Destiny 2: Solstice of Heroes recalls past glories and 'Moments of Triumph'

Bungie has revealed the details about the big Solstice of Heroes event coming to Destiny 2, the festival wrapping up the game's first year, which will get underway on July 31. A great Statue of Heroes will be erected at the Tower, from which Guardians can acquire a new set of upgradeable armor and access "Redux" missions that put new, more challenging twists on hand-selected campaign stories.   

This, as Bungie related in today's update, is the celebration of humanity's resilience that was supposed to take place when the Red Legion came calling last year: Guardians dressed in ceremonial armor, gathered to celebrate the victory of Six Fronts. With the threat of Ghaul now (mostly) disposed of, it's time to try again. 

"During this time of celebration, Guardians will once again don the now-broken ceremonial armor from the day the City was lost to the Red Legion," Bungie wrote. "They do this for many reasons: to remind themselves of what it's like to not be invincible; to challenge themselves and thus inspire the City even more; and to eventually reforge that broken gear into something stronger... just as humanity has been broken and reforged over and over again for hundreds of years." 

It's all very Eye of the Tiger, but there's a gameplay angle to it as well. Visit the Statue of Heroes and you'll be given an uncommon "Scorched" armor set at power level 240, with objectives attached to each piece that will enable it to be upgraded. Once it's fully upgraded, you'll get the "Rekindled" set at power level 340, with new objectives, and after that the "Resplendent" set at power 400, with a final set of objectives that will unlock the Masterwork version. 

Each upgraded set will have an increasingly elaborate look, but if you prefer one of the earlier styles, you can opt for that instead, on each or all pieces, without losing the increased power level. 

The beginning of the Solstice of Heroes will also see the final five Moments of Triumph added to the game. Moments of Triumph award points for completing tasks ranging from finishing the Red War Campaign to beating the Eater of Worlds and Spire of Stars raid lairs, with rewards including a Ghost shell, Sparrow, and emblem granted at various point totals. Moments of Triumph were actually enabled on July 7, so it's possible you've been ringing them points without realizing it, but the final Triumphs won't be available (or even revealed) until Solstice of Heroes goes live. 

The Solstice of Heroes will also see a new Solstice Engram available from the Eververse Store, which will drop unique items, emotes, and armor glows, and the five "Redux" missions that tell key moments from the Destiny 2 campaign, with "slight alterations" that will give them an added challenge. 

In preparation for the big day, Bungie rolled out a new update today that brings 6v6 Quickplay to the Crucible, adds Vanguard and Crucible Bounties, updates the Iron Banner, makes changes to Prestige Raid Lairs, and more. Bungie talked more about what's coming in that in a Developer Update video below, and you can dive into the full patch notes at bungie.net.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.