TL;DR
- Complete A Rising Chorus: Act II through Step 16 to access Specimen ID: NES005
- Use Planetary Piston hammer with charges to efficiently farm Radiolite crystals
- NES005 mission completion unlocks weapon focusing for Aberrant Action and Corrasion
- NES004 provides alternative rewards but not the weapon focusing upgrade
- Plan 2-3 hours for full mission completion including story progression
Destiny 2’s Echoes Act 2 introduces two distinctive weapons that require dedicated effort to acquire through Failsafe’s vendor system. Unlike standard episode rewards, these firearms demand completion of specific specimen missions to unlock their focusing capabilities.
Episode: Echoes expands your arsenal with Aberrant Action, a rocket-assisted sidearm that represents only the third weapon of its archetype available in the game. This sidearm features unique projectile behavior that differentiates it from conventional sidearms. Corrasion joins as a heavy pulse rifle with firing mechanics that provide a fresh tactical approach to combat encounters.
The weapon focusing mechanism for these arms functions as a vendor upgrade rather than an immediate unlock. You must progress through Failsafe’s assignment chain, culminating in the Specimen ID: NES005 mission, to gain the ability to target these specific weapons through engram focusing.
Advance the quest A Rising Chorus: Act II until Failsafe sends you to Nessus to find a new research specimen.
Accessing the critical Specimen ID: NES005 mission requires substantial progression through the episode’s narrative content. You must complete all Week 9 storyline elements where Failsafe employs nanomachines to monitor Radiolaria movement patterns across Nessus.
Follow A Rising Chorus: Act II through to its sixteenth step, where you’ll receive directions to investigate Watcher’s Grave for a new research specimen. This location on Nessus serves as the starting point for your specimen collection assignment.
Upon arriving at Watcher’s Grave, navigate using the Proximity Sensor indicator that appears at your screen’s bottom edge. This tracking interface gradually fills as you approach your target destination. Once you locate the specimen, interact with it thoroughly before returning to the HELM to consult with Failsafe and officially commence the Specimen ID questline.
The subsequent phase involves gathering Bufo Bites, which translates to collecting Radiolite crystals found throughout Nessus during episode engagements. These crystalline formations appear predominantly in Battlegrounds and Breach Executable missions.
You gotta feed that frog, which means gathering something called Bufo Bites.
Optimize your Radiolite acquisition by targeting Planetary Pistons during relevant activities. Strike these mechanical structures using your Planetary Piston hammer to trigger Radiolite generation in the surrounding area. Ensure you maintain adequate hammer charge reserves, obtainable through successful completion of episode content.
While Specimen ID: NES004 provides valuable vendor upgrades, it does not grant the weapon focusing capability for Aberrant Action or Corrasion. This distinction is crucial for players specifically targeting those weapons.
NES004 becomes available earlier in the episode progression and offers different rewards that complement but don’t replace the NES005 objectives. Understanding this hierarchy prevents unnecessary effort expenditure on missions that won’t yield your desired outcome.
Specimen ID: NES004 unlocks the next vendor upgrade for Failsafe, but not the one you want.
Strategic players should prioritize NES005 completion if their primary goal involves securing optimal rolls on the new weapons. NES004 can be completed concurrently or subsequently for its separate reward structure.
Add Captain Jacobson to the specimen holding area near Failsafe to earn some new gun-focusing abilities.
Efficient Radiolite farming requires understanding spawn mechanics and activity selection. Battlegrounds typically offer more concentrated Planetary Piston locations compared to Breach Executable missions, making them preferable for focused collection sessions.
Common errors include attempting NES005 without completing the prerequisite story steps or exhausting hammer charges before engaging Planetary Pistons. Always verify your progression in A Rising Chorus: Act II and maintain at least 3-4 hammer charges before beginning collection phases.
Advanced players can optimize their time by combining specimen objectives with other episode challenges. The Radiolite collection process typically requires 30-45 minutes of focused activity, while full mission completion including story progression demands approximately 2-3 hours depending on individual skill and familiarity with Nessus geography.
The weapon focusing system, once unlocked, allows targeted acquisition of these weapons with preferred perk combinations. This represents a significant advantage over random drops, especially for players seeking specific PvE or PvP configurations. For comprehensive weapon strategies, consult our Weapons Unlock guide for detailed analysis.

Understanding Class Guide principles can enhance your efficiency during the combat portions of these missions. Proper class and loadout selection significantly impacts completion speed and resource acquisition rates.
Action Checklist
- Complete A Rising Chorus: Act II through Step 16
- Navigate to Watcher’s Grave and locate specimen using Proximity Sensor
- Collect Radiolite crystals using Planetary Piston hammer with charges
- Return to HELM and complete all Specimen ID: NES005 steps
- Unlock weapon focusing for Aberrant Action and Corrasion
No reproduction without permission:SeeYouSoon Game Club » Destiny 2: How To Unlock Focusing For Aberrant Action And Corrasion Complete guide to unlocking Aberrant Action and Corrasion weapons through Failsafe's Specimen ID missions
