Best Iron Banner Weapons In Destiny 2

Key Takeaways

• Iron Banner in Destiny 2 no longer factors in light level, offers daily challenges, and features new game modes.
• Lord Saladin can now focus on all 15 Iron Banner weapons introduced in Destiny 2’s Season of the Plunder.
• Weapons like Crimil’s Dagger, Peacebond, and Archon’s Thunder offer potent perks for PvP and PvE playstyles.

Destiny 2‘s Iron Banner has gone through quite a few changes. The game mode has completely been revamped to not take into account the light level of players, and Iron Banner bounties have been done away with in favor of daily challenges. Two new game modes were also introduced: Rift and Eruption.

Iron Banner’s weapons have remained roughly in the same spot, even with a buff to 180 RPM hand cannons which would have technically made Frontier’s Cry an interesting choice. This list is a tentative ranking of all the best Iron Banner weapons players can earn from Iron Banner engrams, matches, and Lord Saladin as rewards in Destiny 2.

Updated December 4, 2024 by Luke Brown: Since Season of the Plunder the game has seen 15 Iron Banner weapons released, or reprized, and every single one can now be focused with Lord Saladin, provided the necessary engrams are available.

Considering the huge number of weapons available, it is more important than ever to know exactly where to spend engrams, and which weapons are worth avoiding. As such, some listings have been changed to show off the best of the 25 weapons available in the current sandbox.

10 Crimil’s Dagger

Crucible Powerhouse

• Kinetic Hand Cannon
• Good Perks: Slideways or Moving Target and Explosive Payload or Opening Shot

Thanks to the recent buff to 120 Hand Cannons, Crimil’s Dagger has found itself in the perfect spot to be unstoppable in PvP. While it doesn’t have the best stats of all the 120 Hand Cannons, it does have relatively good stats, with particularly good Aim Assist. Using perks like Slideways or Moving Target improves the lackluster stats, increasing handling and target acquisition, respectfully.

Combining these perks with either Explosive Payload or Opening shot will provide either increased flinch to enemies or better range and aim assist at the start of a gunfight. Ultimately, while this gun isn’t perfect, it can rule a crucible match with the right perks, and a player that knows how to handle the archetype.

9 Peacebond

The Best Things In A Small Package

• Stasis Sidearm
• Good Perks: Subsistence, Killing Wind or Rangefinder and Surrounded, Swashbuckler, Demolitionist, Iron Reach or Headstone

Peacebond is a weapon that is guaranteed to turn heads wherever players go. This sidearm is best recognized by its minuscule size, and it’s likely the smallest weapon in the game.

That said, it’s not a terrible sidearm despite sidearms, in general, being bad in both PVP and PVE. Peacebond has a ton of cool perks, particularly in its second column, where it can roll with Headstone for any Stasis players looking for a Stasis weapon. Keep this one around – for those times when players need to complete bounties with a sidearm, as it does have a nice feel to it.

8 Archon’s Thunder

This LMG Has Had A Major Glow Up

• Stasis Machine Gun
• Good Perks: Envious Assassin or Rimestealer and Killing Tally or Headstone

Archon’s Thunder has returned with a new coat of paint, this time in the flavor of Stasis as is fitting for this Episode. Whether a player is looking for a solid workhorse weapon to plow through ads or something to synergize with a Stasis build, Archon’s Thunder has rolls for every player. As a high-impact frame machine gun, Archon’s Thunder will have no problem burning through most smaller enemies and will deal serviceable damage to champions and bosses.

Thanks to the Stasis damage type, and the subclass-specific perks that come with it, Archon’s Thunder is perfect for players looking to utilize frost armor, freezes, and shatters. Running the roll of Rimestealer and Headstone will allow the gun to self-activate freeze-based subclass perks, and generate frost armor, making the player tankier. Or, the roll of Envious Assassin and Killing Tally will allow for high damage, large magazines, and unmatched ad-clearing power.

7 The Hero’s Burden

A Great Alternative

• Void Submachine Gun
• Good Perks: Feeding Frenzy or Moving Target and Destabilizing Rounds or Iron Reach

SMGs are a pretty powerful archetype and work wonderfully with most 3.0 Elemental builds. The Hero’s Burden is therefore an alright choice for anyone looking for a Void SMG, but in all fairness, its second column suggests it’s much better used in PVP than in PVE. While Feeding Frenzy and Destabilizing Rounds can be a powerful combination, other Void SMGs will fare better in most PvE content.

That said, given how elusive Funnelweb can be, The Hero’s Burden can be a nice replacement for players looking for a cheap placeholder until they can get a Void SMG with a nice godroll. It may not be the best of the best, as both perk columns only have a few okay options, but it’s worth keeping an eye out for the perks whenever one drops.

6 Bite Of The Fox

The Best Way To Learn To Snipe

• Kinetic Sniper Rifle
• Good Perks: Snapshot and Opening Shot

This sniper is a PvP player’s dream, handling well and having the holy grail roll of Snapshot and Opening Shot. The Bite Of The Fox is a snappy, accurate weapon able to function well at almost all ranges thanks to its possible perk rolls. If any player has ever wanted to learn to snipe in PvP, this is the weapon to use.

