r/Marathon • u/Major-Palpitation624 • 1d ago
Marathon (2026) Feedback Marathon’s biggest problem
When player numbers fall, the obvious answer is: more content, more maps, more weapons, more events, more lore, more, more. But new content only helps if the game can retain the players who come back to experience it. Right now, I think Marathon has a retention problem before it has a content problem. The game itself is good. The gunplay is good, the extraction tension is genuinely special, and there are raids where everything just clicks. But there are also too many situations where the game doesn't give a reason to come back.
A few examples:
- Solo can have very different experiences from Trios, but the game doesn't always reward those differences and some end-game experiences are not available for Solo.
- Empty/low-population raids can feel like wasted time rather than an opportunity to play different.
- PvP can become the most reliable way of generating value, even when you just want to explore/loot POIs, do PvE events or contracts.
- Progression/Rewards don't always make a 30-minute raid feel proportionally valuable.
- Matchmaking problems can turn a good raid into an unfair one. Sometimes you really don't have the chance to play.
None of these necessarily require a new map. And that's the part I'd like Bungie to consider.
Small changes on matchmaking could make existing players have consistently more good raids.
More meaningful extraction rewards could make surviving and exfil feel worthwhile even when you don't find impressive loot or wipe the lobby.
Different dynamic PvE events (more or harder) could make an empty lobby feel like an opportunity rather than a dead raid.
Better recovery (sponsored Playlist?) options for when you lose all gear, don't let one bad session becoming a reason to quit.
More varied rewards could make different playstyles viable instead of pushing everyone towards the same PvP wiping lobby loop.
I don't think Marathon needs to become easier or more casual. Protect what makes the game special but make the existing systems better.
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u/Mikeybeast 1d ago
I love the game but this week I am struggling to find motivation to play. Lost almost my whole vault and half my credits in cryo this weekend and crew fill has been rough. We need a sponsored playlist or return of VB asap.
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u/zebdan 1d ago
Yeah content you can actually play would be nice. I hate how Cryo is purely ratting around avoiding fights. Team stand offs are almost always the wrong call, but I can understand trying to force a fught. Constant rotations get old fast... You spend 20 minutes just hoping to be the third party or catch a pick.
Recon ult is too stong in the tight spaces Pinwheel and Cryo create. That might be fine in a world where that's just one set of maps with pinnacle containers, but it is all we have.
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u/sasageyoforever 1d ago
The gameplay loop is just severely flawed, and everything needs to be overhauled. Extraction shooters are not designed around constant combat being the only way to progress, and low TTK is necessary for under-geared players to be able to fight back against squads. Marathon completely broke both those principles and now its just Apex Legends except you lose all your shit when you die and youre at a massive disadvantage if youre not good. No one wants to play that kind of game, shocker, I know.
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u/AgentUmlaut 20h ago
It still blows my mind how some people on here find that controversial and refute that maybe it's not the best idea to be these high powered supermen with guns that shoot in straight lines with extremely high aim assist on maps that are relatively smaller in scale and there is such a heavy slant for rewarding such overly aggro game play. The guard rail of a variable heat capacity proved more annoying and jarring for the gameplay that's possible than some big equalizer considering it can be pretty easy to manage after a certain point.
If anything it has me further appreciating what CoD did with DMZ 1 for the design that went into that and accounting for things like UAV towers, vehicles, and parachuting around the map, like something that often is seen as the more arcadey game somehow kept things reeled in more comparatively.
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u/MeaningObvious8731 1d ago
I disagree. The game is NOT good. The individual parts are all good to excellent, but the whole is deeply flawed and this is the reason most people bounced off. The fundamental problem is that the game makes everything difficult and withholds success experiences from the new player.
During S1 the game was often compared to Dark Souls for its 'dying is part of it' aspect. I think the developers thought that themselves. If you die you learn something. But the fundamental difference is that in DS you die from predictable CPU-controlled enemies. If you take your time and take things slow you can learn the patterns and predict them completely. Success. In Marathon, those same enemies are there but while you are taking things slow in order to learn, suddenly you are dead on the ground because an enemy team spotted you while you were trying to play a videogame. Repeat that a few tens of times without ever managing to extract with anything worthwhile or completing a story mission and people shrug and move on.
