5 Tips for Farming Planetary Materials In Destiny 2 (2.0 Update)

Destiny 2 Farm Planetary Materials

With Destiny 2’s Forsaken expansion less than a week away, developer Bungie has implemented some changes to the core game early. One of these involves the infusion system, which now requires players to us an abundance of planetary materials to raise the Light Level of their guns and armor.

Given their relative uselessness in the base game, many Guardians will need to start farming copious amounts of these items. Thankfully, there are a few ways to ease your burden and make life easier. For the unfamiliar, here are the different materials found on each planet.

  • Earth – Dusklight Shard
  • Io –  Phaseglass Needle
  • Titan – Alkane Dust
  • Nessus – Microphasic Datalattice
  • Mercury – Simulation Seed
  • Mars – Seraphite

Previously these came in both the uncommon (green) and rare (blue) variety, however, this is no longer the case. The only ones you’ll need are the green ones, so don’t worry about obtaining any of the rarer versions.

Here are 5 tips and tricks for farming planetary materials in Destiny 2:

1. Use. Your. Ghost.

Destiny 2 Ghost

The best tool in your entire arsenal for quickly harvesting materials is your Ghost. Every Ghost has a chance to drop with a Scanner ability for a specific planet. This allows Guardians using that Ghost to physically see the chests and materials on that planet. So if your Ghost says “Io Scanner,” wearing it will let you see all the Phaseglass Needles and unopened chests on the planet.

If you don’t have these type of Ghosts, start saving any that are unlocked via Bright Engrams. They are incredibly valuable now and eventually, you’ll want to have one of each in your collection. Most Exotic Ghosts come with a planet scanner, so if you have one of two make sure to check their skills.

2. Chests > Raw Materials

When collecting materials we recommend prioritizing chests over the raw materials – especially if they are about to vanish. Chests always have four planetary materials guaranteed inside of them, while the raw versions will typically only drop one. There is a chance that you’ll earn 6 materials pieces from one found out in the wild, but the chances are fairly low. They are going to be the backbone of your farming, so memorizing their locations  – if you lack a resource detecting Ghost – is very important.

Additionally, any gold Region Chests now drop 12 planetary materials. If you missed opening them during the Solstice of Heroes, make sure to grab them now for easy consumables.

3. Kill Special Flashpoint Bosses

Destiny 2 Resonate Stem

This is a bit more specific, but during certain Public Events, side bosses will spawn if you trigger the Heroic modifier. However, they will only appear if you are finishing a Public Event on the same planet designated for the Flash Point that week.

Killing these brutes will nets you 16 planetary materials on top of the 4 you are already getting for finishing the event. There is zero reason why you shouldn’t be farming these enemies if you need materials. They are a fantastic way to rapidly get multiple stacks of these important consumables in your inventory.

4. Know Where to Look

Destiny 2 Planetary Materials

With the exception of Mercury, we found there are better zones to hunt for chests than others. While this could be based on our luck, these are the places we recommend looking if you are in need of materials. Remember, if you don’t find any just go to another area or back into orbit to reset the map.

  • Earth – Trostland / Winding Cove
  • Io –  The Rupture / Giant’s Scar
  • Titan – Siren’s Watch
  • Nessus – Exodus Black / The Cistern / Watcher’s Grave
  • Mars – Glacial Drift

Additionally, consider running Lost Sectors since they can be finished fairly quickly. This is a solid alternative if you’re having trouble locating chests out in the wild without a Ghost.

5. Patrols, Patrols, Patrols

Destiny 2 Patrol

Are you running around the map trying to collect materials? Well, make sure to always have a Patrol on you if possible. Completing one of these will net you 4 materials and it’s a fantastic method for obtaining a large amount in a short time.

Whether you are finishing a Public Event or just exploring always pick one of these up. The ones we recommend grabbing are any pertaining to killing a specific type or number of enemies. Grab only the ones marked with either a single large triangle or five small diamonds. Try to avoid any boss fights (stars), as they will usually lead you away from specific areas on the map.

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