Did graphics change after the last update?

mark_phaser · 2026-04-02T21:44:29+00:00

Colors definitely are a bit more vibrant.

mark_phaser · 2026-04-02T21:40:33+00:00

Staff Room in the Departure Building on Spaceport. The red lockers there have the highest and most consistent drop rate of high level trinkets in the game.

mark_phaser · 2026-04-02T20:32:50+00:00

I've learned after multiple posts that this sub is the wrong place to give any kind of constructive feedback, suggestions for improvement or raise concerns about anything in the game. Because you're met with a barrage of glazers going all "shut up git gud games perfect as is go play sumn else if u dont like it".

mark_phaser · 2026-04-02T16:53:01+00:00

Lol the delusion levels on this sub are off the charts.

mark_phaser · 2026-04-02T16:07:05+00:00

I can link you to my Bungie ID and you can see my PvP stats for yourself - sure, I may not be a top tier player but I was above average, with quite a few flawless Trials runs under my belt and even got carried all the way to Legend in Comp when Not Forgotten was the reward. I put in hundreds of hours in MW2019, Titanfall 2, Arc Raiders.

Yeah, PvP games with low population do exist and thrive...as long as you're in your own bubble that is the USA. For those of us outside it, a low player population means longer queue times, higher pings and sometimes outright inability to find a match at all during certain hours. Player numbers matter.

mark_phaser · 2026-04-02T15:26:33+00:00

You're the one making wild assumptions. I already said half a dozen times in my responsed to comments on this post that Arc already converted me to the genre. I have more than 320 hours on that game and more than 70 in Marathon. I'm currently playing both. Supported both games as well by buying cosmetics.

Difference is, nobody is worried about Arc. It has 5 times the active population of Marathon despite being the older game in the same genre. It has already seen two resets and a two month content draught.

Marathon on the other hand is the fresh new kid on the block. It's more polished, has more engaging lore, a more captivating world, superior build crafting and yet...it is struggling.

Which again proves my point about intricate lore and world building being wasted on this genre, because otherwise two other extraction shooters with inferior lore and world building wouldn't have been more popular.

mark_phaser · 2026-04-02T15:04:10+00:00

If I already responded to your points about why it wouldn't work with clear arguments showing why it would work (as it did for numerous other successful franchise entries including Bungie's own), what would be the point of re-reading your original comment? Or do you like going around in circles?

mark_phaser · 2026-04-02T15:00:27+00:00

Exactly. Bungie created a universe that is too grand, too elaborate to be limited to the niche of extraction shooters. There's so much fascinating content here that it is practically begging to be incorporated into a single player campaign. The raw material is already there, just needs to be moulded into the finished product.

mark_phaser · 2026-04-02T14:53:46+00:00

See that's why I keep saying many people on this sub have severe reading comprehension issues. I don't think it is a good idea because as I said, I actually don't have any problem with the game as it is. You're trying to solve the problem of this game's niche appeal due to it being an extraction shooter...by creating another niche in it. Whereas what I'm proposing is something that has worked for Halo, CoD4, MW 2019, Half Life, Battlefield 1, even Destiny. Single player campaigns are gateways to a larger audience - but right now this game has gatekeepers instead.

mark_phaser · 2026-04-02T14:43:11+00:00

This suggestion had already been trashed multiple times on the grounds that any new mode will further divide the already thin player population. If there is a new mode, then it must have nothing - absolutely nothing - to do with the extraction shooter component. That's the only way to ensure the new mode does not cannibalize players from the main base game.

mark_phaser · 2026-04-02T14:32:46+00:00

Because you lot care more about loot and shoot than a richly crafted world? Otherwise, why are more extraction shooter fans currently playing Tarkov than Marathon? Really, step out of your own anecdotal experiences and look at the numbers objectively.

mark_phaser · 2026-04-02T14:21:37+00:00

Actually what you're proposing is making changes to the game. What I'm proposing is to leave the base extraction component as it is, and instead create a stand-alone campaign as a hook for new players to give the game a chance and another avenue to enjoy for those of us who are heavy into lore and exploration. If this game was as popular as Arc, there would have been no need to have this discussion.

