'Destiny 2' Solstice of Heroes Armor Is the Only Grind That Matters Now

Destiny 2’s end-of-summer Solstice of Heroes event is back, and with the Shadowkeep expansion due out in September that’ll overhaul how armor works, the questline for Solstice armor has just become the only grind that matters.

Solstice of Heroes was first introduced in 2018 as an annual celebration through which the players’ Guardians “reflect on past hardships and celebrate the resilience of humanity’s foremost defenders.” In 2018, completing a challenging array of tasks was the only way for players to get power level 400 armor before the Forsaken expansion released in September. Now, in an even more significant way, the 2019 Solstice of Heroes offers players the opportunity to get early access to a collection of “Armor 2.0.”

When Shadowkeep is released in September, it’ll render all current Destiny 2 armor effectively useless. Anyone still using pre-Shadowkeep armor will be outclassed on Day One as players get more complex gear. In the Armor 2.0 system, all armor pieces will have six instead of three core stats, and players can power up armor to increase mod capacity. This allows players greater control over how their character looks, but it also grants the flexibility to customize armor in more diverse and nuanced ways.

Anyone who collects Solstice of Heroes armor sets during the event will automatically get an upgraded Armor 2.0 set once Shadowkeep launches.

“Whatever full Legendary sets you earn now will have their new Armor 2.0 versions waiting for you to pick up from the Gunsmith when Shadowkeep releases,” Bungie wrote in a blog post.

A core aspect of the Destiny 2 experience is grinding away at various activities on repeat so you can collect better and better armor that increases your overall power. Even when you reach the max power level, you just keep going to optimize your loadout by finding even better perks and stats on weapons and armor.

Exotic weapon questlines, triumphs, and pinnacle quests still matter for those who want to collect everything in the game, but when Destiny 2: Shadowkeep releases on September 17, Armor 2.0 will become everyone’s focus — meaning that right now, the only grind that truly matters for Destiny 2 players is getting that full set of Solstice armor.

How do you do that?

While Solstice of Heroes runs from July 30 to August 27, players can complete an opening mission and pick up a “Drained” set of Solstice armor, presumably from Eva Levante. Each piece has a series of objectives that allow you to upgrade it from “Drained” to “Renewed” to “Majestic,” and then to Masterwork versions. That’s how far you need to go.

Many of the tasks involve the new European Aerial Zone area on Earth, where players can matchmake into a new three-player activity similar to Forges, where they face off against Hive, Cabal, or Fallen. You slay a ton of enemies, most notably a few mini-bosses and a final boss, and then you explore the area to claim treasure — which occasionally includes even more Solstice armor, sometimes with enhanced perks.

There’s more: Each day during Solstice will focus on one of the three core elements — Solar, Arc, or Void — and getting kills with those element types will award the player with Elemental Orbs. Getting 30 orbs grants a buff for that day, which goes a long way when fighting in the EAZ, but these orbs are also crucial in upgrading Solstice armor.

The endgame of this lengthy grind to upgrade this armor is to eventually cash in come September to claim early access to a top-tier set of Armor 2.0, giving an edge over the filthy casuals who didn’t take the time to unlock the armor. Overall, this new top-priority goal should look familiar to dedicated Destiny 2 players: Spend a lot of time killing a lot of stuff to get some shiny new clothes to wear so you look cooler than all of your friends.

Destiny 2 Solstice of Heroes runs from July 30 to August 27, and Destiny 2: Shadowkeep will be released on September 17.