There are some promising updates about Duos making their way to the game as a part of Season 2, including a new experimental queue on April 15th, 10 AM PT. It’s otherwise been a busy week of balancing the game over at Bungie, with several nerfs of popular tactics hitting the game, the Biotoxic Disinjector being prominent among them.

It’s all part of an effort to make Marathon well-balanced, and to transform Tau Ceti IV into the destination of choice for those of you who can’t get enough of extraction shooters. In the meantime, those among you who’ve been having a blast playing as part of two-member extraction squads could dabble with bigger teams, or maybe take a breather if you’re so inclined.

Marathon is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. It’s due to receive even more content in Season 2, including a night version of Dire Marsh and a new Runner. Check out the roadmap here.

“At least they didn’t touch the damage,” is what you’d probably say next, but alas. The Melee Damage stat, which can provide up to 100 percent bonus damage against other Runners, now only provides a maximum of 50 percent. Don’t worry – it’s still an effective tool against UESC bots and other non-Runner threats.

The reasoning for this change is reasonable enough. “Melee in Marathon is intended to be a high-risk but potent method to contest close-quarters weapons like shotguns and submachine guns. However, the breakpoints for quick melee kills show up too early in the Melee Damage stat progression, which means additional investment into a build isn’t required to get the maximum effective output.”

So while Bungie doesn’t want melee to feel downright useless, it believes “that getting to that maximum output should be the result of meaningful buildcrafting and upgrade progression.” Consider the knife as more of a “powerful backup tool” that requires “more thoughtful play” instead of the Eater of Worlds that it previously was.

The other big change is to the Bubble Shield. It’s now Superior rarity, making it less common, and its health has dropped by 33 percent. The good news is that its resistance to UESC damage has increased by 17 percent and Volt Weapons are less effective against it.

Check out the rest of the patch notes below for more details. Bungie previously revealed changes to the Recon Shell, but the Vandal Shell is also getting a touch-up on April 14th, so stay tuned.

Marathon Update 1.0.5.3

Combat

Knife

• Reduced the maximum lunge distance by ~10% and trimmed down the targeting angle by ~20%.

Bubble Shield

• Increased rarity from Deluxe (blue) to Superior (purple)
• Reduced bubble HP by 33%
• Removed vulnerability to Volt Weapon damage
• Increased resistance to UESC damage by 17%

Runners

Stats

Melee Damage

• Reduced bonus damage provided by the Melee Damage stat from a maximum of 100% to a maximum of 50% against enemy Runners. Damage against non-Runner targets is unchanged.

DEVELOPER NOTE: Melee in Marathon is intended to be a high-risk but potent method to contest close-quarters weapons like shotguns and submachine guns. However, the breakpoints for quick melee kills show up too early in the Melee Damage stat progression, which means additional investment into a build isn’t required to get the maximum effective output. We don’t want to compromise on having melee feel powerful, but believe that getting to that maximum output should be the result of meaningful buildcrafting and upgrade progression. Our goal for this change and the knife lunge changes above are that the knife remains a powerful backup tool, but requires more thoughtful play – both in and out of run – to be most effective.

Thief

• Fixed additional Grapple-related slide cancel movement exploits.

Vault and Armory

• Fixed an issue causing the Vault and Armory to sometimes appear to be empty.
• Fixed an issue causing the Armory item refreshes and free daily items to not appear consistently.

Contracts

Traxus

• Removed “in a single run” condition from Traxus Return On Investment 4/5.

Zones

Cryo Archive

• Fixed an issue that would cause an exfil countdown to reset if the 1st crew member to enter left the circle, even if the other crew members were in the circle.

“Biotoxic Disinjector. It’s Strong! … too strong… We will be doing a change on live, taking it down a notch and nerfing its damage. We’re likely to make some adjustments to Biotox in the near future and may not stick to this damage nerf, but for now, we wanted to make sure we could curb a little bit of its dominion in the game.”

The result of that change is a whopping 35% to the weapon’s damage, which could be a massive hit to your strategy if you’ve been relying on its ability to overwhelm your opponents with its lasers and grenades. It’s still quite strong, but may require more skill and strategy to use.

