Destiny – Iron Banner Bounty Guide

A big part of ranking up in the Iron Banner event that Destiny holds ever month or two is related to how many Iron Banner Bounties players are able to complete. When you combine these Bounties with various buffs that players can use, the payoff can be the difference between finishing the event at Iron Banner Rank 3 and Iron Banner Rank 5. Today, we’re going to cover each of the Bounties, ensuring that you know exactly what needs to be done if you hope to complete each one.

Each Bounty that you complete will earn you some XP, as well as some Iron Banner Reputation. These values can change as Bungie balances and patches the game, so don’t be surprised if the values we present change at some point. You can expect that most Iron Banner Bounties will give you between 100 and 200 Iron Banner Reputation, and between 2,500 and 5,000 XP. Be sure to turn all of your Bounties in following each play session, as leaving them completed in your inventory will stop you from being able to obtain them from Lord Saladin the next day.

Bounty: Iron Wrath

Defeat 10 Guardians without dying while competing in the Iron Banner tournament.

• Difficulty: Hard
• IB Rep: 200
• Experience: 10,000

The best advice that we can give you is not to bother trying to complete this Bounty. It’s something that will happen naturally if it’s going to at all. Just play the game, and between each round check and see the progress of all your Iron Banner Bounties. If you finished a game on a seven Guardian kill streak, you will carry that progress into the new game. Should you get three straight kills to begin the next round, the Bounty will be complete. Our most successful runs at this Bounty have come by using a Sniper Rifle and scoping in on a Control point. It also helps if you have the enemy pinned into one spawn to prevent them from getting behind you.

Bounty: Iron Embrace

Defeat 10 Guardians with a close quarters Melee attack while competing in the Iron Banner.

• Difficulty: Easy
• IB Rep: 100
• Experience: 5,000

Don’t even bother trying for this one. Just be sure to take advantage of your melee when the opposition is close to you. This is a Bounty that you should find completes itself as you naturally play. If you’re about to log off for the day and it’s almost done, play another game and focus on melee kills. Don’t push it, but if you are close enough to touch your enemy, you might as well complete a Bounty in the process of killing them. We usually complete this with a Bladedancer Hunter, using invisibility to close the gap on our foes. Just make sure you strike them twice. Sometimes it only takes one shot, but it’s better to be sure than to get killed because you thought the fight was over.

Bounty: Heavy Metal

Earn 3 Machine Gun sprees while competing in the Iron Banner.

• Difficulty: Hard
• IB Rep: 100
• Experience: 1,000

A Machine Gun spree requires three kills (with a Machine Gun) without dying, reloading or switching weapons. That part isn’t too hard if you play smart and watch your radar, but getting to the Heavy Ammo and then getting the kills without reloading… that gives players several ways to fail. Our advice is to consider actively working toward this Bounty only when you get Heavy Ammo. Don’t change your entire game to get Heavy Ammo, but if you do, try for the Machine Gun spree. Set up on a corner that overlooks a high traffic area of the map, mowing down your adversaries as they rush into a popular location.

Bounty: An Iron Grip

Participate in the capture of 15 Control zones in the Iron Banner Tournament.

• Difficulty: Easy
• IB Rep: 100
• Experience: 5,000

If you’re the kind of Guardian that can’t accomplish this in a couple of hours of Iron Banner play, you are the one we don’t want on our team. You do it simply by playing the objective. Even if you aren’t a high level or have the best weapons, you can still move from the location that you spawn at to the Control zone closest to you. Do this 15 times and you’re done. In fact, maximizing your Iron Banner reputation (the entire point of doing the Bounties) is all about winning, and to win you need Control Zones. Get to it, Guardian.

Bounty: Hard Forged

Earn 1,000 XP while competing in the Iron Banner tournament.

• Difficulty: Easy
• IB Rep: 100
• Experience: 5,000

Even a batch of losses can’t stop you from completing this one. If you can spend an hour or two playing in the Iron Banner tournament, you will almost certainly rack up 10,000 XP. There are no tricks here, making this one of the easier and most rewarding Iron Banner Bounties you can do. Just grab it from Lord Saladin and focus on some of your other tasks.

Bounty: The Chaos and the Calm

Defeat 15 Guardians with Heavy Weapons while competing in the iron Banner.

• Difficulty: Medium
• IB Rep: 100
• Experience: 5,000

This one could have been considered hard, depending entirely on your play style. If you play the objective and don’t focus on camping or seeking out the Heavy Ammo, this could be a challenge. If you are always abandoning the objective to get yourself some rounds for your Rocket Launcher, you’ll probably think this is quite easy. Once you have the Heavy Ammo, the kills aren’t really that hard. Machine Guns cut down your enemies without any trouble at all, and Rocket Launchers do enough splash damage that you can clear our an entire flag with one shot. If you’re playing with friends, don’t force this one, otherwise you’ll be letting them down to complete a Bounty. If the lobby is all random players, do what you wish.

Iron Banner Notes

There have been other Iron Banner Bounties in previous events, but currently these are the only six in rotation. If that changes we’ll be sure to update this article. Also keep in mind that you can complete Crucible Bounties as you play in the Iron Banner, but they won’t count toward your Iron Banner Rank. Just take them if you have the inventory space, but don’t focus on them. Think of then as the icing on the cake.

If you’d like some additional help working your way through all that Destiny has to offer, be sure to stop by and visit our Destiny: House of Wolves Walkthrough and Guide. We can assist you with the Queen’s Wrath Bounties, Prison of Elders boss fights, and even the story missions earn you the Vestian Dynasty.