Bungie’s Mid-Season 2 update for Marathon will arrive on July 21, bringing the game’s first experimental PvE mode, a new event armory, weapon balance changes, grenade restrictions, and the first version of the Cradle Evolution system. The preview was published in Bungie’s official update announcement.
Update 1.1.5 will launch Vault Breaker in Cryo Archive. The event will run from July 21 through August 4 and will support Solo, Duo, and Trio queues regardless of Runner Level. Matchmade and premade crews will both be available.
Unlike Marathon’s usual extraction loop, Vault Breaker will focus on repeated PvE runs through increasingly dangerous vaults. Players will earn Vault Data, use it to improve a special Sponsored Kit, and spend it on gear in the event armory. Weapons and other equipment found during a run will not leave the event with players. Only event currency and eligible rewards can be exfilled.
A previous look at the mode described Vault Breaker as a loot run built around Cryo Archive’s vaults. The event will put that structure into practice while Bungie gathers feedback ahead of its planned full PvE mode in Season 3.
Vault Data and the event armory
The new Vault Breaker Armory will appear under the Events section of the Armory tab. It will offer a daily rotating Deluxe weapon, Cryo Key Templates, Prestige Weapons, and other items.
- Tier 1 Vault Data will come from vaults and must normally be exfilled. Killing a UESC Commander will also grant this currency after a run, whether the player successfully exfils or not.
- Tier 2 Vault Data will require players to solve consecutive vaults during one run and successfully exfil. Players can also convert Tier 2 currency into Tier 1 currency, with a weekly limit.
Tier 1 items will have limited weekly stock, with some offers providing three or five copies per week. Tier 2 rewards will have one copy per week, while Prestige gear will be available once per item during the event. Purchases from the weekly and limited offers will apply to standard Marathon activities. Only Sponsored Kit upgrades will affect a Vault Breaker loadout.
Players will need to claim the free Sponsored Kit from the Vault Breaker Armory before entering the mode. It will begin with one standard weapon and a small supply of equipment and consumables. Vault Data will open upgrade paths focused on weapon quality, survivability, implants, and cores. Cradle and Faction upgrades will also work during the event.
Four Codex challenges will reward cosmetics
Vault Breaker will include four Codex challenges tied to the event. Their rewards will include:
- Profile Emblem: Opposition Marker
- Profile Background: UESC Command
- Circuit Breaker Weapon Style: UESC Bulwark
- Weapon Charm: USEC Control
Weapon and equipment changes
The WSTR Combat Shotgun will receive a damage increase from 85 to 100, but its precision bonus multiplier will fall from 1.05x to 1.0x. Its spread will increase by 20% across all stat tiers, while aim-assist and magnetism falloff will be reduced at the top end. The minimum damage percentage at maximum falloff will also drop from 20% to 10%.
Bungie will remove precision damage bonus multipliers from ballistic shotguns. The Misriah will receive the same treatment, leaving Circuit Breaker as the only shotgun with a precision damage bonus. The WSTR will retain its two-shot potential at short distances, with the exact range depending on its stats and the target’s shields.
The D54 Battle Pistol will also receive a balance pass. Its precision bonus multiplier will drop from 1.5x to 1.38x, and damage falloff range will decrease by 10% across all stat tiers. At 100 Range, the minimum falloff distance will move from 38 meters to 34 meters, while the maximum will move from 72 meters to 64 meters.
Those changes will raise the number of precision bursts needed to down a Grey Shield Runner from two to three, and a Purple Shield Runner from three to four.
Grenade limits will apply before infill
Starting July 21, players who try to enter a map with too many restricted throwables will receive an error and will not be able to launch the run. The combined limit will be two items from this list:
- Bubble Shields
- Chem Grenades
- EMP Grenades
- Flechette Grenades
- Frag Grenades
- Heat Grenades
That means a Runner could begin with two Frag Grenades, or one Frag Grenade and one Bubble Shield. Extra copies scavenged during a run will remain allowed. Bungie said the restriction is meant to reduce area-of-effect grenade spam and limit the effect of Bubble Shields in high-level fights. The restricted items and the limit may change later based on player feedback.
Cradle Evolution adds another progression layer
The update will restore the 25% Cradle progress reduction, allowing players to continue building their loadouts at the previous pace. Once a Cradle reaches its maximum level, players will be able to reset it to zero in exchange for one extra maximum Energy point and exclusive cosmetics, including several Runner shell styles.
The mid-season update will also refresh Implant icons to make their functions easier to read at a glance. Bungie has not yet published the complete Update 1.1.5 changelog, so further details may arrive before the patch goes live.
Vault Breaker will be available from July 21 through August 4. Tell us what you think about Marathon’s first experimental PvE event in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, and Instagram.
Marathon
Developed by Bungie
A PvP-focused extraction shooter set on the mysterious planet of Tau Ceti IV, Marathon will see players inhabit the bodies of Runners, cybernetic mercenaries who have been designed to survive the planet’s harsh environments and explore the lost colony that once inhabited Tau Ceti’s surface. Players will engage solo or in crews of three, searching for mysterious alien artifacts, as well as for valuable loot and new weapons and gear that they can add to their collection.
- Genre: Shooter
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5
- Modes: Multiplayer, Battle Royale
- Publisher: Bungie
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Age Rating:
GRAC 15+
