Marathon News

[p][/p][p]Since June, we’ve run several closed playtests to gather feedback on Marathon. We’re now opening applications for more players to join us for a Closed Technical Test from October 22 to October 28. This is a limited, invite-only playtest for players in North America and Europe on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam. As with recent closed playtests, this test is under NDA.[/p][p][/p][p]CLOSED TECHNICAL TEST APPLICATION[/p][p][/p][p]Fill out this form between now and October 16 at 4 PM (PT) to submit your application. If you previously applied for public Alpha from April, the form may automatically submit; no further action will be needed if this happens.[/p][p]For players on PC, we’ll also be enabling applications via Steam on October 13 at 10 AM (PT), and they’ll remain open until October 26 at 4 PM (PT).[/p][p]This is an important checkpoint for us as we test our improvements since Alpha, including three maps, five runner shells, prox chat, re-tuned combat pacing, solo queue, deeper environmental storytelling, and more. That said, the Technical Test build is a work in progress and will only include a portion of what’s planned for Marathon’s full release, focused on the early player experience.[/p][p]We’ll be sharing a public update on Marathon's development in the coming months after the Closed Technical Test![/p][p] [/p][p]CLOSED TECHNICAL TEST SIGNUP FAQ[/p][p] How long will the Closed Technical Test run?[/p]

• [p]The Closed Technical Test will run from October 22 at 10AM PT, to October 28 at 10AM PT.[/p]

• [p]Participation in previous tests doesn’t guarantee participation in this or future tests.[/p][p][/p][p]How do I know if I’ve been invited?[/p]

• [p]You will receive an official email from Bungie.[/p]

• [p]Closed Technical Test invites will be sent in waves throughout the test.[/p][p][/p][p]If I’ve played in the Alpha or other NDA’d playtest, am I automatically invited to the Closed Technical Test?[/p]

• [p]No, you’ll need to apply and be invited to the Closed Technical Test to participate.[/p][p][/p][p]Am I allowed to stream, record, or share my playtest experience?[/p]

• [p]This test is strictly under an NDA, and as such you will not be able to stream or share your playtest experience publicly.[/p]

• [p]Any feedback or recordings will need to be shared only in the NDA’d section of the Marathon Official Discord.[/p][p][/p][p]Can I share my invite with someone else (friends/family)?[/p]

• [p]Your invite is specific to you, the Bungie.net account you signed up with, and the Discord account you provided during the sign-up process. You will not be able to share it.[/p][p][/p][p]How do I get access to the NDA Discord?[/p]

• [p]Join the official Discord at discord.gg/marathonthegame[/p]
• [p]We will add the Discord account name you provided during sign-up to our NDA’d section. Access for the NDA’d Discord channels can take up to 24 hours to update.[/p]

• [p]For those joining after the test has begun, we’ll be conducting role grants daily in the evening for the duration of the test.[/p][p][/p]

[p]For Steam users, you’ll need to take the survey you receive in-game to provide your Discord and Bungie.net account names.[/p][p][/p][p]How do I report bugs or provide feedback?[/p][p]For bug reporting, you will need a Bungie.net account to access the Marathon Help Center Forums.[/p]

• [p]For feedback, we will be sending out surveys to your email. Additionally, you can provide feedback in our NDA section in Discord.[/p]

• [p]Access for both the forums and Discord can take up to 24 hours to update.[/p]

• [p]What regions are allowed in?[/p]

• [p]North America[/p]

• [p]Europe[/p]

• [p]What are the minimum system requirements?[/p]

• [p]Console:[/p]

• [p]PlayStation 5[/p]

• [p]Xbox Series S[/p]

• [p]PC:[/p]

• [p]Processor: Intel Core i5-6600[/p]

• [p]GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti[/p]

• [p]RAM: 8GB RAM[/p]

• [p]Learn More: [/p]

[p]https://help.marathonthegame.com/[/p]

[p]Thank you not only for your passionate feedback around the Marathon reveal and Alpha playtest, but also for your patience while we took the time to listen closely and chart our next steps.[/p][p]Through every comment and real-time conversation on social media and Discord, your voice has been strong and clear. We've taken this to heart, and we know we need more time to craft Marathon into the game that truly reflects your passion. After much discussion within our Dev team, we’ve made the decision to delay the September 23rd release.[/p][p]The Alpha test created an opportunity for us to calibrate and focus the game on what will make it uniquely compelling—survival under pressure, mystery and lore around every corner, raid-like endgame challenges, and Bungie’s genre-defining FPS combat. [/p][p]We’re using this time to empower the team to create the intense, high-stakes experience that a title like Marathon is built around. This means deepening the relationship between the developers and the game’s most important voices: our players. [/p][p]Over the next few months, we’ll continue closed testing(including participants from the Alpha) to deploy gameplay updates and test new features as they come online. [/p][p][/p][p]Some of our immediate focus areas will be:[/p]

