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Marathon Alpha Impressions

Game is like crack to me. I'm the perfect audience for it tho. I love squad based hero shooters, like Apex, and games where there are consequences for dying, like Dark Souls

I just picked up my first purple shield 20hrs in, which gives me max shield. I haven't even seen a teammate hone one. I have extracted 3 times in a row with it. The game increases the value of your items each time you extract with the same gear too. You can then sell it on the black market. Amazing dopamine rush
Yes and then you realize Bungie are masters of constantly giving out small dopamine-fueled rewards to promote " engagement". Not before long you'll feel like a mouse caught in a wheel, desperately nibbing away at crusts of cheese in the hopes you'll reach that point of fullness you innately desire. I have no doubts that Bungie employs or atleast takes advice from the same social psychologists that the mobile game industry uses. "Loot" is such a fascinating phenomenon that drives people to keep playing.
 
The game increases the value of your items each time you extract with the same gear too. You can then sell it on the black market.
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Not saying that Marathon will be great but people forget that this is an Alpha. More than half the game is missing right now.

Plus Tarkov has been in EA for what 8 years? Maybe Marathon will get there in the same time frame lol.
Dude thats what people said about Destiny and it launched with maybe 2 more maps/enviroments than the beta at that time.

Alpha and beta have lost all meaning. Tarkov kept it around as a marketing thing.. ohh dont worry about all these bugs and speghetti code, its alpha/early access 😂😂

Damn Bsg.

And now they will use their 1.0 as a marketing tool as well.
 
Game is like crack to me. I'm the perfect audience for it tho. I love squad based hero shooters, like Apex, and games where there are consequences for dying, like Dark Souls

I just picked up my first purple shield 20hrs in, which gives me max shield. I haven't even seen a teammate hone one. I have extracted 3 times in a row with it. The game increases the value of your items each time you extract with the same gear too. You can then sell it on the black market. Amazing dopamine rush
Let us know how the dopamine goes when you die with it :)
 
Not sure I follow you, how would aim assist make what worse?

Every shooter on the market uses some form of aim assist on a controller.
No they don't games like Arma Reforger and DayZ (only on ai zombies) don't… The issue with Marathon isn't the aim assist for controller it's also on PC and it's an integral part of the game certain attachments give you better aim assist.
 
I watched a video the other day and someone said the testers have been telling Bungie for 3 years the game needs solos and duo's but they won't have it.

I think they said it might come later but at the moment they are focused on balancing it for trio's. I wonder if they will change their tune after the Alpha, because everyone is saying the same as you.
The reason why they won't put in a solo queue is because the game doesn't really work without playing with a trio. The game literally needs an overhaul to fix it's issues. The funny thing is the original game didn't have heroes (it should've stayed that way)
 
I watched a video the other day and someone said the testers have been telling Bungie for 3 years the game needs solos and duo's but they won't have it.

I think they said it might come later but at the moment they are focused on balancing it for trio's. I wonder if they will change their tune after the Alpha, because everyone is saying the same as you.

the solution is so simple imo.

they should allow Trios, Duos and Solos to queue in. if you queue as a Trio everything is like normal. if you queue as a Duo you get some sort of bonus like faster revives and an additional shield if you are near to eachother. if you queue in as a Solo you get 1 respawn and a sizeable movement speed boost.

this is just an idea from the top of my head, just spitballing the first thing that came to mind.

not only would this make fights more varied, but also instantly offer a good option for all 3 types of players. this way a trio, duo and solo would basically be like 3 additional sub classes in the game as each type of team would play differently, both to play as and to fight against.

as a trio it would be all about sheer bruteforce power of being 3 people working together. as a duo it would be all about fighting as a unit, staying close to activate the shield boost. as a solo you'd need to be light on your feet, surprise attack people that you caught being away from their team, storm in with your enhanced speed, take someone out, and back into the shadows.

