Here's a guide on how to level up fast in Iron Banner with minimum grinding. In addition, this guide will list all REP gain values and buffs.
FAQ:
- Recommended minimum Light for Iron Banner: 230 (according to Bungie, 260 would be more accurate imho)
- Only Level 40 Guardians can lead a Fireteam
- Gear purchased from Lord Saladin now requires Legendary Marks instead of Glimmer
- You begin at Rank 0, not Rank 1
- You can complete standard Crucible bounties (Get 2 Heavy Kills, Complete 3 Games of PvP in a Fireteam) while doing Iron Banner
- You can use Emblems, Shaders and Class Items from previous Iron Banner seasons (including Year 1) and feel their benefits immediately
- Both Shader types (Rank 2 and 5) and Emblem types (Rank 1 and 3) will give you you the same REP bonuses.
- Wearing Iron Banner Armour does not give any additional REP boosts.
- If you have no Iron Banner Emblem, Shader or Class Item, please add 20% to the amount of time/games required to level up.
- You get Reward Packages for hitting Rank 3 and Rank 5 on each of your characters
What Does GDH do? How does he rank up so fast? What's his secret?
Here's kind of how my Iron Banner week plays out since 2.0.
You can hit Rank 5 on all 3 Characters (and have done since launch) in about 8-10 hours over the week.
You can normally would stay in a Fireteam of 6 to avoid crippling late-game match-making.
Overall it takes around around 35 to 45 matches (over the course of 7 days) to hit Rank 5 on 3 characters and that's NOT counting using the Weekly Bounties (using them reduces the time significantly)
Last seasons we had players hit Rank 5 on 3 characters in less than 30 games.
Here's a Table on which shows last season and the character hit Rank 5 on 3 Characters in 48 Games Total
FOR SALE AND IN THE LOOT/DROP TABLE:
For Sale:
- Gauntlets x2 - Rank 3 - Light Level 280 - 40 Legendary Marks (There's 2 types available on Playstation, one of which is exclusive)
- Helms x2 - Rank 4 - Light Level 280 - 40 Legendary Marks (There's 2 types available on Playstation, one of which is exclusive)
- Sniper Rifle - Rank 4 - Light Level 280 - 90 Legendary Marks
- Rocket Launcher - Rank 5 - Light Level 280 - 90 Legendary Marks
Available Post-Game Drops:
- Gauntlets x2 - From Rank 2
- Helms x2, Sniper Rifle - From Rank 3
- Rocket Launcher - From Rank 4
Important Notes:
- Items that drop as post-game rewards can be higher than 280 Light
- The Items available in your "Drop Table" are based on the rank of your highest Ranked character - Warlock at Rank 4 means Rank 4 drops possible for all 3 Characters
- Any Iron Banner Gun or Armour piece can be rewarded (with a random roll) to you for achieving Rank 5 (doesn't mean you'll get the one you want though)
FOREWORD AND REP BUFFS EXPLAINED - MUST READ!!!
WINS AND MEDALLIONS:
- Wins are worth 60 REP with no shader, emblem or class item equipped
- Wins are worth 80 REP with shader, emblem and class item equipped
- You get a Medallion when you lose, you can get a maximum of 5.
- Medallions are worth 50 REP, you cash them in automatically when your team wins
GENERAL "ITEM" BUFFS:
- Each Iron Banner Emblem, Shader and Class Item account for a 10% REP Increase.
- The Emblem becomes available at Rank 1, The Shader at Rank 2 and the Class item at Rank 3.
- Buy them and equip them as soon as they become available.
- All of the below tables are built on the assumption you have the Iron Banner Shader, Emblem & Bond/Cloak/Towel.
- Emblem + Shader + Class Item = 33% Buff NOT 30% Buff (this is because the multipliers are sequential, so (REP x1.1 x1.1 x1.1).
- So by Rank 2, you should already have 21% Buff from the Emblem and Shader.
