Iron Banner started a few days ago as most of you know, and it seems to be facing some issues. Not only are many people speculating that the event is “broken” but it’s also being quit by people who are losing.
The latter problem is happening because the Iron Banner does not reward people with any Iron Banner reputation if you lose, which is much worse than the supposed lack of level advantages.[divider]
Quitting Penalty?
Iron Banner rewards wins with reputation points, which can be used to access unique Legendary gear, which you can view here. When you lose and don’t earn any points, it’s encouraging players to drop off, so they can jump to another game to try and earn some reputation. The problem with the Crucible, and especially this mode, is that there’s virtually no penalty for quitting a game.
If your team goes a few hundred points behind, even with a substantial amount of time left on the clock, you’re almost certainly doomed to failure, because half your team will just leave. It’s spoiling the experience for many.
[divider]IB Broken?
Iron Banner is supposed to allow the Attack and Defense ratings of your weapons and armor to have a noticeable effect on matches. Where these stats are usually balanced, Iron Banner favors high level players and maxed out armor. But are these level advantages significant enough? Are people expecting these “level advantages” to give them much more of an advantage/disadvantage than is reasonable?
Since the event launched, players have been questioning whether these stat differences really made a difference. Even those with the highest rated gear were claiming to be vulnerable to very low level players with common weapons.
DeeJ is currently looking for feedback on their forum, asking “Did the experience feel different than standard Crucible combat?” This will be addressed further in Friday’s weekly update.
Were you detecting an advantage attributed to your more powerful gear and weapons? Did the experience feel different than standard Crucible combat?
UPDATE: I know people quit games when they know they won’t win. I’m more curious about your perceptions for how the power-level advantages work. Help me help you. Stay on target!
The majority of people have said no. However, we need to keep in mind that skill is going to win games and firefights in the end, and gear can only help out so much. If you go into the Iron Banner with a team of friends, shoot consistently and play well, it ultimately doesn’t matter if you’re going against someone with better gear – as long as you can shoot better.
Maybe they oversold the significance of the level differences? Perhaps it’s not working as intended? What do you all think about the situation, does it need changing?
For Iron Banner tips, check out this guide. For general Crucible best practices, click here.