Destiny 2 Provides Update on Season 23 Iron Banner Mode
Highlights
Season 23 of Destiny 2 will bring a new game mode called Tribute to Iron Banner, adding a new twist to the popular event. Iron Banner underwent significant changes in Year 5, removing level-based power advantages, which has caused frustration within the community. While Bungie is making broader PvP changes, an overhaul for Iron Banner is not expected. Its rarity and rewards will likely remain appealing.
Iron Banner is getting new content in Season 23 as Bungie has confirmed that a new game mode called Tribute will be released for the Destiny 2 event. The new game mode is named Tribute, and it’s a spin on the Crucible’s popular Supremacy. Season 23 will see some overall radical changes being made to Destiny 2 when it begins later this year. Iron Banner is just one small part of that, but it should make for a fun change of pace as Destiny 2 builds to the release of The Final Shape in 2024.
Iron Banner went through a substantial overhaul in Year 5 of Destiny 2, prior to the release of the Lightfall expansion. What was once seen as what made Iron Banner so interesting, level-based power advantages, were removed entirely. As a result, however, Iron Banner has lost much of its punch and has contributed to an overall frustration with Destiny 2’s PvP within the game’s community. Bungie is making broader changes to PvP during Seasons 22 and 23, but nothing akin to an overhaul. Iron Banner’s attractiveness lies in its rare availability and rewards, and that is unlikely to change.
Bungie is still planning to make one big change to Iron Banner in 2023, however. As previously teased, Bungie is introducing a new game mode to Iron Banner that will go live sometime in Season 23. The game mode is named Tribute, and it’s based on the Crucible’s Supremacy mode.
Tribute will play like Supremacy but with a special catch. Like Supremacy, in Tribute players will be focused on defeating opposing players and collecting Crests that they drop. These Crests are then deposited in a “tribute station” and earn points for a player’s team. The catch is that after collecting a certain number of Crests, a Hunt phase is triggered. During the Hunt, a special tribute station that rewards extra points is spawned. This special tribute station will be protected, however, though Bungie won’t say by what.
Again, The Tribute version of Iron Banner isn’t planned to begin until sometime in Season 23. Destiny 2 is currently in Season 22, named Season of the Witch. Season of the Witch will likely see Iron Banner return multiple times with Control and Fortress game modes. Season 23 will likely begin in late November, with Iron Banner to follow in December or later.
It’s entirely possible that this will be the last major change or addition to Iron Banner during Destiny 2’s lifespan. No one really knows what Bungie will be doing after The Final Shape and its subsequent chapters are released, once Marathon launches and Bungie has other priorities. Iron Banner has never been a huge focus in Destiny 2, as loved as it is by the PvP community. Still, Tribute is something new and worth looking forward to.
Destiny 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.