Marathon: Walkthrough & Boss Guide

This page explains what Marathon is and how its extraction loop works, based on Wikipedia and published guides. Marathon is a live-service game, so shells, maps and seasons change; this page does not give shell ability breakdowns, loot tables or contract rewards, which could not be verified and may be outdated. An earlier version contained unverified shell and map descriptions; they have been removed.

Marathon is Bungie's first-person multiplayer extraction shooter focused on player-versus-player combat, with AI enemies and hazards. It released on 5 March 2026 for PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S with cross-play and cross-save. Items gathered on a failed run are lost; items from successful extractions carry over. Before each run you choose a shell and gear, or use a free starter kit.

At launch, guides (Beebom, Kotaku) list seven shells: Destroyer, Vandal, Thief, Triage, Recon, Assassin and Rook. Rook is a solo scavenger-style shell that drops into matches in progress with randomized gear and can't progress faction contracts. Wikipedia says the Sentinel shell was added in Season 2. Earlier names such as “Locus”, “Blackbird”, “Glitch” and “Lifeline” could not be verified as official shell names.

Per Wikipedia, Cryo Archive is an end-game area unlocked through an alternate reality game and launched before ranked mode, and Night Marsh is a new map in Season 2. Higher ranked tiers (Platinum and above) access more dangerous zones with better loot.

Solo players face each other, or players join three-player teams; starting with Season 2, duos can play on a single rotating daily map. Six factions (Arachne, CyberAcme, MIDA, NuCaloric, Sekiguchi Genetics and Traxus, per PCGamesN) offer contracts: priority contracts advance the narrative and standard contracts can be repeated. Seasons last three months; each resets progress, but faction progress, the Codex and cosmetics carry over, and the battle pass is cosmetic-only.