Marathon Season 2: Everything You Need to Know About the Nightfall Update

Bungie has officially unveiled the roadmap for Marathon Season 2, teasing a period of "liberated chaos" as players prepare for a fresh start on Tau Ceti. With the release of update 1.0.9 coming on Tuesday, May 19, the studio is setting the stage for the full launch of Season 2: Nightfall on June 2.

As Season 1 draws to a close, the United Earth Space Coalition (UESC) is ramping up its security efforts in response to Runner pillaging. While Season 2 promises significant changes, the immediate focus is on maximizing rewards and ensuring a fair playing field for everyone.

End-of-Season Rewards and Map Events

To celebrate the end of Season 1, update 1.0.9 aims to make every run more lucrative. Bungie has introduced several key changes to ensure players can benefit from high-value loot before the reset.

  • Guaranteed Drops: Locked room keys are now guaranteed to drop from Wardens for the remainder of the season.
  • Map Events: Key events such as Intercept, Lockdown, Warden spawns, Convoy, and Anomaly will be guaranteed on each run, allowing for more frequent acquisition of better rewards.
  • Increased UESC Presence: Expect a heavier military response across Tau Ceti IV, including new warden encounters at previously safe points of interest (POIs).
  • New Threats: The UESC is deploying a mysterious new threat in Dire Marsh and Perimeter. Players should also watch for increased UESC dropship flyovers and crash sites, which offer valuable supply opportunities.

Cryo Archive and Ranked Access

For those looking to test their skills before the season resets, Bungie is expanding access to the Cryo Archive.

  • Daily Availability: The map will be available every day from May 21 through the end of the season on June 2.
  • Sponsored Kits: To prevent players from losing progress, a free Cryo Archive Sponsored Kit will be sent to mailboxes daily during this period.
  • Ranked Cryo: A special ranked version will run from May 24 at 10 AM PT to May 28 at 10 AM PT. This is the grand closure for the Season 1 Ranked queue.

To participate in Ranked Cryo, players must meet specific Runner Level and loadout requirements, with options for both low stakes (Level 253,000) and high stakes (10,000 loadout requirements). Note that regular Cryo will not be available while Ranked Cryo is active.

Season 2: Nightfall and the Reset

When Marathon Season 2 begins on June 2, the game will undergo its first-ever seasonal reset. This ensures a clean slate and equal footing for all players.

  • What You Keep: Achievements, non-seasonal Codex progression, and cosmetics will be preserved.
  • What Resets: Gameplay progression will be wiped to allow for fresh start dynamics.
  • Loot Rewards: Players will receive specific loot rewards upon the start of Nightfall to help rebuild their loadouts.

Context: Bungie’s Recent Updates and Sony’s Investment

These changes follow a period of significant adjustment for Marathon. In recent months, Bungie has doubled the carrying capacity for Depleted Patch Kits and Depleted Shield Charges, while also adjusting the WSTR combat shotgun to make the extraction shooter more accessible to new players.

Previously, the introduction of the CyberAcme Runner Reinforcement Initiative (C.A.R.R.I.) rewarded solo Runners and coordinated crews for completing contracts and exfiling together.

Despite Sony reporting a $765 million impairment loss due to Bungie's underperformance last financial year, the company remains committed to the game. Sony CFO Lin Tao highlighted strong player reception, noting a Metacritic score of 82 and positive Steam reviews. The strategy moving forward focuses on retaining core users through additional content and gameplay improvements to expand the user base.