I feel like that would be an interesting concept and a unique one on top of that.
 
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After a little more time with it I just can't get into it and now I know why they originally had the Alpha on an NDA.
It's a common practice to have NDA's. but i think what's relevant is that Bungie/Sony have lost the narrative with Marathon.

this has been a catastrophic PR cycle for them.
 
It's a common practice to have NDA's. but i think what's relevant is that Bungie/Sony have lost the narrative with Marathon.

this has been a catastrophic PR cycle for them.
Yeah and I know people say its just an Alpha but the issues with this game a patch/update won't fix. Their only hope is to release an open Beta and hope that there's enough good word-of-mouth to where it drowns out the negative.
 
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I don't know, even for an alpha, reactions are really harsh.

I think Bungie went too far with "Let's make this game ahead of its time."
 
It's a common practice to have NDA's. but i think what's relevant is that Bungie/Sony have lost the narrative with Marathon.

this has been a catastrophic PR cycle for them.
Right off the bat they didnt even do a good job. It's an extraction shooter with 3-person teams working together and they didnt even allow friends codes. So a gamer would have to play with randoms who probably wont even go on mic or pray their friends separately got a code too.

I can understand a game like COD having limited or no friends codes because most COD gamers probably dont give a shit if they play solo rambo-ing themselves or partied up with friends. The game is so familiar for 20 years who really cares. You know what you'll get.

But a team based shooter, you'd think they try to keep trios of friends together so they can enjoy the new IP as a party the way it's meant to be played.
 
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I don't know, even for an alpha, reactions are really harsh.

I think Bungie went too far with "Let's make this game ahead of its time."
A lot people said Marvel Rivals was DOA after the reveal and closed Alpha last spring. "It's an Overwatch 2 clone and nobody will play it". Then it blew up once the open beta came out. People just want shit to fail
 
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A lot people said Marvel Rivals was DOA after the reveal and closed Alpha last spring. "It's an Overwatch 2 clone and nobody will play it". Then it blew up once the open beta came out. People just want shit to fail
Some people do, for whatever reason. I really don't understand why people want that drama so bad, we should want the opposite, especially in gaming. That being said, for me, playing Marvel Rivals felt solid to me even in its alphas and betas. I was impressed by its performance, and that it was honestly fun. Sure it was clearly an Overwatch clone with a Marvel paint job, but I grew up loving the Marvel IP, so it was enough to get my attention. I was a lot more hyped about it than I thought I'd be.

There are definitely people that just want Marathon to fail, why? No clue, it's weird to me. But it's really hard to ignore impressions that are all very similar and are coming from folks that aren't new to the extraction shooter genre or rage baiters. I haven't played it yet and will definitely give it a shot. But what I've seen hasn't really screamed unique or innovation aside from the way it looks, and I've seen quite a bit at this point.
 
There are definitely people that just want Marathon to fail, why? No clue, it's weird to me. But it's really hard to ignore impressions that are all very similar and are coming from folks that aren't new to the extraction shooter genre or rage baiters. I haven't played it yet and will definitely give it a shot. But what I've seen hasn't really screamed unique or innovation aside from the way it looks, and I've seen quite a bit at this point.
I think it's kinda the same reflex as screaming at a friend who's throwing their life away with bad decisions. When the continued pleas for reason go unanswered it becomes frustration. "I hope they go to jail/lose their job". At least for the earnest ones. Of course, that snowballs into a whole little cottage industry for attention and impressions, but I think that's the genesis of why it lands. That's where it comes from for me when I'm trashing what I consider poor ideas that could jeopardize a company's ability to make another really great product. Bioware, Ubi, Naughty Dog, Bungie now etc. List is a mile long at this point. The industrialization of that emotion makes it ugly and easy to dismiss, but it's built on caring about the studios enough to be angry about them stumbling into ruin.
 
