Destiny 2's Iron Banner has gone through quite a few changes in 2022. The game mode has completely been revamped to not take into account the light level of players, and Iron Banner bounties have been done away with in favor of daily challenges. Two new game modes were also introduced: Rift and Eruption.

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Iron Banner's weapons have remained roughly in the same spot, even with a buff to 180 RPM hand cannons which would have technically made Frontier's Cry an interesting choice. This list is a tentative ranking of all the Iron Banner weapons players can earn from Iron Banner engrams, matches, and from Lord Saladin as rewards in Destiny 2. This ranking was made during Season of the Plunder and is subject to change as the game shifts and the meta changes moving on towards Lightfall.

10 Razor's Edge

Destiny 2 Razors Edge
  • Void Sword
  • Good Perks: Unrelenting or Wellspring and Assassin's Blade or One For All

Starting off at the bottom of the list is the Razor's Edge sword, a Void sword with a unique look. Swords can be incredibly good in some situations, namely PVE where players find themselves overwhelmed with enemies at close range, but this probably wouldn't be the first sword players would lean towards when choosing a blade.

Razor's Edge is weak because so many other swords are just simply better: Half-Truths, The Other Half, The Lament even for Exotic weapon users, and Fallen Guillotine. It falls behind due to its lackluster perk pool, and it doesn't get any better even when used in a Void-centric build. Steer clear of this one and use it to infuse other gear – or simply dismantle it for some Legendary Shards and extra Glimmer.

9 Allied Demand

Destiny 2 Allied Demand
  • Kinetic Sidearm
  • Good Perks: Rangefinder or Subsistence and Frenzy or Eye Of The Storm

Another weapon that stands at the bottom of the list mainly because of its archetype is Allied Demand, which is a sidearm. Despite Bungie's best efforts to buff sidearms and give them a space where they can exist and still be viable, the archetype still falls short in most game modes. In PVP, there is definitely a small niche for it, but even then, Allied Demand wouldn't be a PVP player's go-to choice.

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Much better options include the powerful Drang, which can be crafted after enough patterns have been unlocked from the Crown of Sorrow vendor. Meanwhile, Allied Demand has a weird mix of perks, with only a few select combining together into a good PVE-only or PVP-only roll.

8 Peacebond

Destiny 2 Peacebond
  • Stasis Sidearm
  • Good Perks: Subsistence, Killing Wind or Rangefinder and Surrounded, Swashbuckler, Demolitionist, Iron Reach or Headstone

Peacebond is a weapon that is guaranteed to turn heads wherever players go. This sidearm is best recognized by its absolutely minuscule size, and it's likely it's actually the smallest weapon in the game.

That said, it's not a terrible sidearm despite sidearms, in general, being bad in both PVP and PVE. Peacebond has a ton of cool perks, particularly in its second column, where it can roll with Headstone for any Stasis players looking for a Stasis weapon. Keep this one around – for those times when players need to complete bounties with a sidearm, as it does have a nice feel to it.

7 Roar Of The Bear

Destiny 2 Roar Of The Bear
  • Solar Rocket Launcher
  • Good Perks: Ambitious Assassin, Tracking Module or Impulse Amplifier and Auto-Loading Holster, Vorpal Weapon, Timed Payload, or Incandescent

Despite the good selection of perks for Roar of the Bear, rocket launchers are not the way to go as of right now. Even if they were, Roar of the Bear wouldn't be a top choice for players who still prefer craftable weapons like the Palmyra-B, combined with Gjallarhorn. Even Gjallarhorn on its own does a fantastic job after all the nerfs it has endured.

That said, those looking for a nice Legendary rocket launcher with a great perk selection can go for Roar of the Bear if nothing else is available. What's especially interesting is the fact that it can roll with Incandescent, which can make it somewhat viable in Solar builds focused on ignitions and scorching. If players do manage to snatch a roll with Incandescent, make sure to equip the Ember of Char Solar fragment to further buff the effects of the Incandescent perk.

6 Achon's Thunder

Destiny 2 Archons Thunder
  • Solar Machine Gun
  • Good Perks: Auto-Loading Holster or Field Prep and Rampage

Why does a machine gun rank higher than a rocket launcher despite a narrower perk pool? Archon's Thunder is up here because it benefits from the massive buff that machine guns received this year in Destiny 2. The archetype now does additional damage to bosses and ads, which means most machine guns are totally viable in a lot of PVE activities – even raids!

Archon's Thunder is a Solar one, which means it will have good synergy with Solar builds. Auto-Loading Holster is a powerful choice to skip the long reload time that machine guns are famous for, or players can pick Field Prep for bigger ammo reserves. The only downside is the second column which lacks truly good perks, aside from good old Rampage.

