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Light It Up with Iron Banner grenade kills in Destiny 2

Tips to make the Light It Up Iron Banner quest step in Destiny 2 slightly more bearable.

Bill Lavoy and Sam Chandler

July 24, 2019 1:20 PM

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Guardians of all skill levels in Destiny 2 are currently banging their heads against the wall trying to finish a quest step in the Iron Banner called Light It Up. This step has three parts, two of which aren’t so bad. The third step, however, requires that players get grenade final blows in Iron Banner, and it’s not just a few. I completed this quest on all three characters during the first Iron Banner of Season of Opulence, and today I’ll share some tips to make Light It Up a bit easier for those that are struggling.

Light It Up in Destiny 2

The goal heading into this is that you want as many grenades to throw as possible, and those grenades should be getting you kills on a reliable basis so you’re not wasting your time. Some general tips are listed below, and even further down I’ll discuss class tips.

• Ordnance Mods in your armor can increase grenade regeneration significantly
• Grenades that can attach to enemies can work well with specific strategies
• Titans and Warlocks can carry double grenades with subclass configuration

Hunter grenade kill tips

The Hunter was my least favorite class to complete this quest step on, although I’m a Hunter main. They might have grenades that do great damage, but you’d need to land it in your enemy’s pocket for it to kill them. My advice is to go with the Arcstrider subclass and bring the Flux Grenade. This is the one that will attach to enemies if you throw it close enough to them. However, this grenade alone won’t kill a Guardian at full health and shield, so you’ll need a strategy.

Bring either a Hand Cannon or Bow with you. When you find yourself alone with an opponent, hit them with a single shot, then follow up by sticking a grenade to their face. This is almost always going to be a kill, and it’s something most players can duplicate three to four times per match, which is 9-12 percent of your progress each game, not including grenade kills by teammates.

The reason for the Hand Cannon or Bow is that it will chunk a Guardian quite hard, meaning that the Flux Grenade will deal enough damage to finish them off for the final blow. I prefer Le Monarque (or any Bow) because it’s incredibly easy to hip fire, but use what works for you and adapt the strategy to fit your play style.

Warlock grenade kill tips

As for the Warlock, it’s a proverbial breeze compared to playing as the Hunter. While it doesn’t have the same freedom of picking any grenade as with the Titan and Armamentarium, it does boast some truly competitive grenades.

The most obvious choice is going to be playing as a Dawnblade with Starfire Protocol Exotic chest piece. Starfire Protocol grants an additional Fusion Grenade, the Warlock’s sticky grenade. This isn’t enough to one-hit kill an opponent, so you must soften them up first with a weapon before landing the sticky.

Furthermore, your grenades are recharged from empowered weapon damage. Use an Empowering Rift or the Attunement of Grace’s charged melee attack to gain Empowering and then get to killing. It gets better: grenade kills will fully recharge your Rift, meaning more Empowering Rifts. It’s a cycle that just keeps giving.

If you don’t want to go the route of Starfire Protocol, you could try Attunement of Fission, the middle tree Voidwalker. The Handheld Supernova transforms your grenade into a short-range void blast which annihilates an opponent in a single hit. Couple this with Contraverse Hold and you’ll become unkillable while it charges, and you’ll get a random amount of grenade energy back on hit.

You could also consider using the Attunement of Chaos (Slova Bomb) for the Chaos Accelerant grenade buff. Charge your grenade by consuming your Super to make it deadlier and more effective. More Axion Bolts will spawn and chase for longer or Scatter Grenades will home-in on opponents.

Honestly, Light It Up is going to be easiest on a Warlock. Save yourself a headache and use one if you can.

Titan grenade kill tips

Titans fall into the middle of the difficulty scale when it comes to reliably getting grenade kills in the Crucible. They have options, but maybe not quite as strong as the Warlock.

The best choice for Titans is to carry two grenades, and for that there are two options. The first is to wear the Armamentarium, an Exotic piece of Titan chest armor that gives Guardians an additional grenade to throw.

The second option is to leave the Armamentarium at home and choose the Striker subclass, opting to go with the Code of the Earthshaker (top) tree. This will give Titans a second grenade charge, and one of my all-time favorite options, the Pulse Grenade, is in this subclass.

My advice is to go with the Armamentarium and the Fusion Grenade from the Sunbreaker subclass. The Fusion Grenade, as outlined with the Hunter, allows you to stick the grenade to your opponents. Hit them with a Hand Cannon or Bow shot (or whatever else works for you), then stick the grenade to their face to get the likely kill. Try to go after players on their own so you're not being melted before you can execute your plan.

Of course, there are other strategies out there that will work, but these are a few that got me through a rough quest step three times in one week. If you’re struggling with Light It Up in Iron Banner, be sure to give some of these a try, and hit up our Destiny 2 complete strategy guide for more help with all your big Guardian needs.

Bill Lavoy and Sam Chandler

The Destiny 2 Guys

Bill and Sam are the two Shacknews writers who handle the bulk of the Destiny 2 content. As a Hunter and Warlock main respectively, they can cover a great deal of ground with whatever is happening in Destiny 2 today. What they don't know they can find out thanks to their all-star lineup of Destiny 2 friends.