Marathon was released last week, and while it hasn’t quite been the stupendous megahit some thought it might be, it’s boasting a healthy ~60,000 concurrents every day on Steam, not including console players.
One potential reason players may have tried Marathon during the pre-launch Server Slam but decided not to pick up the full game could be how unforgiving and difficult the game is when fighting PvE enemies. Complaints flooded social media about just how much damage the UESC bots can deal, along with how many shots they take to defeat, especially for solo players.
Well, Bungie is listening. The latest Marathon patch, update 1.0.0.4, has “reduced health of most UESC enemies and shield health of UESC bosses by a small amount.” This does not apply to some individual enemy types, but they haven’t been disclosed (aside from a specific mention of the Commander during the “Introducing: Traxus” contract). The change comes with a developer’s 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.”
Elsewhere in this update, Rook has had some significant changes, most notably, the WSTR shotgun it can spawn with will now have the “compromised” condition. This means that if you want to retain it upon exfiltration, you must find a Matter Fixative item first. However, exfiltrating with Rook will reward increased CyberAcme reputation now, and the faction rep bonus for Rook is increased across the board to receive the same amount solo players do.
Sponsored kits from MIDA, CyberAcme, and Arachne will now start with more ammo, and more med cabinets and munitions crates will spawn on Perimeter. Contracts should be easier to complete too, because the objective HUD marker will appear from 20 meters away now, rather than the previous 10.
For the full patch notes, including a temporary Outpost change that prevents players from accessing the Pinwheel via the Broken Wing, check out the official blog post.