Destiny 2’s Iron Banner will look different when it lands on the servers next week—and the week after that. The mode is getting two weeks in the sun with the game’s shift to episodes, with one mode each week and two new weapons up for grabs while it lasts.
While the celebration traditionally only stays available for one week, “Iron Banner will now be a two-week event and the main PvP focus for that time,” Bungie outlined in a blog post today, indicating Trials of Osiris may not be available for the duration of the Destiny 2 event.
The change to a longer Iron Banner stems from the episode format and takes up data from past experiments with the mode. Season of the Wish let players choose between Control and other game types, which led to “a negative effect on both matchmaking times and match quality” due to thinner matchmaking pools. In the first act of Echoes, the first week will run with Control, while guardians who dive into the second reset can play Tribute.
For both weeks of the event, players can get their hands on reprised versions of the Crimil’s Dagger hand cannon and the Claws of the Wolf pulse rifle. Crimil’s is an Aggressive Frame (120rpm) hand cannon that maintains its Kinetic element and gets both a bump in stats and a new perk pool. Claws of the Wolf returns as a Void Rapid-Fire frame with Zen Moment and Headseeker (though PvE players may probably fall back to Elsie’s Rifle if it’s better for PvE).
Guardians who dive into the event can find those weapons at ranks four and seven with Saladin’s reputation track, which shouldn’t take too long to reach. Bungie is being extra generous with Iron Banner, too, taking an approach similar to the Trials of Osiris Engram changes. Winning a match guarantees a weapon drop and has a high chance of awarding an Engram, but losing also has a bigger drop chance than before.
This model likely follows Iron Banner’s usual challenge schedule, with time-gated challenges released each day granting players more XP toward Lord Saladin. Wearing Iron Banner cosmetics (even an emblem) gets you more reputation, though.
The next Iron Banner kicks off on July 2, lasting until July 16.
