Destiny 2 players love to complain, and—over the past few years—many of them have groused about the armour sets released for the game’s twice-a-season PvP event, Iron Banner. The oft-stated grievance among sci-fi fashionistas is that Destiny 1’s sets just looked better. In Destiny 1, the Iron Banner armour was heavily inspired by Medieval knights—an appropriate style for the Iron Lords of the game’s own post-Collapse dark ages.
Destiny 2’s Iron Banner sets, meanwhile, draw their inspirations from further afield, such as the samurai-themed Iron Rememberance set, and lean into some of the sequel’s more specific armour design philosophies that—honestly—have never been as celebrated by the community.
(Image credit: Bungie)
For those stuck in the past, then, there’s good news for next season. Destiny 1’s Taken King-era Iron Banner set will be available in Destiny 2.
The new (read: returning) armour set will be among the Iron Banner rewards in season 19, replacing the Forerunner pieces that have been available for the past year. Honestly it’s great news for Hunters specifically: that wolf’s head looks sharp.
Attached to the new rewards is a new mode, with Iron Banner continuing its streak of offering tailored, special variants of core PvP play. In season 19, Iron Banner will feature Fortress, a variant of the Zone Control mode. “The real fun begins when Caiatl gets involved,” writes Bungie, cryptically referencing the Cabal emperor. “Let’s just say, a few of you may be dying to cap a hill.”
PvP was the main focus of yesterday’s This Week at Bungie blog. A new ranked ladder is replacing the old Glory system on the competitive side, and Clash and Control are being smushed together in a single playlist for casual play. There are also some tweaks being made to matchmaking, as Bungie continues to iterate on the skill-based matchmaking system that launched this season. Naturally community reaction remains mixed. Destiny 2 players love to complain.