Destiny 2's 2022 Solstice: A Guardian's Retrospective on Bonfire Bash and God Rolls
Destiny 2's Solstice 2022 Event Card and Bonfire Bash made armor upgrades and stat rerolls a standout seasonal event.
As a Destiny 2 veteran, I've seen my fair share of seasonal events, but the 2022 Solstice revamp still stands out in my memory. Bungie took the familiar Solstice of Heroes formula and turned it on its head, introducing the Event Card system, the Bonfire Bash activity, and a stat rerolling system that made chasing god rolls a reality. Now, in 2026, looking back at that event feels like a nostalgic trip—one that I'm happy to guide you through.
What Was Solstice?
Solstice was a PvE event that ran from July 19 to August 9, 2022. Guardians received a new armor set to upgrade by completing Event Card challenges. This armor could be upgraded to grant some of the highest-stat Legendary armor in the game, and it could be visually customized with unique glows—a universal white glow provided for free if you completed all Event Card challenges. You could also obtain the Something New Hand Cannon, the first 120 RPM Stasis Hand Cannon in Destiny 2's sandbox.
Most players spent their time in Bonfire Bash, an activity exclusive to Solstice. Guardians were deployed to a floating island called the EAZ where they had to defeat as many Ignition Carriers as possible in a limited timeframe. Completing this activity upgraded your armor, obtained new items, and gave you 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 gave you a Solstice-themed Event Card. This acted as your main source of rewards throughout the event, granting rewards for each challenge you completed. Similar to Seasonal Challenges, your Event Card was broken up into multiple challenge categories. Complete the challenge, then claim it to receive a reward.
You could access your Event Card at any time by opening your Quests tab. It appeared right next to the Seasonal Challenges UI element. Select it to view your current challenge progress. All armor challenges were converted into Event Card challenges, so you had to inspect your Event Card to view your event progress. Thanks to this change, armor challenges became account-bound instead of character-bound.
Nearly every Event Card challenge granted Event Tickets as a reward. This was a new currency exclusive to Destiny 2 events that you could redeem for thematic rewards. These tended to be in the form of emotes, ships, etc. Solstice armor sets and glows were not part of the Event Card.
Free Vs. Paid Event Card
Bungie treated the Solstice Event Card similarly to a Season Pass. While you could redeem your Event Tickets for Solstice-themed goodies, additional rewards became available if you spent 1,000 Silver on a premium rewards track for the Event Card. You did not need to purchase the Event Card to access Solstice armor glows or challenges.
In essence, you were getting a bundle of Ghost Shells, ships, and emotes when you purchased this Event Card. Here's a quick breakdown:
| Free Event Card Rewards | Upgraded Event Card Rewards |
|---|---|
| Kindling | Event Cards |
| Flamekeeper Title | All Around The Bonfire – Emblem |
| Hyperborean Pinion – Sparrow | |
| Hot Dog Eating Champ – Emote | |
| Sunny Vacation Shell – Ghost Shell | |
| Iris Gossamer – Shader | |
| Skateboarding – Emote | |
| Platinum Osprey – Ship | |
| Peach Spotlight Effects – Transmat Effect | |
| Bitten Cookie Projection – Ghost Shell Projection |
Bonfire Bash Explained
Bonfire Bash was a Solstice-exclusive activity where Guardians had to build a bonfire from the remains of slain enemies. This replaced the EAZ activity featured in previous Solstice events. All Bonfire Bash matches occurred in the EAZ—European Aerial Zone, for short—a floating island consisting of many EDZ buildings and locales.
You'd spawn near the center of the island. Some enemies were minibosses called Ignition Carriers, marked on your HUD with diamond icons. Slain carriers dropped an Igniter, a white orb used to stoke the bonfire at the center of the map. In essence, you'd be killing minibosses, grabbing their orbs, throwing them at the bonfire, and repeating the process for eight minutes.
Upon depositing an Igniter, there was a chance the Taken would intervene, preventing further progress. You had to travel to the Taken Interference marked on your HUD. Defeat the Taken guarding the Blight, destroy the Blight, and repeat two more times. This reignited the bonfire, letting you continue as normal. Trust me, that Taken interference was a pain, but it kept things spicy.
