Destiny 2's "Solstice of Heroes" event is one of the longest grind in a game that is not afraid to put its players through the ringer. The annual event keeps the Guardians busy with everything from traversing various playlists to defeating billions of enemies, collecting tens of billions of orbs, and trying not to go insane. Frankly, most players will be glad to have something new to do (even if it's something they've already done a billion times), especially since the Beyond Light expansion has been delayed until November 10.

This year's summer solstice runs from August 11 to September 8 and will begin with a weekly reset next Tuesday. Once again, the European Aerial Zone Activity is back, this time with pairs of three Guardians who must clear enemy waves, defeat bosses, and open chests. This activity is fairly simple, but that doesn't mean it isn't fun.

The elbow grease is worth it, and you get the flashy, shiny armor pictured above. But here's where things get a little complicated. This is because players who have acquired the armor have been disappointed to find that it has been largely replaced (in terms of potential power) by new gear that will drop in the next expansion. This time, because of the new approach regarding how gear "sunsets," that will not be the case. In short, the 2020 Solstice will remain relevant for 12 months, i.e., until next year's event.

However, a potentially contentious point remains. Upgrading the armor by achieving various goals will transform it into a new, more luxurious version. To unlock the final "Magnificent" set, the following goals must be accomplished:

High-end PvP is not for everyone, and the trial element will likely frustrate some players. If you complete the shopping list, your armor will glow white. Frankly, I find this a bit gaudy, but historically players have loved these cosmetics. What they adamantly do not like is paying for the effect, and there is a cost to changing the white glow to a colored one. Here is what Bungie's weekly blog had to say:

"Earning the Majestic Legendary set unlocks the option to purchase the Universal Ornament set from Eververse in either Silver Dust or Bright Dust. This ornament will change its glow to match the color of your elemental subclass. Unlike last year, there is no need to purchase individual color glows. Each class set will be able to display three different elemental glows to match the subclass you are equipping at the time."

If we are to believe the data miners, whether you use Bright Dust or Silver (which is essentially "real" money), the Color Glow is priced quite expensive. And it seems to be true: according to TodayInDestiny, each set of glow is 6000 Bright Dust (which you can earn by playing the game, which is expensive) or 1500 Silver, which comes to $15 per set in the usual Steam conversion. Whichever method you choose, it's not cheap.

The good news is that these shiny variants are universal ornaments, which means that the current version of the game's transmog can be used to make your non-Solstice gear look gorgeous. (Bungie is working on a more built-up system for the second half of Year 4.) Happily, when Beyond Light arrives, a fourth coloring will be added to the glow to reflect the new Stasis subclass. It is the following, a slightly darker blue than Arc.

Of course, other cosmetic items will also be available in the Eververse MTX store. And as you can already tell from this screed, I intend to do all this Solstice stuff and buy some stuff. At this stage I am beginning to wonder if there is a problem here.