Bungie is back in the swing of things in this new year, and it’s preparing to launch PvPvE survival shooter Marathon in just two months’ time. Today, the dev team has shared a lengthy new ViDoc, or developer diary, if you will, that details what each Runner shell can do.
Think of shells as character classes, essentially, with each one having unique abilities that foster a certain playstyle. Runner shells can be customized functionally using the cores, implants, weapons, and mods that you loot and equip for runs. There will be visual customization as well that Bungie will touch on in the future.
At launch, Marathon will have seven Runner shells to choose from, each with its own archetype. The Destroyer is a combat specialist with a shield, missiles, and movement thrusters. Assassin thrives on stealth, as you might imagine, with synthetic smoke and camouflage tech to strike from the shadows. The Recon shell is an intel specialist that can identify threats and track movements using echo pulses, tracker drones, and the ability to see enemy footsteps. Vandal is a combat anarchist with enhanced movement speed and knockback cannon that keeps enemies disoriented. The Thief is a master of covert acquisitions (which is just a fancy way to say steal) that has enhanced vision, a butterfly drone, and grappling hook that allows them to locate and acquire loot and get out fast. Triage is your combat medic with deployable healing drones, combat buffs, and the ability to revive allies. And finally, the Rook shell activates scavenger mode, a unique way to play Marathon where you drop into an in-progress match as a solo player with no loadout. So, you drop in at a disadvantage, but you also don’t have any skin in the game, so to speak.
You can check each shell out in the new video below as we await word of a firm release date for Marathon.
