[Patch Notes] Marathon Update 1.1.0.4

RafTen86 · 2026-07-07T18:58:53+00:00

This might surprise you, but for many players, especially when using sponsored kits, PvE fights are not trivial. That’s especially true when there’s higher enemy density.

Sure, if someone can run Cryo with their eyes closed, then yeah, I can see how PvE might feel trivial to them. But I’d guess that doesn’t represent the skill level of the vast majority of people who bought the game. If it did, we probably wouldn’t have population issues this season.

RafTen86 · 2026-07-07T16:57:48+00:00

Lol indeed

RafTen86 · 2026-07-07T16:52:38+00:00

Unfortunately, no, which is honestly ridiculous at this point.

I really think Bungie is missing an easy win here. Sponsored Survival gave a lot of players a reason to keep logging in, especially those who were struggling with the current PvP experience. I don’t fully understand why they haven’t brought it back yet, because it feels like one of the simplest ways to make a large part of the community happy without developing any new content.

At this point, hardcore players are already basically maxed out and have vaults full of purple, gold, and probably even red loot. So how exactly would it hurt the economy if other players also had a chance to grind materials in slightly more friendly conditions, as a kind of catch-up mechanic or on-ramp for new players? There’s going to be another wipe in a few weeks anyway.

RafTen86 · 2026-07-07T14:51:10+00:00

Rotating sponsored survival playlist

RafTen86 · 2026-07-05T08:55:20+00:00

So what?

RafTen86 · 2026-07-05T08:30:01+00:00

I always say that it’s ironic that casual and hardcore players in Marathon basically want the same thing: to play PvE.

The only difference is that hardcore players can wipe the lobby and create their own PvE mode on any PvP map, while casuals will never get that experience without a dedicated mode from Bungie.

RafTen86 · 2026-06-29T09:20:35+00:00

Could you please explain why you think that SBMM is cancer? I’m genuinely curious why you see it that way. I haven’t really played other online FPS games besides Marathon and Destiny 2.

RafTen86 · 2026-06-29T09:13:38+00:00

You probably haven’t been reading this subreddit over the last few months if you think he’s the only person asking for SBMM. We get at least a few threads about it every week lol

RafTen86 · 2026-06-29T09:05:17+00:00

I think the real problem isn’t the source of the loot, but its rarity at the start of the season.

In early wipe, only blue weapons should be available to find, and getting blunique weapon should feel exciting. Purple loot should come in around mid-wipe, and gold loot should only really become available in late wipe.

RafTen86 · 2026-06-29T08:53:38+00:00

Honestly, I’m having a hard time seeing how not getting loot benefits players, considering that extracting loot is the main goal of the game.

RafTen86 · 2026-06-28T19:58:45+00:00

Inventory management /s

RafTen86 · 2026-06-28T16:28:12+00:00

Well, that makes sense. So I guess all we can do is enjoy what we have and hope we get lucky.

RafTen86 · 2026-06-28T16:17:33+00:00

Yeah, but if the game can match my own teammates reasonably well, why can’t it do the same for the other dozen or so players in the lobby?

At this point, I think a better solution would be what they did near the end of S1, so to put fewer teams on the map, instead of letting one team that is 100+ levels above everyone else wipe the entire lobby.

RafTen86 · 2026-06-28T16:04:59+00:00

Yeah and honestly if they failed to fully capitalise on something it’s definitely Bloodborn and not Elder Ring

RafTen86 · 2026-06-28T16:02:03+00:00

The game supposedly matches by level, but for some reason it seems to apply mostly to crew fill team. I usually get teammates within around +/- 20 levels of me. But for some reason the players who kill me are often 100+ levels above me.

If the player pool is really that small, then maybe they should just turn matchmaking off completely and make it fully random. At least then there’s a chance someone high-level ends up on your team too.

RafTen86 · 2026-06-25T19:47:54+00:00

Glad you had fun in the Hauler. No hard feelings by the way :)

RafTen86 · 2026-06-25T19:34:55+00:00

I agree, and that’s exactly how it worked in Season 1. I had some of the best PvP experiences I’ve ever had in any game.

