The recent Iron Banner event was considered by most to be much better than the first. Of course, we’d like to hear from you guys about your personal experiences in the event too!
If you missed out on the Iron Banner event, be sure to check out our preparation guide for next time.
We’ve also got an in-depth analysis of all of the changes, and an article showing all of the new gear.
[divider]Tempered, Gear, and Iron Medallions
New to last week’s Iron Banner was the Tempered buff, which cost 1 Mote of Light each.
This investment buff accelerated reputation gains, every twelve hours, if you decided it was worth the cost. The table below shows how much you would benefit each day:
| Day | Potency |
|---|---|
| 1 | 10% |
| 2 | 15% |
| 3 | 25% |
| 4 | 40% |
| 5 | 60% |
| 6 | 100% |
| 7 | 150% |
For those who weren’t able to play as much, and even for those that were, the buff was a huge benefit. Being able to rank up faster means unlocking more gear:
| Rank | XP to Unlock | Rewards |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | Sigil of the Iron Lords (10% boost) |
| 2 | 1,200 | Million Million (10% boost) Scar of Radegast (10% boost) |
| 3 | 2,400 | Iron Regalia Boots, Iron Regalia Boots, Iron Regalia Greaves |
| 4 | 2,400 | Iron Regalia Sleeves, Iron Regalia Gloves, Iron Regalia Gauntlets
Mantle of Gheleon (10% boost), Skorri’s Iron Bond (10% boost), Jolder’s Iron Sash (10% boost) |
| 5 | 2,400 | Gheleon’s Demise
Goldspiral (10% boost) |
Each win will earn you 50 experience. With an Iron Banner class item, shader, and emblem equipped – which give a stacking bonus to reputation gains – this will increase to 66 experience.
Without the 10-30% buffs, or Tempering, it’ll take about 140 games to reach Rank 5, starting from Rank 0.
If you didn’t win, you still won Iron Medallions. With these, you’re able to convert up to 5 losses into wins. The Tempering buff also works for these Medallions!
You gain 40 experience for the Medallion, so when you’ve won your next game, you’ll get not only the experience for the Medallion but also the experience for winning.
[divider]Damage and Stats Matter
Nothing was more evident in last week’s Iron Banner than the stat change up in terms of player level and gun damage. It actually mattered this time around without being too punishing towards players lower than level 27.
Players with maxed gear; 1463 Armor rating and 300 damage weapons, definitely ruled the field over their lesser geared counterparts.
However, as Patrick Casey said, “gear mattered, but skill still ruled.”
While gear did carry heavy benefits, especially when there was a 3+ level difference between players, you’d still need the map awareness and aim to compliment your gear.
For tips to the Iron Banner, and PvP in general, check out this video:
We also have a complete guide to Control!
For more guides, be sure to visit our Guides section.