While it may not have meaningfully boosted Steam player counts, Marathon’s new Cryo Archive zone has been received positively by players. The feeling of rushing through the UESC ship, struggling to understand its mechanics while battling other Runners, has proven quite addictive, despite the high risk.
However, Bungie isn’t sitting on its laurels. Director Joe Ziegler acknowledged feedback on several aspects of the end-game zone and said the team would be discussing the same. These include its current schedule (it’s currently weekend-only), the lack of solo play, and making Subroutines a more guaranteed Vault drop (which is essential for accessing the boss).
Now, this doesn’t mean they’ll be addressed immediately. “Any of these may take some time to figure out, so I can’t guarantee quick solutions here, but we’ll definitely discuss these topics as a team this week,” said Ziegler.
Interestingly, he concluded by thanking players “for sticking with us as we evolve the game” and fighting “the good fight against the cyborgs, robots, and aliens!” “Robots” obviously refers to the UESC’s forces that you spend an inordinate amount of time slaughtering while “aliens”…well, if you know the original trilogy’s lore, then you know what that refers to. There aren’t currently any cyborgs in the game.
Perhaps a tease for the future, especially as Bungie further expands on the lore and whatever awaits in the Marathon? Time will tell. Season 2: NIGHTFALL is still a ways off, kicking off in June and introducing a new setting for Dire Marsh. It will also include new weapons, Contracts, mods, cores, Runner Shell, and The Cradle for further customization.
