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These Marathon tips will help you understand some core concepts when it comes to playing Bungie's extraction shooter. It's not exactly the easiest game to get into due to its complexity, including Runner Shell abilities to learn, contracts to complete, and all sorts of loot and gear to grab. There's also the small issue of seemingly everything in Marathon trying to kill you, especially other players. It can be a ruthlessly unforgiving experience but also a lot of fun when you're the one coming out on top. If you're struggling to figure out Marathon, here are 15 tips and tricks for beginners to help you.
1. Be prepared to be shot on sight in Marathon
Don't expect kindness from other players in Marathon. It's intended to be a competitive and PvP-heavy extraction shooter, so gunfights with other players are common – despite managing to befriend a few players in solos, I certainly wouldn't count on friendship as a reliable tactic. Alliances and truces aren’t unheard of – if, for example, you're trying to beat the final boss in the high-stakes Marathon Cryo Archive endgame map, you might be able to convince a like-minded squad to co-operate – but they are rare.
The time-to-kill (TTK) in Marathon is also surprisingly fast, even if you have a good shield, so expect to get downed quickly and sometimes from out of nowhere. Fast-paced PvP also means you'll be parting with your gear quite often, so don't get too attached.
2. The UESC are really dangerous too
Marathon's emphasis on PvP means players are obviously a major threat, but the patrolling PvE UESC robots are also very deadly. Many of them pack powerful weapons and special gear that make them tricky to fight, such as the invisible Ghosts and the Grenadiers who spit out volleys of grenades – but tougher UESC bots also drop better loot.
Be aware that the UESC's forces also know how to throw a punch and will often rush in to batter you if you get too close. Fighting them at longer-ranges is definitely better, but avoiding a fight is often the best choice.
3. Always have an active faction contract
Our Marathon factions guide has more information on the specifics of contracts, but, in short, faction contracts are a great way to earn useful loadout gear and sometimes essential materials. Reputation earned from these contracts will also contribute towards levelling the relevant faction, which will help you get even more useful loot from rank-up packages. That means contracts are essential if you want to increase your Runner's baseline power and unlock the best Marathon faction upgrades as quickly as possible. Priority contracts are also one of the main ways you'll learn more about the failed New Cascadia colony, so those are especially important if you're into Marathon's narrative.
4. Wear headphones because sound is very important
Staying alive in Marathon relies on you exploiting every advantage you can, and audio is hugely informative. Wearing headphones rather than using TV speakers will help you hear and more easily locate UESC patrols, ticks, and other players without seeing them first. Footsteps are the most the most obvious sound to listen for, but reloading guns, using consumables, looting, opening doors, scared bird flocks, and plenty of other sounds can give other players, or even yourself, away.
5. Pick your fights wisely and use stealth to survive
Bearing in mind the above sound and combat tips and tricks for Marathon, a stealth approach to your runs is therefore a very reliable way of living long enough to exfiltrate without chewing through ammo and healing items from endless fighting. Sprinting only when necessary or safe, crouch-walking often, using cover, and generally being aware of how much sound you're making will help you keep a low profile and avoid conflict with other players and the UESC.
However, if you're out for blood, these tactics can also serve as a great equalizer against runners with far superior gear. The game's short TTK means that, even with basic weapons, the element of surprise and a bit of team coordination can be enough to bring down rival runners before they even know what's hit them.
6. Don't be afraid to use your knife
For a super stealthy approach, you'll want to avoid using your main Marathon weapons due to how noisy they can be, and the knife is a far quieter yet still lethal alternative. Just make sure you equip it as a weapon by holding Triangle/Y on controller, as the slash attacks are much more powerful than the regular quick melee – you can make the knife even more powerful by upping your Melee Damage stat.
7. Finish downed players to quickly recharge your shield
When you shoot a player enough to knock them down, it's tempting to continue shooting them until they're fully dead and leave their loot bag behind. While this can be a useful strategy for long-range fights (there are few things worse than letting a faraway player get revived and slip away), it's normally best to perform a finisher instead, assuming it's safe to do so.
Approach the downed player and follow the button prompt to stab them with your knife with a fancy animation and rapidly recharge a portion of your shield, saving you ammo and healing items. To increase the amount of shield you recharge from a finisher, you need to increase your Finisher Siphon stat.
8. Rook and Assassin are great for solo Marathon players
Of all the Marathon Shells you can play as, Rook and Assassin are easily the best for players who want to go in alone. We've got more details about both in the linked guide, but playing as Rook doesn't risk your loot and is meant for quick supply runs to build up your vault, be that from pilfering POIs or dead players – a very low-risk character overall.
