Marathon update nerfs thermal scopes and adds new contracts

The new Marathon update delivers a broad balance pass across combat, item economy, contracts, and stability, while also fixing a range of bugs affecting progression, map flow, chat, and store behavior. Among the biggest changes are a noticeable reduction in thermal scope effectiveness, slightly softer UESC encounters, more resources on Perimeter, and the arrival of new NuCaloric and Traxus contracts.

Thermal scopes get a nerf

One of the patch’s biggest gameplay changes targets thermal scopes. Target visibility has been reduced, and the maximum distance for thermal highlighting has been cut across every major weapon class.

Pistols now highlight targets out to 40 meters instead of 55 meters. Rifles, LMGs, and SMGs drop to 60 meters from 65 meters. Precision rifles fall to 80 meters from 100 meters, while snipers see the biggest reduction, dropping to 100 meters from 180 meters.

The Overrun weapon also gets a small buff, with its default ammo capacity increased by five rounds.

Combat and UESC encounters become less tedious

The update fixes an issue that could sometimes cause players to die instantly during confinement events. It also resolves a bug where shield break screen effects could keep playing when heal-over-time and damage-over-time effects were active at the same time.

Audio has been adjusted, too, with gunfire and explosions now audible from farther away.

UESC combat has also been tuned. Most UESC enemies now have slightly lower health, and UESC bosses have had their shield health reduced by a small amount. According to the developer note, the goal is to reduce the number of bullets and healing resources players have to spend in these encounters without removing the friction that makes UESC fights threatening in the first place.

Perimeter and sponsored kits get economy improvements

The item economy sees several changes aimed at helping players stay supplied. Perimeter can now spawn more Med Cabinets and Munitions Crates, while the free Sponsored Kits from MIDA, CyberAcme, and Arachne now start with more ammo.

UESC Grenadiers will also drop EMP grenades less often, which should slightly reduce the amount of utility pressure they create during engagements.

Rook gets fixes, better reputation rewards, and a drawback

Rook receives multiple fixes and progression adjustments in this patch. An issue where backpacks could be deleted while exfilling with Rook has been fixed, and Rook’s position should now display properly on the map screen.

CyAc reputation gain from exfilling with Rook has been increased, and Rook will now receive the same faction reputation bonus for exfilling that solo players already get.

There is one important tradeoff, however. Rook’s WSTR shotgun will now spawn as Compromised, which means players must use a Matter Fixative during the run if they want to exfil with it.

New contracts arrive as objective navigation becomes clearer

The contracts side of the update adds both the NuCaloric Contract and the Traxus Contract. Objective navigation has also been made easier, with default-distance objective nav points now appearing from 20 meters instead of 10 meters.

The patch also reduces the difficulty of the UESC Commander encounter and fixes an issue where enemy crews could receive NuCal contract voice-over audio and subtitles from long distances.

Outpost loses one Broken Wing route for now

A notable zone change affects Outpost. The switch access route to the Broken Wing has been temporarily disabled.

In the developer note, the team says the current version of that entrance trivialized access into the Pinwheel. The plan is to tune it so it still works as a quieter entry route, but with risk and reward that better match the rest of the area. Other ways into the Pinwheel, including another silent method, remain available.

Store, rewards, and stability fixes round out the patch

Outside of gameplay, the update fixes several issues tied to the Rewards Pass and store. Silk balances should now update correctly without requiring a restart, bundle prices should display properly, and cosmetic items should no longer incorrectly show a savings label when sold at full price. The LUX bundle has also been increased. 

On the technical side, the update fixes a rare issue that could crash dedicated servers, along with several client crash problems. It also resolves crashes that could occur when using or typing quickly with an IME keyboard, although the developers say some issues may still remain with third-party IME software. Windows’ built-in IME is being suggested as a temporary workaround while a permanent fix is investigated.

General fixes include a bug where doors could lock and block completion of the new-player intro mission, a stuck text chat window issue, an updated description for Perimeter (Beginner) on the Zone Select screen, and the removal of an extended black screen during map loading.