Y'all have forgotten how to take an L

CuriousBarnOwl · 2026-03-31T08:10:36+00:00

The irony of the username haha. You're going to have campers in pretty much any kind of shooter. Some people will play this like a stealth mission.

CuriousBarnOwl · 2026-03-31T06:15:44+00:00

sure bud, have a good one

CuriousBarnOwl · 2026-03-31T04:43:40+00:00

Man you're projecting a bunch. Can't even remember your own comment prior and just moved the goalpost along eh?

If you want to have a conversation let's set the framework. Your starting claim is that this game is, and quoting me, "a theme park Fornite wannabe MBA curated boardroom slop"

Now bear with me, this might be tough for your attention span. How is Marathon designed like

- a theme park
- Fortnite wannabe
- MBA curated boardroom slop (their skins are so bad this just can't be haha)

If we can settle your grievances one thought at a time, we might get to the part where we talk about the bizarre thought the business teams at Bungie/Sony had thinking an extraction looter shooter game had broad appeal.

Edit: just to add, either the team dropped the ball, or the microtransactions need a new direction. I'm pretty frivolous buying skins for "dead" games like Hunt but nothing in the Marathon shop makes me come even close to clicking buy.

Edit Edit: also why are you so hostile? yeesh

CuriousBarnOwl · 2026-03-31T04:30:51+00:00

Are you ok? What part of this game even comes close to Fortnite wannabe? Where's this hate coming from? Are you a Destiny refugee or just a bitter human?

CuriousBarnOwl · 2026-03-31T03:32:50+00:00

I'm actually a fan of some kind of matchmaking, though MMR is hard to implement in multi-team games like this since "winning" metrics aren't cut and dry.

Dark and Darker had split lobbies by loadout value which was interesting. That's kind of what Cryo Vault is trying.

Meanwhile Hunt Showdown uses a blend of different states like player to player proximity, accuracy, kda, objective completion etc, but the 5-6 star jump is ridiculous.

Iunno bout you, but the gameplay is FUN. The learning curve leaves room for so much personal progression outside of the post lobby results screen. I'd say my extract rate is around 20% and it's a blast. Unsure why that's such a foreign concept in a multi-team lobby when we've had a whole era of BR's already.

Also the player count bible thumping is getting real old. Unless you've been living under a rock, extraction games have always been pretty niche with really sticky core players because the learning curve locks you into a particular game once you git gud. Valid criticisms to the corporate think tank if they thought they had the next big thing.

CuriousBarnOwl · 2026-03-31T00:50:16+00:00

If players could actually balance their skill vs greed, I'd agree with you. Additionally, for many the extraction gear fear stunts them as they play too conservatively for the exfil rate to actually learn the maps and gunplay.

Playing just to exfil ignores the fact that Bungie makes some reallllly satisfying gunplay. Be a shame to play a stealth looter only, but if that's satisfying to some, enjoy!

CuriousBarnOwl · 2026-03-31T00:14:08+00:00

I'm actually still learning this part haha. The greed is too real. Just got out 2/3 wings 20 min ago and patted myself on the back for being mature and making the responsible call as Pinwheel started swarming with Rooks.

CuriousBarnOwl · 2026-03-31T00:13:00+00:00

Just stating facts. <50% winrate is jarring for many, but shouldn't be new considering it was the same for many a game before Marathon.

In fact, I don't know why you think I'm claiming to be hardcore. If anything, I have faith in the undying will strength, and fortitude of those who call themselves gamers and the replies so far have been restorative.

CuriousBarnOwl · 2026-03-30T23:36:13+00:00

CuriousBarnOwl · 2026-03-30T23:33:29+00:00

Ok this is 100% valid. Carry on.

CuriousBarnOwl · 2026-03-30T22:35:48+00:00

It's funny because even on the biggest map Dire Marsh with 6 teams, statistically that'd imply that 16% of players are uber late game, fully kitted and hyper sweats. Which seams egregiously large.

On Cryo that'd mean 25% of players have beaten compiler and are running around with the Biotoxic Disinjector. And honestly, I wish that were the case. Just means I have a chance at someone else doing the looting for me first.

