Grovak

@BigBox1598193 @SycKnight I think this is one thing that gets overlooked so much. Tarkov started with a similar playerbase and didn't take off in popularity until a drops event on twitch in 2019 two years after open beta. It also has almost 10 years of content updates. Marathon just needs time to cook.

@SycKnight To me, Marathon is just vanilla ice cream. It just doesn't have enough of...the fixings. Game will be a lot better when there's 7+ maps, better loot, more runners, better missions, more balance adjustments. It's too basic right now but the foundation is there.

Marathon's a great game, but IMO it will need an alt mode(s) for players to enjoy outside of the core loop long term. The free kit mode is a fun experiment so far and good example of that.

I miss when individual cards in regular mtg booster packs were worth enough money that two broke college kids could buy a $40 fat pack, sell 3 cards, and make their money back while keeping all the rest of the cards to have fun with.

@Brewers_Kitchen I have always enjoyed seeded sealed pools much less than regular sealed for this specific reason. Often one or two colour combinations are definitively stronger.

Ok so early impressions from Secrets of Strixhaven Limited is that Lorehold is broken in half? How does every deck have 10 removal spells and insanely efficient beaters? Did my opponents and I just get lucky? 🤨

@glorpinity Tarkov has been around almost 10 years now. Tarkovs player base at open beta release was about the same and didn't really take off until 2019 with the first drops event on twitch.

tarkov was able to find a huge audience and it's way more punishing than marathon I don't think "it's too hard" is the problem as I understand it the biggest thing that carried tarkov to its popularity was the streamer / youtuber community

@cameron_7337 @Alvaro_qg98 @Mapocolops If there is a long term plan for Marathon, popularity very well could pick up in a year or two. Tarkov didn't start out massively popular either and wasn't until really 2019, 2 years after its beta release, that it caught a lot of attention from its first drops campaign on twitch

@Alvaro_qg98 @Mapocolops For Marathon to reach its full potential, we need more players. I’m not worried about an imminent shutdown or cancelled content, but for Sony to keep investing, we need players. Dropping arena mode + a free play weekend and massive marketing push could help turn the tides

So when I said a PvP arena mode would fix me I meant it but also there is a perfect lore friendly way to lock that shit in right now and it's with Arachne. Here's a super serious concept mock up I am throwing out there. There are no priority contracts with this aura farming mfer after your introductions with him. Give Arachne specific priority contracts for a Sacrificial death cult fight club mode that is TDM/Objective based PvP, where the Runners go to sacrifice their shells to appease Arachne. Set loadouts, power weapons/equipment spawns in the arena. The Arena is walled off POIs that rotate between our existing zones each week. Either we run 3v3v3 think Multi Team Battle from Halo, or we open up a 6v6 for 2 teams. Or just go all out on a Battle Royale for ultimate appeasement of the Arachne gods and the whole Zone is open, and a bloodbath ensues. I genuinely believe this should be what we have as an offering instead of the Ranked playlist in Marathon. I know that Red and White colour choice is intentional, Bungie...SHAXX IS REBORN IN THE BLOOD OF OUR RUNNERS WELCOME BACK CRUCIBLE

🔴 LIVE | twitch.tv/markstrom FUCBOI THURSDAY SPONSORED BY @voodooranger #ad ✅ MEDIA SHARE ✅ 11% G FORCE TALL BOYS ✅ COMMUNITY VIBRATIONAL ✅ CS WITH @hambinooo & @Trey24k

Jumpstarted @GamersOutreach annual fundraiser for 2026 with a bang 🙌 Our community never fails to impress me with their generosity and support for an awesome cause. $289,756 lifetime total raised by MSTV & Co to bring gaming to kids in hospitals <3

@Arrrrash Gray Zone just dropped a content patch, I wouldn't be too concerned about these numbers right now. I think its still too early to tell. Depends on future content as well.

Ignore this if you are just gonna reply dead game lol But I am curious to discuss with people why yall think Marathon is still losing players. I truly believe it was going to stablize. Is it too hardcore or are players just bored of the gameplay loop? If you have fallen off Marathon I want to hear from you!

