The six Marathon factions all promise upgrades and rewards so long as you complete their contracts as a mercenary-for-hire and further their interests. Priority contracts are one of the main ways you'll see Marathon's narrative unfold but the broader contracts and factions system is also crucial to substantially enhancing your Runner's capabilities and the gear they can access for their loadout. Unsurprisingly, that means it's quite complicated too, so here's a rundown of all six factions in Marathon, how to unlock them, how their contracts work, and how to earn reputation.
How to unlock Marathon factions and their contracts
To unlock a faction in Marathon, you need to complete its liaison contract, given to you by ONI once you've progressed far enough and often only once you've unlocked other factions first. After completing the liaison contract, you can start earning reputation, unlocking Marathon Faction Upgrades with Salvage and Credits, and taking on its priority and standard contracts – as our Marathon tips say, you should never start a run without one!
- Priority contracts are one-time missions that are essential to the faction's goals and offer superior rewards, such as Marathon weapons, backpacks, and Salvage. That means they're well worth completing as soon as possible and should be your focus. These contracts are also the most narratively significant if you're interested in piecing together Marathon's story.
- Standard contracts are simple challenges that offer basic faction rewards and some reputation upon completion. There's no limit to the number of standard contracts you can complete for a faction, but they all offer only one at a time. If you don't like what they're offering, you can spend Credits on limited re-rolls to get a new standard contract.
Regardless of the type of contract, they'll usually task you with finding, looting, killing, destroying, or otherwise interacting with things during runs across the various Marathon maps, sometimes requiring you to complete every objective in a single run. While all players are limited to just one active contract at a time, if you're playing with a crew, contract progress is shared, and you'll even get some faction reputation when they complete their objectives.
All Marathon factions
Here are the six main factions in Marathon that you can work for and their places in the world in the order that their liaison contracts should become available to you:
CyberAcme (CyAc)
- This megacorporation's expertise lies in digital technology and artificial intelligence functionality. All Marathon Runner Shells have its Onboard Navigation Intelligence (ONI) installed to give you some basic directions in exchange for gathering information on the fate of the New Cascadia colony. CyberAcme stocks all the basics to get you started and keep you running.
- How to gain reputation: Complete CyberAcme contracts; exfil from runs; activate TADs during runs; and participate in Intercept events
- Rank-up rewards: Ammo, Torso Implants, and Backpacks
- Armory offerings: Ammo, healing consumables, basic weapons, backpacks, and keys
- Contracts:
NuCaloric (NuCal)
- NuCaloric Agricultural is a major food production company and Marathon faction that seeks to ensure humanity's survival by providing the basics. It had a major stake in the Tau Ceti mission and, with the help of their agent Gaius, seeks to understand how the colony collapsed by getting Runners to investigate and gather data.
- How to gain reputation: Complete NuCaloric contracts; loot Medical Cabinets and Tick Nests; harvest plant salvage; call in Supply Drops; and exfil with NuCaloric valuables
- Rank-up rewards: Consumables, NuCaloric Salvage items, and Implants
- Armory offerings: Consumables that heal and remove status effects, Self-Revives, Shields, and Implants
Traxus
- Traxus OffWorld Industries is the most powerful corporation in human history and uses that power to get whatever they want. Through their agent Vulcan, you'll be tasked with salvaging valuables for Traxus to recoup losses on its investment in the Marathon mission to Tau Ceti.
- How to gain reputation: Complete Traxus contracts; loot Arms Lockers, Tool Carts, and Transport Drones; destroy UESC drones; complete Convoy and Lockdown events; and exfil with Traxus valuables
- Rank-up rewards: Weapon chip mods, Traxus Salvage items, and weapons
- Armory offerings: Weapons and mods of all kinds
- Contracts:
MIDA
- This political-party-turned-anarchist-terrorist-group from Mars see the UESC Marathon as a symbol of oppression. Through their agent Gantry, they want to see the UESC and corporations burned to the ground but may have other goals associated with the colony itself.
- How to gain reputation: Complete MIDA contracts; loot Lockboxes and Munitions Crates; find coordinates and loot caches; complete Secured Resource events; and exfil with MIDA valuables
- Rank-up rewards: Equipment, MIDA Salvage items, and Leg Implants
- Armory offerings: Grenades; gadgets; Cardio Kick and Anti-Virus Kit consumables; and Implants
Arachne
- Arachne is a mysterious death cult focused on the thermodynamics of violence and pushing your Shell to its limits, which manifests as a very PvP-focused faction in-game. The organization's agent, Charter, doesn't sounds particularly interested in Tau Ceti, but would very much like you to kill your fellow Runners.
- How to gain reputation: Complete Arachne contracts; loot other Runners; down Runners with precision damage; perform finishers on Runners; and exfil with Arachne valuables
- Rank-up rewards: Non-chip weapon mods, Arachne Salvage items, and weapons
- Armory offerings: Weapons, mods, and Implants
Sekiguchi (SekGen)
- Sekiguchi Genetics is the company behind the Runner Shells known as biomata – organic and synthetic bodies created by the company's WEAVEworms that can be controlled with a digital mind. Through their AI agent Nona, Sekiguchi keen to enhance its shell technology and wants to use the Runners on Tau Ceti as field researchers and experimental test subjects.
- How to gain reputation: Complete Sekiguchi contracts; loot Bioprinters, Core Storage, and Crash Carts; Defeat UESC Wardens; participate in Anomalous Extraction events; and exfil with Sekiguchi valuables
- Rank-up rewards: Cores, Sekiguchi Salvage items, and Head Implants
- Armory offerings: Marathon Cores, Energy Amp consumable, and Implants
- Contracts:
There is of course the UESC too, the primary antagonistic faction of Marathon. They are the enemy of all Runners, sending sophisticated humanoid combat robots and drones to patrol the ruined Tau Ceti IV colony and kill any intruders. As such, you fill fight the UESC a lot, but you can't represent them and complete contracts for them in the same way as the six factions listed above.
We've also seen S'pht compilers – cyborg aliens that can interface with humanity's digital technology – several times in promotional material, indicating that the alien threats from the original Marathon series from the 1990s will make an appearance. It seems like there is at least one aboard the UESC Marathon which players will likely face in the Cryo Archive Marathon map.
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