We are hours away (or in the middle of, depending on when you read this) from the launch of Marathon’s server slam free weekend, the first fully public test of the game ahead of its March 5 launch. Just ahead, it turns out.
While many players are going to be well-versed in extraction shooters, A) this is a pretty different kind of extraction shooter than most and B) there will in fact be a lot of newbies jumping in (hello Destiny 2 players!). Now, Marathon’s Game Director, Joe Ziegler, has chimed in with ten pieces of last-minute advice for maximizing your fun and progress during the server slam. I was going to write a list myself based on my past play, but I doubt I know more than the Game Director. So, here’s his list, and I’ll chime in with some extra stuff in parentheses sometimes.
- Gear comes and goes, don’t be too precious about it, but learn to use what you got and it will serve you.
- Remember to bring enough ammo and consumables to survive a couple fights, if you don’t have much then use a sponsored kit or play as Rook and focus your runs on getting gear and creds or stocking up on resources. (I’ve found a lack of ammo to be a tough aspect of the game, as you will burn a lot fighting UESC AI troops especially. So don’t fight them every time you seen them)
- If you’re learning don’t rush your contract objectives, playing slow can help you avoid getting overwhelmed.
- Keep your ears open. You will often hear threats before you see them. (Marathon has excellent sound design compared to most shooters, which really helps here).
- Try to take the fights you think you can win, you don’t need to fight everything. Greed and ambition can lead to a quick downfall. (If you see someone, don’t always automatically start shooting. Approaches should be coordinated with your team as best they can, and you want to get in the best position [provided you’re not seen] before engaging).
- Don’t sleep on the battery weapons, in the right hands they are strong, but remember if you reload with them before they’re empty, you lose the battery. (God, I did that a lot)
- A friend who plays Triage is a keeper. Be kind to them. (Triage is the medic class which can give its teammates a little healing drone which honestly, practically feels necessary in most teams).
- If you want to win a fight, use what your opponent wants against them. Patience and cunning are powerful allies. (I’m not fully sure what this means. Objectives they want to complete? Loot?)
- Stray Rooks are unpredictable and can either be a blessing or a curse depending on how you treat them. (Rooks are the scav class that can only load in solo and have limited combat tools. A core question of Marathon is whether to kill or spare them if given the chance).
- Don’t tilt, cooler heads make smarter decisions. (I will tilt if I want to, Joe)
- If all else fails beg for mercy in prox chat and hope someone listens 🙂 (I cannot believe this game was going to launch without prox chat).
So, there’s Joe’s advice, and there will be more to come from many sources after launch here, both of the server slam and the full release once everything is on the table. See you out there today. Don’t kill me and I won’t kill you. Probably.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