TEMPERED BUFF:
- The Daily Tempered Buff is applied after the sequential x1.1 buffs (Emblems, Shader, Class Items)
- There is No Tempered Buff on Tuesday
- The Tempered Buff is now automatically applied and continues to grow in effectiveness each day of the event (unlike previous Iron Banner seasons where you had to buy it)
ALTERNATIVE CHARACTER BUFF:
- The Alt Character Buff is applied after the Daily Tempered Buff
- This is used to help your 2nd and 3rd characters 'catch up' with the character you ranked up in IB 1st.
- The Catch Up buff works passively and automatically
- It accounts for a 100% Increase in Bonus to REP earned
- For it to work, your 1st character must be AT LEAST Rank 2 and your 2nd (and/or 3rd) Character must be AT LEAST Rank 1
- So it goes: (Base Rep Amount) x (Shader?) x (Emblem?) X (Class Item?) x (Daily Tempered Buff) x (Alt Character Buff?)
- Most of the tables in the bottom half of this post are based on levelling your 1st guardian up
BOUNTIES
- All new bounties including 9 Daily bounties (3 per day) and 3 new Weekly bounties which reward Legendary Marks
- It might be best to keep the Weekly Bounties till the end of the week
DAILY BOUNTIES - 125 REP Each - 3 out of 9 will be available each day:
- Iron Domination - Win an Iron Banner match with a score of at least 2500
- Iron Hued - Win an Iron Banner match with any Iron Banner emblem or shader equipped
- Iron Journeyman - Complete an Iron Banner match while finishing in the top 3 on your team
- Iron Workhouse - Defeat 20 opposing Guardians in the Iron Banner
- Iron Precision - Defeat 10 Guardians with precision headshots
- Iron Light - Defeat 15 opposing Guardians using any ability (melee, grenade, super)
- Heavy Iron - Defeat 3 opposing Guardians with a Heavy Weapon
- Familiar Iron - Get 13 Primary Kills
- Polishing Iron - Reach Iron Banner Rank 2
WEEKLY BOUNTIES - 525 Rep Each AND 25 Legendary Marks each:
- Iron Versatility: 50 Primary Kills, 25 Special Kills, 13 Heavy Kills
- Iron Marathon: Complete 13 matches, Win 7 matches
- Iron Gauntlet: 10 Kill Streak (not sure if 2x5 streaks count), 5 Double Kills, Get the Top Score in a match, reach Rank 4
TABLES EXPLAINED:
- All tables are based off a playtime of 1 hour per day.
- 1 hour of play is 5 matches (12 mins per match incl Orbit Matchmaking, post match breakdown etc)
- The tables below are the assumption you Lose 3 Games and Win 2 Games (with the 5th game being a win, meaning you cash in your medallions)
- Factored in completing each of the 3 daily bounties each day, these bounties are very achievable to complete in 5 matches
- None of the tables account for the large REP to be gained by completing Weekly Bounties (since these can be tricky for some players)
- The 1st 4 Tables show how the main REP gaining values (Wins and Medallions, Daily and Weekly Bounties) are affected each day
- The following 3 Tables show the optimum ways of levelling up between 1 and 3 characters
MEDALLION VALUES
WIN VALUES
DAILY BOUNTY VALUES
WEEKLY BOUNTY VALUES
PLAYING FOR 1 HOUR A DAY ALL WEEK - MAIN CHARACTER
PLAYING FOR 1 HOUR A DAY ON THE WEEKEND ONLY - MAIN CHARACTER
NOTE: Pick up 3 Bounties on Tue, Wed and Thur so that Friday you can Turn in 6 to 9 bounties, simply fly to the tower and grab the bounties, no need to play Iron Banner for the 1st 3 days.
PLAYING FOR 1 HOUR A DAY ON THE WEEKEND ONLY - ALTERNATE CHARACTERS
NOTE: Pick up 3 Bounties on Tue, Wed and Thur so that Friday you can Turn in 6 to 9 bounties, simply fly to the tower and grab the bounties, no need to play Iron Banner for the 1st 3 days.
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Credits: Special thanks to GenericDreadHead for this guide.