As part of the Episode Echoes quests, you’ll have to track down the new Destiny 2 Planetary Assimilation Pistons. While activating one of these is required to complete the Specimen ID: NES001 quest, Planetary Assimilation Pistons are worth tracking down in general. However, you will also need to know how to use the new Destiny 2 Planetary Piston Hammer item to take advantage of them in the first place.
Episode Echoes adds plenty of new activities to complete and secrets to find, such as the intense Destiny 2 Enigma Protocol mission on Nessus and the new Choir of One Seasonal Exotic. Planetary Assimilation Pistons and the associated Planetary Piston Hammer, however, are one of the most confusing at first.
Where to Find Planetary Assimilation Pistons in Destiny 2
Planetary Assimilation Pistons are only available in the Breach Executable activity during Episode Echoes. It is a small Vex-themed cube with a large, blue energy pillar above it, that tends to spawn in the first few encounters, before the final boss.
You will need to explore the area near the objective to locate it but beware, progressing to the next objective could mean you miss out on it during your run and you’ll have to find it again next time.
Activating a Planetary Assimilation Piston during Breach Executable will spawn increased amounts of Radiolite samples which can be collected and redeemed for bonus loot at the H.E.L.M.
How to Use the Planetary Piston Hammer in Destiny 2
You need to interact with Planetary Assimilation Pistons when you find them to use the Planetary Piston Hammer to activate it. This will smash it with your hammer, turning it on and causing bonus Radiolite samples to spawn nearby.
Most importantly, the Planetary Piston Hammer has a maximum of five charges. The hammer will regenerate charges as you complete Echo activities. However, you will also get one per day. This means you’ll have to do some grinding if you want to consistently smash Planetary Assimilation Pistons.
The good news is that Radiolite samples are team-wide, meaning everyone in the team will be rewarded with Radiolite whenever someone collects one.
Once you have 200g of Radiolite samples, you can deposit these in the H.E.L.M next to Failsafe to receive Echoes gear and other useful resources.
That covers how to find Planetary Assimilation Pistons and how to use the Planetary Piston Hammer in Destiny 2. Make sure you’ve beaten The Final Shape missions and got ahold of some of The Final Shape Exotics before cracking on with the seasonal story, however, as you’ll face spoilers almost right away. You can also now get the first-ever Destiny 2 Exotic class items, though it's much easier said than done.