Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris - how to get Radiolarian Cultures, Paradox Amplifiers and Hermaion Blossoms for Lost Prophecy Weapon verses
Farming Radiolarian Cultures, Paradox Amplifiers and Hermaion Blossoms for Lost Prophecy Weapon verses is a bit of a grind, so it's good to go into Curse of Osiris knowing what is expected of you.
To make the most of the weapon forge in Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris, you'll need heaps of Radiolarian Cultures, Paradox Amplifiers, and Hermaion Blossoms. It'll take a while, but we're here to help.
As noted in out Destiny 2 guide, the Lost Prophecy weapons are one good way to increase your Power to 335, Destiny: Curse of Osiris's new cap, so naturally everyone wants to do it as quickly as possible. The first step is to unlock the Lost Prophecy weapon forge in Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris.
You'll soon see why you'll want to know how to farm items once you get started with the Verses. Arekkz has a video below with his best tips, but we've written them up as well.
Every ten Radiolarian Cultures can be turned into a Concentrated Radiolarian Culture, ten Paradox Amplifiers can be turned into an Advanced Paradox Amplifier, and ten Hermaion Blossoms can be turned into a Fossilized Hermaion Blossom, which you'll need to forge weapons. Cultures are much more time-consuming to earn than Amplifiers, as it turns out, but there's a trick to getting it done a little faster.
How to get Radiolarian Cultures
Radiolarian Cultures can drop after completing public events (at about a rate of one every two events), or they can be found in chests (at a rate of about one per five chests). These can be any chests - high-value target chests, world chests, and chests that pop after events are completed.
However, if a chest is opened during a public event, it seems like there is a higher chance of there being a Radiolarian Culture in there. Getting ten to use on a Lost Prophecy Weapon verse will still take time, but Arekkz advises heading to Titan for an easier time.
Titan has fewer public events than other zones, but because it's smaller, there tend to be many chests in concentrated areas. If you go to an area where a public event is happening, there's a good chance you'll be able to open multiple chests during the event, and possibly reap higher rewards (make sure to complete the event, too).
If you have a ghost shell that helps with finding treasure, use that, or use the Nightstalker 'Keen Scout' tracker perk to find chests. It's still going to take ages - particularly if you need 30 Radiolarian Cultures to make three verses and build a demanding Lost Prophecy weapon - but you can cut down on time a bit.
If you're really lucky, sometimes a chest will contain a Concentrated Radiolarian Culture, but this is extremely rare - in a full day of grinding Arekkz only found one.
How to get Paradox Amplifiers
Paradox Amplifiers are more straightforward. Strikes, heroic adventures on Mercury, and matches in the Crucible can all award you Paradox Amplifiers, although if you're serious about farming them, don't do so with heroic adventures - it's by far the most time-consuming method.
The best way to build up your Paradox Amplifiers, until you have ten and can make an Advanced Paradox Amplifier, is to spend time in the Crucible. Win, lose, or draw, you'll find that you get rewarded with them quite often, sometimes even with two at the end of a round.
It's still going to take you a long time to earn enough Paradox Amplifiers to build all the weapons, but at least the method is fairly straightforward.
How to get Hermaion Blossoms
Of the three materials on this page, this is the rarest drop, which is frustrating. But you need it for some weapons, so get prepared for a grind. To get Hermaion Blossom drops, you'll need to play Nightfall Strikes, Trials of the Nine games, and Heroic Strikes. Your best bet to make these drop fast, so you can get ten of them and form a Fossilized Hermaion Blossom, is to play the Prestige Nightfall, but you're going to have to run through it quite a few times to get the materials you need.
Completing all of the Lost Prophecy weapon verses that require this resource will let you get your hands on some pretty nice guns, though, like the Infinite Paths pulse rifle and the West of Sunfall Hand Cannon, so if you commit to the grind at least know that there are rewards on the other side of it.
So yes, it's a grind to use the weapon forge, but you can make things easier on yourself. Best of luck out there, Guardian.