Marathon's Upcoming PvE Mode Takes Away the Extraction Part of the Game
Bungie just revealed their next PvE game mode for their extraction shooter Marathon, coming sometime in the mid-season update for Season 2. The game mode is called Vaultbreaker, and it lets players queue into Cryo Archive without other player squads, free to explore and open a series of vaults. This can be done in trios, duos, or solo, and when you extract, you don't bring back any of the items you found, as it’s pretty much eliminating the extraction part of the game.
As far as I understand it, this is a friendly way for players to explore the endgame map with little to no risk. You jump in for a Vaultbreaker run with a set Sponsored Kit and exit with vault data collected from the vaults you open along the way. Vault data is a new currency that can improve your Vaultbreaker Sponsored Kits and be used to earn gear usable in the regular modes.
I see this game mode as another sign of Bungie's continued push to make the game more player-friendly, and to make its endgame content more accessible. Fair enough, as the majority of the player base hasn't even set foot on the endgame map or witnessed the unique boss encounter hidden inside, me included.
Season 3 Tease
The update also teased Season 3, which starts on September 22. It looks like we're not getting a new map, but a rework of Perimeter, the game's starter map, with new locations and more. Entirely new content doesn't seem to be Bungie's biggest priority right now as it feels like it's all about adjusting what's already available, but the new season will still come with a new Shell, weapons, and "surprises."
If Season 2 is any indicator, the new iterations of older maps aren't just reskins but actually new places to play. Night Marsh isn't just Dire Marsh at night, a new section in Complex becomes accessible once you meet the right requirements after interacting with the new towers placed at each point of interest. The atmosphere is completely different, with new audio cues, jump-scare elements, and creatures that run at you and explode in your face the moment they spot you. It's a great addition that now rotates between day and night versions, and if Perimeter gets a similar rework with more to the map, I'm all for it.
This is just a tease of what's coming, and I'm hoping to hear more soon. The Cradle system is also expanding with a prestige feature that lets players reset their Cradle progress in exchange for unique cosmetic rewards and an extra energy point added to their Cradle, which sounds like a punishing grind.
Marathon continues to struggle to find solid footing. Season 2's launch-day fumble didn't help, with server issues making the game practically unplayable during the first hours of its first free week. It also didn't help that loot was easy to come by. Between the new Night Marsh loot pool, Sponsor Kit rewards from playing Season 1, access to the map Outpost for season 1 players, and the compensation Sponsor Kits handed out for the server issues, the beginning of season 2 saw players with decent gear in just a couple of days, failing to capture the satisfying progression found in the first weeks of the game’s official release.
The game does have a loyal player base at this point, but it still struggles to look appealing to average players, as the extraction shooter subgenre remains the most intimidating and niche type of shooter today.
If you’re interested in seeing what I think about the game for newcomers, here’s my full review of Marathon. If you’re a newcomer, here’s a quick beginners guide that stays relevant even in season 2.
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.
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