Marathon Season 2 Detailed

Marathon developer Bungie has unveiled what, exactly, will change as Season 2 begins, teasing “liberated chaos” as players “know a fresh start is just around the corner” when update 1.0.9 drops next Tuesday (May 19).

“Runners continue to pillage what isn’t theirs across Tau Ceti, and the UESC is growing tired of their criminal activities,” Bungie teased. “As Season 1 comes to a close, you’ll see the first of the UESC’s renewed security efforts, with more to come when Season 2: Nightfall begins on June 2. More details about Season 2 will drop as we get closer to June 2. In the meantime, we have a couple of end-of-season updates to preview. We also want to share more details about the seasonal reset, including what you keep, what goes, and loot rewards you’ll receive when Nightfall begins on June 2.”

From here until the end of the season, you’ll find locked room keys are guaranteed to drop from Wardens, and map events like Intercept, Lockdown, Warden spawns, Convoy, and Anomaly will now be guaranteed on each run, so you can “benefit from their better rewards even more often.”

As a consequence of this, you should expect increases in UESC presence across Tau Ceti IV in response to Runner activity, new warden encounters, more UESC dropship flyovers, and a mysterious new threat on Dire Marsh and Perimeter.

When Season 2 kicks off, Marathon will go through its first-ever seasonal reset to give everyone a “clean slate and equal footing at the start of the new season.” These resets include things related to gameplay progression; you’ll keep your achievements, non-seasonal Codex progression, and cosmetics — see below for the full breakdown.

These changes are the latest of many. Just last month, Marathon doubled the amount of Depleted Patch Kits (meds) and Depleted Shield Charges (armor) consumables players could carry in a single inventory slot, and nerfed — then rebuffed — the WSTR combat shotgun as Bungie bid to make its extraction shooter less punishing for newbies. The week before, Bungie’s boldest attempt yet went live, introducing the CyberAcme Runner Reinforcement Initiative (C.A.R.R.I.), a “new protocol from ONI that rewards solo Runners and coordinated crews for completing contract objectives and exfiling together.”

Last week, Sony reported a $765 million impairment loss due to underperformance of Bungie during its last financial year, after it bought the company in early 2022 in a deal valued at $3.6 billion. But Sony chief financial officer Lin Tao has indicated it will stick with Marathon in a bid to grow its user base. “Player reception to Marathon is strong, with the game receiving a Metacritic score of 82 and more than 90% of the player reviews on Steam being positive,” Tao said. “Engagement metrics such as retention also remain at a high level. Going forward, we aim to improve the performance of the game by working to retain highly engaged core users through the introduction of additional content, further improvements in the gameplay experience and expansion of the user base.”

Season 2 Begins June 2

Runners continue to pillage what isn’t theirs across Tau Ceti, and the UESC is growing tired of their criminal activities. As Season 1 comes to a close, you’ll see the first of the UESC’s renewed security efforts, with more to come when Season 2: NIGHTFALL begins on June 2. More details about Season 2 will drop as we get closer to June 2.

In the meantime, we have a couple of end-of-season updates to preview. We also want to share more details about the seasonal reset, including what you keep, what goes, and loot rewards you’ll receive when NIGHTFALL begins on June 2.

End of Season Update

As the season comes to an end, we want to embrace the feeling of liberated chaos that comes from knowing a fresh start for everyone is just around the corner. To that, our goal with update 1.0.9 coming next Tuesday is to amp up some of the rewards you can earn to make your runs more lucrative and exciting.

Guaranteed Map Events and Keys

Locked room keys are guaranteed to drop from Wardens for the remainder of the season. Additionally, map events like Intercept, Lockdown, Warden spawns, Convoy, and Anomaly will now be guaranteed on each run, so you can benefit from their better rewards even more often.

Escalation in UESC Forces

Expect increases in UESC presence across Tau Ceti IV in response to Runner activity.

• New Warden Encounters: Wardens can spawn at new POIs in Perimeter, Dire Marsh, and Outpost.
• UESC dropship flyovers and crash sites: UESC aerial activity has increased dramatically on Perimeter. Use this as an opportunity to seize their supplies.
• Stay vigilant: The UESC will be deploying a new threat on Dire Marsh and Perimeter to help shutdown Runner activity.

Cryo Archive Increased Availability

We want more players to have their shot at Cryo Archive before the season closes, so the map will be available every day starting on May 21 through the end of the season on June 2. Those of you worried about losing it all at the “lose everything factory,” don’t worry: We’ll be sending you a free Cryo Archive Sponsored Kit to your mailbox every day during this time.

Players looking for the ultimate challenge will be able to test their mettle at Cryo Archive: Ranked. This special version of Cryo will serve as the grand closure of the Ranked queue for Season 1 and will be available from May 24 at 10AM PT to May 28 at 10AM PT. Note that regular Cryo will not be available at the same time as Ranked Cryo.

