The 'Marathon' Season 2 launch and free week have been a rollercoaster ride, to say the least. Bungie's highly anticipated game, which is both their flagship title and Sony's biggest live service project, has faced a series of challenges that have left players scratching their heads. The initial server issues, which lasted for over 10 hours, were a significant blow to the game's reputation, especially considering Bungie's past missteps with Destiny releases. The free week, intended to attract new players, has also been marred by these technical difficulties, leaving a sour taste in the mouths of those who managed to play.
One of the bright spots of the season 2 launch was the introduction of the nighttime version of Dire Marsh, which was well-received by players. The new stat point Cradle system also allowed newer, more casual players to make meaningful upgrades, including heat reduction, which was a positive change. However, the addition of the new runner, Sentinel, was met with little fanfare, and his full analysis is yet to be completed.
What really took the wind out of the game's sails was the instant purple kits given to some of the most devoted players, which negated the main point of a seasonal wipe in an extraction shooter. The blue kits handed out to everyone who tried and failed to play on launch day due to server issues only exacerbated the situation. The nighttime version of Dire Marsh, which was intended to be a PvE mode, also fell flat, with players able to access some of the best loot in the game through a relatively straightforward puzzle/enemy run. This allowed players to run killer kits almost instantly and blitz through the new Cradle point system, leaving the biggest grinders maxing it out in just a week.
Bungie's response to these issues was to nerf the loot from Night Dire Marsh and slow down Cradle progression by 25%. However, this only served to further disadvantage the casual players, who were already struggling to keep up with the hardcore players who had already maxed out the system. Some are even calling for a full-on second wipe, although this is highly implausible.
The player count has also been a cause for concern. While the game saw a peak of 40,000 concurrent players on Steam, which is under half the initial launch peak of 88,000, the numbers have remained flat over the weekend. With the free week coming to an end and Destiny 2's final update launching tomorrow, the situation is only going to get worse. Many Marathon players are from the Destiny community, and even those who have put the game down for a while will return, putting a further dent in the season.
Despite these challenges, Marathon will continue to iterate on feedback from the season, with at least the Cradle nerf being reverted. The Cryo map will launch, which is a big draw for the most devoted players, and a separate, full PvE mode will be released as an experimental playlist later in the season. Sony has previously mentioned that they will support the game indefinitely, but the season 2 launch has not gone great, even by the standards of devoted players. Hopefully, things can turn around from here.
