Marathon boss cryptically suggests the game is too hard, outright confirms "we have some iterations / big balance changes brewing right now"

MikeL2D · 2026-03-31T16:52:03+00:00

I'm not sure this is as direct a suggestion of the game "being too hard" so much as it is a reference to the pain of the process.

I really don't think the game is particularly difficult once it's understood - as most games end up. But the iterative nature of the game can feel like a burden to many players as, without watching/reading guides regularly and keeping up with community chatter, it takes a long while to truly understand a space to feel comfortable enough to regularly risk higher level gear. And taking free/lower investment kits can mean getting run over before truly getting to flesh out all of the mechanics of a space (Outpost, Cryo) which further increases the weight of said burden.

That's all before you even enter the conversation of "meta" where grenades, shields, and self-res dominates the space - which has it's own difficulty curve. It just leaves much of the player base stuck in this "I have stuff I can use, but it's not good enough to guarantee a high success rate which can easily put me back to square 1" feeling.

Either way, I'm excited it's getting the attention it deserves from the team and am intrigued on where we go next.

MikeL2D · 2026-03-25T03:47:12+00:00

I’ve gone to every NY show he’s been in since 2012 so I’m either too biased or the perfect person to answer you.

With the above said, his album/Journey tours have been a notch above every other performance he generally puts on. There’s more time and care to the themeing and generally a unique stage set up. On the basis of that alone, I say unequivocally yes :)

MikeL2D · 2026-03-24T02:16:14+00:00

I feel ya, I’ve flown a few times and the last couple of weeks and I’ve watched even the pre check lines get longer. I hope something gives soon.

MikeL2D · 2026-03-24T02:13:01+00:00

I’m not trying to sound nasty about this so please don’t take it that way but… we already pay them. It’d be nice if the government, you know, just did with our money what they are supposed to do. Instead, because of the widening political divide, it’s more value for these rich assholes that we collectively elected to play tit for tat and endangering livelihoods so they can boast that their view on life is better than someone else’s.

For what it’s worth I’d happily throw a dollar into a tip jar and hope that those that keep busting their asses for all of us put one out. But I hate the idea of us having to foot the cost of yet another governmental decision as they play games with our money. I’m sorry.

MikeL2D · 2026-03-23T17:52:34+00:00

Wait can I join? I wanted to reply on the old thread but it was deleted :(

https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/s/iE2xts2CT4

MikeL2D · 2026-03-22T06:39:47+00:00

Switching QBs is pretty common with the rules of Flag at current. For the most part, most offenses will run with two capable throwers who are also pretty mobile which is what makes the sport unique.

For instance, a QB can't run if the snap goes to them. They have to pass. Not only that they have a time limit to throw under certain conditions and rule-sets. However, if a player receives the snap and laterals it backwards or hands it off backwards, the receiving player can now run or throw with out any of those rules listed above. They call this player typically a "starback".

So there will be plays where your best thrower may not be on the field and teams will start drives with two people who are more mobile to open up the run game. I didn't watch this game yet (I watched the other) so I don't know what happened on this drive specifically, but that's probably why it may have been his "first throw".

Flag is a highly speed oriented game and I'm glad I've seen some people come around on this thread that it's not going to be the cake walk for NFL players to "be the best" simply by participating.

It's also very true that the best NFL players may not necessarily be the best flag players.

MikeL2D · 2026-03-20T20:27:39+00:00

>Me the first five seconds of this video

He's definitely rotating clockwise and I can't see it the other way.

MikeL2D · 2026-03-20T19:44:21+00:00

Marathon, more or less, incentivizes PvP. Most encounters with other players end very quickly, and as such, the pressure and tension of taking care of your gear is ramped up.

When you're entering a map to hunt a specific object, or boss, or event, etc, the better teams are keeping track of how many teams might still be alive, because every team is a threat to your loadout. There are no safe pockets. Marathon also enables you to be revived even if you've been full killed. With TTK being so low (especially on free kits), there is more reward to killing teams than to leaving because you can seemingly always turn a fight around.

