‘Destiny’ Iron Banner 7.0: What You Need To Know
The seventh edition of Iron Banner kicked off Tuesday in Destiny. This edition of the special Crucible event rounds out the armor set for PlayStation and Xbox players that have participated in the previous three appearances.
Update: If you are looking for the latest Iron Banner information, please click here for Iron Banner 8.0.
When Does It Run?
This Iron Banner event started Tuesday, April 28, at 1 p.m. ET and will last until Tuesday at the weekly reset.
Bungie also want to make everyone aware that Iron Banner cannot be accessed through the Crucible menu for this event due to changes for the upcoming House of Wolves expansion. You can only access the event from the main director screen.
Please Note: The only way to access this Iron Banner is from the main Director interface. Not your Crucible menu. pic.twitter.com/lTd1IluLrd
— Bungie (@Bungie) April 28, 2015
What Modes and Maps Are Supported?
As before, the only game mode available in Iron Banner is Control. Bungie currently has “Asylum,” “The Anomaly”, “Blind Watch,” “The Burning Shrine,” “Firebase Delphi,” “First Light,” “Rusted Lands,” “Shores of Time,” and “Twilight Gap” maps in rotation. Previous patches have changed the weighting of these around so that combined with a greater number of maps, there will be fewer repeats.
Does Gear and Level Still Matter?
Yes. You need to be at least level 20 to get into the Iron Banner or have a level 20 fireteam leader bring you along for the ride. Realistically, you can expect to see many level 30, 31, and 32 players since the changes brought with The Dark Below.
You need to be within three light levels of another player to do any real damage. The weapon level counts too, so bring your most powerful weapons and armor.
Is Dark Below required?
No, The Dark Below expansion is not required. No maps from the DLC will be included in this Iron Banner event.
Iron Banner is open to all players of Destiny. The Dark Below content is not a requirement to play.
— Bungie (@Bungie) December 16, 2014
Your Standing Has Been Reset?
Yes. All players start each Iron Banner event with their reputation at zero. You max out at level five.
Iron Banner Ranks
You start out at rank 0 and should be able to quickly reach rank 1 after the first win. The climb to the max rank is a steeper, but still obtainable thanks to all the buffs.
| IB Rank | Reputation Points Needed |
| 1 | 100 rep points |
| 2 | 1200 rep points |
| 3 | 2400 rep points |
| 4 | 2400 rep points |
| 5 | 2400 rep points |
Equip Your Iron Banner Items
If you still have the Iron Banner emblem, shader, and class item, go ahead and equip them. Each gives a 10 percent experience and reputation boost, and they do stack with each other for the possibility of a 30 percent total bonus. If you don’t have any Iron Banner items yet, purchase the Sigil of the Iron Lords emblem from Lord Saladin as soon as you reach rank one so that you can get the bonus experience and reputation points.
| Name | Type | Cost | IB Rank |
| Sigil of the Iron Lords | Emblem | 2400 Glimmer | 1 |
| Million Million | Armor Shader | 7500 Glimmer | 2 |
| Scar of Radegast | Emblem | 2400 Glimmer | 3 |
| Jolder’s Iron Shash | Titan Class Item | 4500 Glimmer | 4 |
| Mantle of Ghelon | Hunter Class Item | 4500 Glimmer | 4 |
| Skorri’s Iron Bond | Warlock Class Item | 4500 Glimmer | 4 |
| Goldspiral | Armor Shader | 7500 Glimmer | 5 |
Purchase the Tempered Buff
Lord Saladin sells a Tempered Buff for one Mote of Lite. The buff lasts for 12 hours and gives an experience and reputation boost in Iron Banner. As the week progresses, the boost will increase. Additionally, a new buff can be purchased every 12 hours.
Here’s the progression that the Tempered Buff should follow based on the last Iron Banner.
- Tuesday: +10 percent
- Wednesday: +15 percent
- Thursday: +25 percent
- Friday: +40 percent
- Saturday: +60 percent
- Sunday: +100 percent
- Monday: +150 percent
Iron Banner Weapons
Iron Banner features weapons at the 331 attack level introduced with The Dark Below. This time around, Lord Saladin is selling the Timur’s Lash Hand Cannon and Efrideet’s Spear Sniper Rifle.
