Destiny 2: what time Iron Banner kicks off today, plus a look at the armour, weapons and new map on offer
Iron Banner returns in Destiny 2 today. Here's what you need to know.
Destiny 2 players can revisit the glory of the Iron Lords as fan-favourite PvP event Iron Banner makes its debut in Bungie's sequel.
As part of our Destiny 2 guide, we'll keep this page updated with the latest details if Iron Banner becomes a monthly event, as it was in D1. Read on for all the details of this month's event, as well as informaiton on how Iron Banner functions in general.
October Iron Banner times and mode
The inaugural Destiny 2 Iron Banner kicks off at 2:00am PT/5:00am ET/10:00am UK/11:00am CET on Tuesday October 10, and will close at the same time on October 17.
Destiny 2's first Iron Banner will be played in Control mode. Unlike D1, Power scaling will not be in effect; your levels won't matter, while your skills will. Just like regular Crucible, then.
Iron Banner weapons and armour
Here's the armour on offer in Destiny 2's first Iron Banner:
Next week at Bungie… pic.twitter.com/U7i6KReQWA
— Bungie (@Bungie) October 5, 2017
Bungie has not provided further details but according to the details scraped from the Destiny 2 API by Destiny Tracker, the Hunter and Warlock armour set are both Heavy (favours Resistance) while the Titan set is restorative (favours Recovery).
The developer likewise let nothing slip about weapons, but new Iron Banner-themed weapons turned up on the Destiny 2 database. Look for The Guiding Sight scout rifle, The Time-worn Spire pulse rifle, The Steady Hand hand cannon, The Forward Path auto rifle, The Hero's Burden submachine gun, The Fool's Remedy sidearm, The Wizened Rebuke fusion rifle and The Day's Fury grenade launcher.
There doesn't seem to be a sword, sniper rifle or rocket launcher on offer. It's not clear whether these weapons will go live with this month's Iron Banner and if they'll be in the engram loot pool with the armour or what, but you can see images of them below. They're not as pretty as the armour, and seem pretty similar to D1 weapons.
New PvP map, Distant Shore
To celebrate the very first Iron Banner, Bungie is bringing a new map to Destiny 2. Called Distant Shore, it seems to have a fair bit in common with D1's Shores of Time. It will be added to standard Crucible playlists after Iron Banner concludes.
Tomorrow, we're adding a PVP map to Destiny 2 with Iron Banner. Distant Shore will be available in all playlists when the event ends. pic.twitter.com/oxcvts7Lkv
— Bungie (@Bungie) October 9, 2017
Distant Shore is the third new map to be added to Destiny 2 in free updates since release; the other two accompanied the Leviathan Raid and Trials of the Nine launches. It's the first one that's seemed so much like a throwback to a D1 map, though.
Iron Banner basics – how to get your loot
In Destiny 2's version of Iron Banner, players will no longer complete bounties and earn ranks, but will instead earn engrams by turning in Iron Banner tokens to Lord Saladin. You'll find him in the Tower after reset; return to orbit and come back if you don't see him immediately.
As with other Destiny 2 vendors, Iron Banner tokens are earned for participating in the associated activity. In this case that means completing Iron Banner matches, and you get more for a win. Bungie hasn't said whether there will be Challenges you can leverage to earn extra tokens, but we'd assume so – just like most Activities in Destiny 2. Be sure to equip any Ghost shells with extra token perks to maximise your winnings, though.
It doesn't sound like Iron Banner will award Luminous engrams, so don't expect to reap huge Power benefits if you're already in Destiny 2's levelling endgame.
Bungie has also said that Destiny 2 introduces Daily and Season Milestones for Iron Banner. What in the hell are Seasons? We'd all like to know, as there's also mention of that on the Clan page. Bungie intends to announce the details at Twitchcon. You can tune into Bungie's Twitchcon stream from 4:30pm PT on October 20. Check that time in your timezone here.
Stay tuned for details right here, of course.
