Destiny 2 Iron Banner’s Fortress mode launched last week, introducing Cabal turrets into the popular multiplayer game mode. But while players generally found the event fun, it also highlighted issues with the overall Iron Banner meta and the game’s grind.
Early on, players found themselves frustrated with specific aspects of the game. Initially, it ignited a discussion as to whether a Destiny 2 Iron Banner post-match recap screen should include K/D. The game’s ‘Titan bubble’ meta soon became a larger issue. The gist is that Titan players could use their Ward of Dawn Super Ability to capture a zone, preventing players from opposing teams from having a chance to capture the zones that grant the most points in the Control-inspired game format.
However, players also found themselves frustrated with the overall Destiny 2 Iron Banner progression grind. With this season’s Iron Banner, Bungie introduced a shader called Iron Countershade. The shader gives the Guardian’s armour a chainmail effect. Players can earn it by resetting their Iron Banner rank twice. However, it can take between 60-80 matches to achieve this, even when accounting for XP boosts granted by seasonal armour. Considering Control matches can go as long as 12 minutes, that can be as many as 16 hours of play time just to earn the shader.
In the past, Iron Banner often took place on weeks when players could earn double XP for participating in Crucible events. This allowed them to quickly level their way through Iron Banner ranks. However, given that this was not the case this time around, players who want rank rewards feel they’re slogging through the activity.
Once players realised they were in for a grind, they decided it would be much more efficient to ‘throw’ Iron Banner matches, allowing them to collect the XP quickly. Because players earn XP for mere participation, entering a game and allowing the opposing team to win as soon as possible proved to be one of the most efficient ways to earn XP. As such, players are using LFG features to find fellow players to actively participate in the game mode to earn the shader.
These events have led to several memes and video clips highlighting the issues. One clip posted on Twitter even shows players from opposing teams in Iron Banner using multiplayer emotes together.
There are also complaints about the present weapon meta, as Dead Man’s Tale and No Time to Explain are dominant as the best Destiny 2 PvP weapons.
While Bungie responded to criticism regarding the state of PvP by introducing a Ranked Crucible in Destiny 2 Season 19, the company still has significant work to do if it wants to match the competitive appeal of other popular FPS games.
Iron Banner ends tomorrow and won’t be back again until later in the season. If you’re looking for some builds to help you grind your way toward that chainmail shader in one of the best free PC games on the market, be sure to check out our guides to the best Destiny 2 Warlock builds, the best Titan builds, and the best Hunter builds to ensure you have a strong kit for fighting your way up the ranks.