Timur’s Lash is a high impact hand cannon that does kinetic damage only. Meanwhile, Efrideet’s Spear is a stable sniper rifle with moderate impact and random Solar elemental damage at purchase.
Perks for both along with the elemental damage for the sniper rifle can be re-rolled using Motes of Light with Lord Saladin to something that you prefer. The default perk roll for Efrideet’s Spear is excellent though with Surplus, Firefly, and High Caliber/Armor Piercing/Perfect Balance.
| Name | Type | Max Attack | Cost | IB Rank |
| Efrideet’s Spear | Sniper Rifle | 331 | 11,500 G | 4 |
| Timur’s Lash | Hand Cannon | 331 | 11,500 G | 5 |
Note that you also have a chance to receive the Jolder’s Hammer Machine Gun and Silmar’s Wrath Auto Rifle as drops in Iron Banner after you reach the third rank.
Iron Banner Armor
Here is the armor that is being sold by Lord Saladin. Note that they are all at light level 36 in this edition of the Iron Banner. That means they will help you get to the current max light level of 32 in Destiny. Do not breakdown any of these armor items, as you will not receive Ascendant Shards.
| Name | Class | Max Light | IB Rank | Glimmer |
| Iron Reglia Plate | Titan | 36 | 3 | 9,950 |
| Iron Reglia Vest | Hunter | 36 | 3 | 9,950 |
| Iron Regalia Vestments | Warlock | 36 | 3 | 9,950 |
| Iron Regalia Great Helm | Titan | 36 | 4 | 9,950 |
| Iron Regalia Mask | Hunter | 36 | 4 | 9,950 |
| Iron Regalia Hood | Warlock | 36 | 4 | 9,950 |
Iron Banner Bounties
The daily bounties for Iron Banner have not changed from the previous event. The Focused Aggression bounty can be obtained with all primary weapons, not just Auto Rifles, but excludes the Vex Mythoclast, Universal Remote, and No Land Beyond.
Bounties are given by Lord Saladin and returned to him as well. Be sure to have the Tempered Buff active when turning them in.
Remember that Crucible bounties can be completed in Iron Banner too. So, you’ll want to pick those up to advance your reputation with the different factions (as long as you equip their class item) and gain additional experience.
| Bounty Name | Description | IB Rep | Experience |
| Hard Forged | Earn 10,000 XP while competing in the Iron Banner tournament. | +100 | +5000 |
| Iron Embrace | Defeat 10 Guardians with a close quarters Melee attack while competing in the Iron Banner. | +100 | +5000 |
| Iron Wrath | Defeat 10 Guardians without dying while competing in the Iron Banner tournament. | +100 | +5000 |
| Focused Aggression | Defeat 20 Guardians with Primary Weapon headshots while competing in the Iron Banner. | +100 | +5000 |
| Exacting Measures | Earn 5 Headshot Sprees while competing in the Iron Banner. | +100 | +5000 |
| The Chaos and the Calm | Defeat 10 Guardians with Machine Gun headshots while competing in the Iron Banner. | +100 | +5000 |
Tip: Complete the Weekly Nightfall first for an even greater experience boost for the Crucible bounites. The Nightfall boost will not help Iron Banner reputation, though.
Reforging
You can reforge your Iron Banner weapons with Lord Saladin to get better stats and perks in exchange for Motes of Light. Note, though, that this will not increase the item’s light level or attack level. It will also reset the progress of the weapon.
Iron Medallions
You will receive an Iron Medallion for each match you lose in Iron Banner. You can carry up to five at a time in your inventory. These will be redeemed automatically after your next win for Iron Banner reputation.
If you still have Medallions left over after Iron Banner ends, hold on to them. They can still be redeemed when the next event rolls around.
Good Luck!
Do you have any Iron Banner tips you want to share? Please post them in the comments below!
[Images via Bungie]
[Edit: Corrected formatting of tables]
[Edit 2: Correct the finishing time to be when the weekly reset happens. Apologies for any confusion.]
