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Destiny 2's Solstice of Heroes is getting a major revamp this year. Now titled Solstice, Guardians will be heading back to the EAZ to complete a new activity, earn a new armor set, and complete various challenges. While quite a bit of Solstice has been revamped, the core of this event remains the same.
Even if you don't care about this year's offerings, Solstice has also introduced a stat rerolling system for select armor pieces, allowing you to create god roll armor with ease. This guide will go over what Solstice is, how the new Bonfire Bash activity works, and we'll go through all the rewards you can expect this year. We'll also cover the new Event Card system that all future Destiny 2 events will be using.
What Is Solstice?
Solstice is a PvE event that runs from July 19 to August 9. In Solstice, Guardians will be given a new armor set to upgrade through the completion of Event Card challenges. This armor set can be upgraded to grant some of the highest-stat Legendary armor in Destiny 2, and it can visually be customized with unique glows—a universal white glow provided for free if you complete all Event Card challenges. You may also obtain the Something New Hand Cannon during this event, the first 120 RPM Stasis Hand Cannon to release in Destiny 2's sandbox.
Players will be spending most of their time in Bonfire Bash, an activity exclusive to Solstice. Guardians will be deployed to a floating island called the EAZ where they must defeat as many Ignition Carriers as possible in a limited timeframe. Complete this activity to upgrade your armor, obtain new items, and obtain the currency needed to reroll Solstice armor stats—a first for Destiny 2.
Solstice Event Card Explained
Upon speaking with Eva Levante at the Tower, she will give you a Solstice-themed Event Card. This will act as your main source of rewards throughout the event, granting rewards for each challenge you complete. Similar to Seasonal Challenges, your Event Card is broken up into multiple challenge categories. Complete the challenge, then claim it to receive a reward.
You can access your Event Card at any time by opening your Quests tab. It'll appear right next to the Seasonal Challenges UI element. Select it to view your current challenge progress. All armor challenges have been converted into Event Card challenges, so be sure to inspect your Event Card to view your event progress. Thanks to this change, armor challenges are now account-bound instead of character-bound.
Nearly every Event Card challenge will grant Event Tickets as a reward. This is a new currency exclusive to Destiny 2 events that you can redeem for thematic rewards. These tend to be in the form of emotes, ships, etc. Solstice armor sets and glows are not part of the Event Card.
Free Vs. Paid Event Card
Bungie is treating the Solstice Event Card similarly to a Season Pass. While you can redeem your Event Tickets for Solstice-themed goodies, additional rewards become available if you spend 1,000 Silver on a premium rewards track for the Event Card. You do not need to purchase the Event Card to access Solstice armor glows or challenges.
In essence, you're getting a bundle of Ghost Shells, ships, and emotes when you purchase this Event Card. A more thorough breakdown can be found in the table below.
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Free Event Card Rewards |
Upgraded Event Card Rewards |
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Bonfire Bash Explained
Bonfire Bash is a Solstice-exclusive activity where Guardians must build a bonfire from the remains of slain enemies. This replaces the EAZ activity featured in previous Solstice events. All Bonfire Bash matches occur in the EAZ—European Aerial Zone, for short—a floating island consisting of many EDZ buildings and locals.
You'll spawn near the center of the island. Some enemies will be minibosses called Ignition Carriers, marked on your HUD with diamond icons. Slain carriers will drop an Igniter, a white orb that is used to stoke the bonfire at the center of the map. In essence, you'll be killing minibosses, grabbing their orbs, throwing them at the bonfire, and repeating the process for eight minutes.
Upon depositing an Igniter, there's a chance the Taken will intervene, preventing further progress. You must travel to the Taken Interference marked on your HUD. Defeat the Taken guarding the Blight, destroy the Blight, and repeat two more times. This will reignite the bonfire, letting you continue as normal.
The end of a Bonfire Bash run will spawn a Taken boss next to the bonfire. You have unlimited time to defeat this enemy. Killing the boss will end the run, dropping items and converted Silver Ash near the bonfire. The more Solstice armor you have equipped, the more Silver Leaves you'll convert and the more armor will drop. Throwing more Igniters into the bonfire also increases your end-of-match loot.
Upgrading Your Armor
The Solstice armor set can be upgraded by completing Event Card challenges and obtaining new event-exclusive currencies. You can upgrade your armor to glow, and you can reroll the stats on your Solstice pieces to create perfect stat distributions. Each Solstice armor challenge and glow can be found below; stat rerolling is covered in the next section.
