Destiny 2: Forsaken is going to make future Iron Banners an easier grind

Last week in Destiny 2, there was a touch of the ol’ same same but different, as Lord Saladin returned and the Iron Banner was back in business. Control was once again the name of the game, sweet new armour drops were up for grabs and everybody was itching to try out their new Forsaken weapons in that arena.

What was different though, was that power truly mattered this time. If you were just hopping into Destiny 2 after the game was made available as a free download for PS Plus subscribers or you were returning after a long hiatus, you might have noticed that your Guardian was a tad bit outclassed by regular players who descended on you with the burning fury of an overpowered Dawnbreaker from up high.

Which was fun for me at least, and I can only imagine how that one Hunter with a light level of 93 must have felt after I clocked him at least a dozen times with my bow over on Vostok. Anyway, the Iron Banner is meant to be an event that helps lower level Guardians catch up to the grind by rewarding them with solid armour and weapons.

That gear can be earned from wins that reward Iron Banner tokens, or by completing several bounties for Saladin. Some of those bounties are easy enough to earn, while others have silly requirements that can only be met by players who jump into the Iron Banner and nothing else for a solid week. Bungie wants to change that.

In this week’s blog update, Senior Designer Jeremiah Pieschl detailed how Iron Banner bounties would have more realistic completion goals. “One of the goals we have for Iron Banner is that it’s an opportunity for lower-Power players to catch up or reengage in their pursuit of Power, Pieschl wrote.

Based on your feedback and our analytics, we’re not meeting that goal. There are two changes we’re making to help resolve this problem. The first change is to reduce the completion values for several of the event bounties. Currently it’s very difficult for a lower-Power player to complete the bounties due to the gameplay disadvantages they experience. The second change is that all bounties will now provide powerful gear.

In a few weeks, the next Iron Banner will have bounties that look something like this:

• Lightbearer: Super kills has been reduced to 20 from 25
• Iron in the Blood: Match completions has been reduced to 15 from 30
• Shine On: Orbs generated has been reduced to 50 from 100
• Iron Victory: Match wins has been reduced to 7 from 10
• To Be Precise: Precision kills has been reduced to 50 from 100
• All in a Week’s Work: Kills has been reduced to 150 from 250

I’m 100% down for these changes. When the Iron Banner rolls around, I usually find that according to my own personal skill level, I have to sit down for an easy hour per day if I want to complete the more stringent bounties across a week. Iron In The Blood and the Shine On bounties have been the culrpits here, as the rest of the bounties were far more manageable and were cashed in within a few days.

That being said, I’m all for an easier grind in the Iron Banner, as the current wealth of daily grinding is utterly superb right now in Forsaken. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an Ascendant challenge to finish that requires me getting high as f*** on some of the Queen’s tincture.

Last Updated: September 28, 2018