News

Marathon’s Expedition Mode Will Build Each Session Around 3 Escalating PvE Runs

Faction loadouts stay fixed across a series, while loot and Flash Boosts let crews develop a temporary build before a final Critical Incident.

0 11 2 minutes read

Marathon players fire weapons at a large alien creature in a purple-lit environment

Marathon‘s upcoming Expedition mode will make each session a three-run cooperative PvE climb, ending in a customizable challenge called the Critical Incident. Bungie’s Phase 1 breakdown describes a permanent mode for solo players, duos, and trios, with a dedicated queue across Perimeter, Night Marsh, Outpost, and Cryo Archive. Bungie says the update is close, but the breakdown gives no launch date. Expedition is slated to arrive with Symbiosis on Dec. 8, the start of Marathon’s free Open Play Week.

Three runs lead to a Critical Incident

Each Run Series starts with two runs to complete contracts, gather loot, and develop a build. The third is the Critical Incident, where players can raise the difficulty for better rewards and take on tougher activities. Those include Upper Complex in Night Marsh, Pinwheel in Outpost, and a new Perimeter enemy, the Tick Queen.

Players can choose a zone for each run, provided their Runner Level has unlocked it. Priority Contracts are available in Expedition, too. A series can be reset at any point to claim current rewards, or continued after its final run to see how far the crew can get. Joining a crew already in a series puts a player at its highest run, but they will use faction loadouts rather than build a custom setup across earlier runs.

Expedition Run Series screen showing three runs and a Critical Incident challenge.

Faction kits and Flash Boosts shape each run

Each faction has loadouts built around different playstyles and weapons. A faction’s starting kit stays locked for the Run Series, though players can unlock faction upgrades and loot or improve weapons and items during their runs.

Flash Boosts provide the main in-run power progression. Players can find them around each zone, earn them from tough enemies, or receive them for completing objectives. Collecting duplicates raises a boost’s rarity and potency, giving crews another way to steer a build as the series unfolds.

Three Flash Boost options displayed in the Expedition selection interface.

Expedition’s temporary gear has a clear boundary. At the end of a Run Series, acquired gear and Flash Boosts are sold, while credits and XP remain. Credits can buy equipment for Extraction, and XP can go toward Cradle upgrades.

Symbiosis brings a changed Perimeter

The Symbiosis update will revamp Perimeter with fungal growth and two new major areas, Reservoir and the Burrows. The revised map is intended to become Perimeter’s ongoing version, while its existing Contracts remain available.

A weapon aimed across a fungus-covered landscape on Perimeter.

Bungie’s next Dev Insights installment is scheduled for Dec. 1 and will cover Expedition and Symbiosis in more detail. The studio also plans to share more about Expedition Phase 2 in March.

Which part of a Run Series would you build around first, your faction kit or the Flash Boosts you find? Keep up with Bungie’s planned Phase 2 details on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.

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.