Bane

Overview

A Bane is a type of challenge modifier chosen when customizing an activity in The Portal. Banes give random enemies new abilities, for example spawning mini-Screebs when they take sustained damage. At Advanced difficulty you can pick two; higher difficulties may allow more.

Why use them

Each modifier raises the activity score and so the reward tier; players pick banes that do not hurt their build. A Bungie forum answer says Bane-empowered enemies only spawn on Expert or higher, which may matter in older content such as Onslaught. See Bane Challenge Modifiers for the triumph.