Destiny 2 | Planetary Resources Farming Guide

Human Made

Kody is our expert Destiny 2 and shooter genre writer. He lives in Oregon.

Planetary materials are a necessary and expansive currency system within Destiny 2. Each planet includes at least one unique resource to collect, although they are not connected to a direct purchase like in years past. Instead, these resources allow you to acquire materials to upgrade weapons, Masterwork armor and purchase certain Exotics.

Like anything in Destiny 2, running out of resources can be a pain when trying to level up. If you’re running low on certain resources or just want to build up a stockpile for the future, you’ve come to the right place. With this guide, we’ll cover each planetary resource (excluding sunsetted materials) and how to find them, and offer a few tips for farming.

Planetary Resources Farming Tips and Sources

Let’s kick things off by exploring the different ways you can collect planetary resources in Destiny 2.

Bounties

Whenever you visit a planet, be sure to pick up bounties from the local Vendor. Not only will these give you XP and potentially assist with some Seasonal Challenges, but you’ll earn planetary resources as well. This is a simple way to collect resources as you play.

Ghosts

Your Ghost can help you track down planetary resources and increase the amount you gain when harvesting. Equip the Treasure Hunter Mod to mark materials and chests in a location when you’re up to fifty meters away. Also, equip the Bountiful Harvest Mod to increase the number of materials every time you claim them. You’ll likely need to upgrade your Ghost to run both, but it’s well worth it.

Patrols and Public Events

Similar to bounties, completing Patrols and Public Events on a given planet will provide you with a small number of planetary resources. These are quick, bite-sized events, so don’t expect too much for every completion. The best thing you can do is grab your bounties first and try to use these smaller pieces of gameplay to bolster the amount you gain for a single activity.

Region Chests, General Chests, and Materials

Every planet has a series of Regional Chests (gold-plated) that you can track down using your map. These will provide you with a piece of Armor or a Weapon, along with a sizable number of planetary resources.

General chests and materials are randomized items littered around the map. These do not remain consistent, which makes running the Ghost tracker Mod useful to save time tracking them down. General chests will provide you with some Glimmer, a small number of planetary resources, and sometimes a Rare piece of gear. The planetary material itself typically provides 2–3 of the specific resource unless you’re running a booster Mod.

Defeat Bosses

One thing you can do to earn planetary resources is simply work on defeating Bosses and Powerful enemies. Each time you take one down, you earn some planetary resources along with Glimmer and other items. There’s no trick to this method, but it’s worth keeping in mind as you play, and you can even run a resource generation booster if you have one.

Lost Sectors

One of the best ways to earn planetary resources through gameplay is running Lost Sectors. These will often have the materials littered throughout in addition to Powerful enemies, Boss, and chest rewards. If you run these at the base difficulty level, it can take anywhere from three to five minutes, making it an easy system to grind out while finishing up bounties or patrols.

Season Pass

The Season Pass is a great way to earn a bunch of every planetary material at once. These Destination Resource Bundles appear nine times and grant 50 of each available resource. You can expect to unlock them when you achieve the following ranks:

Rank 8
Rank 19
Rank 29
Rank 39
Rank 49
Rank 59
Rank 69
Rank 79
Rank 89

Just keep in mind that you will need to own the Season Pass to unlock these bundles. They’re part of the Premium Track and none appear on the free option.

The Spider

At one point, Amanda Holiday and a random android could provide you with packages of planetary resources. Now that role has been relegated to the Spider. These resources are randomized and rotate out daily, and will either cost you 5,000 Glimmer or a single Legendary Shard for five of a given resource. The easiest way to check if he has something you need is to pull up his Vendor listing in the Destiny app once the pool has been reset.

Destiny 2 Planetary Resource Farming Guide

Now that you know how to find them, let’s run down a list of every current planetary resource and where they’re located.

Baryon Bough

Baryon Boughs are located in the Dreaming City, typically around patrol areas outside of the Awoken strongholds. These are primarily used for trading with Petra Vej for a Charge of Light — Tier II and Tincture of Queensfoil, which assist you in activities around the Dreaming City.

Dusklight Shard

These shards of the Traveler can be found in the European Dead Zone (EDZ) and are one of the easiest materials to spot out in the wild. Start in the Trostland and look for any nearby Lost Sectors to run for the quickest way to earn them.

Etheric Spiral

The native fauna on the Tangled Shore is difficult to spot thanks to how well it blends in with the ground. Take on some Wanted Bounties and hang around just outside of Spider’s hideout to farm this resource.

Glacial Stalwort

Found on the newest planet, Europa, this resource is contained in small tubes that easily blend in with the building architecture. Run through the larger patrol areas and participate in Public Events to easily grab a few of these.

Helium Filaments

Just like the original Destiny, these resources are located on the Moon. While easy to find, they are spread fairly thin, making bounties your best bet for earning a lot at once.

Microphasic Datalattice

Datalattice is located on Nessus and is easy to spot thanks to the towering Vex architecture. Either acquire bounties from Failsafe or run through any Vex portals in a loop to earn a bunch of this resource.

Spinmetal Leaves

Tied to its original location in the Cosmodrome, this is one of the few materials that is best farmed simply by patrolling. There is a ridiculous amount located throughout the Forgotten Shore, making it easy to track down just by riding your Sparrow.

5 Non-Planetary Resources Explained

There are some resources not directly connected to a planet. Here’s what they are and how to earn them.

Gunsmith Materials. Dismantling Armor or weapons will net you around five Gunsmith Materials. You can use these to purchase Legendary Shards and other upgrade materials.
Legendary Shards. Legendary Shards are earned by dismantling items, completing playlist runs, and a number of other methods. These are used as a general currency alongside Glimmer and to Masterwork your gear. Check out our full guide for specific farming methods.
Mod Components. Dismantling gear and completing bounties from the Gunsmith will grant a random amount of Mod Components. Use these to purchase available Mods from Banshee-44 and Ada-1.
Tokens. The token system is slowly being phased out. Right now, you can only earn Vanguard (sunsetting next season) and planetary vendor tokens, which are earned by completing bounties and associated activities.
Upgrade Modules. Used for enhancing weapons, unlock these by completing bounties for the Gunsmith or leveling up your Season Pass.

Become a High Grounder

Acquiring resources can be a grind in Destiny 2, but knowing where to look and how to collect them can make it a simple part of your play sessions. Be sure to let your Fireteam know the best ways to farm planetary resources in Destiny 2 by sharing this article on your favorite social platforms. For the latest on Destiny 2, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter.