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Marathon is struggling to attract and retain players. Its hardcore extraction nature either isn\u2019t appealing enough to casuals or causing some amount of burnout among its current playerbase. While Marathon has tried a number of more casual-friendly modes for two seasons now, it is about to run its biggest experiment yet: A full-on PvE mode, almost entirely separate from the rest of the game.<\/p>\n
Bungie laid out the idea<\/a> for the upcoming experimental mode, out July 21, called \u201cVault Breaker.\u201d The concept:<\/p>\n What\u2019s being described here is not really an extraction shooter at all; it\u2019s a roguelike. An FPS roguelike. It\u2019s got all the pieces. Progress through runs and if you die, you lose found upgrades and start over. However, in time, you gain more and more power through repeated runs, getting further each time thanks to better strategy and those strength increases. The \u201cexfil\u201d in Vault Breaker is for currency alone, the equivalent of either leaving a run early or finishing the whole thing for rewards.<\/p>\n This is the answer to \u201cWhat if Marathon wasn\u2019t an extraction shooter?\u201d That\u2019s something that many players, namely now adrift Destiny players, have wondered from the start, interested in the world and even gameplay of Marathon, but wishing it was another genre. Many were just never going to be able to get into an extraction game, no matter how well-designed it might be.<\/p>\n Play Puzzles & Games on Forbes<\/p>\n This PvE mode was not initially planned in Marathon\u2019s internal roadmap, at least not for barely a season and a half into the game. Bungie devs previously dismissed the idea of PvE content in Marathon, saying they were focused on the core game. The problem is that it appears that if they continue to focus on the core game alone, they will not find new players and likely keep bleeding old ones. Marathon needs a big moment to be some sort of turning point. And this mode will be as big of a swing as the studio has made to date.<\/p>\n While I am excited to try this out, expectations should be kept in check. This is not a long-planned addition, and it\u2019s likely to be somewhat barebones at the start. The idea is that if it catches on, it could be built up in time. And Bungie is going to invest in anything in Marathon that catches on at this point, even if it\u2019s barely related to its original extraction genre at all. A comparison might be Fortnite, starting with the defense-based Save the World mode before a side-project, Battle Royale, took over and blew up the game\u2019s fortunes. Not that Marathon will be some world-changing game if this PvE mode works, but any significant improvement is what Bungie wants to see, even if they have to shift away from the current game\u2019s format and focus. That, of course, is not going over great with some existing Marathon players. <\/p>\n This Vault Breaker mode, along with other changes like Cradle prestiging, will be live on July 21, and we will no doubt get more details before then.<\/p>\n Follow me <\/strong>on Twitter<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>YouTube<\/strong><\/a>,<\/strong><\/a> and <\/strong>Instagram<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Pick up my sci-fi novels the <\/strong>Herokiller series<\/strong><\/a> and <\/strong>The Earthborn Trilogy<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n