Destiny 2's Season of the Haunted welcomed the return of Solstice today, which is the recurring summer event that was previously called Solstice of Heroes, this time with a twist. The whole event was reworked in a way that better fits the Triumphs and Seals that players can acquire in Destiny 2 by completing activities or objectives, and this summer, it comes with its own Seal called Flamekeeper. The goal is to create a year-round challenge by introducing another Seal that encompasses all four major events in Destiny 2: Solstice, Festival of the Lost, Dawning, and Guardian Games.
The new Solstice event launched with a sort of "event pass" in the form of the Solstice Card, which is made of multiple challenges to complete in order to obtain one of the newly introduced event-exclusive currencies and thus get better items. Upon completing all challenges throughout the three-week period that Solstice will be active, Destiny 2 players will eventually be able to complete the Flamekeeper Seal and acquire the associated Triumph for the Reveler Seal, which will become fully available at the end of Guardian Games next year. The new event card is a nice concept, but it may be a bit bare-boned in terms of substance.
Why the Solstice Card Needs Improvements in Future Destiny 2 Events
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The Solstice Card is free to all players, but it can be upgraded by spending real money. If Destiny 2 players decide to do so, purchasing the upgrade provides cosmetic items upon unlocking it, and then a few more cosmetic items when turning in "tickets," a new currency introduced with event-specific challenges. Tickets can only be redeemed through the upgraded version of the event card, and they serve no purpose otherwise, only awarding very few cosmetics that each have their own ticket cost.
The difference between the base free-for-all Solstice Card and the upgraded version is that the latter awards cosmetic items, including some that are not available from the get-go, making it more akin to a season pass. Players who don't complete the challenges won't be getting enough tickets to purchase the cosmetic items, which currently consist of an Exotic Emote, Exotic Ship, Legendary Transmat Effect, and Legendary Ghost Projection, all exclusive to the event. The other rewards that Destiny 2 players can grab right away are an Exotic Ghost Shell, an Exotic Emote, and a unique Shader.
For free-to-play players, however, the event card is not too different from other seasonal triumphs and challenges in the sense that it does provide a sense of progression by awarding a Solstice-exclusive material, but the overall feeling is that it's still the same grind. The challenges themselves are not that special either, with some of them requiring players to defeat iconic Destiny 2 enemies or completing specific objectives in the EAZ while Solstice is active. The event card could very well not exist at all and have all the associated cosmetic items up for sale in the store for Silver.
The idea is neat, but it needs something more going on in the future to be worth it, especially considering that Bungie will do the same thing with the remaining three events -- Festival of the Lost in Season 18, Dawning in Season 19, and Guardian Games post-Lightfall. The upgraded event card could provide more sought-after cosmetics or maybe selectable rewards, whereas the free Solstice Card could act like the free-to-play row of Destiny 2's Season Passes, providing materials and other goods. This would offer a greater sense of accomplishment, and it would provide players with a more meaningful grind that's not just the same old set of tasks locking event-exclusive currencies behind it for extra progression on the loot.
Destiny 2 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.