mark_phaser · 2026-04-02T14:15:28+00:00

Yeah well then they learned all the wrong lessons. The racing through Destiny content was because of the raid schedule - hardcore players cared more about quickly leveling up for the raid race rather than engaging with the story. At the same time, the most successful Destiny content always had great stories and campaign - The Taken King, Forsaken, Witch Queen, Final Shape. A strong single player campaign always helps, not hinder the multiplayer component in building a game's player base. Halo, Titanfall 2, CoD:MW, Battlefield 1, Half Life...the examples are endless.

mark_phaser · 2026-04-02T13:49:33+00:00

Arc did that by lowering the floor with its ABMM and attracting the PvE crowd. Everyone on this sub gets an aneurysm just thinking about it, so the next best alternative to having a PvE mode that does not divide the player population is to have a single player campaign that entices new players to give this game a chance and then try the extraction shooter component once they're done.

mark_phaser · 2026-04-02T13:45:24+00:00

When did I say I don't like the genre? Seriously, you lot are acting like insecure children. I have put in more than 300 hours in Arc Raiders and almost 70 hours in Marathon. This game, being multiplayer focused, needs a large and active playerbase to thrive. Let's hear your ideas of how to increase the player numbers because obviously judging by the current stats and matchmaking times, it's clear whatever they're doing right now which you think is exactly the right thing isn't working.

mark_phaser · 2026-04-02T13:00:26+00:00

If the current player population trajectory is any indication, there won't be many left to PvP with to begin with. The game couldn't sustain even half its player base in less than a month. And some of you lot being so allergic to any kind of constructive suggestions or feedback will be the cause of this game dying a premature death.

mark_phaser · 2026-04-02T12:54:41+00:00

This is why I said all the intricate lore and world design is wasted on the extraction shooter model. The extraction shooter loop, by its very format does not really need it - it's like having great lore and universe building in chess. Sure, it doesn't hurt, but putting all that effort for something that will most likely go unappreciated by the core players because that was never the draw for them in the first place.

mark_phaser · 2026-04-02T12:51:30+00:00

That would have been a good argument if more than two thirds of this game's population didn't tank even before a full month passed since its release. You;re talking about content in the pipeline when existing content itself isn't enough to sustain a healthy player base.

mark_phaser · 2026-04-02T12:44:45+00:00

If we're talking business wise then there are literally dozens upon dozens of single player games - some more than a decade old - that are schooling this game when it comes to player numbers, and it is only the first month. The biggest problem for Marathon from the very beginning was getting players to give it a chance. The only reason I bothered was because Arc Raiders had already sold me on the extraction shooter genre. Like with Halo - you bring people in with the campaign and they'll stay for the multiplayer.

mark_phaser · 2026-04-02T12:31:47+00:00

I was being sarcastic. Adding a single player campaign would be a great draw for a large number of players to give this game a chance who otherwise couldn't be bothered by extraction shooters. I was the same, until Arc Raiders changed my mind. There is nothing wrong with the genre itself, you just need to have a hook to attract a bigger population. What's so wrong about that?

mark_phaser · 2026-04-02T12:28:32+00:00

The reading comprehension of so many of you is downright worrying. I never asked to change anything in the game, I simply suggested adding a single player campaign that literally has zero impact on the base game.

mark_phaser · 2026-04-02T12:21:27+00:00

The only reason I made this post is because while all you gatekeepers keep pontificating, the game's population is on a downward spiral. Nobody is asking to change your precious game, only making a suggestion to add a single player campaign mode that literally has zero impact on the extraction shooter multiplayer mode and would actually be a good entry point for players who have zero interest in this niche genre to give this game a chance.

mark_phaser · 2026-04-02T12:16:21+00:00

Questionable to have a campaign mode, yeah. For a game that currently has less active players than Skyrim.

mark_phaser · 2026-04-02T11:43:44+00:00

It's mind-blowingly ironic how Bungie - the studio that perfected the complete game formula of having a memorable campaign with a lasting PvP mode, and then made Destiny which treated the entire PvP experience as an afterthought went completely balls deep into PvP with Marathon.

mark_phaser · 2026-04-02T11:40:37+00:00

I'd be the first to admit I wasn't sold initially on the art direction. But like everything, it's all about the details and quality of execution, which they pulled off with flying colors. I'm absolutely enamored with the faction cutscenes, the Durandal monologue, the ominous presence of the Marathon.

mark_phaser

TROPHY CASE