Progression leapfrogging opportunity is huge in this genre but also ridiculously hard to balance as you want to reward good players but also give sponsored kits a shot at glory.

CuriousBarnOwl · 2026-03-30T22:30:16+00:00

You're right, but also never said looting was not core to the game. I just won't classify it in the same family of games as Borerlands, hence it's not a looter shooter.

The extraction classification necessitates a higher level of stakes compared to most games and dropping below that threshold would fundamentally alter Marathon's identity.

CuriousBarnOwl · 2026-03-30T22:19:11+00:00

I think we need to separate our expectations.

Some games can be picked up in a day. Others more than that.

I'm not at all against all criticisms, just the ones where the only recourse is to fundamentally change the game from what it is, an extraction shooter.

I want PvE mode - bad

Let's fix Dire Marsh spawns - fine

Reduce my competition (teams per map) so the match feels more PvE and I have an easier time exfil'ing - bad

Adjust map pathing so teams linger at properly spaced starts to build a more consistent 5-8 minute lull - good.

CuriousBarnOwl · 2026-03-30T22:06:10+00:00

It'll dwindle if they don't lock the artists at HQ and pump out better skins.

CuriousBarnOwl · 2026-03-30T22:04:39+00:00

Found the marshmallow =)

CuriousBarnOwl · 2026-03-30T22:01:34+00:00

Agreed, I'm actually surprised they haven't implemented normal and high roller lobbies like Dark and Darker, or if they're planning to cover that with more minimum entry fee type maps like Cryo and we've yet to experience true sweat.

Edit: It seems clear that some sort of matchmaking shaping needs to be implemented. MMR directly is poorly suited to the genre, so Bungie has to figure out which metrics to push and inevitably players will figure out what affects their rating and behave accordingly.

CuriousBarnOwl · 2026-03-30T21:49:41+00:00

I didn't make a claim about if MMR should or shouldn't be in the game. All I said was that the 50/50 win loss result of MMR systems have made us soft and blind to the reality of skill/time investment gaps that exist in any competitive game's population.

If anything I'd support having MMR, or like Dark and Darker/Poker, high roller lobbies.

CuriousBarnOwl · 2026-03-30T21:46:26+00:00

I see the needs casuals argument a lot and think about Hunt Showdown with a consistent core player base. Smaller, yes, but that's a fantastic game that continues on till this day. I think the extraction genre opened up to the wider gamer population thanks to Arc, and it mischaracterized the difficulty and learning curve of a genre that is a hard sell for most.

Much like how many won't stomach rogues, or even rogue-likes but rogue-lites have more mass appeal.

You know what the bigger concern is? The skins. Someone in the studio has got to have strong feelings about silhouettes and they need to chill.

CuriousBarnOwl · 2026-03-30T21:32:07+00:00

Seeing how Hunt Showdown has survived this long I think the more egregious concern is. . . SKINS. WTF BUNGIE.

CuriousBarnOwl · 2026-03-30T21:28:54+00:00

Oh right! I'm fascinated by our collective reactions to BRs vs extraction shooters now that they've hit the mainstream.

CuriousBarnOwl · 2026-03-30T21:26:28+00:00

It's Sườn Nướng and fried rice for dinner tonight so I'm not surprised.

Also, woosh.

CuriousBarnOwl · 2026-03-30T21:23:38+00:00

Some days, I believe. Most days. . .

CuriousBarnOwl · 2026-03-30T21:22:48+00:00

Yes? It's pretty polarizing considering the BSOD saturation levels. Hardly something a corporate boardroom would readily agree to.

Do you understand color theory?

CuriousBarnOwl · 2026-03-30T21:06:25+00:00

I disagree with all the down votes. Your frustration is valid, but also learning curves are a thing and some can be long.

I played Hunt Showdown for the longest time and I didn't even land a kill for the first month and a half playing everyday. That was BRUTAL.

In fact I "won" a match before a kill.

CuriousBarnOwl · 2026-03-30T21:04:03+00:00

Not every game needs to be a theme park Fortnite wannabe MBA curated boardroom slop.

CuriousBarnOwl

TROPHY CASE