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Destiny 2 Iron Banner guide: How to earn the Iron Lord title

A group of 6 Destiny 2 players stand in a line, waiting for a match to start.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Lord Saladin, the legendary Titan in Destiny 2, has returned to the Tower and has brought his Iron Banner with him. There are some major changes to how this PVP-focused mode operates, and some of the tasks are, frankly, a bit confusing. Never fear, your friends at Digital Trends have braved the skirmishes and stood over defeated foes to break it all down for you in this guide. We will show you how to complete the Forged in Iron quest and get you started on the path to earning the Iron Lord title.

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Difficulty

Moderate

Duration

20 hours

What You Need

  • Complete "Forged in Iron" quest

The Iron Banner menu of Destiny 2, showing a weekly objective to complete 3 matches.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Forged in Iron

Your first stop will be the central courtyard in the tower. Saladin has relocated from his normal haunt on the balcony and instead occupies the center event space. Approach the large ring of fire, and speak to Saladin for an introduction to the Forged in Iron quest and to receive your first task: Complete one match of Iron Banner. Open your director, navigate to the Crucible tab, and launch.

The Iron Banner for this cycle features Rift. In it, two teams of guardians are fighting to collect a Spark at the center of the map and carry it into the enemy base to detonate. After each detonation, the round resets. First to five detonations or whoever has the most detonations when time expires wins. Unlike previous years of Iron Banner, power level is no longer factored into the gameplay. Feel free to wear or use whatever you want, regardless of if it is no longer viable in other game modes.

You don’t actually need to win your match (but out of respect for your teammates, you should give it your best shot); just finish and head back to Saladin. Now he wants you to complete a daily challenge. This can be extremely confusing, as nothing associated with the Iron Banner seems to reference a daily challenge. If you visit the Iron Banner launcher from the Crucible section of the Director, you will see a Weekly Challenge. For example, “Complete three matches as either a Solar or Void subclass.” Doing that will satisfy the daily challenge requirement.

Fire burns as a guardian rushes an objective in the closing seconds of a Destiny 2 match.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Iron Banner Rank points

Next you need to earn Iron Banner Rank points. These come from completing matches. The amount you earn can also be boosted by wearing Iron Banner armor, an Iron Banner Emblem, and completing challenges (like you did in the previous step). Once you’ve earned 300 points, your next step will ask you to visit Saladin and receive an Engram.

Once that is complete, you will need to complete matches while wearing at least one part of Iron Banner armor. Just like the Iron Banner Rank points before, more pieces earns you faster progress. Just keep playing while dressed as some sort of Space Knight, and eventually you will complete this phase. Lastly, speak to Lord Saladin and the Forging Iron Quest is complete.

The Iron Lord triumph screen of Destiny 2, showing the challenges to complete to earn a title.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Earning the Iron Lord title

Now that you are an Iron Banner expert, it’s time to let the world know by earning the Iron Banner Title. Open the Triumph Tab of your character, and locate the Iron Lord seal. Open it, and you will see the seven challenges that you need to complete in order to unlock this title. These are the challenges:

  • Jolder's Vistroy: Win Matches in the Iron Banner Playlist
  • Gunnora’s Seal: Acquire Iron Banner Armor (duplicates do not count)
  • Orimund’s Taste: Acquire Iron Banner Weapons (duplicates do not count)
  • Orewing’s Spirit: Earn points by completing objectives in Iron Banner
  • Frostmire’s Will: Complete Iron Banner Challenges
  • Crimil’s Dedication: Reset Iron Banner Rank twice
  • Jorum’s Howl: Complete Iron Banner matches while wearing Iron Banner Armor (more pieces increases rewards)

Most of those will occur naturally over time. Some, like Jolder’s Victory, account for matches you’ve played previously, so some players may start with certain steps already complete. The objectives in Orewing’s Spirit refers to things like dunking the Rift. Crimil’s Dedication will require you to max out your rank in Iron Banner, which enables a reset twice, so it may be time-consuming. Make sure to take advantage of the bonuses for wearing the proper gear, emblem, and daily challenge completion.

Justin Koreis
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Justin is a freelance writer with a lifelong love of video games and technology. He loves writing about games, especially…
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