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Destiny Iron Banner Returning Next Week, Changes Detailed
Bungie’s weekly update brings us news about next week’s relaunch of the Iron Banner Crucible tournament, the first since the update deployed on April 12. The game type for the level-enabled monthly event is set to be Clash, otherwise known in the worlds beyond the Crucible as team deathmatch. While it doesn’t sound like we’ll see any substantial gameplay changes to Iron Banner, other than those inherent to balance readjustments already in place from the April Update, Bungie has detailed a number of changes to how rewards are being handled for this week-long tournament.
The biggest change is that Legendary engrams have been pulled out of the loot table, so there’s now a higher chance of actual Iron Banner gear dropping at the end of a match. You also won’t need to wait until you hit Rank 2 to get a chance at an Iron Banner equipment drops; those will be available after every match, no matter your rank. Bungie also tracked down a logic issue that was preventing some players from getting appropriate drops in the lead-up to rank 5; that problem has been addressed, so all players can now look forward to sharing in the prizes.
As detailed in the April Update notes, other Iron Banner changes are also likely to make a big quality-of-life difference. Rank 3 packages will now drop a 320 artifact, and rank 5 reward packages will include a 320 ghost. A couple of challenging bounties have been adjusted down in difficulty, including the Iron Domination bounty, which now only demands a match completion with 1500 points, rather than a match win with 2500 points.
Bungie also showed off the Iron Banner Auto Rifle and Rocket Launcher in this week's update, implying those may be the weapons on sale from Lord Saladin during the event.
In general, players who participate should expect rewards more tied to the Iron Banner event than we’ve previously seen, and as promised, Iron Banner should be a valid route to help move your Guardian towards the new light 335 cap.
Get your first shot at all the big loot on April 26.
[Source: Bungie]
Our Take
I’ve had several positive experiences with game modes, loot collection, and reworked and rebalanced systems in Destiny since the April Update, despite some frustrations with some of the repeated activities and a dislike of the new microtransaction model. Iron Banner is invariably a fun and challenging week of PvP, and I’m looking forward to testing my skills once again. Here’s hoping the selection of Iron Banner maps is a good mix for Clash; good or bad map options can make or break the event.
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