Iron Banner Guide for Echoes in Destiny 2

Iron Banner is back in Destiny 2, this time it’s back for two weeks, and Valus Forge to returns to the Tower for this PVP event. We’ve got some changes this season, new and returning loot, plus all the regular challenges and some classic armor sets returning. Today I’m going to cover all the Iron Banner details, so you can jump right into Iron Banner in Destiny 2.

When is Iron Banner?

Iron Banner is back and we’ve got double Iron Banner to kick things off in Echoes.

Start: Tuesday 2nd July
End: Tuesday 16th July

Given we have 3 acts in Episode 1 Echoes, I would assume we have 3 helpings of Iron Banner, once per Act, but Bungie haven’t confirmed future Iron Banner timing, so keep an eye out on the channel and I’ll let you know through the weekly reset updates.

How to get started

To get started in Iron Banner you’ll first want to go to the Tower and speak to Lord Saladin. You can find Lord Saladin front and centre when you land in the Courtyard. Iron Banner is free for all players, and if you haven’t played Iron Banner before then there is a quick introduction quest to get through, but you only have to do this once per account. When Iron Banner is on, you can access it via the Cruicble section in the Director, and Iron Banner replaces the Control Node for the entire week, plus Trials of Osiris is cancelled when Iron Banner is around.

To get the most out of Iron Banner play Iron Banner matches to get XP, this XP will level you at with Lord Saladin, get Iron Banner engrams through leveling up or as random drops at the end of matches, then either decrypt your engrams as per normal, or trade-in your Iron Banner engrams with Lord Saladin. Iron Banner is objective focused PVP, with a rotating game mode each season. Play matches level up, and get Iron Banner-themed weapons, armor, plus the Iron Lord Title.

Changes to Iron Banner

Iron Banner is now a 2 week event. In the first week we’ll have one variant of Iron Banner, then in the second week things will be switched up. For example, in week one we’ll be playing Control PVP, then in the second week we have Tribute.

Control is standard capture the zone style PVP. Tribute is similar to Supremacy, given when you defeat enemies they drop crests. You’ll have to take these to a Tribute station, and this will earn you points when you bank them.

Last season Bungie did some experimenting with players selecting the game mode, plus this split the player base, so they are experimenting again with the two week version of Iron Banner and one mode per week. This is the first time we’ve had two weeks of Iron Banner in a row, so I’d be interested to hear what you think about it.

Iron Banner God Rolls

There will be two weapons added to Iron Banner during Echoes. The first weapon is a renewed Crimil’s Dagger. It’s still a Kinetic Aggressive Hand Cannon, but now it comes with a small bump to its stats and perks like Precision Instrument or Kill Clip. The other weapon available is Claws of the Wolf, a Rapid-Fire Frame Void Pulse Rifle with fan-favorite perks like Headseeker and Zen Moment, although the new perks like To the Pain are worth checking out, too.

Getting many rolls for these weapons will be easier, too. You’ll still need to unlock them first to drop (by getting Ranks 4 and 7 with Saladin), but then you’ll have a good chance to earn them as post-match rewards. Wins now guarantee a random Iron Banner weapon while also having a very high chance to award an Iron Banner engram on top of that. As for defeats, both weapon drops and engrams have a higher drop rate, too. So, you can either get the roll you are chasing as a random drop or by focusing an engram with Saladin.

Lets have a look at the god rolls for Echoes.

Crimil’s Dagger

For PVE Fastdraw HCS, Appended Mag, Outlaw, and Kill Clip would be good.

Fastdraw HCS – Greatly increases handling speed, Slightly increases stability
Appended Mag – Increases magazine size
Outlaw – Precision kills greatly decrease reload time.
Kill Clip – Reloading after a kill grants increased damage.

For PVP Crossfire HCS, Accurized Rounds, Rangefinder, and Opening Shot would be good.

Crossfire HCS – Increases range, Slightly decreases stability, Slightly decreases handling speed
Accurized Rounds – Increases range
Rangefinder – Aiming this weapon increases its effective range and zoom magnification.
Opening Shot – Increased damage on the opening shot of the attack

Claws of the Wolf

For PVE Arrowhead Brake, Flared Magwell, Repulsor Brace and Destabilizing Rounds would be good.

Arrowhead Brake – Greatly controls recoil, Increases handling speed
Flared Magwell – Slightly increases stability, Greatly increases reload speed
Repulsor Brace – Defeating a Void-debuffed target grants an overshield.
Destabilizing Rounds – Final blows cause nearby targets to become volatile.

For PVP Arrowhead Brake, Ricochet Rounds, Headseeker and Zen Moment would be good.

Arrowhead Brake – Greatly controls recoil, Increases handling speed
Ricochet Rounds – Increases stability, Slightly increases range
Headseeker – Body shots landed with this weapon increase precision damage and aim assist for a short time. Body shots landed while the perk is active refresh the time.
Zen Moment – Causing damage with this weapon reduces recoil and flinch over time.

Iron Banner Challenges

Challenges are available for Iron Banner and you can find these by hovering over the Iron Banner node in the Director. For example, it could be complete Iron Banner matches with a void or stasis subclass. Complete Iron Banner challenges and you’ll earn powerful upgrades to help you level up. Completing Iron Banner challenges also give you XP boosts. On the first day of Iron Banner you’ll only see one challenge, then more challenges get released each day at reset time, each challenge offers you a pinnacle reward that will help you level up. You can see which XP boosters are active when you select the Iron Banner game mode, it’s on the left hand side.

Daily Iron Banner challenges have been split into 2 series. Each series has 4 challenges rolled out daily over the week.

Series 1: Players complete Iron Banner matches (with no restrictions) to earn Iron Banner Rank bonus multipliers.

Series 2: Players earn points in Iron Banner as a Seasonal subclass to earn Pinnacle rewards.

Reputation boosts

Wearing Iron Banner gear (weapons and armor), using an Iron Banner emblem, and completing Saladin’s daily challenges will get you more XP faster, as these give you reputation boosts.

Classic armor

Iron Banner has some of the best looking armor, and you can get classic sets by speaking to Lord Saladin and checking out the legacy armor. Lord Saladin recently got an upgrade when it comes to his loot system, so speak to him in the tower and check out his legacy focusing options, and you’ll be able to exchange Iron Banner engrams for focused loot. The good thing about this returning armor is they will be available to all players, you don’t have to have they previously drop to be able to access them, so these classic Iron Banner sets will be available for all players.

Iron Lord Title

Finally we have the Iron Lord Title, which you can find on the second page of the titles and seals. This is going to be a grind, including resetting your Iron Banner rank twice with Lord Saladin, however, it’s one of the best titles to get in the game, and allows you to show off your dedication to Iron Banner.

That’s about it for Iron Banner in Echoes. Let me know in the comments what you think.