• [p]Upping the Survival Game[/p]
  • [p]More challenging and engaging AI encounters[/p]
  • [p]More rewarding runs, with new types of loot and dynamic events[/p]
  • [p]Making combat more tense and strategic[/p]
• [p]Doubling down on the Marathon Universe[/p]
  • [p]Increased visual fidelity[/p]
  • [p]More narrative and environmental storytelling to discover and interact with[/p]
  • [p]A darker tone that delivers on the themes of the original trilogy[/p]
• [p]Adding more social experiences[/p]
  • [p]A better player experience for solo/duos[/p]
  • [p]Prox chat, so social stories can come to life[/p]

[p][/p][p]You’ll hear from us again later this Fall when we can share the progress we’ve made, alongside the game’s new release date. Thank you again for your patience and— much more importantly— your passion. Your continued feedback will help us make Marathon the incredible gaming experience we all know it can be.[/p]

[h2]User Interface and Experience [/h2] Fixed an issue where players’ Bungie IDs were not showing correctly in player tooltips.

[h2]Combat[/h2]
[h3]Runners [/h3]
Runner’s base health has been increased from 100 hp to 120 hp.
Shield hp has been decreased by the following amounts:

• Standard (Grey) - Reducing from 25 hp to 20 hp.
  
• Enhanced (Green) - Reducing from 50 hp to 40 hp.
  
• Deluxe (Blue) - Reducing from 75 hp to 60 hp.
  
• Superior (Purple) - Reducing from 100 hp to 80 hp.
  
• Prestige (Gold) - Reducing from 100 hp to 80 hp.
  

Dev Commentary: One persistent feedback point we’re seeing is that higher tier shields are too much of an advantage in combat. The changes above squish the difference in effective health across each shield tier a bit, shifting it back into the Runner’s base health pool. This should make punching upwards more viable when you're equipped with standard or green enhanced shields.

Increased decay rate on interaction progress when reviving fully killed crew members.

• Progress now decays over 3 seconds, down from 180 seconds.
  
• Reviving allies from DBNO is unchanged.
  

Dev Commentary: This change is intended to reward teams that successfully interrupt a revive attempt mid-combat. While we want to enable moments of heroism where a lone survivor can save the run, teams weren't feeling enough pressure to fully commit to a revive due to the revive progress being saved for so long.

[h3]Weapons [/h3] Removed mouse magnetism and aim adhesion on PC and disabled the setting to toggle it on and off.
Long Shot

• Increased Longshot sniper damage by 11%.
  

Overrun AR

• Increased damage by 10%.
  

Dev Commentary: We’re also increasing the damage of a couple of our weapons to make sure they can keep up with the new health values above. For example, the Longshot will still be able to down a Runner at base shields with one precision head shot with the increased damage buff.


[h3]Stability [/h3]
Fixed an issue causing crashes when using certain GPU hardware configurations.
Fixed an issue where players pressing the sprint key while in ADS could cause a crash.
Fixed issues that could cause dedicated servers to crash.


[h2]Previous Server Settings Changes [/h2]
These changes were previously made through server settings changes and are now being added to the client in this update.

Increased CyberAcme sponsored kits available on Black Market per reset from 5 to 15. (Live settings update on 4/23)
Fixed an issue causing poor weapon hit-registration in very high latency situations. (Live settings update on 4/24)
Reduced the amount of health Runners revive with after being fully killed from 100% to 30%. (Live settings update on 4/24)
Adjusted server settings to decrease queue times for players at higher Runner levels. (Live settings update on 4/27)

As a long-time Bungie fan, the prospect of a brand-new Marathon game intrigued me, and despite some reservations about the upcoming extraction shooter, I can safely say that this latest Marathon reboot has the potential to be among the best of the genre.

Outside of sharing the Marathon name and some key locations and themes from the ’90s originals, Bungie’s latest reboot is an entirely new beast that ditches its Doom-inspired chops for a multiplayer-focused extraction shooter experience in the vein of games like Helldivers 2 or Hunt: Showdown 1896.

If you’re a fan of games like Destiny, at its heart, Marathon features the same stellar gunplay and feel of Bungie’s popular looter shooter. But, instead of long sections of exposition and the commitment of something like Destiny, Marathon distils the best moment-to-moment gameplay of the former into intense 25-minute excursions. In its current form, Marathon features four distinct character classes:... Read more

The closed alpha for Marathon is soon due to roll out to players who signed up, meaning Bungie's colourful futuristic servers are warming up. Sadly, we weren't invited - the alpha is only open to North Americans. But, aha, something went awry today and the game became available to play early for those on Xbox. And one quick-witted player streamed a full hour of the game before the servers clamped shut once again.

Read more