As Marathon Server Slam comes to an end, Bungie highlighted several key topics it’s keeping an eye on, as well as those already addressed over the weekend.
One of the new areas Bungie is tracking regarding Marathon, as shared in an X post on March 1, is the duo-queue option and duo dedicated lobbies. This is because, at the moment, queing as a duo matches you against trios, putting you at an immediate disadvantage.
Regarding PvP, one of the focal points of the Server Slam was time-to-kill (TTK). Marathon has a very short TTK compared to a game like ARC Raiders, rewarding better positioning and sharp aim. It allows you to take full advantage of sneaking up on a target and opens up clutch opportunities in tough spots.
However, it also means that one mistake can instantly punish you and send you back to the lobby. Bungie is keeping an eye on the conversation around TTK and also the frequency of PvP encounters on non-beginner maps to balance things out.
The game’s UI has been a major complaint, as menus are convoluted and items are hard to distinguish, at least for the first couple of hours of gameplay. Bungie stated it plans to iterate on the UI post-launch, so while there won’t be any immediate changes, you can expect the UI to improve over time.
PC players might have also experienced high CPU use, with FPS drops even on setups exceeding the recommended system requirements. Bungie is working through the reports while also keeping an eye on med and ammo economy (those can be extremely scarce), heat generation from core movement, and keybind settings.
Server Slam was an opportunity for everyone to try out Marathon for free and earn a couple of rewards. While the game generated some early criticism, it seemingly found its core audience, thanks to its fantastic gunplay, a unique art style, and a variety of gameplay options in the form of Runner Shells.
Throughout the playtest, Bungie already rolled out a couple of hotfixes to address some of the burning issues. The developer fixed voice chat and mouse input lag bugs, as well as increased the number of teams on the beginner version of Perimeter to test higher PvP contact.
With the Server Slam now concluded, there are only a couple of days left until Marathon‘s full release, which brings the Thief Runner Shell, more maps, the Sekiguchi Genetics faction, expanded progression, and more.
