"Frustrated doesn't cut it": Destiny 2 players have serious issues with the new Iron Banner

Destiny 2's first Iron Banner event has been live for a few days, and the player community has had enough time to collect its thoughts on the revised week-long PvP celebration. So far the overall response from returning players has been, uh, not good. If you're in a TL;DR mood, this one Reddit post and comment sum up most of the community conversation I've picked up on so far.

Read on for more of the responses to specific Iron Banner issues. There are a lot of them.

Players think it doesn't feel like Iron Banner any more

Even though they were both dedicated PvP modes, the original Destiny's Iron Banner felt pretty distinct from the Crucible. Light level differences gave the event an air of hardcore competition; powerful gear was a boon but far from a guaranteed victory and players of all kinds still participated to earn tempting rewards. Those power level differences are gone in this new Iron Banner.

And this limited-time event has only aggravated existing concerns about matchmaking.

The reward system doesn't have many fans

I wouldn't call the original Iron Banner's reward system "straightforward". You played matches to earn reputation, which would expand what Iron Banner items you could buy, but you only got reputation from wins, but did you got little participation trophies from losing that would turn into rep the next time you won, and you'd get loot drops when you ranked up and also sometimes at the end of a match… It was A Lot.

In Destiny 2? You earn tokens by playing, and also by doing challenges. Then you turn those tokens in to rank up, which might give you Iron Banner loot… or it might give you gear you already have.

The weapons themselves are no Nirwen's Mercy

People seem to like the samurai-inspired armor plenty, but the Iron Banner weapons are getting dragged all over.

Seriously though, remember Nirwen's Mercy?

I'll never forget you, my original Destiny love. FOREST GREEN PULSE RIFLES FOR LIFE.

The usual qualifiers apply to all this: you're more likely to go post on Twitter or Reddit if you're having a miserable time than if you're loving it. But this is still the most consistent displeasure I've seen about Destiny 2 since the consumable shaders uproar. I'm sure Bungie's hearing all of these complaints, but we'll have to wait and see if that's reflected whenever the next Iron Banner rolls around.