[STEAM] Marathon Patch 1.0.6 Update Pushes Players to Be Nice and Brings Big Gameplay Changes – Everything You Need to Know

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Bungie has been sprinkling details of its massive

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in the leadup to its release today, April 14. As an avid player of Bungie's sci-fi extraction shooter myself, I was keen on

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, which has been my main Shell since the pre-launch server slam. And this update goes beyond hotfixes with massive gameplay changes; only letting you attach one Claymore to Med-Drones, nerfing the beloved Bully SMG, and adding a bunch of new gear to work for is just scratching the surface. There are also a few changes that fundamentally wants players to rethink how they interact with each other.

The

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(CyberAcme Runner Reinforcement Initiative), tying the CyberAcme faction to the system itself and it's conveyed to players through ONI, the game's AI character who presides over the story. Now, solo Runners and squads are rewarded for completing contracts and extracting together by giving them a new material called CyberAcme Commendations; extra commendations are given if you extract with players outside of your squad. These are used to get Salvage Crates (for random salvage items) or Reputation Packs (to boost levels with factions), however, C.A.R.R.I. items can only be purchased once. Additionally, the new Mercy Kits let you revive other downed players; an interesting wrinkle to meta-level play.

From what I can tell, these are the more notable changes in Marathon patch 1.0.6 aside from the C.A.R.R.I. update:

• You can decide to stick together after a match when you squad up with strangers.
• Increased faction reputation and Runner experience gained for solo players.
• Increased faction reputation earned from contracts for all players.
• Free and premium tracks have more rewards such as Shell and WSTR shotgun skins.
• Perimeter (Beginner) map option is now solo-only and available up to level 12.
• Five new Perimeter (Beginner) contracts are available for those under level 12.
• New Pacesetter Codex challenges are intended to encourage collaborative play and will be available in future seasons; completion gives the Pacesetter profile title.
• Improved audio for enemy footsteps and close and mid-range.
• Tweaked icons for Cores, Implants, and Chips to make them more distinguishable.
• Signal Jammers are now puchasable.
• Proximity chat now has a toggle option in addition to the normal push-to-talk.

Marathon Weapon Changes (Patch 1.0.6)

While those are some of the more minor changes, players should be aware of tweaks to weapon functionality, especially to the ones they've been using since launch. Here are the important weapons changes in patch 1.0.6:

• There are 11 new blue-tier "deluxe" weapons, which drop from Showcase encounters on Perimeter and Dire Marsh. They're similar to the Prestige Uniques you can find in Cryo Archive's locked rooms, meaning they have specific perks and traits you can't find elsewhere.
• Railguns do not automatically fire when reaching maximum charge and the charge can be held as long as you want.
• V00 Zeus RG – increased aim assist cone size and grows during charge-up, base magazine size up from 2 to 5, max magazine size down from 20 to 15, base charge time reduced from 1.1 seconds to 1 second, and the Overclocked Generator Prestige mod doubles magazine size so double-shots don't drain ammo as fast and don't split odd-capacity magazines.
• Ares RG – base charge time reduced from 2 seconds to 1.25 seconds, base magazine size increased from 4 to 6, max magazine size increased from 10 to 12, and aim assist cone slightly increased during overcharge.
• Copperhead RF – base magazine size increased from 21 to 28 (max magazine unchanged), base accuracy increased and effective range up from 15m to 16.2m, minimum damage from range falloff increased from 30% to 50%, initial error cone size during ADS decreased by 8.5%.
• BRRT SMG – minimum damage from range falloff increased from 30% to 50%.
• Bully SMG – both base and maximum aim assist/magnetism range falloff decreased, meaning falloff begins at shorter distances, while error cone size increased by 7.5%.
• Longshot – accuracy decreased with rapid fire, rate of fire decreased, and Kingmaker Prestige mod bug fixed (triggering when shooting teammates).
• Outland – rate of fire slightly decreased.
• M77 Assault Rifle – Interval Mag Prestige mod bug fixed (would increase rate of fire for other weapons).
• V75 Scar – Magazine is considered loaded earlier, letting players start sprinting and firing sooner.
• Biotoxic Disinjector – ammo per beam increased from 6 to 8 per tick and ammo per grenade increased from 33 to 37, grenade rate of fire and travel speed decreased, damage reduced at minimum from 5 to 3 and when stuck to an enemy from 90 to 65, max damage radius reduced by 50%, rate of damage falloff increased from grenade detonation, aiming duration of grenade increased from 0.9 seconds to 1.3 seconds, and grenades now cause self-damage.
• Chip mods – three new weapon chips added across all rarities.
  • Common Enemy – damaging enemies increases damage output from allies or other Runners for a short duration.
  • Pocket Change – reloading quickly after killing or downing enemies drops your weapon type's ammo.
  • Exit Buddy – killing or downing an enemy grants you and nearby squadmates a boost in movement speed.
• Circuit Tracers – cooldown increased from 0.5 seconds to 1 second, and ammo refund reduced by 5% for standard grey-tier and up to 40% for superior purple-tier.
• Opportunist and Alternating Current – fixed bug that allowed effect from friendly fire.
• Mini-Jammer – fixed bug that didn't grant full Signal Jammer effect.
• Thermal optics – all blue-tier (Deluxe) thermal optics for all weapon types have been removed from loot tables and no longer drop, gold-tier SP Scope III thermal highlight range reduced from 100m to 80m, and now decrease aim assist and range in addition to the ADS speed penalty.
• Variable zoom optics – fixed bug that caused incorrect aim assist cone.

