Bungie has revealed that Season 2 of its first-person extraction shooter Marathon will begin next month on June 2. Ahead of the new season, the team has detailed the finale update for Season 1, alongside information Runners should know about the progression reset and more.
Season 2, dubbed Nightfall, begins on June 2, but before that, Bungie says UESC security (the NPC enemies in the game’s various maps) efforts will be renewed and amplified in the final days of Season 1. When update 1.0.9 launches on Tuesday, Runners will find that locked room keys are guaranteed to drop from Wardens for the remainder of the season; plus, map events like Intercept, Lockdown, Warden Spawns, Convoy, and Anomaly will also be guaranteed on each run, allowing you to benefit from better rewards more often.
You’ll also find new Warden encounters at new points of interest on Perimeter, Dire Marsh, and Outpost, alongside an increased presence of UESC dropship flyovers and crash sites. Bungie also teases a “new threat” on Dire Marsh designed to shut down Runner activity, but stops short of saying anything more.
Cryo Archive is the capstone endgame content of Marathon thus far in Season 1, representing the most intense challenge in the game. To help all Runners see what Cryo Archive offers, Bungie will make the map available every day (as opposed to select weekends) every day starting May 21 through the end of the season on June 2. And if you’re worried about losing your loot, fret not: Bungie will send every player a free Cryo Archive Sponsored Kit to your mailbox every day, giving you at least one free run in the map.
Also, through the end of the season, Bungie has amplified Faction experience gains to help players rank each Faction up in Season 1.
As part of Marathon’s seasonal model, there will be a reset at the end of Season 1. This means all players will have a clean slate and equal footing when Season 2 starts on June 2. This reset only affects things related to gameplay progression; you will keep your achievements, non-seasonal Codex progression, and cosmetics. Reward Passes will not reset either, meaning you can continue working on your Season 1 Reward Pass even in Season 2.
Here’s a breakdown of everything that will be affected by the season reset and the things that won’t:
Affected:
- Runner Level
- Ranked Level
- Faction Level and Upgrades
- Credits and other currencies (exception: LUX and SILK)
- All items in your inventory and Vault
- Purchases unlocked by Schemas
- Messages, rewards, and returned items in your mailbox
- Priority Contracts (exception: first contract for each Faction)
- Gear-granting seasonal Codex entries for Runner Level and Ranked
Not Affected
- Cosmetics and weapons unlocked and redeemed during Season 1
- Codex challenges, including partial progress (except Runner and Ranked levels): Combat, Feats, Loot, Map, Runner, Title
- Faction Unlocks: Access to each faction you’ve previously unlocked is retained; no need to repeat Liaison Contracts
- Initial Priority Contracts: Completion status of the first contract for each faction is retained
- LUX and SILK balances
- Rewards Pass progress
Bungie will deliver CyberAcme Sponsored Kits in Season 2 based on your Runner Level in Season 1, and you can expect the following:
- Runner Level 10: Enhanced CyberAcme Sponsored Kit
- Runner Level 25: Enhanced CyberAcme Sponsored Kit
- Runner Level 50: Deluxe CyberAcme Sponsored Kit
- Runner Level 75: Superior CyberAcme Sponsored Kit
These rewards are additive, meaning that if you reach Runner Level 75, for example, you’ll receive all four kits.
To close out today’s details, Bungie has revealed that Season 2: Nightfall will bring the new Night Marsh zone, a new Runner shell, new weapons, a new system to customize your Runner shell stats called The Cradle, faster faction progression, several quality-of-life updates based on player feedback, and more.
For more details on today’s update, head to the full notes here. Bungie says a full reveal for Season 2: Nightfall will arrive the week of May 25.
In the meantime, read Game Informer’s Marathon review to find out why it’s one of our favorite games of the year.
Are you playing Marathon? Let us know what you’re looking forward to in Season 2 below!
