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The Iron Banner returns to Destiny 2 this week, marking the first of the competitive event’s appearances during Season of Plunder. This season, Iron Banner is a little different–it focuses on the new “Eruption” mode. The new mode changes Iron Banner significantly; it’s a totally different approach from last season’s Rift mode or the Control mode we’ve been playing for years. Eruption is all about working together with your team to achieve kill streaks and to protect each other while you have one going.
There’s no Iron Banner quest during this season, and old Iron Banner bounties have been removed from the game. To gain the rewards from Iron Banner, you just need to play matches; you’ll unlock four different Pinnacle weapons as you complete matches, and can get additional rewards for gaining reputation. Wins are your greatest benefit for gaining rewards, so while just participating is good, playing well is even better. Here’s how the new mode works and the strategies you should use to win ahead in Iron Banner this week.
Understanding Eruption
Iron Banner is very different this season, and it might not be immediately obvious what you’re facing when you jump into a match. Last season, all Iron Banner matches were Rift matches, and this season, all Iron Banner matches are Eruption matches. The Control and Rift modes are off the table this season, so don’t expect to play either one until sometime in the future.
The new Eruption mode has similarities to what you might remember from the old Control version of Iron Banner, which centered on the idea of “The Hunt.” In Control, you activated The Hunt by capturing all three control points on the map, which triggered a short period in which the team who captured the points earns three points per kill. In Eruption, there are no control points, but you can still trigger the Hunt by performing well in gunfights.
Eruption focuses on kill streaks–killing or assisting on kills of several players without dying yourself. When you get more than one in kill in a life, you gain a buff called “Surging.” While you’re Surging, you gain ability energy on additional kills, and earn an extra point per kill.
Your goal when you’re Surging is to keep earning kills until you unlock a streak of five kills or more. When that happens, you become Primed. When that happens, you earn three points per kill and your abilities charge even more quickly. However, you also have a timer counting down on your character. The timer is extended whenever you earn a kill or an assist, but if the timer hits zero, you’ll explode (or erupt, get it). When you’re Primed, you’re also visible to all the other players in the match, helping your teammates try to defend you, while making you a target for the enemy squad.
Having at least one Primed player triggers the Hunt, and even if you’re not racking up a ton of kills in a streak, having a Primed player on your team is a major goal. Not only does the Primed player get a boost to ability energy, but so does the rest of the squad. That effect lasts until you run out of Primed players, so it’s easier to get kills during the Hunt, and while your whole team won’t earn extra points (unless they are also Surging or Primed), it’s easier for more players on your team to attain the higher kill streak tiers.
Eruption strategies
Winning Eruption is more about staying alive than scoring kills. Building up kill streaks is essential to getting ahead, and to do that, you’ll need to make good decisions about where and when you engage enemies and keeping yourself in advantageous situations. Lone-wolfing it in Eruption isn’t the best idea, because you’re more likely to find yourself wandering into situations where you’re facing multiple enemies at one time, which means you’re much more likely to lose that fight. And every time you lose, your kill streaks reset, forcing you to start from scratch to earn Surging and Primed bonuses.
Loadout for survivability
You get bonuses to your Iron Banner reputation for equipping Iron Banner armor and weapons, as well as an Iron Banner emblem, so that might limit your loadout options. However, wherever possible, you want to spec out for increased survivability during Eruption matches. Exotics such as the Hunter’s Wormhusk Crown, which heals you whenever you use your dodge ability, or Titan’s Loreley Splendor helmet, which heals you with a Sunspot when you’re critically wounded, can be great for keeping a streak going. It’s a good idea to try to lean into Solar 3.0’s revamped healing capabilities, or into the Overshield effects of Void 3.0. Speccing for Recovery is also a good idea, as it’ll help you start healing more quickly after taking damage. Winning fights is important and so is racking up kills–but staying alive is the best way to win in Eruption.
Play as a team
Even if you’re jumping into Iron Banner through the Freelance playlist, which only puts you onto teams and against opponents who are not grouped up into a fireteam, you still want to work together with your squad as much as possible. From a simple standpoint, you’re more likely to win a fight if you’re team-shooting an enemy with a group than if you’re alone, and having additional teammates helps mitigate the possibility that you might run up against a group that takes you out with their superior numbers. Whenever possible, try to stick with your teammates for better chances of racking up kills and staying alive. You also increase your chances of Surging and being Primed when you’re working together, as do your teammates–and the more people on your team who are Primed at once, the longer you’ll be able to extend the Hunt, and the better your chances of running up a lead on the opposing squad and guaranteeing a win.
Don’t be afraid to disengage
As we’ve been saying, your primary goal in Eruption is to stay alive, because the longer you live, the more likely you’ll be to build a kill streak, and the better your chances of scoring more points and helping your team secure that W. Taking advantage of opponents who are distracted by your teammates and rolling in a group so you can support each other is important, but don’t be afraid to run for it if a situation gets hairy. Sometimes, a fight looks like a losing proposition, or you’ll be in a weak location with bad cover. If that happens, it’s okay to just bail, to find a more advantageous spot to fight from, or to try to lose your attackers so you can heal up.
Use your abilities
The upshot of the Surging and Primed buffs are that they grant you additional energy on kills. Even if you’re not Primed or Surging, though, you gain benefits if anyone on your team is Primed. Thus, make use of your abilities as much as you can, especially if they can keep you alive. You don’t need to save your grenades or melee abilities as much as you might normally, and while you probably won’t get so much in energy gains that you can just chuck grenades like it’s a Mayhem match, you should also be more liberal with them in every Iron Banner fight.
Support your squad
Up until now, these tips have been about helping yourself to maximize your kill streaks and boost your own score. However, Iron Banner is a team sport, not an individual one, even if you’re playing alone. Eruption gives you an opportunity to help your team in more ways than just earning kills. As you play, you’ll notice both opponents and teammates glowing with blue energy–that denotes when they’re Surging. Of course, you want to focus on opponents who are Surging, but helping your teammates is just as important. Tossing healing grenades, contributing to team-shooting, or even just stepping up to act as a human shield for a player who’s Primed can be huge in helping your team win. Staying alive is essential, but helping keep your teammates alive is also a major part of Eruption. Work together, be supportive, and watch for your squadmates to become Surging or Primed, and do everything you can to help them out as they rack up points. You’ll also benefit thanks to increased ability energy during the Hunt.
Hunt the Hunters
Sooner or later, the opposing team is going to get someone on a streak where they become Primed. When that happens, the Hunt is triggered, giving all of your enemies a bonus, while allowing Primed players to earn extra points. The Primed player is also marked on your screen, showing you their location. You’re getting that information for a reason: the Primed player or players should be your top priority, and you want to take them down as quickly as possible. That doesn’t mean you should run straight into a bad situation and get yourself killed, though–with the extra points Primed players earn, your death costs your team more dearly during the Hunt. But working together with your teammates, you can easily ambush Primed players, force them into corners, or cut them off at chokepoints. Take down Primed players as fast as you can to stop the Hunt and end the benefits that your opponents are gaining from it. Just make sure to work together and be smart about defeating these VIPs.
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