Iron Banner Vendor Review

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The Distant Star

  • Pros – Very high reload speed. High aim assist.
  • Cons – Low range. Below average stability and mag size.

Recommended PvP Perks:

  1. Iron Red Dot or Iron Warrior Sights, Iron Ranged Scope
  2. Perfect Balance, Smallbore, Braced Frame, Hammer Forged, Injection Mold, Hand-laid Stock
  3. High Caliber Rounds, Explosive Rounds, Extended Mag, Full Auto
  4. Zen Moment/Hidden Hand, Life Support, Crowd Control, Eye of the Storm, Icarus, Firefly, Triple Tap

Recommended PvE Perks:

  1. Iron Red Dot or Iron Warrior Sights, Iron Ranged Scope
  2. Perfect Balance, Smallbore, Braced Frame, Hammer Forged, Hand-laid Stock, Injection Mold,
  3. High Caliber Rounds, Explosive Rounds, Extended Mag, Full Auto
  4. Firefly/Triple Tap, Life Support, Zen Moment, Crowd Control, Eye of the Storm

Best Vendor Perks:

  1. Iron Red Dot or Iron Warrior Sights, Iron Ranged Scope
  2. Braced Frame (PvP), Hand-laid Stock (PvE)
  3. Extended Mag
  4. Hidden Hand (PvP), Firefly (PvE)

A member of the intriguing MIDA-archetype, this is only the second time we’ve seen a legendary gun of this archetype.

This one doesn’t need the aim assist, especially if you get Hidden Hand, so Red Dot or Warrior Sights are the primary options. The main benefit will come from Stability; it’ll help maintain maximum RoF and accuracy.

In the third column, High Caliber Rounds is my favorite, but Full Auto is hard to beat. Explosive Rounds is a great perk too, but the blast can blot the reticle and make it hard to remain on target.

For PvE, the first three slots’ worth of recommendations are the same, but in the last column Firefly and Triple Tap are the decidedly best options.

The Branded Lord

  • Pros – Very high charge rate. High aim assist and reload speed. Above average range.
  • Neutral – Average stability.
  • Cons – Needs 6 bolts to kill. Very low impact. Below average mag size and recoil direction.

Recommended Perks:

  1. Linear Compensator
  2. Rifled Barrel, Braced Frame, Perfect Balance, Smallbore, Hammer Forged
  3. Accelerated Coils, Quickdraw, Lightweight, Single Point Sling
  4. Rangefinder, Life Support, Eye of the Storm, Performance Bonus, Hot Swap

Best Vendor Perks:

  1. Linear Compensator
  2. Rifled Barrel, Hand-laid Stock
  3. Accelerated Coils
  4. Rangefinder

An archetype previously occupied by only the Split Shifter Pro, The Branded Lord joins it as a very fast charging, high range, fusion rifle that takes a skilled hand to wield. Although it probably doesn’t do enough damage to be good at more than add clean-up in PvE, in close range Crucible battles it can dominate. Needing six bolts to kill is a major drawback, however, so anything outside of optimal range is likely going to be a losing engagement.

Linear Compensator will help to make the recoil almost completely vertical, which makes tightening the bolt spread easier. Braced Frame, Perfect Balance, and Smallbore are your go-to choices, in that order.

Accelerated Coils is going to drop the damage per bolt down, but the charge rate will be lightning fast.