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Marathon's Most Popular Shotgun Is Getting Nerfed a Second Time, as Bungie Warns It Eclipses Other Short-Range Options in the Game
Since Marathon launched, one gun has dominated both the battlefield and the discourse. No, I don't mean the Biotoxic Disinjector, which while ferociously powerful, is unlikely to appear outside of Cryo Archive due to its rarity. I'm instead referring to the almighty Marathon WSTR shotgun, by far the best weapon to carry in your back pocket as you explore Tau Ceti IV.
The Marathon WSTR's dominance of the secondary slot has become a source of concern for Bungie, and as such they're planning to nerf the shotgun a second time. Come Tuesday, players will need to work harder against opponents with blue shields (or above). Ziegler explained: "Right now, it's become a dominant option and is eclipsing a lot of the other short range options that exist in the game."
We're gonna take a shot at bringing the Marathon WSTR more in line. The ideal is that when enemies have blue or higher shields, the shotgun will no longer down them in two shots, forcing reloads and allowing counterplay. But it can still knock down green shield players in two shots, keeping it effective on earlier maps.
Ziegler notes: "The WSTR remains a great weapon for newer players and a real treat when you get one." Bungie has shown it isn't afraid to take big swings with the Marathon meta—its ongoing sponsored kits only experiment has been fun so far. It's also grimly amusing how Mercy Kits are now being used to murder rivals twice. That’s Marathon, folks.
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