The first Iron Banner of the Season of the Splicer has arrived in Destiny 2, bringing a new multi-step quest for unlocking Iron Banner armor and weapons. Iron-Handed Diplomacy carries six steps, each one focusing on a different weapon, so you’ll need to show some versatility to complete the quest. You have all season (and multiple Iron Banner events) to finish Iron-Handed Diplomacy, but if you’re hoping to get it done ASAP, we’re here to help.
Iron Banner in the Season of the Splicer brings back some rewards from Destiny 2’s past, including Finite Impactor and Occluded Finality, two Iron Banner guns we haven’t seen in quite some time. You’ll also claim two new, Eliksni-themed guns, the Riiswalker auto rifle and Archon’s Thunder machine gun. As of this writing, however, you can only earn those two rewards from Iron Banner bounties–so make sure you save your Iron Banner tokens for the time being, if you’re hoping for new rolls on those two guns.
One thing to know about Iron Banner quests is that while they contain a lot of steps and requirements, the good news is that many elements of each step will carry forward to future ones. So even though one step might require you to capture 10 Control zones and the next will ask for 20, the first 10 will count toward the next step. That helps keep things pretty manageable, but regardless, expect to do some grinding to get all your Iron Banner gear.
Iron-Handed Diplomacy Quest
Step 1
- Defeat 30 Guardians
- Capture 10 zones
- Get 10 Arc or Void ability kills
This is a pretty easy and straightforward step you should complete fairly easily and quickly. If there’s a gate here, it’s with ability kills. Choose Exotics that boost your abilities, such as the Hunter’s Lucky Raspberry, to make things like your melee and grenades more effective. It’s also worth decking out your armor with Strength and Discipline mods so you can more quickly earn grenades and melee ability recharges, so that you’re more frequently ready to use your abilities. Super kills also count here, which might be the quickest way to clear this step.
Reward: Finite Impactor
Step 2
- Complete 6 matches
- Capture 20 zones
- Get 20 hand cannon kills
Your choice of gun is going to help significantly with this step. A recent favorite hand cannon is Igneous Hammer from the Trials of Osiris, which can do some serious damage to enemies very quickly. Also good are the Exotic hand cannons Ace of Spades, Crimson, Thorn, and The Last Word, each with its own various upshots. Ace of Spades gets some serious power boosts as you use it and rack up kills; Thorn will poison enemies and damage them over time, increasing the likelihood that you’ll nab kills; Crimson heals you when you kill enemies; and The Last Word lets you shoot very fast from the hip, making you exceptionally deadly at close ranges. Pick a gun you like and go to work.
Reward: Occluded Finality
Step 3
- Defeat 100 Guardians
- Capture 30 zones
- Get 10 sniper rifle kills
These numbers are starting to look a bit daunting, but don’t worry, these objectives should carry forward from your previous matches–so it’s possible you’ll go into this step with your Guardian kills and zone requirements already met. As for sniper rifle kills, if you’re not much of a sniper, this one can be a pain. You don’t have to camp out and wait for players to come to you; instead, pick likely areas and try to look down lanes for players who wander out of cover, especially if your teammates are already fighting there. The best way to earn sniper kills, if sniping isn’t normally your thing, is to try to pick off opponents your teammates are already fighting. Pick a sniper rifle like Frozen Orbit with a lot of Impact. Perks like Snapshot Sights can help significantly as well.
Reward: Riiswalker
Step 4
- Get 15 melee kills
- Capture 40 zones
- Get 10 shotgun kills
For Step 4, you’ll need to close the distance on some enemies and get up close. While shotgun kills are pretty easy to nab in the Crucible most of the time, melees can be a bit more difficult. In this case, it’s good to pick something with some range, but you might want to avoid the Stasis abilities on this step, since those abilities are more likely to freeze opponents than actually kill them. Instead, opt for Solar abilities to make use of Warlock fireballs and Hunter throwing knives. For Titans, set yourself up with good Exotics for your charging melee abilities, like Dunemarchers. In all cases, get used to following up shotgun blasts with a melee, and vice versa.
Reward: Archon’s Thunder
Step 5
- Get 15 Super kills
- Earn 25 “match points”
- Get 3 machine gun kills
Your final battle requirement is more of a grind than anything else. You’ll need 15 Super kills, which are best nabbed with whatever Super you like best, although solid roaming Supers like the ones for Dawnblade, Arc Strider, and Sunbreaker will probably serve you well. The “match point” requirement is likely to take a bit, as it counts your team’s performance. You get three match points per win and one per loss, so better performance will speed you to victory. Finally, the three machine gun kills you need means you’ll need to seek out Heavy ammo when it’s available. That’s not especially difficult, given that multiple teammates can grab Heavy off the same drop, but be careful when trying to nab it since it’ll draw opponents to the same location. Even still, three kills is a ridiculously small number of kills to earn, and you’ll probably get it in a single match if you’re paying attention to the Heavy ammo timer.
When you’re finished, return to Saladin to complete the quest.
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