The end of a Bonfire Bash run spawned a Taken boss next to the bonfire. You had unlimited time to defeat this enemy. Killing the boss ended the run, dropping items and converted Silver Ash near the bonfire. The more Solstice armor you had equipped, the more Silver Leaves you'd convert and the more armor would drop. Throwing more Igniters into the bonfire also increased your end-of-match loot.
Upgrading Your Armor
The Solstice armor set could be upgraded by completing Event Card challenges and obtaining new event-exclusive currencies. You could upgrade your armor to glow, and you could reroll the stats on your Solstice pieces to create perfect stat distributions.
Infusing an item with maximum Kindling unlocked a white glow for all Solstice armor in that slot. This glow was permanent and persisted after Solstice ended. Should you have any alternate characters, their Solstice armor would also glow. The glow only applied to that year's armor set; past armor sets wouldn't retroactively get a white glow if you finished all challenges.
Additionally, the Eververse store sold a variant of the Solstice armor that contained subclass-specific glow. Your currently equipped subclass would change the color of these glows:
-
Arc: Light blue
-
Solar: Orange
-
Void: Purple
-
Stasis: Dark blue
This armor set cost 6,000 Bright Dust or 1,500 Silver. You could purchase it at any time during the Solstice event. Previous armor sets from 2020 and 2021 were also available.
Armor Stat Rerolling
You could reroll the stats of all Solstice armor you obtained for the duration of the event. As with most new systems in Destiny, this came with its own bundle of currencies you needed to farm. Here's how armor rerolling worked:
-
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.
Three currencies were tied to Solstice's armor rerolling system:
-
Silver Leaves: Obtained from activity completions while wearing Solstice armor. Converted into Silver Ashes through Bonfire Bash.
-
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'd 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 was used to unlock armor focusing options. This was more than worth the effort, as an armor piece with maximum Kindling granted +20 to your stat bias, making this the best high-stat armor farm in the game.
Silver Leaves were your main limiter. I recommend farming strikes or PvP matches to earn them quickly. Play a few games to build up a stockpile, then play a few games of Bonfire Bash to refine your materials. Rinse and repeat. Man, that was a grind, but the payoff was sweet.
Solstice 2022 Rewards: Something New God Rolls
The new weapon that year was Something New, a Stasis 120 Hand Cannon. This was the first Stasis 120 RPM Hand Cannon in Destiny 2, and it contained some solid perk combinations. You could also obtain the Compass Rose Shotgun from the previous year. A new title, Flamekeeper, could also be earned.
Something New was one of three Hand Cannons that dealt Stasis damage, immediately giving it value with PvE Stasis builds. It could roll with Headstone as expected, but it could also roll with the exceedingly rare perk combination of Wellspring and Demolitionist. This made Something New one of the best energy-generating weapons in Destiny 2, provided you could land consistent kills. You could also get a roll with Feeding Frenzy and Multikill Clip if you just wanted a consistent feeling 120. For PvE, Something New was a must-grab for Hand Cannon fans.
PvP didn't fare as well for this gun. It had average base stats yet a fantastic PvP Origin Trait: Dream Work. It auto-reloaded a portion of your magazine upon landing an assist. This effect could overflow your magazine, similar to Overflow or Enhanced Pulse Monitor. As for perks, not many improved consistency for Something New. The first column was down to preference, but consider using Harmony to deal bonus damage after you landed a kill with your second weapon. Don't bother with Multikill Clip; Dream Work prevented you from activating it most of the time. If you were playing 3v3 modes, consider Wellspring with Well-Rounded to improve the gun's general consistency. It wouldn't outperform Steady Hands, but it could hold its own.
Recommended Perks:
| Slot | Perk |
|---|---|
| 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 |
Final Thoughts
The 2022 Solstice event was a game-changer. It introduced systems that would shape future events, and it gave players a reason to grind for perfect armor. I still remember the thrill of finally getting that white glow on my entire set. If you missed it, well, you missed out on a piece of Destiny 2 history. But hey, at least we have the memories—and the god rolls.