A new season is coming to Marathon and things are getting… darker on Tau Ceti IV. Today marks the start of Season 2. The Marathon team is pushing the survival extraction adventure into new territory, with features like a new Runner shell, new weapons, and a new map: Night Marsh. Players can try out all the new features with the Marathon Open Play Week, running from June 2nd-9th, and during Open Play Week, any progress players make will be carried over if you purchase the game in Season 2.
Marathon vets already know about Dire Marsh’s reputation as a map that can make or break a run. Full of long sight lines and points of interest that tend to attract Runners (and intense firefights), Dire Marsh in broad daylight is already equally filled with opportunity and danger. Night Marsh, as the name implies, is a night time version of the Dire Marsh zone, where the lights have been turned down and the tension has been dialled up to eleven.
The first thing you’ll notice during a run in Night Marsh is… all the things you don’t see. Not only is the facility lighting that you may be used to dimmed down, there are swaths of pure pitch blackness you’ll need to contend with, whether you’re creeping through the tunnels underground, or trying to keep your footsteps to a minimum in the darker sections above ground.
The darkness isn’t your friend during Season 2, and even less friendly are the new threats that you’ll find in Night Marsh. The UESC has stepped up its presence as part of a desperate attempt to protect something invaluable on the previously unreachable top floor of Complex. In addition, new enemies will stalk the path of Runners navigating the darkness, a foe they’ve never encountered before.
Luckily Runners are resourceful and they’ll have new tools to combat the encroaching darkness when Season 2 kicks off, including flashlights, as well as signal flares, vector grenades and rounds that light up and can ping nearby enemies, and new Darksight scopes that highlight the nearby environment after aiming down sights.
Night Marsh runs will introduce a new type of challenge for players but rest assured the rewards will be worth it; the map will include great loot that will reward your bravery and that you won’t find anywhere else. To help prepare you, the Marathon developers have a few tips on how best to find success in the shadows of Season 2, without feeling like you’re simply fumbling in the dark:
Well-lit areas aren’t necessarily safer. Enemies in the dark can see you, but you can’t see them. While your attached flashlight is a great tool for finding your way, it can also be a beacon for enemies you can’t necessarily see. Use it sparingly and, as always, keep things quiet.
Using tools that illuminate an area in choke points can deter enemies from entering. Sometimes the best fights are the ones that never start. If you want to discourage enemies from approaching, a well-placed Vector Grenade alongside a crew member or two carefully aiming down sights, can be the difference maker.
Getting revealed makes you the brightest thing on the screen, especially in open spaces. Be ready to take fire from multiple places if your location is exposed. In other words, if you’re worried that you’re surrounded by enemies at a POI, let that paranoia work for you, not against you.
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