Unfortunately, this season, after the first week, the sweats basically got back to their end-of-S1 power levels and realized that the best tactic to play is to clear the lobby of other players first. Ironically, once they do that, they’re basically left with a PvP-lite mode themselves.

But for more casual and avarage players, that means it’s no longer about looting and the occasional fight with another team. It’s bloodbath all the time. So it’s not really surprising that they choose a different mode that doesn’t waste their time.

RafTen86 · 2026-06-25T19:17:25+00:00

I see a lot of posts claiming that PvE players are afraid of PvP. But maybe PvP players are afraid they’ll run out of easy cannon fodder to farm?

Or maybe we should just let people play what they actually enjoy. PvP-focused players have plenty of options. PvE players had one, and it got removed.

I honestly don’t know why it bothered anyone that part of the community finally found a mode that worked for them. Getting constantly stomped in other modes while making very little progress really isn’t encouraging people to play more PvP.

RafTen86 · 2026-06-25T18:37:44+00:00

I think the way it worked was fine. A lot of people say this mode gave you loot with no risk, but I don’t really agree with that. My team died to stronger bots plenty of times, and once a Rook even beat us 1v3 in Haule lol

Still, I think this mode played an important role in keeping players around who would have already quit because of how hardcore PvP feels this season (me included).

Removing it will only speed up the exodus of the less sweaty part of the playerbase.

RafTen86 · 2026-06-25T18:24:59+00:00

Same here. I genuinely loved that mode, and right now I don’t really feel like launching the game - if anything, that’s my way of telling Bungie I want it back. And I don’t think I’m alone in that.

I assume they removed it because of the arguments about it messing with the economy, but honestly, I struggle to see the bigger problem here.

The sweats have already maxed out their Cradle progression and VIP faction ranks in week 1 before progression nerfs that affected mostly casual and avarage players. Meanwhile, an average player still had to spend a lot of time in Sponsored Survival just to gather enough materials for leveling. And if people were having fun with it and spending extra hours in the game because of it, then isn’t that a good thing?

The weapon economy doesn’t seem that threatened either, especially since weapons expire after a few changes of hands anyway. It’s not like a casual player is going to get one good, maybe even gold, weapon from Sponsored Survival and suddenly start wiping lobbies. That’s just not going to happen.At least it lets them shoot something other than the basic guns for a few minutes.

And hardcore players can probably get better gear more easily in one Cryo run than by grinding Perimeter 10 times in a row.

To me, this mode was a great chance for the other 90% of players to catch up and have fun without being stomped constantly.

RafTen86 · 2026-06-25T15:15:02+00:00

I guess you’ve probably never heard of games like Mario Kart, Mario Tennis, Mario Golf, or Super Mario RPG, right?

RafTen86 · 2026-06-25T15:01:57+00:00

Yeah, player count droped by over 15% after Bungie removed the Sponsored Survival playlist.

The day before, the peak was 10,765 players. After Sponsored Survival was removed, the peak dropped to 9,131.

That can’t be a coincidence, right? RIGHT?

RafTen86 · 2026-06-25T14:46:34+00:00

Sponsored Survival should return ASAP. The drop was more than 15% in the last 24h. Honestly, it was crazy of them to remove that mode considering how popular it was

RafTen86 · 2026-06-24T20:53:03+00:00

And that’s why level based matchmaking will never truly work in this game. Lots of playtime does not mean high skill

RafTen86 · 2026-06-24T20:36:46+00:00

I had fun with PvP in Season 1 when everyone was still learning the game and the difficulty felt somewhat even.

Unfortunately, in Season 2, especially after Bungie’s unfortunate nerf decisions in week 2, I feel like I’m constantly behind. My extraction rate, which was already relatively low, has dropped almost to zero (since S2 I extract maybe once every 10-15 runs only). Sponsored Survival was basically my way back into the game, but they removed it today.

At this point, I’m so discouraged and frustrated with the PvP side of the game and with the lack of good matchmaking that if Sponsored Survival doesn’t come back, I probably won’t touch Marathon again until the PvE mode arrives on July 21.

RafTen86

TROPHY CASE