{"id":516357,"date":"2026-03-11T04:44:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T04:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/516357\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T04:44:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T04:44:08","slug":"15-tips-to-check-out-before-starting-marathon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/516357\/","title":{"rendered":"15 Tips To Check Out Before Starting Marathon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Marathon is a very good game. Marathon<\/a> is also a very challenging game that can be very confusing even after playing for multiple hours. If you are hopping into Bungie\u2019s extraction shooter for the first time or are still trying to wrap your head around it, we here at Kotaku have 20 tips to help you extract, get good loot, become more powerful, and hopefully have fun.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard out there on Tau Ceti IV. Let us help you. Just keep in mind: You are going to die. A lot. It\u2019s to be expected.<\/p>\n

You won\u2019t understand everything <\/p>\n

Let me just be very clear: I\u2019ve played a lot of Marathon, and I still don\u2019t fully understand everything in the game. So if you\u2019re just hopping in for the first time or have only played a few matches, don\u2019t expect to understand what\u2019s going on anytime soon. It\u2019s going to take time and plenty of failure before you start to understand the map, loot, gear, stats, and other intricacies of Marathon. Reading this guide and others will help, but ultimately, you won\u2019t really comprehend this game for a long time. That\u2019s okay. Part of the process.<\/p>\n

Grab unstable materials <\/p>\n

Early on, you are likely going to be overwhelmed by all the loot that can be found in Marathon. I\u2019d recommend focusing on grabbing anything labeled as \u201cUnstable.\u201d More specifically, focus on bringing back Unstable Diodes and Unstable Biomass. These will help unlock very useful upgrades, including the ability to increase your vault size significantly. Don\u2019t sell these materials, either. Horde them, you\u2019ll thank me later.<\/p>\n

The best starting tip for Marathon! \u2705 pic.twitter.com\/vqQs87xP8a<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Covent (@ChrisCovent) March 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Unlock all the factions right away! <\/p>\n

Very early into Marathon, you\u2019ll start getting quests labeled \u201cIntroducing.\u201d Complete these ASAP. These will unlock the various factions in the game, letting you level them up as well as providing more in-game missions, aka contracts.<\/p>\n

Complete contracts and level up factions <\/p>\n

Remember ABC: Always. Be. Completing contracts in Marathon<\/a>. This will help you quickly level up the various factions in the game, which in turn will let you use all those unstable materials and other gunk to level up your stats, unlock new items to buy in the armory, and more. You can spend some credits to reroll non-story contracts, too. Do that if a contract seems too annoying or tricky to complete.<\/p>\n

Check each faction\u2019s agent screen for other ways to boost your rep <\/p>\n

Contracts aren\u2019t the only way to increase your faction levels. Each faction will award you bonus XP for doing certain activities during a run or for bringing back faction-related loot. For example, every time you pick a plant in Marathon<\/a>, you\u2019ll get a bit of NuCaloric faction XP (assuming you\u2019ve unlocked them), which can help you rank that faction up while doing a quest for another. Multi-tasking! To figure out what each faction wants you to do, visit the agent section of each group\u2019s menu.<\/p>\n

Water and crouching can help you sprint more efficiently <\/p>\n

Runner shells in Marathon can sprint and slide, but doing so builds up heat. Push your shell too far, and you can overheat and be unable to run for a bit. This sucks. Luckily, there are ways to remove heat quickly that don\u2019t require items or skill. First off, crouch. Doing this will cool you down faster. Another tip is to look for water. Running through even shallow water will make your heat build up slower. Rain will do the same. And yes, you can combine these. Crouching in water will cool you down extremely fast.<\/p>\n

Use claymores to cover your back <\/p>\n

Sure, you can stick a claymore to a drone and do some wild TikTok-trending drone warfare.<\/a> But claymores are super useful without a drone, too. When playing solo, I\u2019ll place one or two in doorways or near ladders while I loot or get ready to extract. This has stopped random enemy players from sneaking up on me and saved my ass many times while trying to extract. This tactic is also useful in co-op, too.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a9Bungie Smoke grenades can save you from deadly bots <\/p>\n

Did you accidentally anger some robot soldiers? Toss a smoke grenade down between you and them and use it to cover your escape. Bots are easily thrown off by smoke grenades and can help you slip away without having to waste bullets in a fight.<\/p>\n

Signal Jammers are your friend <\/p>\n

While we\u2019re talking about ways to avoid Marathon\u2019s surprisingly deadly bots, here\u2019s another one: Signal Jammer kits. These can be popped like any other consumable and will mask you from enemy robots and turrets. Extremely useful if you\u2019re trying to sneak by a big patrol or want to get the jump on players hiding from bots and looting.<\/p>\n

Depleted shield and health items don\u2019t extract <\/p>\n

You\u2019ve probably already noticed if you\u2019ve played a few matches, but just to reiterate: Depleted shield kits and health packs do not leave with you when you exfil. So if you have, like, five of them in your inventory, feel free to use them the moment you need to, as they won\u2019t be coming back to your vault with you if you escape.<\/p>\n

Red flares signal lockboxes <\/p>\n

Got a lockbox key and not sure where to go? Look for red flares! These will pop up on any building in a map that contains lockboxes to unlock.<\/p>\n

Check the map screen for more objective info <\/p>\n

If a contract says to go to South Relay to hack a terminal but you can\u2019t find it, open your map and check out the right side. Over there, you\u2019ll see what contracts each of your team members has, and if you hover your cursor over a contract, the game will give you more details. Is this a bad UI choice? Yes! But at least you know now and can hopefully use the extra info to finish contracts with less stress.<\/p>\n

Upgrade factions to upgrade Rook <\/p>\n

Rook, a robotic shell that can\u2019t complete contracts but can bring back loot, is fun. You can make Rook more powerful and useful by leveling up factions and buying up enough upgrades to unlock each group\u2019s \u201cCapstone\u201d node. Each of these boosts up Rook, giving him better gear and making him more of a genuine threat.<\/p>\n

Use TADs to spot enemy players <\/p>\n

At various locations around each of Marathon\u2019s <\/a>maps, you might see small antenna-like structures marked as TADs that you can interact with. And you should activate these, as they will ping the area around you and reveal enemy players. Keep in mind that other players will see the TAD\u2019s pulses, so you are letting those players know that they aren\u2019t alone. But at least you\u2019ll have the drop on where they are if the attack.<\/p>\n

Mechanic kits will cure poison plant bullshit <\/p>\n

Those yellowish-green toxic plants that explode when you get too close are annoying as heck. If you want to remove that obnoxious debuff that is tossed on runners who get too close, simply keep a spare Mechanic Kit on you or find one in the world. Using that will wipe the effects away, letting you heal normally.<\/p>\n

Read our list of don\u2019ts <\/p>\n

This is a list of useful tips and tricks for new players and people just starting their journey into Marathon. But there\u2019s even more to learn about Bungie\u2019s new extraction shooter, so check out our list of things to NOT do in Marathon<\/a> to help you survive longer and hopefully get out with good loot.<\/p>\n