Marathon has its first post-launch patch, which makes a number of important balance changes.

Marathon Update 1.0.0.4 makes changes that make the extraction shooter slightly easier, following feedback from some players that it is too hard due to the sparseness of ammo and healing items, as well as the toughness of the enemy AI.

The patch increases the number of Med Cabinets and Munitions Crates that can spawn on Perimeter, the starting map, increases the amount of starting ammo in MIDA, CyberAcme, and Arachne free Sponsored Kits, and reduced the frequency that UESC Grenadiers drop EMP grenades.

For combat, the range that gunfire and explosions can be heard from is increased. Specifically on UESC, Marathon’s AI enemies, health of most UESC enemies and shield hp of UESC bosses is reduced by a small amount.

Perhaps in anticipation of Marathon’s hardcore fans criticizing Bungie for catering to casual players, the developer added a note with this change to reassure them that enemy AI will still present a stiff challenge.

“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,” Bungie said. “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.”

Additionally, Bungie community chief Cosmo tweeted to say the UESC enemies “will still f**k you up,” in response to concern that this patch is a reaction to some who say Marathon is too hard.

As for weapons, thermal scopes are nerfed, and Overrun has increased default ammo capacity. Crucially, the promised rewards pass and store changes are now in place.

The patch comes amid significant debate about the success or otherwise of Marathon, which is a crucial release for Bungie following significant financial issues that even studio owner Sony itself has highlighted. We don’t have player numbers from Sony or Microsoft, but on Steam, Marathon hit a peak player concurrent figure of 88,337. Marathon appears to be holding relatively steady on Valve’s platform. But we do not have a sales figure for Marathon, and no comment yet from either Sony or Bungie on whether it’s meeting expectations. Are people bouncing off Marathon because of how hard it is? Are some put off by its steep learning curve?

Marathon Update 1.0.0.4 patch notes:

Item Economy

• Increased the number of Med Cabinets and Munitions Crates that can spawn on Perimeter
• Increased the amount of starting ammo in MIDA, CyberAcme, and Arachne free Sponsored Kits
• Reduced the frequency UESC Grenadiers drop EMP grenades

Combat

• Fixed an issue where players could sometimes die instantly in confinement events
• Fixed an issue where the shield break screen effects could constantly play when you had a heal over time effect and a damage over time effect on you at the same time
• Increased the range gunfire and explosions can be heard from

Weapons

Thermal Scopes

• Reduced visual clarity on targets with thermal scopes
• Adjusted max distances for thermal highlight:
  • Pistols: 40 meters (down from 55)
  • Rifles/LMGs/SMGs: 60 meters (down from 65)
  • Precision Rifles: 80 meters (down from 100)
  • Snipers: 100 meters (down from 180)

Overrun

• Increased default ammo capacity by 5

Runners

Rook

• Fixed an issue where backpacks could be deleted when exfiling with Rook
• Fixed an issue where Rook’s position was not being displayed on the map screen.
• Increased CyAc reputation gain from exfilling with Rook
• Rook will now have the same Faction reputation bonus for exfilling that solo players receive
• Rook’s WSTR shotgun will now spawn as Compromised
  • Compromised items require use of a Matter Fixative during the run to exfil with the item

UESC

• Reduced health of most UESC enemies and shield hp of UESC bosses by a small amount

DEVELOPER 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.

Contracts

• Increased default distance objective nav points appear from 10m to 20m

Introducing NuCaloric Contract

• Fixed an issue where enemy Crews could receive NuCal contract VO audio and subtitles from a long distance away

Introducing Traxus Contract

• Reduced the difficulty of the UESC Commander encounter

Zones

Outpost

• Temporarily disabled switches access route to the Broken Wing on Outpost

DEVELOPER NOTE: We are temporarily disabling the "Broken Wing" entrance into the Pinwheel while we make some tuning changes to it. In its current state it trivializes entrance into the Pinwheel. We are making some tweaks to maintain the spirit of the "silent" entrance while better matching the risk / reward of the Pinwheel. Runners can continue to take advantage of all other ways into the Pinwheel (including the additional silent method) in the meantime.

Rewards Pass and Store

• Fixed an issue where Silk balances were not updating correctly without restarting the game
• Fixed an issue where bundle prices could be displayed incorrectly
• Fixed an issue where cosmetic items might incorrectly say "Savings" when they are full price
• Increased the LUX bundle from (1000 + 100) to (1000 + 120)

Stability

• Fixed a rare issue that could cause dedicated server crashes
• Fixed several issues that could cause client crashes

General

• Fixed an issue where doors would lock preventing players from finishing the new player intro mission
• Updated the description of Perimeter (Beginner) on the Zone Select screen
• Fixed a bug where the Text Chat window could get stuck open
• Fixed a crash that sometimes occurred when attempting to use an IME Keyboard
• Fixed a crash that sometimes occurred when typing quickly with an IME Keyboard
  • DEVELOPER NOTE: Some issues may still remain with third-party IME software and we are continuing to investigate. Windows built-in IME may be a temporary workaround for users who are experiencing issues while we work on a permanent fix.
• Players will no longer see an extended black screen during the map load sequence

If you're jumping into Marathon, check out IGN's Beginner's Guide and Tips guide to familiarize yourself with how the game works (and don't forget to check out the Things to Do First!). You'll likely find yourself running out of inventory space pretty fast, so find out how to get more in our How to Unlock More Backpack Slots guide, and if you're playing with a controller, make sure you're applying the Best Controller Settings.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.