D2: Stem & Freqs

Voice of Rasputin: Martian vendor Ana Bray

It's all about Mars, and the "chase" for the Sleeper Simulant exotic weapon.

What's a Resonate Stem?

Resonate Stems (herein "Stems") are a consumable associated with Destiny 2's Warmind expansion. Stems won't become a consumable (i.e. collectable) until players progress through the main Warmind story-line on Mars.


Stems are just a small part of a series of quest steps whose primary focus is the acquisition of the Sleeper Simulant exotic linear fusion rifle. Remember Destiny 1's chase? Thankfully the quest steps are a bit easier this time around.

Ikelos legendary hand cannon

Unlocking the Sleeper Simulant requires a few specific steps. Briefly they are:

Complete the main story in Warmind, which culminates in the mission "Will of the Thousands," and subsequent missions "Legacy Code" and "A Piece of the Past."




Receive the Ikelos hand cannon as a quest step reward. (Use the hand cannon throughout the quest steps.) Visit Ana Bray to get the "Violent Intel" quest.

Following that, a quest step called "Nascent Dawn 1/5" is received that requires players to complete three patrols of Mars, and to also loot a lost sector. Those done, players will see a message at the bottom of their screen with the heading "Project: CB.NAV" and stating that, "You've acquired enough Resonate Stems to make an Override Frequency. Open your inventory to generate one." Note that four (4) Stems are consumed to create one (1) Override Frequency. Only one Override Frequency at a time may reside in your inventory.

The quest for the Sleeper Simulant requires players to:

— Defeat Hive and Cabal with the Ikelos weapon equipped (via the Violent Intel quest step).

— Defeat yellow-bar enemies (any planet/moon venue) with the Ikelos weapon equipped (public events are perfect for this).

— Complete five (5) Vanguard strikes with the Ikelos weapon equipped.

— Complete three (3) of seven waves in Escalation Protocol events on any difficulty, and find fifteen (15) Sleeper Nodes, all with the Ikelos weapon equipped. Note too that once you have unlocked your first Override Frequency, the first step of the Nascent Dawn quest is complete. There are five (5) Nascent Dawn-related Sleeper Nodes in total, in addition to the regular nodes.

— Finally, complete the "Will of the Thousands" mission once more, this time with the Ikelos weapon equipped.

Resonate Stems & Override Frequency

What's an Override Frequency?

Every interaction with a Sleeper Node will require a single, unique Override Frequency (herein "Freqs"). With Freqs created, 'hover' over the Freqs icon in your inventory. Note a string of characters in the pop-up that looks similar to a file directory location. Each of these three-part strings contain a clue to the physical location of the Sleeper Node referenced. For example, "Drift.Gatehouse.Catwalk" points players toward the Glacial Drift area of Mars, around the catwalk, near the gatehouse. When players are near the Sleeper Node being sought, an audio hint will become quite discernible in the form of music, and the environmental lighting will change ... a strong clue that players are close to the node.

Players will need quite a number of Stems, which are "earned" on Mars through various activities:

— Vanguard Parols (wild)
— Lost Sectors
— High-Value Targets
— Public Events
— Adventures & Challenges

Freqs are used to gain access to one of the 40+ Sleeper Nodes spread across the Martian landscape. However, only 15 Sleeper Nodes are required to support the quest prize ... the Sleeper Simulant. Remember that your Ikelos weapons MUST be equipped when searching for Sleeper Nodes during the Sleeper Simulant weapon quest line.

Sleeper Simulant exotic LFR

Sleeper Node locations (and other selectable data) can be viewed on this spectacular D2: Martian Map created by "lowlidev."

Otherwise, for the sake of efficiency, click on the Sleeper Node names below to view excellent and appropriately brief (about 1 minute) YouTube videos from ELGATO Gaming showing Sleeper Node locations.


OLYMPUS DESCENT (3+1):
— Olympus Descent Cache / Nascent Dawn 3/5
— Descent.Cavern.Warsat
— Descent.Chasm.Ledge
— Descent.Cave.Runes

GLACIAL DRIFT (8+1):
— Ma'adim Subterrane Cache / Nascent Dawn 2/5
— Drift.Subterrane.Cliffside
— Drift.Subterrane.Chasm
— Drift.Gatehouse.Catwalk
— Drift.Transit.Foundation
— Drift.Transit.Freight
— Drift.Service.Backend
— Drift.Checkpoint.Elevator
— Drift.Flammable.Storage

DYNAMO APPROACH (2+1):
— Dynamo.Approach.Arch / Nascent Dawn 1/5
— Dynamo.Approach.Tree
— Dynamo.Approach.Cavern

ALTON DYNAMO (10+1):
— Alton Dynamo Cache / Nascent Dawn 5/5
— Dynamo.Deck.Dampener
— Dynamo.Control.Door
— Dynamo.Coolant.Ventilation
— Dynamo.Observation.Door
— Dynamo.Observation.Valkyrie
— Dynamo.Observation.Core
— Dynamo.Core.Brace
— Dynamo.Core.Catwalk
— Dynamo.Server.Stairwell
— Dynamo.Server.Heatshield

BRAYTECH FUTURESCAPE (9):
— Futurescape.Transit.Service
— Futurescape.Dock.Outpost
— Futurescape.Dock.Garage
— Futurescape.Dock.Silo
— Futurescape.Reception.Overlook
— Futurescape.Plaza.Console
— Futurescape.Plaza.Infestation
— Futurescape.Terminus.Console
— Futurescape.Ridgeline.Waterfall

AURORA REACH (2):
— Aurora.Mindlab.Observation
— Aurora.Mindlab.Supplies

MINDLAB: RASPUTIN (5+1):
— Rasputin Cache / Nascent Dawn 4/5
— Mindlab.Conveyor.Junction
— Mindlab.Conveyor.Bridge
— Mindlab.Elevator.Right
— Mindlab.Elevator.Service
— Mindlab.Overhang.Node

Sources: Eurogamer, Houndish, Ehroar, lowlidev & Elgato Gaming