5 The Hero's Burden

Destiny 2 Heros Burden
  • Void Submachine Gun
  • Good Perks: Feeding Frenzy and Kill Clip, Iron Reach, or Eye Of The Storm

SMGs are a pretty powerful archetype and work wonderfully with most 3.0 Elemental builds. The Hero's Burden is therefore an alright choice for anyone looking for a Void SMG, but in all fairness, its second column suggests it's much better used in PVP than in PVE.

That said, given how elusive Funnelweb can be, The Hero's Burden can be a nice replacement for players looking for a cheap placeholder until they can get a Void SMG with a nice godroll. It may not be the best of the best, as both perk columns only have a few okay options, but it's worth keeping an eye out for the perks whenever one drops.

4 The Wizened Rebuke

Destiny 2 Wizened Rebuke
  • Arc Fusion Rifle
  • Good Perks: Under Pressure or Well-Rounded and Back-Up Plan, Vorpal Weapon or Cornered

Fusion rifles continue to be pretty good as an archetype, even if Particle Deconstruction isn't a thing anymore. With Arc 3.0 here, having an Arc fusion rifle in the Vault might not be a bad idea for players who can't access the famous PLUG ONE.1 Arc fusion rifle. It's a nice Legendary choice if players don't want to sacrifice an Exotic weapon slot for the new Exotic, the Delicate Tomb.

So why an Arc fusion exactly? The main reason stems from the Spark of Beacons Arc fragment. While amplified, defeating enemies with special weapons that are Arc will create blinding explosions, which are extremely handy when dealing with a ton of ads even in more difficult content in the game.

This alone makes The Wizened Rebuke a nice budget option for players who don't have access to other, better choices. And to be fair, it has a decent perk pool for a fusion, with both PVE and PVP options.

3 Forge's Pledge

Destiny 2 Forges Pledge
  • Solar Pulse Rifle
  • Good Perks: Heating Up and Wellspring or Rampage

Pulse rifles are an insanely powerful archetype that isn't going anywhere anytime soon. That's why Forge's Pledge ranks up this high on the list because, for the most part, there will be a niche in which this pulse rifle will work thanks to the amazing strength of pulse rifles in general. Even in a season that focuses mostly on scout rifles, pulse rifles have remained extremely relevant and powerful options in both PVE and PVP.

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Forge's Pledge makes a decent budget option for players who haven't been able to get their hands on a really good roll of Ogma-PR6, which is also a Solar pulse rifle. Both come with Wellspring as a potential roll, which is fantastic for PVE. It's definitely not the ideal PVP option due to a somewhat narrow perk pool, but in PVE Forge's Pledge can find a spot to shine, particularly in Solar Elemental builds.

2 Frontier's Cry

Destiny 2 Frontiers Cry
  • Solar Hand Cannon (180 RPM)
  • Good Perks: Tunnel Vision and Iron Reach, Kill Clip, or Eye Of The Storm

Hand cannon fans were elated to find out that Bungie was going to buff 180 RPM hand cannons. However, the buff hasn't exactly translated properly into PVP throughout seasons 17 and 18. Most players still prefer the gold standard of 140 RPM, which means more must be done to help these rapid-firing hand cannons find a spot in the meta.

This leaves Frontier's Cry in an awkward position. It's definitely a great choice for PVP, but much of its strength depends on the player's playstyle. 180 RPM hand cannons require a bit of practice, but for those who are confident, this can become a beastly weapon. Its perk pool comes with several great options in the second column, even when the first column is a bit uninspiring, with only Tunnel Vision standing out as interesting.

1 Riiswalker

  • Kinetic Shotgun
  • Good Perks: Slideways or Quickdraw and Swashbuckler, Iron Reach, Demolitionist or Vorpal Weapon

The best weapon from Iron Banner is Riiswalker, and there's no debate about it. Riiswalker has been a go-to choice for many shotgun players for a very long time, and even at a time like this when shotguns don't have the strongest position in the meta, many players still fall back to this classic powerhouse of a weapon out of comfort.

What makes Riiswalker so incredibly good is its spot in the Kinetic slot. It's fairly rare to have good shotguns in this slot, as there are only a handful of them in the game (Fractethyst and the Wastelander M5 for instance). On the Exotic side, there's the good old Chaperone, but otherwise, it's rare to have a lot of excellent shotgun options in the Kinetic slot.

Riiswalker also comes with a variety of powerful perks that encourage that close-range gameplay in PVP. Slideways is a classic part of shotgun gameplay, but Quickdraw is an okay choice too. In the second column, Swashbuckler can be surprisingly powerful, or Iron Reach for that extra range that players often need in shotgun duels.

Destiny 2 is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Stadia.

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