Marathon Season 2 will start June 2, bringing the first seasonal wipe to Bungie’s extraction shooter and resetting the playing field.
Bungie revealed the news in its latest blog post, taking the time to further spell out what exactly will, and will not, carry over between seasons and what players can expect in the final few weeks of Season 1.
Come June 2, runner and ranked levels will be reset, as will faction levels and upgrades. All currencies (aside from premium ones like Lux and Silk) will be wiped, as will all the items in a player’s vault. Additionally, schema unlocks and seasonal codex entries that reward gear based on runner level and ranked level will go away.
What won’t reset are weapon and shell cosmetics, codex unlocks (aside from the ones mentioned above), rewards-pass progress, and Cryo Archive Subroutines progress. Players jumping back in for Season 2 also won’t have to go through the process of unlocking each individual faction through Liaison Contracts or do the initial Priority Contract for each faction. Factions will instead be unlocked from the start for those who completed each faction’s corresponding Liaison Contract. Presumably, each faction will have new Priority Contracts to tackle in Season 2, continuing the game’s ongoing narrative.
To super-charge the end of Season 1, Bungie is making some adjustments to Marathon starting on May 19. Players can expect increased UESC presence across Tau Ceti IV, with a “new threat” stated to make an appearance on Dire Marsh and Perimeter, as well as new Warden encounters at additional points of interest across Perimeter, Dire Marsh, and Outpost. There will additionally be an increase in UESC dropships and crash sites. Progression-wise, faction experience from all sources will be increased to help players achieve their end-of-season goals.
For those wanting to experience more of Cryo Archive before the reset, Bungie will make the endgame map available daily starting on May 21 through the end of the season. To make the whole experience a little less punishing, Bungie will additionally be giving players a daily free Cryo Archive Sponsored Kit until the start of Season 2. The hardest of the hardcore can also choose to tackle a special ranked version of Cryo Archive.
There are a few balance changes in the cards, too. Rook will get a buff to their Signal Mask ability so that it remains active longer while sprinting. The range at which AI forces will detect footsteps during Signal Mask will also be reduced. Keys are receiving changes as well. Instead of being Fragile, key templates will instead be Compromised and require a Matter Fixative (often looted from enemy commanders) in order to restore them. Bungie states it believes this will be a “more interesting” way to charge keys, and also allows for runners to steal keys off other crews. Deluxe keys are being added to wall safes across every map, giving players another way to access valuable loot.
Bungie will be sharing more details about Marathon Season 2 next week, but we do have a general sense of what’s coming next. A new Runner shell, as well as a night version of Dire Marsh, additional weapons, faster faction progression, and a new Runner-customization system called The Cradle are all coming June 2, as well as various quality-of-life updates based on community feedback, Bungie said.
Marathon’s mid-Season 1 update in April looked to offer a friendlier experience for casual players, with a new catch-up system called C.A.R.R.I., the addition of Mercy Kits, increased faction reputation gains, and an experimental Sponsored Kit playlist where everyone competes with low-quality gear.