This sniper is one of the best choices for quick-scoping, thanks to Snapshot making aiming down sights lightning fast and Opening Shot making the initial shot super accurate. While sniping isn’t for everyone, and this gun has no real usable roll for PvE, Bite Of The Fox is a fun and satisfying gun to use, and it’s hard to argue that there is anything better than that.

5 Claws Of The Wolf

Perfect Synergy For A Void Build

• Void Pulse Rifle
• Good Perks: Repulsor Brace or Headseeker and Kill Clip or Destabilizing Rounds

Pulse rifles are an insanely powerful archetype that isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. That’s why Claws Of The Wolf ranks this high on the list because, for the most part, there will be a niche in which this pulse rifle will work thanks to the amazing strength of pulse rifles in general. Even in a season that focuses mostly on other weapons, pulse rifles have remained extremely relevant and powerful options in both PVE and PVP.

Claws Of The Wolf makes a decent budget option for players who haven’t been able to get their hands on a decent Gridskipper, which is also another powerful Void pulse rifle reprized in this episode. Both come with Repulsor Brace and Destabilizing Rounds as a potential roll, which is fantastic for PVE. The combination of Headseeker and Kill Clip allows for a powerful dueling weapon, however, the gun itself doesn’t feel fantastic to use which may put many players off.

4 Tusk Of The Boar

The Only Strand Flavored Waveframe

• Strand Waveframe Grenade Launcher
• Good Perks: Envious Assassin or Slice and Chain Reaction or Hatchling

Tusk Of The Boar is yet another in the growing list of Waveframe Grenade Launchers, and it stands out as one of two that appear in the Kinetic slot. Considering the other comes from a dungeon, Tusk Of The Boar is more accessible to a majority of players. Despite the recent nerf to Chain Reaction on Waveframe Grenade Launchers, this gun still rips through groups of ads with relative ease.

Combining Anvious Assassin with Chain Reaction allows for an overflowed magazine and explosive damage, further enhancing the latent killing potential of a Waveframe Grenade Launcher. Tusk Of The Boar can also be utilized well in Strand builds thanks to the perks Slice and Hatchling, which use keywords from the Strand subclasses and directly play into subclass perks.

3 Riiswalker

Overshadowed, Yet Underappreciated

• Kinetic Shotgun
• Good Perks: Slideshot and Iron Reach or Opening Shot

Riiswalker has been a go-to choice for many shotgun players for a very long time, and even at a time like this when shotguns don’t have the strongest position in the meta, many players still fall back to this classic powerhouse of a weapon out of comfort. It’s fairly rare to have good shotguns in the kinetic slot, as there is only a handful of them in the game (Fractethyst and the Wastelander M5 for instance). On the Exotic side, there’s the Conditional Finality, which is a Crucible staple, but, utilizing the Riiswalker allows for other exotics to be used.

Riiswalker also comes with a variety of powerful perks that encourage close-range gameplay in PVP. Slideshot is a classic part of shotgun gameplay, and there aren’t any other perks in the slot that comes close. In the second column, Opening Shot can be incredibly powerful and empowers the shotgun’s ability to get a clear one-shot, or Iron Reach for that extra range that players often need in shotgun duels.

2 Multimach CCX

The Best Utility SMG For PvE

• Kinetic Submachine Gun
• Good Perks: Attrition Orbs or Moving Target and Kinetic Tremors or Iron Reach

Multimach CCX is a somewhat legendary SMG, and its latest iteration is no exception. Whether a player prefers PvE or PvP, this SMG has the perfect roll for everyone. Combining Moving Target and Iron Reach will provide a huge boost in range, as well as snappy target acquisition, as long as the player is actively moving. Considering the hypermobile and close-quarters playstyle required for this gun to succeed, this combination of perks should serve anyone well.

Prefer PvE? Attrition Orbs can consistently spawn Orbs of Power through maintained damage, providing both the player and their fireteam with a constant supply of super energy and activating any perks in their load-outs that require Orbs of Power. Combining this with Kinetic Tremors will offer not only an increased damage output but area-of-effect damage that can decimate groups of ads, help stun champions, and further activate Attrition Orbs.

1 Tinasha’s Mastery

Stun Champions With Ease

• Stasis Rocket-Assisted Sidearm
• Good Perks: Air Trigger or Impulse Amplifier and Chill Clip

Being one of two available Rocket-Assisted sidearms in the kinetic slot, Tinasha’s Mastery is by far the best weapon to focus on getting a good roll. Not only are Rocket-Assisted sidearms one of the most popular weapon types in the game, thanks to their solid damage output and good ammo economy, but Tinasha’s Mastery also rolls with Chill Clip, making it a champion stunning powerhouse.

Since Bungie recently nerfed the ammo reserves of Rocket-Assisted sidearms, perks like Air Trigger are a surefire way to avoid the panic-inducing feeling of running out of ammo. There is no reason not to have at least one of these tucked away in the vault, or glued firmly in the inventory, especially in Episode: Revenant with its focus on Stasis damage.