Summer's Here In Destiny 2 As Solstice Of Heroes Event Starts Next Week

The Solstice of Heroes is the next seasonal event on the Destiny 2 docket, and with it comes Bungie's yearly infusion of glowing armor for players to earn. As in years past, the event will send you to the floating islands of the European Aerial Zone, where you'll race against the clock to kill bosses and earn as many rewards as you can. The event starts on July 6 and runs until August 3.

The Solstice of Heroes comes with a bunch of unique gear for players to earn. In past years, players have grabbed a new set of Solstice armor at the start of the event, then ventured into the EAZ to complete objectives and slowly upgrade that armor to continually make it more powerful and more useful. The end result is always a really unique-looking armor set that glows based on the subclass you're using (although those glows usually require you to buy extra cosmetics from the premium currency Eververse Store).

It sounds like the EAZ will function in a largely similar way to past years. Players jump into the location as part of a three-player matchmade event, where the goal is to wipe out as many enemies as possible in a set amount of time. These fights culminate in rushing around to drop boss characters--the more bosses you defeat, the more special treasure chests you can open around the area at the end of the fight. Those chests are somewhat hidden, though, so you not only need to earn the right to open then, you then need to run as fast as you can to find some. Opening those chests earns you both Solstice Packages, which drop gear and materials, and Solstice Key Fragments, which can be converted into more Solstice Packages.

There's also mechanical element during the Solstice of Heroes that changes other activities. Each day, a specific elemental damage type is featured throughout Destiny 2, and killing enemies with weapons and abilities that use that damage type will drop Elemental Orbs. Pick those up, and you'll gain additional power-ups, like flames spreading out from your character that damage enemies. Those orbs are part of the EAZ activity, but they'll also pop up in most of the rest of Destiny 2 (although not in tougher pinnacle activities). So it pays to pay attention to the Solstice events and participate to power yourself up with Elemental Orbs for an additional edge.

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As for the loot you'll earn, in addition to the usual Solstice Armor, there's also a new legendary shotgun to earn called Compass Rose, a new emblem to get from Eva Levante, and an Exotic ghost shell. The latter sound like they'll be tied to different Triumphs you can earn throughout the Solstice event. You'll be able to get different stat rolls on Compass Rose from Solstice Packages.

The Solstice of Heroes also brings a bunch of summer-themed cosmetic items you can purchase from the Eververse Store. This year's items include a few that are beach- and sea-themed, but we'll have to wait until the event kicks off to get a sense of everything that will be available for the month of Solstice.

You can check out more details about the Solstice of Heroes on Bungie's website, including the rundown of how all the activities and mechanics will work.