Let me tell you, fellow Guardians, logging into the Tower for the 2026 Solstice event felt like coming home for the holidays, only to find your grandma, Eva Levante, has replaced her usual batch of cookies with a stack of paperwork taller than a Cabal Phalanx's shield. Gone are the days of simply throwing on some shiny gear and mindlessly chucking orbs into a bonfire. Nope, Bungie decided we needed a little more... structure in our summer festivities. So now, we're bounty hunters, but instead of hunting Fallen, we're hunting for a new currency called Armor Alloy. Each piece of that sweet, sweet new armor set? That'll be 100 Alloy, please. And you want it to glow? Fork over more Alloy, buddy. As I stood there, staring at Eva's new "Solstice Forge" interface, I knew the grind was on. This year's armor is absolutely stunning—some of the best designs they've ever cooked up—so the question wasn't "if" I'd get it, but "how fast can I get it before I lose my mind?"
How The Solstice Forge Actually Works (Or, How to Befriend the Bounty Board)
So, here's the drill. Eva hands you a quest and introduces you to her new toy, the Solstice Forge. This is your mission control, your war room, your... okay, it's basically a fancy bounty board with extra steps. You need to run a few rounds of the Bonfire Bash activity to unlock the real magic: the ability to refresh your bounties. This is crucial because the bounties you get are totally random. You might get a nice, easy "get 50 precision kills" bounty, or you might get "complete two raid encounters" while blindfolded. (Okay, maybe not blindfolded, but it feels that way sometimes).
The lifeblood of this operation is Silver Leaves. You use these to:
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Purchase new bounties from the Forge.
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Re-roll your current bounty options if they're all terrible.
Completing a bounty rewards you with Armor Alloy, ranging from a measly 5 to a glorious 50. Do the math: 5 pieces of armor x 100 Alloy each = a lot of bounties. The Forge is a constant cycle of earn, spend, and pray to the Traveler for good RNG.
Best Ways To Earn Armor Alloy Without Losing Your Sanity
Let's be real, those 50-Alloy bounties are like a shiny Exotic engram sitting across a pit of screebs—tempting but dangerous. They often demand you dive into endgame content. As a seasoned player with more builds than Shaxx has helmets, I can handle them, but they take time. One bounty asked me to complete two dungeon encounters. That's not a quick Tuesday night activity; that's a commitment.
My strategy? Diversify your bounty portfolio. Don't put all your eggs in one "Complete a Grandmaster Nightfall" basket. Here's my personal approach:
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Grab 1-2 high-value bounties that align with activities I was planning to do anyway (e.g., "Complete 3 Vanguard Ops Strikes" for 25 Alloy).
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Fill the remaining slots with low-effort, high-reward bounties. Think "Get Solar ability kills" or "Defeat Combatants with a Fusion Rifle."
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Always be earning Silver Leaves. I never run a playlist activity (Strikes, Crucible, Gambit) without a full set of bounties that can progress within it. You're killing two birds with one Gjallarhorn shot: completing bounties for Alloy and stocking up on Leaves to get more bounties.
It's a beautiful, if slightly soul-crushing, cycle of productivity.
How to Farm Silver Leaves Like a True Cheeselord
Okay, confession time. Sometimes you just don't want to deal with blueberries in matchmaking. Sometimes you need Leaves, and you need them now. Enter the most glorious, game-breaking (but totally allowed!) farming method I've used since the Loot Cave in the Cosmodrome.
You create a private Crucible match. Here's the setup that changed my life:
| Setting | What to Pick | Why It's Genius |
|---|---|---|
| Game Mode | Zone Control | Fast, objective-based scoring. |
| Score to Win | 25 | You can end the match in minutes. |
| Super Regeneration | MAXIMUM | Become a walking orb factory. |
| Map | Something small (e.g., The Burnout) | Less running, more capping. |
You load in solo, sprint from zone to zone capturing them. You hit 25 points in what feels like 90 seconds. Boom. Silver Leaves earned. If you have bounties for generating Orbs of Power or getting ability kills, you can spam your Super constantly thanks to the max regeneration. It's mindless, it's efficient, and it feels a little bit dirty (in the best way). This method lets you stockpile Leaves rapidly, ensuring you never run dry when you see a perfect bounty you need to re-roll for.
The Solstice grind in Destiny 2 has always been a ritual, a test of our dedication to looking fabulous. With this new bounty-driven system, it's more strategic than ever. But with a mix of smart bounty management, activity synergy, and a little private Crucible "me-time," you'll be decked out in that fully glowing, magnificent armor set before you can say "Eva's back in town." Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date with a Zone Control flag. The glow won't earn itself!