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u/gmbaker44 1d ago
The PVP is just too sweaty. Most of the time I get dropped before I can even shoot back. TTK feels instant even with a purple shield on. I don’t even have gear fear and don’t store anything in vault. Most of the time I’m just trying to extract with some blue shit or doing contracts on Perimeter and get wiped by teams fully kitted.
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u/traviscrazy 22h ago
Dropped in with a friend to play two rounds of Duos on PERIMETER last night - killed in the first four minutes. First encounter - double gold shield thieves wearing crypto skins. Second round, five minutes in, double purple shields.
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u/housefromtn 1d ago
Marathon is an extraction shooter that feels like it was made by and for people who’ve never played the genre. Every lesson the community has learned over the last 10 years (tarkov closed alpha was almost exactly 10 years ago) is completely ignored.
Bungie just started from scratch like they’re the first people to make an extraction shooter. If this was 2016 Marathon would have 100k ccu, but it’s 2026 and there’s just straight up better options.
The Marathon playerbase is composed almost exclusively of ex Destiny players. People who play extraction shooters all left for greener pastures.
Imagine if valorant was almost solely league players and could never capture any non league playing fps players. That’s just not sustainable. It would have never made it and got cancelled early on just like 2XKO just did.
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u/Interest-Complex 1d ago
imo there's 3 modes I think could help the player retention
Arena mode with teams fighting for an item (big team wide payout on exfil) hunt did this as Bounty Clash and it got to a point were it was FULL solos would go because the chaos allowed them to come out on top (altho hunt solos have two lives) and teams would go in for a quick shootout and a chance to earn cash. This made Hunt playerbase grow, I had friends that don't like extraction shooters trying out this
Normal extraction mode but you don't lose gear (help people with gear fear)
Full on PvE content to attract another type of players. Make it roguelite, add maps, bosses and tou got yourself a roguelite RPG shooter theres people out there buying games that only offer that. Marathon would offer that AND PvP
I think any of those things could go a long way
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u/MrMaiky 1d ago
Yeah no extraction without losing your gear will make this the worst extraction ever
People would get over their gear fear much quicker if they think about that higher gear = higher chance of success and that the gear is wiped after 3 months so why let it collect dust in the vault1
u/Interest-Complex 21h ago
I'm not asking for it, but it's clear newer players left because the game is hard and sometimes you cant even try your gun before dying. It's a cycle of losing gear and not being able to get better with said gear because you're losing it. I'd much rather a PvP 3v3v3 arena or testing grounds but anything that helps people get better and have fun I think it's good
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u/MrMaiky 21h ago
I know losing gear is frustrating, but everyone knows that it’s a part of the extraction genre and should know before they buy the game
I know the game is harder for beginners, I’ve been there too, but I knew what the genre itself contains and I am sure a lot of people went into Marathon without prior knowledge of the whole loop
I can agreed to some sort of pvp arena, even to a training place where you can try your gear
But don’t take a core mechanic out of the main mode
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u/Training_Wonder_5066 1d ago
It's not fun to play.
It's really that simple.
It only appeals to a small percentage of players.
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u/Immediate_Speech_234 1d ago
ikr... its really that simple. I would go as far to say that the core gameplay loop isn't fun. That aint something you can fix in a season drop unless they had stuff cooking for a couple years. Unless they perform a miracle... something bungie has done before... but what's left over there at bungie... hopefully its hope and drive. just the qualities necessary for a miracle...
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u/low_end_ 18h ago
The issue is that the game is actually fun to play, but everything that happens since you load the game until you are inside a run is too much in the way.
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u/fastmoneyboy 1d ago
Might catch some flack for this but I’m just gonna say it. Everyone thinks we’re losing players because of lack of content, but I think it’s because a lot of the player base are just assholes. Most of the people I played with daily have slowly quit the game so I’m back to crew filling and using LFGs and most of the people are just insufferable. And not a single one of them is willing to help new players, that combined with an already huge skill gap between new and veteran players, it’s just not a fun experience and wouldn’t make anyone want to keep playing.
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u/holdyourponies 1d ago
The marathon fan base are really big assholes. I’ve played in RTS communities and MMORPG communities for the most part. Marathon takes the cake for most assholes per capita. I never played destiny but if these are the people that played that game, I’m happy I never did.
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u/MaxelAmador 1d ago
I know it’s anecdotal but I’ve come across way friendlier people than I’ve come across the jerks in the game.