Marathon Equipment Changes (Patch 1.0.6)

• Newly added Depleted Self-Revive kits spawn during solo matches only; unused units will be automatically sold upon extraction like other Depleted consumables.
• Newly added Mercy Kits let you revive downed other/enemy Runners, does not apply to fully eliminated Runners. All Rooks spawn with one Mercy Kit.
  • Bungie noted that player de-escalation sometimes after confrontation and can help as a make-up between players.
• Claymores have better enemy detection around ledges and map geometry and fixed a bug where players would still take damage when in cover by a doorway.
• Self-Revives are now purple-tier (superior) instead of blue-tier (deluxe)
• Five new Implants have been added.
  • Group Therapy – using medical consumable grants players and squadmates a stacking bonus to self-repair speed for a brief duration.
  • Herd Immunity – defeating enemies grants you and squadmates a stacking bonus to Hardware and Firewall stats for a brief duration.
  • Fight Club – melee and knife attacks grant you and squadmates a stacking bonus to Melee Damage stat for a brief duration.
  • Divebomb – damaging enemies with explosives, you and squadmates get a large but short boost to Agility.
  • Evasive Maneuvers – your shield breaking grants you and squadmates and boost in Sprint Speed and Heat Capacity for a brief duration.
• Savior Complex now gives a minor Revive Speed boost for solo play (which was previously only for squads).
• Heat capacity stat bonus from Distance Runner increased across all rarity tiers.
• Assassin's Patience core requires players to now crouch to activate the pausing timer, which will help with heat buildup from unintended activation.
• Thief's Premium Package core has reduced damage resistance for the Pickpocket Drone.
• Vandal's Low Profile core bug fixed where it would reduce the duration of a Signal Jammer effect with Enzyme Suppressants, and give an unintentional long Signal Jammer duration when sliding.

Marathon Shell Changes (Patch 1.0.6)

Recon

• Echo Pulse – reduced visibility of Echo Pulses from enemy Recon players, ping icons now distinguish between UESC bots and real players, and players under the Signal Jammer effect now show up as UESC bots instead of being invisible to pings.
• Tracker Drone – tracking strength and turn rate improved, travel speed reduced when not locked on a target to improve its ability to find enemies around corners, and re-targets when the original target gets out of range.

Destroyer

• Thruster – heat cost increased by 9% to balance the boost to mobility and combat power.
• Riot Barricade – Bug fixed that allowed it to activate and deactivate rapidly without cost to ability energy, which was exploited to peek corners safely.

Thief

• Pickpocket Drone – only one Claymore is now allowed to be attached to the drone, volume of thrusters increased to make it easier to detect, descent acceleration reduced to better match ascent acceleration, distance at which it highlights gear rarity reduced from 50m to 35m, and drone health reduced from 70 to 60.

Triage

• Med-Drone – can no longer track and attach to squadmates' Thief Pickpocket Drones, and fixed a bug where it would have the wrong cosmetic color scheme based on Triage's equipped skin.

Vandal

• Amplify – base cooldown reduced from 180 seconds to 150 seconds.

Rook

• Signal Mask – fixed a bug where swapping shield Implant could cause the ability to flicker.

Marathon Map Changes (Patch 1.0.6)

Dire Marsh

• Players standing in the location of the UESC Security Cache that spawns when Lockdown starts will now be pushed aside instead of through the floor.
• Fixed a bug preventing Rooks from being able to locate, stabilize, and then extract with Anomalous Samples.

Outpost

• Added more potential spawn locations for the Conveyance Request for the elevator into the Drone Wing.
• Restored the audio for the exhibit in Orientation.
• Fixed an issue where players could get out of bounds in Dormitories.
• Fixed an issue where the toxin debuff applied by the Unsanctioned Hostilities 4/5 contract couldn’t be cleared.

For more on Bungie's ongoing extraction shooter, be sure to check out

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with more successful runs.

Michael Higham is an editor at IGN who regularly contributes with reviews, previews, features, and news in written and video form. He's usually entrusted with covering long RPGs and tech products, but he's got range when it comes to games. You'll also catch him at events and hosting video content, including

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