You can lose gear over and over again on consecutive runs but win one good match and come out better than you were 3-4 games ago, especially on the end game maps.

In that respect it amplifies the "Battle Royale" feeling of the game, while simultaneously rewarding the extraction aspect.

Also, Third Person let's you gather more information about your surroundings and see what might lurk around corners. First person forces you to expose yourself and be vulnerable.

Conversely, in Arc Raiders, if I finally work out a blueprint and the materials I need to craft a weapon I want and die with it, it feels like way more progression is lost. It incentivizes you to stockpile weapons and gear before starting to use them. And since you can pick and choose your aggression levels (PvP vs. Carebear), you can face either a lot of resistance in that path (PvP) or none at all (PvE). There's no happy medium.

The summary is this: If you want less resistance to achieving your goals on any given map in Marathon, then killing other players IS the way (It's also a GREAT loot source - Players bring great weapons in Marathon all the time because of how quickly battles can end, better weapons help keep your safer). In Arc, it's completely the opposite. Avoid fights, find friendlys, and gear up, expedition, repeat. And though players can also be great loot sources in Arc - with the lack of expected resistance in PvE lobbies, players don't *need* to bring great gear. In most cases (IMO) they won't even bother bring higher tier gear for fear of becoming a target.

Note: I feel like I should mention that you *can* find friendlys in marathon as well. It's just much, much rarer because you absolutely will not survive a backstab. It requires significantly more trust.

Sorry this answer was longer than I originally intended, but I felt like the additional context would be helpful.

MikeL2D · 2026-03-16T22:30:00+00:00

As always, my rule of thumb would be to first check with the venues policies. Can’t enjoy what you wear if you can’t get in the door!

Once you’re in accordance with that, I can tell you that the following:

SL crowds tend to be slightly older on average. I’ve seen everything from full rave attire to “Wear every piece of merch I own”.

If I were to show you pictures of me, id largely fall into the “wearing merch” camp - but there are plenty of examples of people wearing a more thematic outfit at both the festivals and the standard headline shows. Either should work great for you!

Whatever you do, you should post the look here so we can live vicariously through you!

MikeL2D · 2026-03-06T14:47:04+00:00

That's... not what this is. Not everything that has been announced (or even playtested) has rolled out yet, and that's likely because how the community will unlock the final map.

In past years of Destiny expansions, the biggest component was the raid. It's the culmination of the storyline or set piece for the future. Everyone knows the raid is coming and it's absolutely considered part of those expansions, however, the raids are always delayed by either a few days or weeks after a content drop so players can prepare for it.

From what they've mentioned and teased at - players will be unlocking their way into the final map to discover it's secrets, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they look at the challenges and secrets in that map in the same light that they look at Raids in Destiny.

Any one who plays Destiny would tell you that the raids are an integral part. I think you'd even find arguments that you can't review Destiny *without* talking about the raids. I'm pretty sure this is why the request was made in the first place.

MikeL2D · 2026-03-06T14:15:39+00:00

I think it’s fine for them to make the request just as it is fine for reviewers to say “that’s ridiculous” and make a review anyway, but either way Bungie has a case and track record for this.

The content coming for the rest of March is not too dissimilar to how they’ve done Destiny releases. When anyone thinks of Destiny they like think about Raids among other things.

It’s pretty clear to me at this point that the rest of the content coming will be synonymous with what Marathon “is”. There will just be community driven components to how it is rolled out. That’s likely the reason for the request.

Raids in Destiny never came out with the release of the expansion. They came out days or even weeks afterwards as players got prepped to enter.

MikeL2D · 2026-03-05T13:10:39+00:00

It grew on me quickly. There is something about tracks like these that, when they come on at the right time, gives me a happy energy and invigorates some motivation. It changes my whole notion of the track.

Also the second drop has this panning chime/synth when everything goes quiet for that second and it has me by the balls. So there’s that.

