Before yesterday's patch, we could play Marathon in SA servers, even if there were few people playing

Now, it LITERALLY dumps you out of the queue if you try to force SA servers, like they closed the servers

No communication, no warning, nada

Edit: just to clarify, it's still possible to play but only on NA/EU servers, which means 130+ ping. Before yesterday, I could play in local servers (10ping), even if it took a while to find matches

The Vault Breaker System for upgrading and customizing your kit is fantastic. We should be able to do something like this which can be used in all game modes.

Imagine this.

Every faction has a free sponsored kit; at season start they're identical to the current ones with all white gear.

As you level each faction and buy upgrades, you unlock select customization and upgrade options. By the time the runner is around level 50-75, they'll have upgraded most of their free sponsored faction kits to be mostly green gear. With a ton of end-game resources they can even gradually sprinkle in a few blues gear pieces but these take a long time to earn and you have a cap on how many blue upgrades you can have in a kit.

Each faction's kit has a choice of 2-5 different weapons/implants/cores/etc for each gear slot. Traxus and Arachne have more weapon options, SekGen has more core options, Nucal throws in more/better health and shield packs, etc. You need to purchase upgrades to unlock the customization options.

These kits can be used for free loading into any game mode. You can play them on existing PvEvP maps. You can run them on PvE maps. You can run them on TDM PvP maps.

They may need to play around with the lootability of some of the kit items. Perhaps kit items can be used but not exfiled by the player/team that brought them in. Maybe they need matter fixative. Maybe kit items have a lower trace value to start. Not sure what the prefect balance is here, but the devs have levers they can pull.

While these kits are free, they could also add credits-paid premium kits. For perhaps 10-20k, you can get a kit that's identical to the base kit, but all the gear is one tier higher; a late-season kit with green & blue gear would upgrade to blue and purple gear and may include something like a panacea kit.

Finally, I think these kits could have some pretty cool faction-allegiance elements tied to them. Maybe to start getting blue items added-into the kits takes a lot of a shared resource like credits, so you need to pick which fsction's kit you're going to choose to boost first each session. Maybe there are faction-specific codex rewards for exfilling with each companies sponsored kit x-number of times or completing certain objectives while using the kit. Right now it kinda feels like you're just leveling all the factions evenly and not really committing to one; this system could encourage players to pick a faction, stick with it, and represent it.

100k xp until maxed cradle, already reset once as well.

This quote from Shangri-La Frontier is a perfect encapsulation of the attitude you should have playing Marathon. Folks are so worried about holding on to that one purple shield that they stop playing the game the way it should be played. Yes, you want to fill your vault with the best gear possible. But what's the point of getting that gear if you're scared to use it? When you get that upgrade, equip it. Sure, you might lose it immediately. But it may also help you get more good gear. Scared money don't make money.

We should be able to purchase cryo & night marsh sponsored kits that arent randomized and we should also get more faction sponsored kits built around different playstyles that also arent randomized.

Also, the season 2.5 wipe has shown that players move from the grey loot-green loot-to full on blue gear very quickly. With that being said, paid sponsered kits should be cheaper. Green kits should be $2.5k and blue kits should be $5k. Green kits should be 1 green weapon, green shields, green bag, green implants, & green heals.
Blue kits should be somewhat fleshed out with a primary, secondary, 2 green cores, implants, at least a green bag, blue shields, and blue heals. This would help reduce friction and make it easier for player to just jump back in. $4k is a lot early on. Im someone that’s not a casual, but not super sweaty. My vault has been cleared several times at the beginning of each season and everytime I got to a point where I couldnt afford more green kits and just stopped playing for the day (or week if I didnt feel like grinding). I think this can help with the death spiral.

The kits could have ranges. Maybe keep the green kits $2.5k but blue kits could range from blue shields with green gear to a fully blue kit.

Thoughts?

Edit: I think a problem here might be that $5k for blue gear may be too cheap if people survive. Maybe make these sponsored kits immediately go back to the faction when you exfil. Like they just sponsor you for that run and take your gear back. Maybe they could also pay you gear for using their sponsored kits in match

Usually I’ll load into a game with blue shields after having a good run, and the game almost always puts me into a lobby with quite low lever players who are newer. I’m wondering if this is y’all’s experience as well

I hope we can get reworked and redesigned UESC robots. Maybe they can take a look at how Roboquest designed their robots and also look at the game for a pretty fun roguelite mode they could add to Marathon. I do think a roguelite would fit this game well. They also could do what they did with Vex in Destiny 1 and make it to where you actually have to shoot something specific on the robot instead of the enemies just being bullet sponges.

Lastly, if you havent played Roboquest I strongly recommend you give it a shot.

Looks pretty neat if your lock screen shows the weather, i.e. Rain.

I really like the aspect of unlocking Cryo in S1. I think the Early Game and Mid-game benefitted a lot from it as well. Purple shield genuinely made you feel like a mini-boss. Last season you were throwing without one.

My idea is for every season, there is a hefty community challenge to complete in order to unlock cryo archive. kind of like Halo's weekly challenges, but more catered to Marathon.

This would create a pseudo time-gate and bring the community together in a way.

For example, as a Player base:

This could be an in-run achievement thing that encourages more PvE/Map Events

• Defeat 10,000,000,000 UESC Enemies
• or Defeat 500,000 Wardens
• or Complete 500,000 Lockdown Events

Or something that the Sweats can predominantly grind for to help everyone else

• Reach VIP with Factions 100,000 Times
• or Exfil with 1,000,000,000 In Valuables
• or Reach a Collective Runner Credit Wealth of 1,000,000,000,000

Decided to run tonight giving the game a go before my deployment. Loaded up a good kit and decided to load up night marsh trios looking to finish a contract and meaby make a freind.

