Factions are the cornerstone of progression in Marathon. Every faction has a dedicated tree with powerful upgrades that give permanent stat boosts and unlock new items in the Armory.
While you might want to lean into a specific faction as you play the game, there are a few general upgrades in every tree that you must pick up to improve your early game. So here’s how to unlock faction upgrades and the best upgrades to focus on in the early game of Marathon.
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How to unlock faction upgrades in Marathon
Every faction upgrade is locked behind a certain faction level. Complete contracts for that faction to increase its reputation and level it up. Certain actions also grant additional reputation for the faction. For example, harvesting plants grants NuCaloric rep, and looting Runners grants Arachne rep.
Unlocking an upgrade usually requires Credits, and some upgrades also require Salvage. Salvage items appear in every POI on every map, but certain items only spawn in certain locations, so make sure to track the upgrade and head to the right locations if you want to unlock them quickly.
Best early faction upgrades in Marathon
CyberAcme
CyberAcme is the starting faction in Marathon with the most accessible upgrades. Most of them require only Credits and provide strong permanent stat boosts that are a must-have regardless of your preferred playstyle.
Here are the CyberAcme upgrades you should prioritize getting early:
- Expansion
- Carrier
- INFORMANT.EXE
- SCAVENGER.EXE
- HEAT_SINK.EXE
- QUICK_VENT.EXE
Vault space is quite limited in Marathon, so Expansion is a good upgrade to have, especially once you purchase Carrier and unlock backpacks. On the note of looting, SCAVENGER.EXE increases the loot speed, which is especially important when you’re looting corpses in more exposed locations.
INFORMANT.EXE increases gains from the data cards, which is a great way to earn some Credits, as you get them even if you fail to exfil. This means you can build up enough resources and get back fully kitted out a little bit faster.
Last but not least, HEAT_SINK.EXE and all the following upgrades improve heat management, essentially increasing your stamina. They allow you to sprint and slide more, as well as use certain Shell’s abilities more often to stay mobile in gunfights.
NuCaloric
Healing items in Marathon are scarce. Luckily, NuCaloric (or NuCal) specializes in healing supplies as well as improving your overall recovery. Tau Ceti IV is a dangerous place, so you need all the help you can get to stay alive for longer.
Here are the NuCal upgrades you should prioritize getting early:
- Safeguard
- Restore
- RECOVERY.EXE
- REINFORCE.EXE
- Shielded
Safeguard and Restore grants free daily Shield Charges and Patch Kits in the Armory, respectively. It may not feel like much, but in the early game, you may quickly find yourself without any supplies, especially after a few unsuccessful runs.
RECOVERY.EXE and REINFORCE.EXE give flat stat boosts to hardware and self-repair speed stats. While REINFORCE.EXE may be a bit more situational if you know how to avoid common debuffs (like not stepping into toxic plants), RECOVERY.EXE is a must for any occasion.
Shields are also pretty rare drops, so pick up Shielded as soon as you can to be able to buy a Protector V1 for every run. It gives an extra shield slot, and while there are other options in the wild, it’s much better than using no shield at all.
Traxus
Traxus sells weapons and weapon mods. There are no immediate must-haves in this faction’s upgrade tree that you need in the early game. Instead, you can focus on getting easier access to your preferred weapons and their corresponding mods, eventually reaching the first Capstone upgrade and granting your Rook and Enhanced weapon.
Later on, you can also grab TRACKER.EXE to increase the ping duration – perfect for intel gathering, especially if you’re playing Recon or Thief.
MIDA
Similar to Traxus, MIDA unlocks a wide range of offensive items, like grenades, in the Armory, and which ones to unlock depend on your playstyle. However, there are a few upgrades and items that are good for any situation you might find yourself in.
Here are the MIDA upgrades you should prioritize getting early:
- Survivor
- FLEX_MATRIX.EXE
Survivor allows you to buy the Survival Kit V2 body Implant. While it doesn’t lean into anything specific, it provides moderate increases to survivability stats, including hardware, firewall, self-repair speed, and revive speed. FLEX_MATRIX.EXE is a flat stat boost to your movement speed and jump height, which is a nice general buff, especially when you’re trying to be sneaky.
Arachne
Arachne is a PvP-focused faction, and its contracts revolve a lot around dealing damage to Runners and downing them. This may not be your favorite faction to level up, but it has a couple of upgrades you should pick up regardless.
Here are the Arachne upgrades you should prioritize getting early:
- CUTTHROAT.EXE
- REBOOT.EXE
CUTTHROAT.EXE increases the amount of shield you get after performing a finisher on a downed Runner, which works well in both solos and squads, but if you mainly play squads, REBOOT.EXE is a must-have. It increases the revive speed, and while it does affect self-revive as well, you may not be able to take advantage of it as often.
MIPS Shotgun upgrade unlocks the WSTR Combat Shotgun for purchase in the Armory, and it’s one of the strongest weapons in the game, so consider picking it up, too.
Sekiguchi
Sekiguchi Genetics is primarily about buildcrafting and your Runner Shell’s abilities. While the upgrades you can go for largely depend on your favorite Runner Shell, there are a few universal upgrades that increase your ability uptime.
Here are the Sekiguchi upgrades you should prioritize getting early:
- TAC_AMP.EXE:
- HEAD_START.EXE:
Both TAC_AMP.EXE and HEAD_START.EXE are available to unlock early on and don’t require much investment. TAC_AMP.EXE gives a flat increase to the Tactical ability recovery, while HEAD_START.EXE ensures you start every run with some ability charge.
Apart from those two, prioritize upgrades for your favorite Runner Shell. The first upgrade for every Shell grants access to its two Enhanced Cores, while the second upgrade grants access to the Deluxe Core. While not all of them may lean into your preferred palystyle, it’s better than running in without any Cores at all.