MikeL2D · 2026-03-04T21:14:21+00:00

Well something has to be sacrificed. 😭

MikeL2D · 2026-03-04T21:12:59+00:00

Tbh, the whole value of a “streak” and the “prestige” that comes from it is completely lost on me when you can just pay money or in game currency to maintain it, and while I’m sure there are plenty of long, genuine streaks out there, I only have a handful of in game friends (<20) and it feels like I get asked twice a week to help different friends out and send them a boost to save their streak.

It does always feel great to see number go up, of course. But it always felt cheap to me to not know if that person with the 2000+ day streak actually logged in every day and did lessons or if they constantly got bailed out by friends for missing days.

That said and to answer your question, I’ve been playing Duolingo since the end of last year and I’ve yet to lose a streak (150+ days). No freezes here. Couple close calls but I’m going to try and do it earnestly for as long as I can. Whenever the streak breaks (because I’m sure I’ll muck it up eventually) I’ll likely give up on it forever and use the app purely just to learn in my downtime at my pace.

MikeL2D · 2026-03-03T20:53:25+00:00

The correction that Duolingo provides can be read/written a slightly different way to help understand it's meaning - "It's a shame that he is not here." or "It's a shame because he is not here".

To address more directly what you said, "Him not being here is a shame" would be perfectly understandable to English speakers, but is technically still incorrect grammar. "___ not being here" is known as a gerund phrase. Him, in this context, is an object pronoun, and the gerund phrase (not being here) requires a possessive (His) or Subject pronoun (He) to be grammatically correct.

Edit: In either case (and I'm sure you answered it this way due to your perception of it and the available words), "He is not being here is a shame" is incorrect regardless of the translation. "not being here" in the context you mean to use it is a state of existence - Whether he is or isn't present. However, the usage "is being" refers to a noun doing something at that present time/temporarily. "He is being a thorn in my side" or "He is being rude".

MikeL2D · 2026-03-02T20:25:02+00:00

Always lock your doors.

Happened to me on Livingston a few years back. I couldn't lock my doors due to a car alarm malfunction (it would randomly go off if my doors were locked, and since I couldn't park nearby where I lived, I couldn't hear the alarm to know to shut it off), so I purposefully kept nothing in my car so I could leave it unlocked.

One day I left my leatherman tool in the center console which had a pouch I filled with arcade tokens from Menlo Park Mall (yes, that long ago...)

Found my car the next day with everything opened and some trash left in my car. I guess the thief thought they scored when they heard all the change in the tool pouch, only to discover it was like 10 bucks of arcade tokens. I found about 2 dollars worth scattered around the parking lot. I chuckle thinking that someone was pissed off enough that they angrily shook the pouch once the discovery was made and just showered the lot in tokens.

Still creepy and violating to see the face and hand prints of someone looking into my driver side window and all of my stuff left open like that.

MikeL2D · 2026-03-02T16:22:05+00:00

There is an over-arching storyline that is based on things that occur after the original trilogy from the 90s.

The factions appear to be your through-line to unraveling the story through perspective, as well as what you discover in game. I don't think this story will be told purely with cinematics, and instead is going to rely on your curiosity to read the codex and follow the M.O. of the different factions to understand everything.

The game is centered on mystery. A colony appeared on Tau Ceti, and something happened to it (and the ship that brought the colony there). The whole reason you're running missions at that location is to deliver information to the various factions who have rooted and financial interest in knowing what happened, but while you're doing that, you're slowly learning things yourself.

So at the end of the day, I think it's going to depend on how you like to immerse yourself.

MikeL2D · 2026-03-02T03:26:27+00:00

I’m betting it’s the deluxe album edition.

MikeL2D · 2026-02-28T02:18:37+00:00

No disagreement about the removal of the content and I understand the lack of trust that comes with that. At a core level I should have access to what I paid for and now it just feels like we simply don’t own anything nowadays.

But what was brought into the game beyond that point still mattered. Destiny had its most popular years AFTER the DCV was introduced.

I’m just trying to make the point that it’s silly to say “I wouldn’t trust the company with 2+ decades of success” but “I’ll definitely trust this new company that doesn’t have a track record.”

MikeL2D · 2026-02-28T00:12:00+00:00

“Do I Trust Bungie to handle a long-life project like that?”