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No they don't games like Arma Reforger and DayZ (only on ai zombies) don't… The issue with Marathon isn't the aim assist for controller it's also on PC and it's an integral part of the game certain attachments give you better aim assist.
Which is why hardly anyone in console plays them.
Mouse aim assist is getting removed from Marathon this week.
The reason why they won't put in a solo queue is because the game doesn't really work without playing with a trio. The game literally needs an overhaul to fix it's issues. The funny thing is the original game didn't have heroes (it should've stayed that way)
Agreed, which is why they need to rework it so it does.

"Heroes" doesn't bother me personally personally, brings something different to the genre
 
the solution is so simple imo.

they should allow Trios, Duos and Solos to queue in. if you queue as a Trio everything is like normal. if you queue as a Duo you get some sort of bonus like faster revives and an additional shield if you are near to eachother. if you queue in as a Solo you get 1 respawn and a sizeable movement speed boost.

this is just an idea from the top of my head, just spitballing the first thing that came to mind.

not only would this make fights more varied, but also instantly offer a good option for all 3 types of players. this way a trio, duo and solo would basically be like 3 additional sub classes in the game as each type of team would play differently, both to play as and to fight against.

as a trio it would be all about sheer bruteforce power of being 3 people working together. as a duo it would be all about fighting as a unit, staying close to activate the shield boost. as a solo you'd need to be light on your feet, surprise attack people that you caught being away from their team, storm in with your enhanced speed, take someone out, and back into the shadows.

I feel like that would be an interesting concept and a unique one on top of that.
They do allow solos and duo to que in but the issue is with the TTK being quite high and the NPCs being balanced around trios its not really vialble to play solo from what ive seen. Duos looks ok.

Game needs a rework like you say as things stand or at least 3 separate ques.
 
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They do allow solos and duo to que in but the issue is with the TTK being quite high and the NPCs being balanced around trios its not really vialble to play solo from what ive seen. Duos looks ok.

Game needs a rework like you say as things stand or at least 3 separate ques.

I know it allows for solos and duos, but it should be deliberately designed with them in mind is what I meant.

I don't think they would want to split the servers into solo, duo and trio instances.
so giving each of them specific bonuses to make them competitively viable would be the way to go.
 
Dude thats what people said about Destiny and it launched with maybe 2 more maps/enviroments than the beta at that time.

Alpha and beta have lost all meaning. Tarkov kept it around as a marketing thing.. ohh dont worry about all these bugs and speghetti code, its alpha/early access 😂😂

Damn Bsg.

And now they will use their 1.0 as a marketing tool as well.
Destiny's "Alpha" was 2 months out from launch and was pretty much the finished game.

This has 5. More if they delay like they should.
 
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I know it allows for solos and duos, but it should be deliberately designed with them in mind is what I meant.

I don't think they would want to split the servers into solo, duo and trio instances.
so giving each of them specific bonuses to make them competitively viable would be the way to go.
Yeah completely whack that they have been soley balancing around trios without even a thought for solo players.
Biggest error IMO (although there are quite a few).
 
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Game is like crack to me.
Me Too Dude GIF by Dead Meat James


The highes are up there with Apex Legends and Warzone wins - and they come more often.

The lows are really low tho' - had a game yesterday where we got stormed by bots and me and another got knocked - our 3rd team mate just ran away and started doing his own thing. I just turned off the PlayStation.

Hope my mate will get an invite today, so we can play together. Will make things a lot more fun.
 
Me Too Dude GIF by Dead Meat James


The highes are up there with Apex Legends and Warzone wins - and they come more often.

The lows are really low tho' - had a game yesterday where we got stormed by bots and me and another got knocked - our 3rd team mate just ran away and started doing his own thing. I just turned off the PlayStation.

