Marathon launched to over 80,000 concurrent players on Steam on March 5, which by most measures is a solid start for a new IP from the original creators of Halo and Destiny. But just six days later, the game’s 24-hour peak has dropped to around 62,500, a decline of roughly 29 percent. It’s still early, and extraction shooters tend to have dedicated communities rather than massive concurrent numbers, but the trend is worth watching. Bungie is no stranger to it after decades of Destiny and Destiny 2, so it’s no surprise the studio has been moving fast with its first major post-launch update.
Update 1.0.0.4 doesn’t add new content like maps or characters, but it’s packed with quality-of-life changes and balance tweaks that address some of the most common complaints from the community. The biggest change is a nerf to UESC robot guards, which have been a source of frustration for both solo and crew players. These bots could quickly overwhelm even well-geared runners, and Bungie has reduced their health and shields to make ammo and meds go further. The studio made it clear this isn’t the start of making enemies pushovers, just a way to reduce how punishing they feel without making them trivial.
Quest objective markers now appear at 20 meters instead of 10, which should cut down on the frustrating experience of wandering around a building looking for a terminal you can’t find. Sponsored kits are getting increased starting ammo, which was badly needed given how punishing those free kits felt to bring into runs. The Perimeter map will also see more Med Cabinets and Munitions Crates spawning. The update also addresses several client and server crash issues.
Bungie also has some changes to its monetization. Players were vocal about the $10 Lux bundle granting 1,100 Lux when a single skin costs 1,120, effectively forcing a second purchase. Bungie confirmed the $10 bundle will be adjusted to grant 1,120 Lux, and anyone who already bought the original bundle will receive the extra 20 Lux. That change is coming separately from this patch.
To Bungie’s credit, the speed at which the studio is responding to feedback is encouraging. Whether these changes are enough to stabilize the player base or even grow it remains to be seen. But at the very least, Bungie isn’t sitting on its hands (not that it can afford to with its Sony overlords looming).
Marathon Update 1.0.0.4
Item Economy
- Increased the number of Med Cabinets and Munitions Crates that can spawn on Perimeter
- Increased the amount of starting ammo in MIDA, CyberAcme, and Arachne free Sponsored Kits
- Reduced the frequency UESC Grenadiers drop EMP grenades
Combat
- Fixed an issue where players could sometimes die instantly when stepping on certain world geometry*
- Fixed an issue where the shield break screen effects could constantly play when you had a heal over time effect and a damage over time effect on you at the same time
- Increased the range gunfire and explosions can be heard from
Weapons
Thermal Scopes
- Reduced visual clarity on targets with thermal scopes
- Adjusted max distances for thermal highlight:
- Pistols: 40 meters (down from 55)
- Rifles/LMGs/SMGs: 60 meters (down from 65)
- Precision Rifles: 80 meters (down from 100)
- Snipers: 100 meters (down from 180)
Overrun
- Increased default ammo capacity by 5
Runners
Rook
- Fixed an issue where backpacks could be deleted when exfiling with Rook
- Fixed an issue where Rook’s position was not being displayed on the map screen.
- Increased CyAc reputation gain from exfilling with Rook
- Rook will now receive the same Faction reputation bonus from all sources that solo players receive*
- Rook’s WSTR shotgun will now spawn as Compromised
- Compromised items require use of a Matter Fixative during the run to exfil with the item
UESC
- Reduced health of most UESC enemies by ~10-15% and shield hp of UESC bosses by 25%*
DEVELOPER NOTE: With this change we hope to alleviate some of the resource burden in both Solos and Crews when it comes to engaging UESC in combat. The goal here is to allow your bullets and meds to go further without reducing too much of the UESCs bite. We see the feedback loud and clear that players appreciate the friction that our UESC combatants provide and we have no plans to change that direction.
Contracts
- Increased default distance objective nav points appear from 10m to 20m
Introducing NuCaloric Contract
- Fixed an issue where enemy Crews could receive NuCal contract VO audio and subtitles from a long distance away
Introducing Traxus Contract
- Reduced the difficulty of the UESC Commander encounter
Zones
Outpost
- Temporarily disabled switches access route to the Broken Wing on Outpost
DEVELOPER NOTE: We are temporarily disabling the “Broken Wing” entrance into the Pinwheel while we make some tuning changes to it. In its current state it trivializes entrance into the Pinwheel. We are making some tweaks to maintain the spirit of the “silent” entrance while better matching the risk / reward of the Pinwheel. Runners can continue to take advantage of all other ways into the Pinwheel (including the additional silent method) in the meantime.
Rewards Pass and Store
- Fixed an issue where bundle prices could be displayed incorrectly
- Fixed an issue where individual items in the Store were incorrectly showing “Savings” on preview screens when no discount was active*
- Increased the LUX bundle from (1000 + 100) to (1000 + 120)
Stability
- Fixed a rare issue that could cause dedicated server crashes
- Fixed several issues that could cause client crashes
General
- Fixed an issue where doors would lock preventing players from finishing the new player intro mission
- Updated the description of Perimeter (Beginner) on the Zone Select screen
- Fixed a bug where the Text Chat window could get stuck open
- Fixed a crash that sometimes occurred when attempting to use an IME Keyboard
- Fixed a crash that sometimes occurred when typing quickly with an IME Keyboard
- DEVELOPER NOTE: Some issues may still remain with third-party IME software and we are continuing to investigate. Windows built-in IME may be a temporary workaround for users who are experiencing issues while we work on a permanent fix.
- Adjusted the location of the IME keyboard to be closer to the Text Chat window
- Players will no longer see an extended black screen during the map load sequence
