Destiny 2 Iron Banner Begins; New Update's Patch Notes Released

The first Iron Banner event of Destiny 2's Year 3 has begun, and it coincides with the release of a new update. Bungie has released hotfix update 2.6.0.4, which as the name suggests is primarily concerned with fixing lingering issues that have been impacting the game, including crashes during Black Armory forge runs. Here's what's in the patch notes and a look at the armor you can earn by taking part in Iron Banner.

Update 2.6.0.4 went live following a brief period of maintenance. It should download automatically--it's less than a 100 MB download on Xbox One--but if it doesn't, you might receive the aforementioned error when logging in. If so, try manually triggering the update or restart your system to ensure it's installed; if it's not, you won't be able to get online to play.

The patch addresses some serious issues. The Black Armory's Gofannon forge has been bugged since the release of Shadowkeep, causing the game to crash when the Servitor spawns. Because the four forges are now rotated through in a playlist, rather than being available individually, the forges have effectively been unplayable when Gofannon is in the rotation. That should now be fixed.

Other fixes include those related to the use of certain characters in player or clan names and fields causing errors, Nightmare Hunts' Time Trial Master triumph not progressing, and a Powerful reward not dropping from Nightfall: The Ordeal. You can see the full patch notes below.

These fixes will be welcome news for those who have been impacted, but for everyone else, the most notable Destiny 2 news is the arrival of Iron Banner. This is the first instance of it during Shadowkeep/Season of the Undying, and it brings some previously announced changes (as well as bonus Valor). There are just four bounties total to get from Lord Saladin at the Tower, but each one rewards you with Pinnacle gear--high-end drops that are the only way to advance your Power level from 950 to the current cap of 960.

Those bounties each need to be completed before Iron Banner ends with the weekly reset on Tuesday, October 22, but you can also make a progress on a season-long quest called Scour the Rust. This consists of a few of the objective types we've previously seen as bounties. However, one of the quest steps you'll encounter calls for you to land 10 Super final blows, but the icon shows a grenade launcher. In fact, the goal is to rack up 10 submachine gun final blows.

You can see the new Iron Banner armor--known as the Iron Will set--above, but know that the process of obtaining it works different than in the past. Here's how Bungie outlines things:

• There is a new Seasonal pursuit, which must be completed prior to being able to turn in tokens to purchase packages from Lord Saladin
  • This pursuit is character based and rewards the new S8 armor set
  • Each step of the pursuit awards Iron Banner weapons or armor
  • Most of the objectives within the pursuit track progress at any point during Season of the Undying, even if you have not yet acquired the pursuit
• Until the Seasonal pursuit has been completed, all rewards will be obtained from completing matches and bounties
  • All rewards are weapons until the Seasonal pursuit is complete
  • The existing seven bounties that offered powerful rewards have been adjusted to offer pinnacle rewards (960 Power max,) but only four are available per event
    • We are tracking a bug in which the four bounties offered as pinnacle rewards rotate each day allowing more than four to be completed during a single event

Destiny 2 Hotfix 2.6.0.4 Patch Notes

• Fixed an issue where certain characters in player names and clan fields could cause Squirrel and Weasel errors
• Clan names should no longer be truncated
• Fixed an issue where Nightmare hunts Time Trial Master triumph would not progress correctly
• Fixed an issue where Nightfall: The Ordeal would not drop a powerful reward for players who had already completed the Vanguard Strikes Challenge
• Fixed an issue that provoked the temporary deactivation of rally banners and the “Tire Game” in the Sanctuary vendor space on the Moon
• Fixed an issue where the Servitor spawning in the Gofannon forge could crash the game
• Fixed an issue where running the game as an admin could create a "steam_appid.txt" file that would cause a crash
• Tuned matchmaking in patrol destinations to increase player population