The Solstice of Heroes has Begun

Time flies fast, and it’s once again time for one of Destiny 2’s most anticipated events. The Solstice of Heroes, or just the Solstice to dedicated fans, is the time of year when everyone reflects back and honors all of the great deeds Guardians have accomplished. The Solstice has always been a community favorite event, and from the looks of things, this year won’t be any different.

For any guardian who has yet to experience the Solstice of Heroes, here’s the basic rundown. First, of course, is talking to Eva Levante, the grand arbiter of all holidays that have ever and will ever exist. Once that’s under your belt, you’ll want to start collecting silver leaves. These leaves can be collected by completing any Destiny activity. However, upgrading those silver leaves to silver ashes will require you to complete the holiday activity Bonfire Bash. Silver Ashes allow you to reroll the stats of your Solstice armor set, but how high your stats can go is dependent on which tier your armor is in. These tiers are where Kindling comes in. You can earn Kindling by completing Solstice challenges, and you spend it to increase the tier of your Solstice armor slots. There are 3 tiers per slot, and each slot applies to every Solstice armor piece that it belongs to, so don’t worry about needing to upgrade every single helmet you have. As an added bonus, once you reach the third tier, your armor will take on the traditional solstice glow.

While the Solstice isn’t going through as big of a shakeup as last year, there are still some changes to the formula to keep it fresh. The first of these changes is to the Bonfire Bash’s difficulty. Enemy density has been greatly increased to try and give Guardians a bit more of a challenge in keeping the paracausal fires burning. But, in exchange, there have been some buffs added to help you on your journey. The first buff, Firebound, only applies to the Bonfire Bash event. Firebound increases your Recovery and Super regeneration while you’re in close proximity to one or more of your teammates. The second buff, Flare, applies to both the Bonfire Bash and the Vanguard Ops Playlist. Flare grants you a paracausal fire AOE centered on yourself when you defeat enemies in quick succession. Pair it with Firebound so you and your team become an unstoppable inferno of death. What great summer fun!

Solstice of Heroes starts today, July 18th, and will go on for 4 weeks, ending around August 15th. It promises to be a busy time, not only because the Solstice is the best event to grind for armor, not only for the great subclass-specific glow you can grind or buy but also because the game’s first Strand Rocket Launcher has been included as a reward for the event. With so much to do and so much to earn, it’s little wonder the Solstice is everyone’s favorite time of year. Have some fun in the sun guardians!