Marathon’s 1.0.0.4 Update Nerfs Thermal Scopes, Enemy AI, and More

Bungie just patched their extraction shooter Marathon, addressing recent concerns such as the dominance of thermal scopes on most weapons, the sponginess of enemy AI, and making medical boxes appear more frequently on the map Perimeter.

Thermal scopes now have a reduced max distance for when targets are highlighted through these scopes.

Update 1.0.0.4 Details

It’s good to see Bungie staying on top of things, as most of the issues that surfaced have mostly been addressed. We’ll see if thermals are still dominant in higher lobbies.

Another change worth mentioning is the reduced health and shields of enemy AI. Bungie says the reduction is by “a small amount,” but we’ll see how noticeable it actually is because I personally like the threat they pose to players.

Solo players may have a case here, though. You often need to commit to a fight and spend a lot of your resources clearing an area, which leaves you vulnerable for another player to third-party the situation.

This is why most solo lobbies I’ve experienced are players running Assassin and mostly avoiding enemy AI. If you see someone fighting the UESC, there’s a good chance they’ll be the first to go in the lobby.

Here’s the full patch notes.

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

• 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

• 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

• 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.

• Players will no longer see an extended black screen during the map load sequence

My first weekend in Marathon was addicting, and as of this writing I still see myself playing daily. I still have a long way to go in maximizing my factions and strengthening my vault items, especially as more players slowly increase in power. I’m already seeing blue shields being used more often in matches.

New to Marathon? I put together a quick beginner’s guide that should help increase your odds and make navigating the game’s confusing UI a bit easier.

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About the Author - Carlos Hernandez

Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.