Bungie releases a new update for Marathon, making a number of big changes to the game, including nerfs for the popular WSTR shotgun. Similar to Bungie’s other game, Destiny 2, Marathon is a live service game that is constantly evolving with both bigger updates and smaller live changes. This latest update will likely not please fans of a certain weapon.
Currently, Marathon has entered the back half of Season 1 and with it came a large number of changes with the midseason update. However, the biggest piece of Marathon‘s midseason update is a new “C.A.R.R.I. Protocol” which rewards players for essentially playing nice with one another. While Marathon is a PvP game at its heart, Bungie is hoping to foster a bit of cooperation and teamwork with random players by issuing out rewards for exfiltrating with random players or using the new Mercy Kit, which is available at the start on Rook Shells. Now, a brand-new update has arrived and again makes a number of big changes to the game.
How Marathon Relates to and Improves On the Original 1994 Game
With a remarkable connection to the classic 1994 boomer shooter, Marathon 2026 bucks the tired trend of rebooting beloved IP for name value alone.
The latest update has arrived for Marathon and while it isn’t as big as the previous Midseason patch, this one does make a few important changes to the game. Namely, Marathon‘s popular WSTR combat shotgun is being brought in line as game director Joe Ziegler confirmed that it is too dominant. Ultimately, the damage output is being reduced, so it will no longer two shot a player or enemies with a blue or above shield, but it’ll still do the job against green ones. The slug performance range for the WSTR and MIPS Slug Converter Mod is also being reduced to “rein in” extreme outlier kills. Bungie admitted it is still doing a more comprehensive balance pass, so players should expect further changes in the future.
On the other end of the spectrum, this update has buffed a handful of things as well. Inside the Armory, players will now see an increase of the daily stock limits for Enhanced (green) and Deluxe (blue) Sponsored Kits. Not only that, Depleted Patch Kits and Shield Charges have a bigger incentory stack, increasing from 3 to 6 at a time. Standard rarity Sponsored Kits now come with 6 by default and Recruits will now drop both at a much higher rate.
It isn’t the first time that Bungie has had to bring a weapon back in line, and considering that Marathon is a live service game, it definitely won’t be the last. Earlier this month, Ziegler also revealed that Marathon‘s endgame weapon was getting nerfed as it was performing too well and creating a bigger gap between those with it and those without. The Biotoxic Disinjector, a contraband hybrid trace rifle-style gun, was able to fire toxic grenades as well as fire beams of energy, blanketing huge areas in rapid succession without allowing opposing players to react or counter. The midseason update added a few additional tweaks, which has seemingly further impacted the weapon.
Regardless of fluctuating player numbers, Bungie isn’t planning to abandon Marathon anytime soon. The studio previously confirmed that it is committing to supporting Marathon for “the long haul” and so far, it has followed through with a variety of patches and other live changes. In fact, Bungie quickly added an experimental Duos mode which has continued to expand into more and more maps. It’s clear that fan feedback has been a driving force for many of these rapid updates, allowing Bungie to shape a better experience for all players.
Balance the critic averages
Balance the critic averages
Easy (6)Medium (8)Hard (10)
Marathon Update 1.0.6.1 Patch Notes
4/21 @ 7:20AM PT Update: Reminder that today’s update will also include the WSTR tuning mentioned by Joe Ziegler here.
4/21 @ 10:24AM PT Update: Amending a missing patch note from 1.0.6.1:
- WSTR Combat Shotgun, MIPS Slug Converter Mod: Adjusted long range slug performance to rein in extreme outlier kills and to align with the overall damage reduction, while we work on a more comprehensive balance pass.
Item Economy
- Increased the daily stock limits for Enhanced (green) and Deluxe (blue) Sponsored Kits in the Armory.
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Depleted Patch Kits & Depleted Shield Charges now stack to 6, up from 3.
- Standard rarity Sponsored Kits come with stacks of 6 instead of 3
- Recruits now drop Depleted Patch Kits and Depleted Shield Charges at a much higher rate.
Combat
Weapons
- Toggle Zoom (for keyboard and mouse players) no longer persists ADS (aim down sights) state through actions that suppress ADS like weapon swap or weapon reload, to fix an issue where players could get into a bad state unable to use medical consumables.
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V85 Circuit Breaker:
- Fixed an issue where firing immediately after a fully charged shot would show projectiles and impact VFX but wouldn’t register as a hit.
User Interface and Experience
- Improved accuracy of radial selections after opening the radial menu, making a selection, and closing the radial in quick succession, with the goal of reducing the number of instances a frag grenade is accidentally tossed at the player’s feet instead of a bubble shield.
- Fixed an issue preventing crewmates’ weapon styles from appearing on their loadout display in the prepare screen.
Armory
- Fixed an issue that was preventing barter weapons from displaying their barter cost on the weapon tile.
Zones
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Perimeter
- Fixed the exfil countdown timer in the Perimeter tutorial so it correctly displays a full 10‑second countdown instead of briefly flashing “0:00” and disappearing when entering the exfil circle.
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Cryo Archive
- Fixed an out-of-bounds exploit that would allow Runners to refund their gear if they stayed past the run countdown.
General
- Increased the size of the overflow inventory to address scenarios where items could be lost due to limited overflow space.
- Released
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March 5, 2026
- ESRB
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Teen / Animated Blood, Language, Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
Source: Bungie