However, with upgrades to other areas such as the Recon Shell’s Echo Pulse, finding new ways to keep your opponents guessing shouldn’t be too much of a problem if you’ve managed to overcome Cryo Archive and get the Disinjector in the first place.

While the damage nerf might only be temporary, we wouldn’t count on the Disinjector ever going back to how strong it’s been. Of course, that may be the least of worries for hardcore players as Bungie aims sniper rifles, thermal scopes, bubble shields, and even knife damage with its mid-season balance patch. It’s live on April 14th, so stay tuned for detailed patch notes.

First is Echo Pulse, the Shell’s Ultimate, which will now clearly denote enemy Runners and UESC bots. And while other players can still use Signal Jammer, that will only disguise you as a UESC threat when pinged. If that wasn’t enough, it’s going to become a “bit tougher” for opposing teams to know if they’re in range of Pulses.

The Tracker Drone, often mocked for its unreliable tracking (the irony is strong with this one), is also getting a buff. Along with “improving its tracking strength,” it will pivot to other targets if it’s unable to reach the currently designated threat.

Of course, that’s only a sliver of what’s coming in update 1.0.6, which goes live on April 14th, so stay tuned for more details. And while balance changes are nice, it also introduces new items for solo players and teams who prefer “merciful” options. Will those new Implants promised in the roadmap also show up? One can certainly hope.

Without explicitly detailing nerfs or how these aspects would be changing, game director Joe Ziegler said, “Some of these changes will be likely coming in the next patch, the next set will likely be arriving a week after.”

Describing bubble shields as “too easy to get, too powerful to use,” he also said that knives scale “too easily” in power level. Which is more than fair – I’ve seen players run into bubble shields with a knife and a dream, and emerge victorious against multiple foes. Of course, sniper rifles feel “too strong in all scenarios” and thermal scopes are “too present and dominant,” so they’re also getting some adjustments.

Not all of it is nerfs, however. The Vandal and Recon Shells will have “more oomph to match their counterparts,” hopefully making them more viable in higher-level activities. There’s also some new items on the way – one that “gives Solos a more common option when downed,” and another that provides a “more merciful option between crews.”

What could the latter mean? We’ll have to wait and find out, but Ziegler promises a “lot more goodies in the coming patches.” And if your particular area of interest isn’t specified, Bungie has a “big list of things we’re looking into that extends beyond this.” It will require more time to “figure out,” however, so stay tuned for updates.

Marathon is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC, and despite plummeting player counts on Steam (alongside allegedly middling sales), we quite enjoyed it. Whether it will survive in the over-stuffed live-service era remains a toss-up, but a hefty amount of content is planned for later seasons.

This queue will be available until April 8th, 10 AM PT, and should prove intriguing. Outpost is quite the brutal map – it’s no Cryo Archive, but trying to manage its puzzles, obtaining security clearance for certain extraction points, and whatnot can prove challenging, especially for two players. Bungie is keeping a close eye on this, along with any potential issues.

What’s next? Director Joe Ziegler didn’t say, but he noted that, “It’s been valuable to observe the data and hear the feedback. We’ll continue to beat it up, iterate, and update you as we evolve it.”

Nearly a month since launch, it’s unclear when Marathon will receive permanent queuing for Duos. While you can load into maps with a pre-made group of two players, you’ll still run into teams of three. Duos only matches two-player teams together, keeping things balanced. However, with how much the game is designed around squad play, it’s no wonder that Bungie has been testing two-player teams before making it available across the board.

As always, stay tuned for updates. In the meantime, a mid-season balance patch should hit in the coming weeks alongside new Implants to customize your Runners with. Season 2: NIGHTFALL is still a ways off, starting in June, so it will be interesting to see if Bungie can sustain the player base until then.

The analytics firm also believes that most Marathon players—just shy of 70 percent—are on Steam, with an estimated 800,000 copies sold on the platform. PS5, on the other hand, is estimated to have sold around 217,000 copies, and Xbox Series X/S around 133,000 copies. The firm believes that PS5’s player base not even accounting for 20 percent of the total is a notable data point, since Bungie is a first-party studio under Sony.

