Bungie have released a new developer diary for Marathon, and this time, it’s all about the different ‘runner shells’ players will be able to utilise in their quest to extract with the best loot. Check it out below!
Now look, like many of you, I have been a bit sceptical about Marathon, especially during the last public beta before the game was delayed. However, after watching through the above trailer, the game is looking in a vastly better place, and dare I say it – Fun? (We are allowed to have fun in video games, right?)
Beyond detailing ‘buildcrafting’ (allowing players to customise weapon mods, cores, implants and so on) there are some cool looking ‘runner shells’ for you to use.
The ‘Destroyer’ Shell is for aggressive players with armour inspired by the ‘MJOLNIR’ design from the original Marathon. Designed to get into the fight and then stay there, it comes equipped with thrusters on its legs allowing for faster sprint, or quick lateral movement. It also has a riot barricade, shoulder mounted missiles with heat seekers.
The Assassin Shell is built for players that like to sneak around, and be a backline infiltrator. It has a unique dive ability that allows a player to negate fall damage from any height. They can turn invisible, but you will be more visible the faster you move or if you shoot or use an ability (similar to active camo in Halo). Also has a cool smoke generating disc that works very well with your invisibility.
Internally referred to as the ‘fun police’ at Bungie, Recon is all about hunting people down. This shell is equipped with a Tracker drone/spider bot that crawls around and explodes on enemies, overheating them. It also has a helmet power that tracks enemies and AI and marks them. In a cool touch, if you break an enemies shield, and they run away, it will leave footsteps for you to track them down, and if you get spotted – you’ll get a ping to tell you that you’ve been seen.
The Vandal Shell is all about agility. Micro jets in the armour allow for a double jump and a neat power slide. Their prime ability allows the player to overload their movement system allowing them to chain lots of movement abilities together, ultimately causing chaos. They have arm cannon that has a kinetic blast to knock players out of cover or off buildings.
The Thief shell is all about tracking down the best loot. They have an ability to see literally all the containers on the map, through walls, and enemies that are within the line of sight. They also have a pickpocket drone, which sends a mechanical whip to knock loot out of enemy players and AI – or you can use it for recon and fly around the map. They also have a grappling hook.
Triage is a Combat Medic, with a useful ability for firefights. The first is a battery overcharge, which overpowers their weapons. Energy weapons will EMP targets on shield break. The other ability is Shareware, allowing any teammates with medi drones equipped to get a copy of any consumable you use.
The Rook is your ‘free’ loadout. Picking the rook shell will automatically queue you in solo play, and you can enter a match in progress, with just a starting kit – nothing is brought in with you. It has a tactical ability to blend in with UESC forces, and even they will perceive you as friendly.
Plenty more on the blog post over on Bungie.net, so go have a read!
Does this latest dev diary get you a little more excited for Marathon? Let us know in the XboxEra Forums or make some noise in the lively XboxEra Community Discord Server. If you’re looking to be a bigger part of an amazing community, then either choice is a good one!