Here are the Ranked Cryo requirements:

• Runner Level 25
• 3,000 loadout requirements (low stakes)
• 10,000 loadout requirements (high stakes)

Faction Progression

Through the end of the season, we’re also increasing Faction experience gains from all sources. Use your additional faction progress to reach the end-of-season goals you’ve got your sights on.

Update 1.0.9 Balance Changes

Finally, we have a preview of a few other changes coming with Update 1.0.9.

Rook Update

One of the big perks of doing runs with Rook is being able to sneak around the UESC, and we have a buff to Signal Mask to make it easier to avoid detection.

• Signal Mask remains active for longer when sprinting.
• The range at which AI will detect your footsteps when Signal Mask is active has been reduced.

Key Template Changes

The feedback around Key Templates has been loud and clear: They have not been fun to engage with. Getting downed and losing your key has created an incentive to play extra passive and hide somewhere on the map until you can exfil as quickly as possible.

For the rest of Season 1, Templates will be changed to be Compromised rather than Fragile. We think hunting for Matter Fixatives that drop from Commanders and other enemies will be a more interesting way to charge your keys. This will also prevent the keys from being destroyed during the match and allow for you to possibly loot these keys off other crews you best.

New Way to Find Keys

We’ll also be creating new places for Deluxe keys to drop so there’s now another chance for valuable loot on every map. After Update 1.0.9 there will be a chance for Deluxe keys to drop from every wall safe you loot.

Prepare for the Reset

When Season 2 begins, Marathon will go through its first ever seasonal reset. The goal is for everyone to have a clean slate and equal footing at the start of the new season. It’s a time where the community can explore what’s new, discover what’s valuable, and chart a new path through the season together.

These resets include things related to gameplay progression; you’ll keep your achievements, non-seasonal Codex progression, and cosmetics. See below for the full breakdown.

Redeem Those Item Rewards!

All unclaimed gear and equipment reward packages from factions and the Codex will reset with the new season, so grab ‘em now and make use of the goods while you can.

Cosmetic items, including styles, titles, and emblems, will autocomplete at the end of the season and automatically be available for use in Season 2. So don’t sweat it if you miss claiming some cosmetics—if you’ve earned it, you’ll have it in Season 2.

Also reminder that Rewards Passes do not reset and your progress carries over to the start of the new season.

Ranked Rewards for Season 1

The end of Season 1 will also mark the end of your current climb on the Ranked queue. Your current rank will be reset at the start of Season 2, and you will get the chance to climb the ladder again and earn new cosmetic and other rewards.

Once Ranked ends, you’ll be able to claim the emblems, titles, and styles you earned based on the highest rank you achieved this season. Rewards can be claimed in the Codex.

1. You will only receive the Emblem of the highest rank you reach. So if you get to Diamond I, you’ll only receive the Diamond Runner Emblem (not the Bronze Emblem, Silver Emblem, etc.). All other rewards are additive.
2. Ranked titles are available for use for one additional season after the one you earn it in. So if you earned “Gilded Survivor” title in Season 1, you can still show it off in Season 2 but need to climb back up to Gold I again for it to carry over to Season 3. All other rewards are permanent.

Check This List Before the Reset

Have questions about what is staying and what is going? Here’s a comprehensive list.

Affected by the Season Reset

• Runner Level
• Ranked Level
• Faction Level and Upgrades
• Credits and other currencies
  • Exceptions: LUX and SILK
• All items in your inventory and Vault
• Purchases unlocked by Schemas
• Messages, rewards, and returned items in your Mailbox
• Priority Contracts
  • Exception: first contract for each Faction
• Gear-granting seasonal Codex entries for:
  • Runner Level
  • Ranked

Not Affected by the Season Reset

• Cosmetics and weapon unlocked and redeemed during Season 1
• Codex challenges, including partial progress (except Runner and Ranked levels)
  • Combat
  • Feats
  • Loot
  • Map
  • Runner
  • Title
• Faction Unlocks
  • Access to each faction you had previously unlocked is retained; no need to repeat Liaison Contracts
• Initial Priority Contracts
  • Completion status of the first contract for each faction is retained
• LUX and SILK balances
• Rewards Pass progress
• Cryo Archive Subroutines progress

Secure Sponsored Kits for Season 2

When Season 2 begins, CyberAcme will be doling out Sponsored Kits for your hard work this season. You’ll be able to claim your Sponsored Kits in the Codex based on your final Runner

Level this season:

• Runner Level 10: Enhanced CyberAcme Sponsored Kit
• Runner Level 25: Enhanced CyberAcme Sponsored Kit
• Runner Level 50: Deluxe CyberAcme Sponsored Kit
• Runner Level 75: Superior CyberAcme Sponsored Kit

These rewards are additive, so if you get to Level 75, you’ll be able to claim all four Sponsored Kits. ONI thanks you for your efforts.

Nightfall is coming

Season 2: NIGHTFALL begins on June 2 and brings the new Night Marsh zone, a new Runner shell, new weapons, a new system to customize your Runner shell stats called The Cradle, faster faction progression, several quality-of-life updates based on your feedback, and more.

Stay tuned for more details about Season 2, with full reveals coming the week of May 25.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.