By hopping around in the Dads of Marathon discord I’ve been able to find a solid crew of like 5 friends who are on at any given time and are generally kind and patient people. Good too I mean they all make smart plays and try their best. And I for one am always happy to take a noob through perimeter or team up with another team / rooks. But those things don’t have a lot of incentive. The lack of content is why experienced players chew through anyone that isn’t kitted and confident. What else is there to do? Everything else on the map is just going to make you the target
I think it needs fundamental design changes and clear leadership. I’m just not sure that’ll happen before the player base dries out completely.
It’s a peculiar position to be in; enjoying and rooting for something that is on thin ice.
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u/c-rn 1d ago
See I've had the exact opposite feeling, always mainly met nice people through fills, everyone I play with I met through fills. And I enjoy teaching new players how to get better.
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u/Coelacanth7 1d ago
I play a lot of crew fill also, hundreds of hours and I only had a few rude players. Everyone I met is so nice
The enemy player's that kill me? Those players are assholes!
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u/Beanstiller 1d ago
I love the game and mostly play trios but I will say Solo is a much more “extraction shooter” like experience. I have learned to love it so much
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u/Successful-Cow1176 1d ago
Marathons biggest problem are the players that sucked the fun out of the game and drove everyone away.
And now the game’s on life support….imagine that.
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u/Major-Palpitation624 1d ago
Players?
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u/FEELS_G00D 1d ago
crewfill match quality
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u/Interest-Complex 1d ago
Yeah not really, thing is low playerbase is what made the skillgap stand out more. Problem with the game was the rocky launch due to the hate campaign people online ran. I think if this game had been shadow dropped and got to be known through word of mouth it would've done waaay better in players
Anyways problem is fewer players means more players are good, how to fix? PvP arena mode were people don't risk losing gear that way you can learn PvP faster. Or PvE mode to enjoy a different experience
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u/Impossible_Frame_241 1d ago
Hard agree.
I find myself opening the game at and wondering to myself what is the reason I’m actually playing?
Once those thoughts start to enter my head I’m out.
Can’t convince my mates to load up the game just to follow me while I ping every possible event and lead them around the map just to extract some value out of the run
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u/VersaSty7e 1d ago
Yeah. Agree with all those points
Unfortunately imo the answer to all this is just add a separate PvE mode 🤷♂️
We’ll see if that fixes much with the actual main game. Or even improves population /retention there.
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u/BantamCats 1d ago
My only issue is lag. I’d rather play a tiny lobby solo than deal with rubber banding etc. It’s only seemed to have gotten worse. Oh well, see how it goes tomorrow
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u/zsomBird 1d ago
TTK is the biggest issue. I can be a purple shield and still get dropped super quick.
I tried out Apex and the TTK difference was crazy.
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u/traviscrazy 22h ago
I’m at 680 hours and the whole YouTube “clear the lobby” has ruined everything.
Outside of playing Rook, I spend more time in the matchmaker and “initialing contract system” screens.
Playing with friends has become miserable. God forbid you aggro a single UESC or fire a shot and give away your position - instant death sentence.
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u/Optimoose-Prime-Rib 18h ago
Marathon’s biggest problem is this:
“The gunplay is good.”
The gunplay is ludicrous amounts of aim assist/bullet magnetism to the point everyone may as well have aimbots.
To which many say, “I die in .9 seconds before I can learn anything.” And ragequit.
Quick TTK can be fine, but not when the game makes it borderline automatic each time.
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u/HashSlingingStacher 17h ago
Game is great. Can’t relate to everyone in here saying it needs a total overhaul. I know Bungie has to bring more players to the game, but I love it just the way it is.
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u/isakuiky 1d ago
As a solo players, i would play much more if solo fill trio are vs ing solo fill trios only.
Everything would be more fair, what u got white shield teammate, toxic teammates, new player teammate ? Guess what ? Your enemies are the same
So everyone have a fair game
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u/Excuse_my_GRAMMER 1d ago
Content isn’t marathon problem at all , the content so far has been steady and consistent
The main problem is progressing, season 2 progression is way better because of the cradle and because of survival mode and vault breaker experiment if it didn’t have those experiment it would have fallen flat
Progression in season 1 was tied to extraction , once they untied it in season 3 and extraction PVPVE mode is going to be pure PvP it will solve the progression issue that was holding marathon back
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u/Inkstainedfox 1d ago
Pure PvP is going to shrink the fanbase.
