Iron Banner is back in Destiny 2 for two weeks, and Saladin to returns to the Tower for this PVP event. We’ve got a brand new stasis rocket assisted sidearm, plus some great new armor to chase, so you’ll want to jump into Iron Banner in Act 2 of Revenant. Today I’m going to cover all the Iron Banner details, so you can jump right into Iron Banner in Destiny 2.
Changes to Iron Banner this Episode
For the first week we’re getting the Control variant of Iron Banner, the classic control the zone game mode. We also have a brand new weapon arriving in Act 2 called Tinasha’s Mastery, this is a stasis rocket-assisted sidearm and no doubt will be the most popular weapon in the game as soon as it releases given the popularity of this archetype of weapon and the fact it’s stasis to supercharge those stasis builds. Finally we have some new Iron Banner armor, which is some of the better looking Iron Banner armor in recent times, so this Iron Banner is a great time to jump in and get some new loot.
When is Iron Banner?
Iron Banner is back and we’ve got double Iron Banner to kick things off in Echoes.
Start: Tuesday 26th November
End: Tuesday 10th December
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.
Iron Banner God Rolls
The one to look out for is going to be the rocket-assisted sidearm called Tinasha’s Mastery. 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.
Tinasha’s Mastery Rocket-assisted Sidearm
Tinasha’s Mastery is a powerful new Stasis Rocket Sidearm introduced to Destiny 2 during Revenant. This Iron Banner reward has a collection of great perks that make it a must-have for PvE players and one that Crucible veterans should consider investigating. If you can find a god roll, hold onto it, as it may be your key to clearing out Champions with ease.
How to get Tinasha’s Mastery
Tinasha’s Mastery is an Iron Banner weapon drop, meaning it is only available during a very short window in Destiny 2. You can earn this by ranking up with Lord Saladin, at which point it will be available as a potential reward after completing a match. Once unlocked, try focusing engrams at Saladin to get the roll you want. Check out our Iron Banner schedule to see when the mode is arriving next.
Tinasha’s Mastery god roll PvE
Quick Launch (Velocity +10, Handling +15)
Appended Mag (Magazine +3)
Air Trigger (Increased ammo reserves. When airborne, accuracy and reload speed are increased but target acquisition is decreased)
Chill Clip (Direct hits with the top half of the magazine cause a detonation that slows nearby targets)
Origin Trait Skulking Wolf (While at low health, Guardian final blows with this weapon grant enhanced radar and remove you from opposing radar)
Tinasha’s Mastery god roll – PvP
Quick Launch (Velocity +10, Handling +15)
High-Velocity Rounds (Velocity +10, Reload Speed +10)
Impulse Amplifier (Massively increases projectile velocity, increases reload speed)
Adagio (After defeating a target, this weapon fires, charges, or draws more slowly and deals increased damage for a brief time)
Archon’s Thunder Machine Gun
Archon’s Thunder Legendary Power Machine Gun with a High-Impact Frame meaning the weapon is slow-firing and has high damage. This weapon is more accurate when stationary and aiming down sights. Looking at the stats we have Impact 70, Range 68, Stability 25, Handling 40, Reload Speed 40, Rounds Per Minute 360, and Magazine 44.
For PVE Rangefinder and Rampage would be a good roll. Mulligan and Thresh would also be a good roll for PvE. For PVP Quickdraw and Snapshot Sights would be good, or there is Killing Wind and Iron Grip.
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.
XP 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 Revenant. Let me know in the comments what you think.