Marathon’s out, and if you’re looking for reviews, you won’t (or shouldn’t) find any yet. We’re all getting started with Bungie’s extraction shooter alongside everyone else, though I do have 21 hours with this past weekend’s server slam under my belt.

That was enough time for me to come around on Marathon’s brand of high-stakes shootouts after a pretty ‘meh’ first impression. I’m loving the guns, adoring the maps, and only slightly irritated by the amount of loot juggling required.

That’s still where I’m at day one of the full Marathon shabang: retreading faction quests I completed during the playtest, building up a cache of biomass and unstable lead to trade for free healing and ammo, and playing a lot more solo than I did previously.

It’s the wild west

If you’re curious, Marathon remains a shoot-on-sight game on launch day. I’ve been blasted a handful of times by players who caught me off-guard, ambushed a few Vandals who thought sprinting headfirst into a compound was a wise move, and negotiated exactly one truce. Indeed, a lot of folks are keeping proximity chat on and mics plugged in.

During my second match, I killed an Assassin player and heard the footsteps of another just a few seconds later. On a whim I blurted out “I just beat this guy and could probably kill you too, but I’m good to just leave if you are.” He agreed, unaware that I was completely out of ammo and healing kits. We met up again at an extraction point and shared a friendly exit.

So far, a few shells stand out as community favorites for solo play: Assassin and Vandal. Assassin’s popularity is pretty obvious—becoming near-invisible every 90 seconds is a solo player’s dream—and Vandal’s double jump and extended slide are powerful movement advantages. Vandal’s arm cannon is also one of only three direct damage-dealing abilities.

Thief impressions

Thief is the sixth runner shell that wasn’t playable during the server slam, so I focused on getting some playtime with it today. It’s an interesting build that’s not so much suited for combat or movement like the ever-popular Assassin and Vandal, but a mix of intel and trickery. Here’s the full kit:

• Pickpocket Drone (Prime): A flying drone that can pickpocket the “highest-value item” from a player or bot’s inventory with its tether. The tethers can also pick up loose loot and open doors.
• Grapple Device (Tactical): A grapple hook that creates its own anchor point wherever it’s aimed. This is the “zip toward it” style of grapple, like the ones in Titanfall or Apex Legends.
• X-Ray Visor (Trait 1): A temporary view that highlights the color of the most valuable item in a container. So if there’s a purple item somewhere in a box, it’ll have a purple outline through walls. The visor can also trigger a hack on enemy players, blurring their vision while you maintain line-of-sight.
• The Finer Things (Trait 2): Improves weapon handling and grapple recharge rate based on the number of items in your backpack.

What a funky playstyle. Part intel specialist, part loot goblin. The cooldown on the grapple is a little brutal by default, but there are eventual faction upgrades for that sort of thing. The drone is pretty handy for scoping out a compound or extraction point in solos, though I wish I’d learned sooner that it can also pick up items, too.

Deluxe Edition and pre-order issues

Bungie says it’s tracking reports of Deluxe Edition bonuses and pre-order awards not showing up for some players (including me). It’s working on a fix, but in the meantime, Deluxe Edition owners have been advised not to purchase the $10 Reward Track, as that’s supposed to come with the package.

“If you purchased the Deluxe Edition and a Premium Rewards Pass, you can use your Premium Rewards Pass Voucher next season,” an X post from the Marathon dev team reads.

“Once the Deluxe Edition issue is resolved, you will receive 200 Silk you can spend on rewards in the Rewards Pass. This one-time SILK bonus will allow you to exceed the 140 Silk limit, but you won’t be able to earn any more Silk until you’re back below the cap. Make sure you pick up some rewards before your next run so you have room for more Silk.”

I’m still coming to terms with Marathon’s obligatory stack of currencies, but as far as I know Silk is used to unlock items on the reward track (the non-expiring battle pass) and can’t be purchased. Lux is the premium currency used to buy the reward track itself and store cosmetics.

Check back tomorrow

It’ll be a while before I’m ready to review Marathon, but I figured it’d be fun to check in for the first few days and share what it’s like. Come back tomorrow for a day two log. And if we meet on Tau Ceti, may the faster gun win.