@AirwingMarine Another thing to note when comparing stats like active player base, this was basically the size of Tarkov's early player base for a long time and is holding less than this on steam. Marathon has a great base and I think long term providing good content will sustain it for a while

I took the family to see Project Hail Mary last weekend. For 4 of us, it was like $90 all in. That's for like 2 hours of entertainment.... I've got close to 200 hours now out of Marathon and I haven't even got to vault 7 yet, or VIPd every faction, or even come remotely close to every upgrade. That's alot for my $60. Even if it dies after season 1, I'll have gotten more out of this game than most others titles that have lasted a decade. It's a ton of fun and it'll move the genre forward even in the unlikely event it gets the plug pulled.

@AirwingMarine You should have reminded her to reminded you to make sure it was secure.... 😅 lesson learned.

My poor green house got shelaked by the wind yesterday cause the doors got left open... It's the wife's fault, but anyone married knows the rules, so it defaults to being my fault.

People wanted more fights until they realized they weren't as good at the game as they thought 🤠

@artificial0wl Try some rook runs, try to be more negotiable with randoms. Even with enjoying the game to some extent, overall the experience may not be for you. Enjoy it and then when you arent having fun swap games until you get that itch again.

@BFollest yes but i dont want that to happen at the start of the game every time

i think a lot of the reason i dislike the gun audibility range changes is because i think it's going to make the game formulaic. most of the playerbase is already adopting the strat of "kill all the other runners before doing anything" which i think is really boring

@Sequisha There is an item Data Cards and when looted provide credits to your stash directly. They can spawn anywhere loot normally spawns.

I think that Marathon not having some type of secure container removes that sense of failing forward in extraction games. Aside from the questionable art choices(and practices), removing part of the secret recipe is a bold choice. I say this only having played the server slam, there may be some progression to unlock a secure container, or something similar.

@tarkovarena So if you did only up to Great Heights Part 3 to get the ability to transfer between arena and main you have to redo the quest after 0.4.3 to continue to be able to transfer?

If you do not complete “To Great Heights! - Part 5” before Patch 0.4.3, your progress will be reset to the first task in the chain. You will receive a compensation in EFT: Arena. These changes will not affect players who have already completed “To Great Heights! - Part 5”.

In the upcoming Patch 0.4.3, Ref's task line “To Great Heights!” in #TarkovArena will be reworked. Main changes: ● Tasks can now be accepted and completed in both EFT and EFT: Arena without needing to relaunch either game; ...

@RiloeGaming I wish players would understand that if they don't enjoy something about a game they can just not play that game and go play something that does cater to their wants and needs as a gamer.

For new players of Marathon who think the TTK is short. I want you to understand something

@AirwingMarine One specific thing to take into account. It is likely multiple PvP endings have been achieved by single players because of prestige where PvE it is more likely players did one ending and stopped. I am assuming PvE players didn't feel compelled to reset for multiple endings.

The variations from pvp to pve are very interesting!

@thekonyjen It is in the description on the government website, it is a part of being a cashier, it always has been. This also pushes people to use self checkout and eliminate those jobs almost entirely, which isn't a good thing. jobbank.gc.ca/marketreport/o…

cashiers don’t get paid enough to bag ur shit tbh. just do it yourself.

@AphelionArtist I also think that any casuals that do stick around will benefit from the approximate 3 month wipe cycles. Even though skill expression is there and you can win fights with less gear it will give players more opportunity to feel on the same level to learn the games core mechanics.

i think marathon is gonna be big with people that actually play extraction shooters that actually give it a chance and play themselves, and with people who like competitive fps games, but i think most of the “casual” players are probably gonna bounce off unless they put in time

@Separer I only had 8 hours on the slam but looting felt meaningful in that you had to prioritize certain things like ammo and heals over valuables, guns and mods that you couldn't equip. I had green bags a couple times but mostly used the first bag upgrade and it felt fine to me.

Looting in Marathon finally feels good once you have a purple backpack, if we can tweak stack size or something to make blues feel better that would be lovely