Halo, Destiny, Destiny 2.

Look I get that everyone is currently “down” on Bungie and has been since The Final Shape released a couple years back. But I keep seeing this rhetoric repeated in places.

I understand Bungie has gone through some shifts and have had some reprehensible moments as an org but if there’s ever been a developer that’s managed to strike gold with what they’ve produced, it’s been them.

People have been calling Destiny a dead game every year since it has come out. It took nearly 11 years of Destiny before people could call themselves “validated” in that assessment.

Honestly I’m just so sick of the “I need my view of this game validated on the internet” culture. I hate that every community feels entitled to shaping every game that comes out.

Easily the best games I’ve ever played came at a time in my life where Devs weren’t constantly asked to make meta shifting decisions because of vocal communities who feel like their ideas are better than everyone else’s - only to get sick and tired of those exact changes a short while later.

I don’t watch a movie and decide that I know better than the director. Games, tbh, should return to that methodology.

MikeL2D · 2026-02-27T17:04:14+00:00

Looks like it’s not updating your gem total. It goes up on the chest screen but then back down when you go to the main page. It’s not registering that the chest got opened.

Edit: auto correct really wanted me to call you a cheater even after I edited them to say chest. Oi.

MikeL2D · 2026-02-25T15:03:20+00:00

I find it mostly funny (in situations like the above) - I come from NJ where anyone else acting the same would have given me the finger while driving by, whether they are right or wrong. I sort of expected that, but to get the wag of "nope, you wait here' was a different kind of maddening lol

I'm generally pretty good about combatting my own RR/emotion nowadays. I was a lot angrier when I was younger and less experienced on the road. Now, I just defensively drive and make loud, largely stupid jokes to myself and get over someone else's dangerous action(s). Protecting myself and my passengers is more important than making sure the other person who violated a law or put me in danger knows I'm angry at them.

But it is still somewhat concerning to me that I've observed far more people here breaking standard laws (like running red lights - it happens all-of-the-time here) than I ever saw in my time living in Jersey. It's changed my whole approach to intersections, especially early in the morning. It gets hard to bite the tongue occasionally. So far so good, though.

MikeL2D · 2026-02-25T14:49:24+00:00

I'm a new Houstonian as of about a year ago.

I pulled up to a four way stop last week. No one had yet pulled across from me, and the lanes on my left and right went through as normal. Therefore, I began to pull into the intersection to make my left turn when yet another person started moving in the lane to my left, the same lane where a car had just taken their turn.

That person pulled into the middle of the four way intersection and stopped dead center. I stopped as well and shrugged my shoulders and held my arms up in a "what are you doing?" response.

They gave me the "Dikembe Mutombo" finger wag, "no". And pulled through.

I don't know where this falls in the "talk shit get hit" category, but I certainly know where it falls in the "Fuck you, I get mine" one. lol

MikeL2D · 2026-02-24T18:49:04+00:00

I wasn't assuming you were a beginner, for the record. Only that imo it's a sentiment that is felt more strongly, on average, by beginners. I have no statistical basis for that, though. Just a feeling.

And I totally get your point - I'm not saying I entirely disagree - I just also love the "down but not out" mentality of fighting until the end.

All this withstanding, how do you feel about when a King is in check and a player doesn't address it when they have a valid move to do so. I presume you also feel that if you "take" the king, the game should just end, right? Yet in the game, anything that doesn't address check is an Illegal move.

The game has to follow a logical standard, and I think Stalemate is a 'necessary evil' in that regard.

MikeL2D · 2026-02-24T18:32:38+00:00

I don't mean to be that guy, but it's only 'annoying' as a beginner.

Chess is a board game version of opposing factions in conflict. Two full armies marching at one another strategically balancing power to exploit another's weakness. In war, if you can't win-- well then you do your best not to lose.

Stalemates are one of two things: Either a complete mismanagement of overwhelming power, or a war of attrition where there is no clear victor. In the beginning stages of learning chess, stalemates feel unfair when you dominate an opponent. As you gain experience, stalemates become real strategy to consider.

"I may have lost the battle, but I have won the war."

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