The primary Future 2 Iron Banner of season 19 will start on January 3 2023, and it appears to be like to introduce a brand new sport mode that pits Guardians towards fellow Guardians, with additional challenges from Empress Caiatl and her forces.
Bungie teased the brand new sport mode, Fortress, in a earlier put up within the firm’s ongoing This Week at Bungie (TWAB) sequence. At the moment, Bungie defined the mode could be much like Management however with a twist. The FPS sport‘s Management mode includes crew efforts to seize and management three zones all through numerous maps whereas defeating enemy Guardians all through the exercise. Securing all three zones without delay grants important level bonuses for each kill.
With the TWAB posted on December 15, Bungie supplied extra perception into its forthcoming Fortress mode.
“The targets will change as soon as Caiatl and her troops become involved, however we aren’t revealing the precise particulars of how Fortress works as a result of we wish you to run up that hill yourselves,” the put up says.
Though it’s not solely clear how Bungie plans to introduce the NPCs and Caiatl into Iron Banner, it appears seemingly they’ll both be allied with Guardian groups based mostly on particular targets or will likely be third-party enemies preventing towards all gamers.
The PvPvE format wouldn’t be new for Bungie, as the sport’s Gambit exercise places gamers towards Guardians and NPC enemies. Nevertheless, that is the primary time gamers will see any non-playable species actively take part in Iron Banner.
From a lore perspective, it appears becoming that Caiatl and her forces would be part of Iron Banner. Inside the Future 2 sport world, Lord Shaxx runs the Crucible and Saladin runs Iron Banner. Nevertheless, when Empress Caitlal, a Cabal warlord and daughter to disgraced Emperor Calus, joined forces with the Vanguard, some gamers speculated she would play some position within the Crucible, notably after expressing her curiosity within the exercise to Zavala.
Primarily based on the Lightfall previews, it seems her father Calus would be the essential protagonist when the Future 2 Lightfall launch date rolls round, bringing his Darkish Cabal forces to the newfound metropolis of Neomuna. Caiatl is prepared to battle towards Calus for a number of private causes, together with cruelty stemming from his option to kill her Conflict Beast pet.
The TWAB additionally notes Future 2 season 19 Iron Banner will grant gamers the chance to earn two previously-issued Iron Banner weapons, the Darkish Decider Auto Rifle and the Gunnora’s Axe Slug Shotgun. Each will now embody new perks and the Iron Banner Origin Trait, which causes Guardian ultimate blows to grant enhanced radar and take away the participant from opposing radar once they have low well being.
The TWAB reiterates that the forthcoming Iron Banner weeks would additionally embody a reissue of a well-liked armour set, which features a wolf cloak and a mohawk helmet.
Iron Banner usually takes place on two separate weeks all through the season. Whereas the primary Fortress Iron Banner will begin on January 3 and run by way of the weekly reset on January 10, Bungie has but to share when the second Iron Banner of season 19 will happen. Regardless, the brand new Fortress mode affords a singular tackle a fan-favourite exercise within the widespread area sport, granting gamers one thing to look ahead to taking part in within the new yr.
