "Strange Fragments" from various events. Keep your inventory clean. The Curio has a very distinct white-and-gold icon. If it’s green or blue, it’s probably a legacy item or a holiday event item that has nothing to do with Xur’s treasure hoard.
Making the Most of Your Grind
To maximize your Curio of the Nine usage, you should align your playstyle with the Starhorse Bounties. If you have a bounty for Scout Rifle kills, don't be the guy running a Shotgun and a Sword. It sounds obvious, but in the chaos of Dares, people forget.
The real value of the Curio is the Treasure Key.
Every completed bounty from a Curio gives you at least one key, sometimes more depending on the bounty's difficulty. These keys are the only way to open the chests in Xur’s Treasure Hoard. Those chests contain the 30th Anniversary gear. If you want the "Wastelander M5" shotgun (which is still a beast in PvP), the Curio is your most direct path.
How to Get More Curios Fast
If you run out, don't panic. You get Strange Coins from almost everything now—Vanguard Ops, Crucible matches, Gambit (if you’re brave enough), and even Public Events.
- Farm Heroic Public Events: Fast, easy, and they drop coins consistently.
- Run the Weekly Nightfall: Higher difficulty tiers drop more coins.
- Exchange with Xur: Once you have the coins, head to Eternity. Xur sells Curios for a handful of coins.
Honestly, the economy is pretty generous these days. It’s not like the old days of Destiny where you had to scrape for every single resource. You can easily stock up on 20 Curios in an afternoon of play.
The Reality of the "Nine" Gear
Is the gear actually good?
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The 30th Anniversary weapons are some of the most unique in the game. The BxR-55 Battler has a custom frame that feels exactly like the Halo Battle Rifle. The Forerunner is a literal Halo Magnum that uses Special ammo. To get the catalysts for these, you must rank up with Xur, and the fastest way to gain reputation is by completing those Curio-activated Starhorse Bounties.
If you ignore the Curios, your rank with Xur will move at a snail's pace. You’ll be grinding Dares for months instead of weeks.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Session
If you’re looking to dive back into Eternity, do this:
- Empty your quest log. Starhorse Bounties take up a quest slot, and you can only hold one at a time.
- Visit Xur in Eternity. Buy a handful of Curios of the Nine.
- Pick the "Gold" Tier Bounty. Only if you plan on doing a Legend Dares run. If you’re playing solo/matchmade, stick to the Silver tier.
- Check your modifiers. If the modifier is "Lightning Round," stay until the very end. The Curio doesn't affect the chance of a Lightning Round, but the extra chests at the end of a Lightning Round can drop even more Strange Coins, effectively making your Curio "free."
- Focus on the Forerunner Catalyst. If you don't have it, make that your primary goal. It turns the gun into a grenade-throwing machine that is incredibly fun in both PvE and certain PvP maps.
Stop letting those Strange Coins sit in your inventory. Grab some Curios, head into the Starhorse's realm, and actually finish those ornaments. The grind isn't nearly as bad once you realize the Curio is just a ticket to a faster finish line.
Load into the Legend version of Dares, make sure you have the right elemental weapons for the shields that week, and stop leaving your rewards to chance. The Nine don't care if you win or lose, but the Starhorse definitely rewards the effort.
Go get your Treasure Keys.
Next Steps for Guardians:
Check your current "Strange Coin" count in your inventory. If you have more than 30, head to the Eternity node on your map right now. Buy three Curios and pick up the "Melee" or "Power Weapon" bounty from the Starhorse—these are generally the easiest to complete in a single run of Dares of Eternity. Once you finish, spend your Treasure Keys specifically on the central chest to unlock the Halo-inspired weapon patterns.