Nope, join in and my two teamates are shareing a contract who are obviously in a discord call together they run directly to their objectives and we run into another team who I end up soloing 3v1 while they are takeing an item to decon. They never loot anything once there contract is done they both leave the lobby for me to fend on my own as soon as they finished the contract and only brought in v11's

Why que trios? Why not just tell me "hey we are gonna do our quest can you help". Instead they just stood in front of me flashing there flashlight and spamming NO in coms.

This game needs some serious love, runners do yourself a favor if you are solo just do solo q trios is NEVER WORTH IT

This has to be solved. The black screen of death, which was happening on sponsored survival so I do not think it is entirely tied to player counts. This is a problem. If you win, it kills your mojo. If you lose several straight it makes you want to throw your monitor out the window. War games from the 80's called they want their screen back. PLEASE FIX THE LOAD TIMES!

Thanks Bungie. DM me I'd love to work for you.

An exploration (yet another from me) for a PvP system that does not create a dedicated PvE experience, but rather alters the dynamic between the Runners who want to solely explore the world of Tau Ceti IV and those who are eager to hunt them down. Heavily inspired by the Rogue Mode from The Division (and potential problems that a fully PvE mode can bring, based on the Arc Raiders time-limited mode experience), I wanted to create a concept that does not separate two experiences, but rather gives some breathing room for more casual, PvE-oriented players, and still provides confident players with ways to engage in PvP.

Factions are growing impatient. Contracts are taking too long to complete, and their investments in Runners on Tau Ceti IV are not delivering the expected returns. To improve their efficiency, the Deadlock Protocol was introduced, preventing Runners from being able to attack one another by default, and encouraging them to focus on their assigned contracts.

Arachne, however, has other plans. They want to further explore the thermodynamics of violence and offer a way to disable Deadlock.

Runners can purchase a Deadlock Override from them, allowing them to disable the safeguards and freely engage other crews. This freedom comes at a cost: their own protection is removed, and every Runner kill increases their Trace Level, making their position progressively easier to trace.

Violence remains an option. Now, it's a choice with consequences.

I play on PS5 with the Marathon PS5 limited editing controller. I bought a Playstation Portal a couple days ago and the next day I got banned. I can't think of anything else I've done really that could have caused the ban, and maybe they mistook the new device playing on separate networks as a flag? Honestly, I don't believe that either, but it's all I got.

If you also been banned and sent an appeal, how long did it take to process? Did you ever get a response? Did the response explain what happened? Did you get unbanned? What was your experience overall?

For those assuming I said something awful, I didn't. I don't trash talk. I have several posts describing how I don't understand that culture as someone who has never played a competitive game before this one. I don't get upset at losing in a video game, i treated this game like a roguelike where tons of losses are not just expected but part of the game. If i was filled in with someone who was toxic, I shrugged and left the party for a new fill. I'm never blaming, I'm usually the one being blamed so I just let the others decide if they'll tolerate me in their team or not.

What should I expect out of the appeal?

I don't run night marsh a lot but I don't recall seeing that ability, only the ping and the melee range heat blast.

Honestly not gonna be surprised if it gets cancelled and refunded.

Still bummed.

I really wanted to make some trancy EDM that would fit the vibe of 2026 Marathon and I am SUUUUPER happy with what I have put together!

I am also working on themes for each of the shells, so far I have done Destroyer and I'm not sure who I'm going to do next cause I'm trying really hard to make the music fit the characters. Like you can get a little story from the music, that sorta thing. I hope you like this and I am eager to hear what people's thoughts are!

Actually almost threw my controller

The lows in this game are 10x worse than the highs are good

That was my one game btw and I got off. Fuck that

/rant

Might get some myself since I vandal main

Personally I just can't play the pve mode anymore for Arc raiders. I was expecting everybody to just vibe with instruments and doing the map objectives together but the majority of people just act like vultures not really looking to communicate or cooperate and only want to steal each others loot. I don't think I've seen anyone even defib a player they just walk past you if your crawling on the floor lol. Also on the extraction side you now have a already terrible economy even more crippled with no wipe mechanic. I like the idea of pve but after experiencing this I'm starting to see it can ruin the game if not done right.

I nearly done with my next YouTube video, my last video I used the ARG code race song which is 9 minutes long and was more than enough to cover my 8.5 minute video.

This one is over 16 minutes and I still have 2.6 hours of footage to go through. And even more editing to do to.

So I would like y'all's opinion on what songs I should put in the background, if I should put in any at all. I'm still quite new to this and there aren't many Marathon content creators who do long-form videos like the style I'm doing.

For maps like Dire Marsh where you have to run a MaraTon, I wish they could extend the final exfil clock. I always miss it by 10 seconds or less.

Or is it just for me?

Hey all!

I'm trying to figure out a way to record Marathon cinematics for a frag movie i want to make. I know i can turn off HUD, but is there any item in the game that you can hold which basically takes your hands off the screen?

I want to make it so the only thing in the frame is the world and what's in front of me, but i'm unsure if this is possible with any specific item / stance.

If anyone can lend a helping hand that would be greatly appreciated!

GL out there Runners!

Edit 1: https://youtu.be/lCuejiyVxqA?is=vNOdV9eaJDTqjof5 testing this out, hopefully it still works!

Edit 2: So i'm either doing something massively wrong or that's patched now. Regardless, i've found that if you use rook, you get guaranteed claymores - So turn off HUD, pull out claymore and look up and basically your entire screen is visible with barely any visuals of the claymore other than the projection on the ground. That'll do xD