Where to find Specimen ID: NES003 quest in Destiny 2

Destiny 2‘s Act One of Echoes is coming to an end, giving players access to the Specimen ID: NES003 mission—at least in theory. In practice, however, this mysterious quest is unobtainable, though the reasons behind it are unclear.

The Specimen ID: NES003 quest is the third Failsafe research request, which opens up more fabrications and bonuses in the H.E.L.M. While the previous two were available as intended, the third one seems to have disappeared. And it’s locking a seasonal challenge behind it, too.

There’s no officially correct answer on why the quest is missing so far, but here’s why we think Destiny 2‘s Specimen ID: NES003 quest is missing.

Specimen ID:NES003 blocks the Research and Development III seasonal challenge in Destiny 2

The week four seasonal challenge Research and Development III follows the same suit as its predecessors, which are tied to the previous Specimen ID quests. It requires players to complete the Specimen ID:NES003 quest, which doesn’t appear in-game. Because of this, there’s no way to complete the Research and Development III seasonal challenge, at least until guardians can consistently obtain its associated quest.

The Scratch the Surface III seasonal challenge, which requires guardians to complete the first act of the story, also launched alongside week four, when the last mission of Echoes’ Act One released. Assuming this is the intended behavior, guardians should have a way to discover the third Specimen quest starting on June 25, though it doesn’t seem to appear in players’ quest logs. Progress on this challenge comes to a halt until you can find the quest, however—which is a different beast on its own.

Why can’t I get the Specimen ID: NES003 quest in Destiny 2?

The Specimen ID: NES003 research quest appears to be bugged or time-gated. Completing the seasonal story of Act One doesn’t grant you the NES003 specimen, nor does it open up the associated quest. We haven’t found a way to obtain Specimen ID: NES003 yet.

This absence could potentially be due to a few factors, and its matching weekly challenge makes it particularly hard to pinpoint why the Specimen ID: NES003 quest doesn’t seem to be available.

Specimen ID: NES003 may be time-gated for a different point of the seasonal quest, whether it’s a different reset or even Act Two. This may feel off, considering the Research and Development III seasonal challenge went live on week four, but this could be related to an inconsistency between the quest’s deployment and the seasonal challenge’s date.

The quest might not be obtainable due to a bug or glitch preventing players from getting the objective through Failsafe. Since the past two quests worked as intended, something may be stopping the third specimen quest from appearing on the H.E.L.M. vendor.

The Specimen quest might also be a secret, though this option is unlikely. The Enigma Protocol activity is hidden behind the Encoded Log quest, which leads players into a bit of a chase into Nessus’ Well of Echoes. If that’s the case, it may just take a bit for players to finally find its location. The previous specimen quests, however, were easy to find since they give beneficial upgrades.

Ultimately, there’s no way to know exactly how to unlock it until either it’s found with irrefutable proof or Bungie makes a statement on the matter. We think a bug or a time-gate are the most likely answers, however.