If you want to test your solo skills as one of the proper Runner Shells, Assassin is easily the best in my experience. You can use his invisibility and smoke to easily slip past patrolling UESC and other players or sneak up on them for ambush kills.
9. Track salvage and use the map to find what you need
Earning reputation for the various factions and increasing your rank unlocks upgrades, but then you need to purchase them using Credits and other Salvage items. So, if there's an upgrade you really want, make sure you track the required salvage by following the button prompt indicated in the image above.
From then on, Points-Of-Interest that have a high chance of containing the Salvage you need are marked with a lime-green icon with a black eye on your map. You can also hover your cursor over the names of any POIs on any of the Marathon maps and follow the 'view info' prompt to learn about the location and commonly present loot. The same eye icon will also appear on individual loot items if you're tracking them, so use this to pick up only what you need and avoid clogging up your backpack with random Salvage.
10. Collect Datacards and valuables for easy Credits
If you need Credits, you should be on the lookout for loot items marked as Valuables, the icon for which is a little black pouch. You should also keep an eye out for Datacards lying around as these aren't loot items that take up inventory space but are still worth Credits. When you extract, all Valuables in your inventory and Datacards are automatically sold for Credits.
11. Always bring healing items but don't ignore Depleted ones
Non-depleted Patch Kits and Shield Charges are generally quite rare during Marathon runs, so it's always good to come prepared with at least one full stack of Enhanced (Green) or better of each healing item in your loadout – if you've got plenty in your vault, packing two stacks is even better. It's best to have good healing items and not need them rather than not have them and desperately need them.
However, all that doesn't mean you should avoid Depleted Patch Kits and Shield Charges. I always pick these up when I see them as the small amount of healing they provide can be the perfect amount to top you up without having to waste a better version. Obviously, if you need to make space in your backpack for more valuable gear, these should be the first to go.
12. Avoid overheating but crouch to cool down faster
Heat acts as a stamina bar in Marathon, with certain actions – primarily sprinting, sliding, and melee attacks – causing heat to build up. If you reach your heat limit, you'll overheat and won't be able to do any of those actions until you've completely cooled down, which can be massively debilitating, especially in the heat of battle.
Avoiding overheating entirely is obviously best, but if you need to cool down, can speed up the process by crouching or being in water, whether that's a puddle or rain – combine the two methods for rapid cooling! If you've got a Mechanic's Kit consumable, you can also use one to remove the overheat effect too. But if you want to reduce the effects of heat altogether, you need to increase your Heat Capacity and Hardware stats. The former increases your maximum heat limit while the latter reduces the duration of the overheat effect.
13 Don't get poisoned – it sucks so much
Like overheating, the toxin effect that you can be afflicted with from poisonous plants, toxic gas, and more can be crippling. It continuously damages you for its duration and reduces the effectiveness of healing items for a significant amount of time. Take serious care to avoid the toxin effect altogether and ideally pack at least one Mechanic's Kit into your loadout so that you can use it to clear the negative effects.
14. Be alert for claymores and turrets
UESC turrets are often found at minor POIs or between major POIs and can deal significant damage if they lock onto you and start firing (they also make lots of noise as a result!). While they can be easily destroyed, they have a surprisingly long range, so avoid them as best as you can and get into cover quickly if you hear one activate and snap onto you.
Fellow Runners and the UESC can also set up claymore traps which can prove fatal for inattentive runners. Look out for red lasers that give away the claymores and evade them as best as you can. You can obviously shoot them to get rid of them, but this makes a lot of noise. If you must go past one, you can try jumping over them to avoid tripping them or sprinting straight through as they take a second to explode once triggered, so it's possible to get past or behind a claymore and avoid its blast.
15. Don't wait next to active exfiltration beacons
When it's time to leave and you activate an exfil beacon, the best thing to do is go off and hide as there's no need to stand next to it. Activating one is very loud and can attract nearby players and UESC forces, so you'll want to be out of sight until the last second – this is especially important for dangerous Guarded Exfils which immediately summon a UESC patrol when activated.
Once the beacon has spun up and started glowing brightly, you can approach to trigger the 10-second timer and escape – any teammates not in the beacon's area at the end of the timer will be left behind and must exfil elsewhere. The beacon will then disappear, preventing other players from using it, but if all beacons have been used, more will appear after a while, so you're not trapped forever. And if the run timer reaches zero, the final exfil will activate, giving you one minute to reach it and escape. Be aware that the rules for extracting from Cryo Archive in Marathon are quite different!
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