Hope my mate will get an invite today, so we can play together. Will make things a lot more fun.
You can spiral pretty bad. I remember on day 2 I had like 10k credit and a bunch of solid gear, with 4-5 spare green shields. Thought I was set for the rest of the beta. 2hrs later I'm back using sponsored kits. Ended tonight on high note tho. Still got my purple shield and a bunch of solid loot to start up again tmmrw

I have a feeling they are going to let a bunch of people in tmmrw, not a small amount
 
The lows are really low tho' - had a game yesterday where we got stormed by bots and me and another got knocked - our 3rd team mate just ran away and started doing his own thing. I just turned off the PlayStation.
This happens in Hunt as well, which I don't mind as it's part of the game. You're supposed to risk not being able to exfiltrate and lose everything each match.

But in Hunt I just exit the match if that happens and get straight into matchmaking again. Saves time.
Is that possible in Marathon? Because if you have to wait until the entire team is done, I can see it getting annoying real fast.
 
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This happens in Hunt as well, which I don't mind as it's part of the game. You're supposed to risk not being able to exfiltrate and lose everything each match.

But in Hunt I just exit the match if that happens and get straight into matchmaking again. Saves time.
Is that possible in Marathon? Because if you have to wait until the entire team is done, I can see it getting annoying real fast.
I've only played DMZ and never tried anyone just straight up ran away and not coming back, after someone was knocked - by bots..

Still baffles me lol
 
If the Beta does well, easily. Doom will do what 3 million lifetime?
I think even if the beta is received the way the alpha is now.

The Destiny alpha was received even more harshly than Marathon.
Bungie isn't Firewalk.

As for Doom, probably 3-5M lifrtime?
 
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Try a game that is not on Game Pass day1.
Oblivion and Expedition don't seem to have a problem selling copies.

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Besides, one of the biggest complaints from people seems to be the lack of singleplayer for Marathon, Doom is a straight-up singleplayer FPS.
 
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Everything I've seen so far from both games.
I mean it might look all kinds of things to you but where did you get the idea that this will do anywhere near DOOM TDA numbers? It has had a very negative or 'lukewarm at best' reception so far. No one is clambering to get their hands on this.
 
I mean it might look all kinds of things to you but where did you get the idea that this will do anywhere near DOOM TDA numbers? It has had a very negative or 'lukewarm at best' reception so far. No one is clambering to get their hands on this.
Because it depends on where you look.

Overall, people say the gameplay is solid and there's some stuff that Bungie needs to sort out, most of which doesn't seem like it's a major problem.

As for Doom, it's a boomer shooter. People oversell the relevance the IP has.
 
Because it depends on where you look.

Overall, people say the gameplay is solid and there's some stuff that Bungie needs to sort out, most of which doesn't seem like it's a major problem.

As for Doom, it's a boomer shooter. People oversell the relevance the IP has.
I was very interested in Marathon myself but after seeing how lifeless it all looks, the small maps, the jarring UI, the general reception online, etc I just can't see it doing well enough to even last a year proper. Sure, I will imagine the peak CCU to be in the 70 to 90k on Steam as it's still a new Bungie title and people want to see what the fuss is about but like so many other games of this ilk it will quickly fall off.

I don't wish for this game to fail because I'd love a Hunt Showdown alternative but man... it's looking rough at the moment.
 
I was very interested in Marathon myself but after seeing how lifeless it all looks, the small maps, the jarring UI, the general reception online, etc I just can't see it doing well enough to even last a year proper. Sure, I will imagine the peak CCU to be in the 70 to 90k on Steam as it's still a new Bungie title and people want to see what the fuss is about but like so many other games of this ilk it will quickly fall off.

I don't wish for this game to fail because I'd love a Hunt Showdown alternative but man... it's looking rough at the moment.
Completely fair. I'm not entirely sold either, the game feels rather barren and lifeless rn, though it does seem to address some issues I have with Hunt (mainly related to progression amd stale gameplay).

But I'm sure the core gameplay loop will be fine at least and for the rest, it is up to Bungie to convince us all that it's a worthy game.
 
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