The second season of Marathon is an opportunity for Bungie to change things

Earlier this month, I accomplished a goal I set for myself at Bungie Marathon. I collected six of the game’s rare items, which allowed me to try and successfully remove the Compiler boss. I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders – about 185 hours of play and I was able to finish. Marathona great job. A day later, I had my first break from the game.

I was playing Marathon almost every day since it was launched in March, and I had to put it down. Playing Bungie games as a boring second job is not uncommon. Certainly not for me or most people The future players repeatedly cutting their teeth, chasing random weapons, and challenging encounters with Bungie’s classic shooter. I have thousands of hours in the The future permission. So I knew what to expect Marathon a common feature: a game that I can have in a difficult and complicated relationship, which is also defined by love and frustration. But I was not prepared to be unable to deal with this problem.

I agree: Characterizing how you play online video games as if it’s a toxic relationship is probably an indication that the problem is more with me than the game. But my experience is no different – three months since then MarathonSince its establishment, the number of players has dropped significantly, and its dangerous nature, the complex nature of the dangers and rewards, and sometimes great difficulties also begin to face the players who die.

The magic of Bungie’s games is marrying deep gameplay with unparalleled guns and amazing art. When all three work together, it’s a delightful, moment-by-moment sensation within a long and rewarding arc of self-directed technology and ambition. Marathon he nailed the gun with skill. But his performance, combined with the high levels of throw-everything shooters, continue to put high walls in front of his players.

Season 2 is just a few days away, set for June 2nd. It will also include a massive overhaul for every player: All raids will end, team divisions will be reset, and players will be asked to start over. It’s also an opportunity for Bungie to update the story Marathon.

For the company, the cost could not be greater. Earlier this month, Bungie he announced that it will stop working development Destiny 2completing a definitive chapter in the post-studioHello record after more than 12 years. Fans are upset, and many are now managing their anger Marathonsaying that it dragged the economy down Destiny 2 or from the beginning of everything Destiny 3. Bloomberg since then report that Bungie is now planning to retire as part of the decision to end development Destiny 2.

The future of the studio now depends more than ever on the success of Marathona game that has been described, almost since its inception, because of its scarcity. The longevity of the service life has been at the center of concern and controversy within Marathon community, as players debate what went wrong, what can be fixed, and whether this decline threatens their interests. It’s gotten so bad that the official gaming subreddit has now banned all discussions about player numbers except those made in single megathread now dedicated to this thread. Now, The future‘Death has only increased any discussion Marathon and his future.

Like someone who has been everywhere MarathonI’m confident I can figure out one of the big things at play. Marathon it is very difficult: It requires a lot of time, a lot of waste, and a lot of failure. It’s simple very hardnot just for new players, but for everyone. Yes, the game has a problem bringing in new people, but it also does it for those who have been hanging around for a while. I want to feel like the time and effort I put in Marathon they are being paid, and I am often disappointed.

Any massively multiplayer online game has to deal with the trade-off between socializing with casual players and maintaining a competitive and high level of skill. However, I’ve never seen a game run from a honeymoon to struggling to survive quickly. Head over to the game’s Reddit community and you’ll see players posting hundreds of comments, analyzes, and direct revelations about what they think is wrong. Marathon. These players are not the problem. Marathon it has major flaws that prevent it from being enjoyed as a normal video game.

In many ways, the color of the parts Marathon they are fixated on failure. You can’t let the so-called “weapons fear” – the worry of losing things that haven’t happened and been hit hard – control your experience. You’re too regular to care about the guns and mods you lose, the time you waste, and the chances you waste because of bad luck or a better team or a higher speed lobby. One small split second decision can ruin an entire run, and that’s how it goes. What one team does to you, you can do to another. Free tool inside Marathon it can also be a purple tool bag if you play your cards right.

However Marathon it takes this kind of basics a few steps further. It deals with murderous violence in its games (which also suffer from hacking, including groups that collaborate on close chats); the inexplicable uphill battle of his chaotic and chaotic progressive system; his stinginess on the surface of the equipment; and his overconfidence.

Marathon It’s also harder when you play longer, due to things like level-based matchmaking and the increased risk of prize money needed in higher-level events. Take for example the storage required to access the Compiler manager. Each one requires a key that needs to be obtained from a different map, meaning you have to fight against other factions and take them out successfully. Then you have to get the key from the last map of the Cryo Archive to try to open the bedroom, a photo booth that broadcasts your location to nearby units and asks them to try to take you down. You have to do this six times, with six rooms of increasing difficulty, to reach the Compiler, which requires a very rare keyboard for each attempt. This is very difficult Very talented players are selling Compiler runs on eBay.

The game’s progression and loot systems ensure that the less you play, the lower your chances of survival, a problem that becomes worse over time because other players have better stats, better guns, and more money to buy things necessary to win, such as healing and ammo. One really weird choice is the long change to buy purple shields, which I don’t have to do after over 200 hours. The more you feel like every run is worthless – the entry system drags at best and the inevitable failure at worst – the more likely you are to beat it. This also slows down the players significantly and speeds up what other members of the community have come to call Marathon‘s “skills-based death spiral.”

Bungie, to its credit, has gone too far to admit it Marathon‘s weaknesses. Sports director Joe Ziegler written refreshing meditation and self-awareness season 1 postmortem. He called the game “hard to learn,” admitted that the overall vibe was very strong, and said that it was “hard to find time to cool down. Marathon” that would make it a place you want to hang out with, instead of a ruthless competition that is mutually beneficial.

The developer also promised a big change in season 2. One of the special ones blog postBungie said it will continue in the Marathon It should feel like a staircase that you walk up several steps, not like a wall that you have to climb. With the second season, Bungie promises to accelerate the team’s progress, move the players to a new construction method called the Cradle, and implement a number of changes designed to make the game more fun and rewarding and less brutal.

Perhaps the biggest change on the way is the addition of trial lines that will reduce or eliminate competitive PvP, in order to win. The future fans. I agree that though Marathon exists primarily as a shooter in parts, the game may need to move, and do so quickly, beyond the limits of the genre in order to achieve something even more distant and more interesting. The future. And in a sign of how Bungie is taking these challenges, it he announced that can offer the game for free to all players for the first week of season 2, and your progress when you buy a copy of Marathon.

All of these are great starters, and if Bungie can make a starter for Marathon a quick feel, a little discipline, and control, I have no doubt that I want to go back. If this change will be enough to bring jaded The future fans or players who firmly agree that regional shooters are not for them is a big question. All I know is that Marathon it’s a game with an amazing premise that deserves a fighting chance to become a big thing, especially now that the studio has been shooting a lot of its future for the game. All the ingredients are there – Bungie just needs to leave its own path.