Bungie has released a brand-new update for Marathon on March 11, bringing the studio’s latest shooter to version 1.0.0.4 with plenty of significant improvements, balance adjustments, and bug fixes. The latest Marathon update is available to download on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC right now, with Bungie detailing all of the changes, such as reduced health for most UESC enemies, in the official patch notes.
After receiving an indefinite delay last year, Bungie released its highly anticipated new shooter, Marathon, earlier this month. As the extraction shooter genre continues to grow in popularity, largely thanks to the huge success of ARC Raiders late last year, Bungie is now attempting to entice fans with its own take on the genre. Although Marathon received positive reviews at launch, the shooter failed to dethrone ARC Raiders when it comes to Steam player count. Console figures may be unknown, but SteamDB shows that Marathon peaked at just over 88,000 concurrent players at launch, which unfortunately doesn’t come close to ARC Raiders‘ 481,000 peak.
How to Get all Free Weapon & Runner Shell Skins in Marathon
Marathon is definitely tough, but grinding gives players a bunch of free rewards. Here is how to earn free weapon and runner skins in Marathon.
Marathon Releases New Update
Following its launch last week, Bungie has been monitoring player feedback and has now released update 1.0.0.4 for Marathon. The patch is available to download and install now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, bringing a ton of improvements to the shooter. According to the official patch notes, which can be found further down this article, Bungie has made numerous fixes to combat, weapons, Runners, and more. The studio has also made some important balance adjustments, including reduced health for most UESC enemies and shield HP of UESC bosses by a small amount. Bungie says it hopes to alleviate some of the resource burden in both Solos and Crews when it comes to engaging UESC in combat, with the goal being to allow players’ bullets and meds to go further without reducing too much of the UESC’s bite.
Balance the critic averages
Balance the critic averages
Easy (6)Medium (8)Hard (10)
Acquiring resources and meds in Marathon should now also be much easier, as new changes to the game’s item economy have also been made. Bungie says it has 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, and reduced the frequency that UESC Grenadiers drop EMP grenades. Contracts have also received some adjustments, as the studio has increased the default distance objective nav points from 10m to 20m, and reduced the difficulty of the UESC Commander encounter during the Traxus Contract.
Bungie also recently outlined its plans to improve Marathon‘s Reward Pass with more cosmetics and Runner Shell types following fan feedback. A separate post from the studio confirmed that it plans to add three new Runner Shell styles to the premium track and one to the free track. A WSTR Shotgun Style and a Profile Emblem are also going to be added to the free track section of the Rewards Pass for Season 1. The $9.99 LUX Bundle has also been increased from 1,100 LUX to 1,120, and everyone who previously purchased the bundle before the change will receive the additional 20 LUX at no additional cost.
Unfortunately, despite Bungie making positive changes in the game’s first week, Marathon is already being review bombed for a variety of reasons. Over on Metacritic, the shooter’s user review score has dropped to 4.6 and is now considered “generally unfavorable.” Many of the complaints consist of players being unhappy with Marathon‘s overall performance, its clunky user interface, and the controversy surrounding microtransactions. Some have even described the title as “too sweaty,” with many believing the TTK makes it a punishing experience for casual players.
Marathon Update 1.0.0.4 Patch Notes for March 11
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 in confinement events
- 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
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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 have the same Faction reputation bonus for exfilling that solo players receive
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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 and shield hp of UESC bosses by a small amount
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 Silk balances were not updating correctly without restarting the game
- Fixed an issue where bundle prices could be displayed incorrectly
- Fixed an issue where cosmetic items might incorrectly say “Savings” when they are full price
- 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
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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
- 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