“Marathon is technically a first-party Sony title, so seeing the home console struggle to break 20% of the volume is a notable data point for the ongoing platform-agnostic debate,” wrote head of market analysis Rhys Elliott. “PlayStation Studios online games will almost certainly continue being multiplatform (despite Sony reportedly pulling back on PC releases).”

Bringing up comparisons with Embark Studios’ ARC Raiders, the analytics firm noted that the server slam events for both titles resulted in wildly varying player sentiment. This has seemingly led to Marathon acquiring players at a slower rate than ARC Raiders, which saw plenty of positivity following its public playtest. Marathon managed to see a 49 percent increase in sales following its server slam, which Elliot notes might come down to the game’s UI/UX issues and more complex onboarding.

“Bungie could have had more time to fix the onboarding process had the beta happened earlier,” wrote Elliott, “but Marathon launched three days after the beta finished. These factors limited the launch sales quite a bit, I reckon.”

As for how it has been doing since launch in terms of player numbers, the research firm says that Marathon has “settled into a respectable rhythm,” managing to get around 345,000 daily active users. Other interesting metrics include the fact that 22 percent of the Marathon player base on Steam has spent over 50 hours with it so far, and 7 percent has seemingly spent over 100 hours. Elliot believes that this might be down to players understanding the appeal of Marathon better the more time they spend with it.

“This data suggests that once the Bungie magic clicks, it hooks players deeper than the average extraction shooter,” Elliott wrote.

Marathon was released on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S earlier this month. Since then, Bungie has continued to support it with post-launch updates. The biggest one of these has been the introduction of Cryo Archive, which features high-end loot that players get to fight over. For more details about the extraction shooter, check out our review, where we gave it a score of 8 out of 10. And while you’re at it, take a look at our thoughts about why the game always feels like it’s in trouble.

Its sneaky skill set works well for those who take a more measured approach to the game’s chaotic battles. With the Shell’s recon abilities on display, the Thief uses its companion drone to great effect, leaving the UESC bots helpless against its nimble movements. The drone’s also a great distraction and a way to lure unwitting foes into the range of a waiting sniper rifle (with the vantage point made possible thanks to its grapple). Or that’s how the one that’s on show in the cinematic chooses to operate, anyhow.

It’s going to be quite handy for whatever Bungie has planned in upcoming content drops, to be sure. If you’ve been on the receiving end of the Thief’s deadly potential, the cinematic below is sure to bring back some unpleasant memories. But for those of you who have mastered the art of striking from the shadows, it’s sure to have you smiling with satisfaction.

Marathon is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Check out our review here for more details.

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.

Cryo Archive is an end-game map built for a team (no solo options) that’s reached level 25 and completed the liaison contracts for all the factions. Your loadout needs to be worth 5,000 Credits, though Bungie will offer a Cryo Archive Sponsored Kit with blue rarity gear. It’s a one-time offer, so use it to familiarise yourself with the zone’s threats.

Despite offering “raid-like puzzles,” this is still a PvEvP map, so other players will offer as much of a threat as the UESC. As you progress through a run, Security Clearance starts to build, which is necessary to open doors and even extract (with other requirements seemingly attached). Seven Vaults also await, and you need to collect their respective keys while completing other requirements to access their precious loot.

Much like Ranked mode, Cryo Archive is only available on the weekends. What will you be doing for the rest of the week? Farming Vault Keys from Tau Ceti IV’s other zones, with “higher-risk” activities having more of a chance to drop them (though they’re also on the Marathon).

Finally, there are weekly limited Contracts to complete on Cryo Archive. They can be rerolled, but once completed, they’re no longer available for the week. Nevertheless, the prospect of high-rarity items, including keys, means they’re worth pursuing. The Codex offers more permanent progression, including new skins for each Runner Shell if you meet the requirements.

For more details on Marathon and whether it’s worth jumping into, check out our review. It’s available on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.