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u/Excuse_my_GRAMMER 1d ago
Nah I don’t think at all
The way I see it is players that want to PvP to PvP will just do it in the extraction shooter mode
I enjoy the extraction shooter mode and the idea of a PVPVE element but found out quickly that the PVE aspect of the mode was ignore and players treated it like a DM where wiping the lobby was the main objective.
Now we are giving the option of to progress the story and contracts via PVE mode.. I can enjoy that aspect of the game without having the inconvenience of pvp and get to profess my faction and armory and enjoy the extraction shooter mode shooter as a DM mode like the sweaty players
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u/Inkstainedfox 1d ago
i just wanna run contract and learn the mystery. the only shooting I wanna do is against bots & bosses.
Marathon needs maps & reactivity in the maps. an "open" world in between map zone would help dramatically... especially if if can be customized, anchor your pirate cradle, & have a makeshift range.
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u/Excuse_my_GRAMMER 20h ago
you preaching to the choir that what I want to do as well and we are not able to do it in the current season , pvp is just an inconvenience that’s on the way
But season 3 adding PVE , we will actually be able to do that and enjoy the lore and PVE of the game. While stepping into pvp without it being an inconvenience
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u/noother10 1d ago
How wrong can the OP be honestly? They were right about the issue being more than just content but that is about it.
I'll come out and say it, the game itself IS NOT GOOD. That is why it has a retention problem, it is why people are leaving, it is why no new players come. If the game was good people would stay and play, new people would be trying it out constantly, people would come back every season.
There are too many people here who are under some delusion where the game has to be good, it must be good, I like it so it's the best thing ever, I cannot accept other people don't like it. How many streamers, youtubers, gaming journalists have I seen over the last 6 months come out saying how great Marathon is and how people just need to try it and they'll understand? Too f'in many.
There was a free to play playtest before launch, multiple after it launched, no one is interested, everyone who wanted to try it has tried it and most did not like it. Learn to accept the game is extremely niche and only a very tiny number of people actually like it. It isn't because people haven't tried it, it's because it just isn't good.
Bungie made all the wrong choices when they made the game, so many exacerbate issues made from other choices, it's just cascading poor game design choices. There is no fix, they'd need to do a remake into a different game entirely to salvage it if they wanted to.
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u/Major-Palpitation624 22h ago
I don't think you're wrong that the game has a retention problem. That's pretty obvious at this point. Where I disagree is jumping from “people are leaving” to “there is no fix because the game itself isn't good.” I actually think Marathon is a brilliant game in some respects and a frustratingly underdeveloped one in others.
Is a live service game, maybe Bungie can't fix it. Maybe they can. But I'd rather see them identify which parts of the loop are actually causing players to leave, experiment with them, measure the results and iterate than declare the patient dead while it's still on the operating table.
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u/ToleranceCamper 1d ago
Problem has been the same from the beginning. No basic shooting range. Dead game because of that. Also, trio focus. Yep. That’s all folks, gg
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u/Whitechapel726 1d ago
You think 96% of the players have stopped playing since launch because the game, *checks notes*, doesn’t have a shooting range?
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u/fermatiaudapy 1d ago
Believe it or not, every game that i’ve stopped playing early lacked a shooting range.
Let me check my notes; Nier Automata, Yakuza Infinite Wealth, Stardew Valley, Forza Horizon 6, and now Marathon. And the list goes on and on btw, just bc no gun range.
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u/Whitechapel726 1d ago
I actually uninstalled Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 and Words With Friends for this exact reason.
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u/fermatiaudapy 1d ago
Yeah man i totally get u.
I was so exited to play Big Walk with my friends this past month, but when we all found out they didn’t include a shooting range, you know i had to cancel my pre-order and start spewing hate on Reddit about it.
FFS these developers nowadays.
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u/Lolsalot12321 1d ago
I mean yeah
I get very little chance to experience and learn a lot of guns and how they're used in marathon because I just end up dying before I get any real use, and I never keep a consistent collection of them, besides the most common guns.
Being able to just use any gun in a shooting range would make me far more confident to use a weapon, especially having an idea on how fast it should kill, which would help immensely in pvp
Plus solos being left in the dust is very fucking annoying
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