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Need some Marathon tips? It's far from being the easiest game to get into since it's full of all sorts of complex systems, from looting and contracts to Runner Shells and builds. There's also the small issue of seemingly everything in Marathon trying to kill you, especially other players. It can be overwhelming and unforgiving, so if you're struggling to figure out how best to play Bungie's new extraction shooter, here are 15 tips and tricks for beginners to help you get to grips with Marathon.
1. Be prepared to be shot on sight in Marathon
If you're coming from Arc Raiders, especially as a solo player, 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 and alliances and truces are unheard, especially in trios – despite managing to befriend a few players in solos, I certainly wouldn't count on friendship as a reliable tactic when playing alone.
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
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 Ghosts who often pack sniper rifles and can go invisible 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 reputation and get rewards, which will help you get even more rewards from the factions you work for. If you want to increase your Runner's baseline power and unlock faction upgrades as quickly as possible, contracts are essential, so you should always activate one before any run. 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 more clearly hear and even locate UESC patrols and ticks, as well as 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 equipping Implants and even Marathon Cores that bolster 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 box behind. While this can be a useful strategy for long-range fights, ensuring the downed player can't get revived by a teammate or use a self-revive, for close-range fights, it's best to opt for performing a finisher, 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 time and healing items. To increase the amount of shield you recharge from a finisher, you need to increase the Finisher Siphon stat with appropriate Implants.
8. Rook and Assassin are great for solo Marathon players
Of all the Marathon characters you can play as, Rook and Assassin are easily the best for players who want to play on their own. 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, dead players, or getting an easy kill – 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're looking to quickly build up Credits to buy a faction upgrade or useful loadout items from the Armory, you should be on the lookout for loot items marked as Valuables, the icon for which is a little black pouch. You should also be on the lookout for Datacard collectibles 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 will be auto sold for Credits.
11. Good healing items are rare in Marathon
Patch Kits and Shield Charges of Enhanced (Green) rarity or better are difficult to find during runs in Marathon, and you shouldn't rely on finding inferior Depleted versions of these items either – they're good in a pinch but not for much else. That's why I advise always packing at least one full stack of Patch Kits and Shield Charges into your loadout before a match, but preferably two if you have enough to spare in your vault. It's best to have good healing items and not need them rather than not have them and desperately need them.
12. Avoid overheating and crouch to cool down quicker
Heat acts as a stamina bar in Marathon, with certain actions – primarily sprinting, sliding, and using quick 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 want to drain heat quicker with minimal effort, you should crouch and you'll cool even faster if you're in water or out in the rain. If you've got a Mechanic's Kit consumable, you can quickly 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. Thankfully, they can be easily destroyed but 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 exfiltration beacon, the best thing to do is go off and hide as there's no need to stand next to it. Since the deep whirring noise it makes is so loud, it 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.
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