Bungie Releases Marathon Update 1.0.5.2 Fixing Exploit

Bungie released update 1.0.5.2 for its extraction shooter Marathon on March 31, addressing a prominent movement exploit and implementing balance adjustments across several maps. The patch, which rolled out across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC platforms, also coincides with a shift in the game's ongoing Duos mode experiment, moving it to the Outpost map starting April 1 at 10 a.m. PT.

The update's most significant change targets a glitch that allowed players using the Thief Runner Shell to maintain momentum during slide cancel animations by equipping items or activating the grapple device. This technique enabled rapid, unbounded movement that provided unfair advantages in combat. Bungie disabled the exploit to align with its core design principles. "One of our core philosophies for Marathon is that rapid repositioning and aggression must always have a meaningful cost," the studio stated in the patch notes. "That cost can be an ability charge, heat buildup, or increased risk but it must exist and be understandable to an observer. Unbounded movement, while expressive and clipworthy, is ultimately unhealthy for the pace of play we want to maintain for Marathon." Bungie...