How to complete the Marathon Welcome to Tau Ceti mission

Marathon Welcome to Tau Ceti contract player scanning FTL array with device
(Image credit: Bungie)

The Marathon Welcome to Tau Ceti quest is the first proper priority contract you'll receive from ONI, showing you the ropes of how they work. It's a very easy contract to complete but the objectives might not seem so straightforward to a new Marathon player. Given how many threats there are on Tau Ceti, it's also understandable if you want some pointers to get this done as quickly and easily as possible, so here's a quick step-by-step guide for both parts of the Welcome to Tau Ceti contract.

Marathon Welcome to Tau Ceti part 1

Marathon Welcome to Tau Ceti contract player looking at blue FTL array device in Perimeter Station

(Image credit: Bungie)

The first part of Welcome to Tau Ceti is quite simple and can be completed across multiple runs:

  1. Firstly, you need to defeat three UESC enemies in Perimeter, which basically just means any of the blue PvE robots you can usually find patrolling Points of Interest (POIs). As our Marathon tips say, they can be surprisingly tough, so fight from a distance and be prepared to run to safety.
  2. Next you need to scan the FTL array at any UESC radio tower in Perimeter. Radio towers can also be found at POIs and will be marked if you are within 100 meters of one.
  3. Once you've found a radio tower, follow the button prompts to open the console and scan the FTL comms chip.

That's the end of your first priority contract and you'll earn some CyberAcme faction reputation for one of the Marathon factions, CyberAcme, for your efforts. Upon cashing in the contract with ONI, you'll also get some gear rewards including a gun, ammo, a backpack, a shield, health consumables, and Credits. You'll then receive a threatening message from UESC commander Orion and will gain access to the second part of Welcome to Tau Ceti.

Marathon Welcome to Tau Ceti part 2

Marathon Welcome to Tau Ceti contract Perimeter map showing locations for comms antennae in north and south relay

(Image credit: Bungie)

To cap off the Welcome to Tau Ceti mission in Marathon, you just need to sabotage a comms antenna in one of two places in the Perimeter Marathon map:

  1. Hop into a Perimeter run and then go to either the North Relay or South Relay – whichever is closer from where you started the match. As above, the antenna will be marked with an on-screen waypoint when you are within 100 meters.
  2. Follow the antenna button prompt to sabotage it, and it'll violently explode!

Marathon Welcome to Tau Ceti contract comms antenna at south relay

(Image credit: Bungie)

And that's it! You can now either die or exfil from your run to get back to ONI and hand in the contract where you'll get a BRRT SMG, which is one of the best weapons in Marathon so far. Using the upgraded comms to contact Sol, ONI also unlocks two faction liaison contracts for you, one for NuCaloric and one for Traxus, giving you access to more factions and their upgrades.

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Will Sawyer
Guides Editor, GamesRadar+

Will Sawyer is a Guides Editor at GamesRadar+ with over five years of experience in writing online guides, news, and features, and has a BA (Hons) in Journalism. Starting as a freelancer, Will contributed to startmenu and Game Rant before joining the GamesRadar+ team in August 2021. Since then, he has written hundreds of guides about a huge range of games, with shooters and action games being his areas of expertise. Outside of writing about games, Will hops between multiplayer shooters with friends, such as Darktide and Helldivers 2, and delves into whatever has been on his backlog for far too long. He also tries to get through his never-ending Warhammer pile of shame of grey Tyranids, Aeldari, and Chaos Space Marines.

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