Almost halfway through the third year of Destiny 2, many players are lost for words at the lack of PvP related updates since the release of Forsaken. While Trials of Osiris is rumored to return very soon, outside of chasing after the rank of Legend in the Survival playlist, for the past two years PvP players have had little more to look forward to than Iron Banner; a monthly PvP mode that doesn't compare to its former glory days in Destiny 1's Rise of Iron expansion.
The Iron Banner has long been a staple endgame activity for Destiny's PvP, dating as far back as the Destiny 1 Public Beta in July 2014. Throughout both Destiny and Destiny 2's lifecycle, the Iron Banner has taken place every month, lasting for one week and promising exclusive Iron Banner themed gear and weapons to those with a high enough Power Level to compete. Iron Banner was in its prime during the final year of Destiny 1 but has struggled to recapture that same magic in Destiny 2. For Trials of Osiris to stand a chance of matching its own former glory days, Bungie needs to redeem Iron Banner and the best way to do that is to learn from what worked for it the first time around.
The Current State of Destiny 2's Iron Banner
The current state of Iron Banner in Destiny 2 has left many players upset, and it's easy to understand why when the two versions of the mode are polar opposites. In Destiny 2: Shadowkeep, Iron Banner continues to be a monthly event that lasts for one week at a time with power advantages finally being enabled for Destiny 2: Forsaken. To rank up with Lord Saladin and earn rewards, players must turn in a total of 20 tokens and in exchange will receive an RNG-based engram that pulls from the Iron Banner loot pool. Winning an Iron Banner match rewards 10 tokens, losing a match rewards 5 tokens, and completing any of the bounties will reward 25 tokens, as well as a powerful drop.
When it comes to new Iron Banner gear, Bungie has done a great job so far at updating the loot pool each season, offering unique rewards for players to earn. However, following the release of Destiny 2: Shadowkeep and the Armor 2.o system, Season of Dawn was the first to receive a revamped version of the Season One gear and players are required to complete a fairly lengthy questline to earn the new gear before any tokens can be turned in (including leftover from past events). Other significant complaints can be tied to the lack of any new weapons over the last few seasons, the reliance on skill-based matchmaking, and the fact that no other game modes are playable outside of a single variant of Control.
The Rise of Iron Expansion
Iron Banner went through a number of major structural changes throughout Destiny 1's lifecycle with the most significant and positive changes releasing alongside the Rise of Iron expansion in 2016. During this time, rather than the Destiny 2 token system, players leveled up each faction and vendor by earning reputation points (rep) after completing activities or bounties. While most vendors didn't have a level cap, the highest rank that players could achieve with Lord Saladin in Iron Banner was Rank 5 (requiring a total of 8500 rep) and the rank would be reset at the end of each event.
Winning an Iron Banner match rewarded 250 rep, losing would reward no rep but drop an Iron Medallion which could be stacked up to 5 and awarded 150 rep each after the player's next win, and completing bounties from Lady Efrideet (Saladin's replacement in Year 3) gave players a massive boost of 750 rep. To earn Iron Banner rewards such as Shaders, Emblems, and Iron Banner Gear and Weapons, players would need to reach the item's respective rank in the event and purchase it directly from Efrideet or wait for a random drop at the end of the match. Bungie even went as far as removing Rare drops and non-Iron Banner Legendary drops from the loot pool entirely. Drops were frequent and plentiful and took enough time and effort to earn to feel rewarding.
How to Improve Iron Banner in Destiny 2
To bring Iron Banner back to the pinnacle PvP endgame activity that it once was, the progress made in the original Destiny needs to be built upon. First of all, while the token system could remain intact theoretically (look at Valor Ranks and Crucible Tokens), the primary form of leveling and way to earn Iron Banner gear and weapons needs to come from a reputation-based system similar to the already in place Glory Rank in the competitive Survival playlist. Allowing players to rank up and purchase gear directly from Lord Saladin and removing Rare and non-Iron Banner legendary drops would go a long way to make players feel like their time is valued.
The next most important change required is the addition of new game modes and quality of life changes to the playlist. Adjusting the playlist to remove or tone down skill-based matchmaking, placing a high emphasis on Power Level advantage, and replicating the Survival playlist's solo-queue freelance option to avoid always being matched against Fireteams would make a huge difference to the overall experience for the majority of players. Once the core gameplay loop is up to scratch, adding gameplay variety through game modes is the next big step. Back in Destiny 1, each Iron Banner event would feature a single game-mode for the entire week and that game mode would rotate each event between Clash, Control, and Supremacy.
Bungie still has a long way to go when it comes to Crucible updates and fixes before it can give endgame activities like Iron Banner or Trials of Osiris the proper treatment they deserve. Building a strong foundation from the ground up takes time, and in a live-service game like Destiny 2, it also takes a significant amount of player feedback to make a system that's fair. Luckily, Bungie has already dealt with this hurdle in the first and second years of Destiny 1 and came out on the other side stronger than ever. Looking at everything that worked with Rise of Iron would be a great place to start on the road to bringing the Iron Banner game mode back into the Golden Age.
Destiny 2: Shadowkeep is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.