Armor Challenges
Armor Glows
Infusing an item with maximum Kindling will unlock a white glow for all Solstice armor in that slot. This glow is permanent and will persist after Solstice ends. Should you have any alternate characters, their Solstice armor will also glow. The glow only applies to this year's armor set; past armor sets won't retroactively get a white glow if you finish all challenges.
Additionally, the Eververse store sells a variant of the Solstice armor that contains subclass-specific glow. Your currently equipped subclass will change the color of these glows. Colors are listed below:
- Arc: Light blue
- Solar: Orange
- Void: Purple
- Stasis: Dark blue
This armor set costs 6,000 Bright Dust or 1,500 Silver. You may purchase this armor set at any time during the Solstice event. Previous armor sets from 2020 and 2021 may also be purchased from the Eververse store.
Armor Stat Rerolling
You may reroll the stats of all Solstice armor you obtain for the duration of this event. As with most new systems in Destiny, this comes with its own bundle of currencies you'll need to farm for. Here's a quick breakdown of how armor rerolling works:
- Obtain a piece of Solstice armor.
- Inspect the armor. Hover over the fifth mod slot.
- Choose a Kindling option.
- Hover over your armor's sixth mod slot. Select a stat bias.
Silver Leaves, Silver Ash, And Kindling
Three currencies are tied to Solstice's armor rerolling system:
- Silver Leaves: A currency obtained from activity completions while wearing Solstice armor. Can be converted into Silver Ashes through the Bonfire Bash activity.
- Silver Ashes: A refined version of Silver Leaves. Used in rerolling your armor stats.
- Kindling: An upgrade material needed to unlock better armor focusing options. Obtained from Event Card challenges.
In essence, you'll play activities with the Solstice armor equipped to get Silver Leaves, play Bonfire Bash to refine the Leaves into Ashes, then use the Ashes to reroll your armor stats. Kindling is used to unlock armor focusing options. This is more than worth the effort, as an armor piece with maximum Kindling will grant +20 to your stat bias, making this the best high-stat armor farm in the game.
Silver Leaves will be your main limiter with this system. We recommend farming strikes or PvP matches to quickly earn Silver Leaves quickly. Play a few games to build up a stockpile of leaves, then play a few games of Bonfire Bash to refine your materials. Rinse and repeat.
Solstice 2022 Rewards
This year's Solstice event features a new armor set and weapon for Guardians to chase. You can view the armor sets in the image gallery above. The new weapon this year is Something New, a Stasis 120 Hand Cannon. This is the first Stasis 120 RPM Hand Cannon in Destiny 2, and it contains some solid perk combinations we delve into below. You can also obtain the Compass Rose Shotgun from last year. A new title, Flamekeeper, can also be earned during this event.
Something New God Rolls
Something New is one of three Hand Cannons that deal Stasis damage, immediately giving this weapon value with PvE Stasis builds. It's capable of rolling with Headstone as you'd expect, but it can also roll with the exceedingly rare perk combination of Wellspring and Demolitionist. This makes Something New one of the best energy-generating weapons in Destiny 2, provided you can land consistent kills. You can also get a roll with Feeding Frenzy and Multikill Clip if you just want a consistent feeling 120. For PvE, Something New is a must-grab for Hand Cannon fans.
PvP doesn't fare as well for this gun. It has average base stats yet a fantastic PvP Origin Trait: Dream Work. It auto-reloads a portion of your magazine upon landing an assist. This effect can overflow your magazine, similar to Overflow or Enhanced Pulse Monitor. As for perks, not many improve the consistency for Something New. The first column is down to preference, but consider using Harmony to deal some bonus damage after you land a kill with your second weapon. Don't bother with Multikill Clip; Dream Work prevents you from activating it most of the time. If you're playing 3v3 modes, consider Wellspring with Well-Rounded to improve the gun's general consistency. It won't outperform Steady Hands, but it should be able to hold its own.
Recommended Perks:
- Barrel: Smallbore, Fluted Barrel
- Magazine: Ricochet Rounds
- Perk One: Wellspring, Feeding Frenzy
- Perk Two: Multikill Clip (PvE) / Harmony (PvP), Demolitionist (with Wellspring), Headstone (with Stasis subclasses)
- Masterwork: Stability or Handling