All Marathon Cores we know of so far

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All Marathon Cores we know of so far Guides By Will Sawyer published 21 January 2026

Cores are fundamental parts of your build in Marathon that buff your Runner Shell

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(Image credit: Bungie) Jump to:

• How Marathon Cores work
• How to get Marathon Cores
• Destroyer Cores
• Assassin Cores
• Recon Cores
• Vandal Cores
• Thief Cores
• Triage Cores
• Shared Cores:

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Marathon Cores grant substantial boosts to your characters' abilities, so getting the best ones possible will help you craft a super-duper loadout. Currently, we don't know the full extent of the Cores system for each Runner Shell, but we've got a good idea of how they work and what some of them do thanks to alpha tests and Bungie revealing a few before the Marathon release date. So, I've compiled all the Runner Cores in Marathon we know about so far below.

How Marathon Cores work

(Image credit: Bungie)

Cores in Marathon are equippable upgrade items usually for specific Runner Shells that enhance their abilities, either by improving a specific aspect of the ability or adding a new feature entirely. However, there are some Cores that can fit onto any of the Marathon Runner Shells, offering general improvements. You can equip up to two Cores in your Shell's loadout, so you'll want to collect and slot in the best ones to help you take on the toughest challenges Tau Ceti IV has to offer.

How to get Marathon Cores

(Image credit: Bungie)

You get Cores by looting them from containers or other players during a run, like most items and loot in Marathon. Any Cores you collect during a run will go into your backpack, though you can equip them right away if you have a free slot. Extract safely and you'll get to keep your Cores, with the ones stored in your backpack going to your vault where they can be slotted into your loadout manually.

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You can also buy Cores from the Black Market, but to be able to do so you will likely need to have unlocked a particular faction upgrade. For example, during the April 2025 alpha test, you could unlock a CyAc upgrade that allowed you to purchase Standard-rarity Cores on the Black Market.

Destroyer Cores

(Image credit: Bungie)

• Prestige:
  • Impact Siphons: Damage taken by your Riot Barricade is returned to you as shield energy.
• Superior:
  • Bullrush: Riot Barricade does not passively drain energy while you are using Tactical Sprint.
• Deluxe:
  • Ankle Breaker: Thruster generates less heat while an enemy is nearby.
• Enhanced:
  • Heavy Ordnance: Defeating enemies with explosive damage reduced the cooldown of your next Search and Destroy.

Assassin Cores

(Image credit: Bungie)

• Prestige:
  • Shadow Strike: Melee and knife attacks deal increased damage when attacking while you're invisible.
• Superior:
  • Guerilla: Active Camo and Shadow Dive recharge faster while you're in smoke.
• Deluxe:
  • Patience: While stationary, your invisibility timer is pauses but you start generating heat instead.
• Enhanced:
  • Breathing Space: Shroud increases your reload speed while in any smoke field.

Recon Cores

(Image credit: Bungie)

• Prestige:
  • Early Warning System: Receive a HUD alert when an enemy player is nearby.
  • Intuition: Awareness now triggers upon downing an enemy Runner (usually it only triggers after performing a finisher on an already downed Runner).
• Superior:
  • Cluster Payload: Tracker Drone detonations create shrapnel submunitions that explode on impact, dealing additional damage.
• Deluxe:
  • On The Trail: Footprint trails revealed by Stalker Protocol last much longer and defeating enemies affected by Stalker Protocol reduce your generated heat.
• Enhanced:
  • Hot Pursuit: Tracker Drone travels faster and further before automatically detonating.

Vandal Cores

(Image credit: Bungie)

• Prestige:
  • Microjet Efficiency Package: Gain an additional charge for your Microjets that generates less heat.
• Superior:
  • Adrenal Core: While Amplify is active, movement abilities generate even less heat, and using a Cardio Kick consumable extends the duration of Amplify.
• Deluxe:
  • Blast Off: Disrupt Cannon's knockback no longer deals self-damage, instead propelling you away from the blast.
  • Mechanized Holsters: Power Slide reloads your ballistic weapons from reserves and recharges a portion of your volt weapons' current battery.
• Enhanced:
  • Tag!: Disrupt Cannon deals additional damage and pings targets hit by the blast.

Thief Cores

(Image credit: Bungie)

• Here Bungie mentions a Core that grants Thief a second Grapple charge, though they do not mention the rarity or name.
• Prestige:
  • Partner In Crime: While not being piloted, your Pickpocket Drone periodically releases a pulse that pings nearby enemies.
• Superior:
  • Case The Joint: X-Ray Visor has increased vision range.
• Deluxe:
  • Hit And Run: Hitting an enemy with a melee or knife attack immediately after grappling Hacks them and knocks random loot items from their backpack.
• Enhanced:
  • Greed Is Good: When your backpack is completely full, your sprint speed and slide distance are increased.

Triage Cores

(Image credit: Bungie)

• Prestige:
  • Samaritan: Sharing a consumable through Shareware reduces the cooldown of your next Med-Drone.
• Superior:
  • No Good Deed: Receive a burst of healing when your Med-Drone attaches to a teammate.
• Deluxe:
  • Electron Recapture Sinks: While Battery Overcharge is active, killing or downing an enemy with a volt weapon instantly restores a portion of the weapon's charge.
• Enhanced:
  • High Voltage: Defeating enemies affected by EMP reduces the cooldown of your next Battery Overcharge.

Shared Cores:

(Image credit: Bungie)

• Enhanced:
  • Worth The Wait: Using a Shield Charge or Patch Kit starts passive regeneration of your shield or health respectively.
• Standard:
  • Loot Tracker: Using a Prime or Tactical Ability pings a nearby loot container.
  • Trophy Hunter: Defeating a UESC commander grants a small amount of Tactical and Prime Ability energy.

So, those are all the Marathon Cores for each Runner Shell and shared Cores that I've been able to find. The lists will almost certainly be much larger for the game's full launch, so we'll be sure to update this guide with a full list, as well as which ones we think are best, as soon as we can.

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Will Sawyer is a Guides Editor at GamesRadar+ with over five years of experience in writing online guides, news, and features, and has a BA (Hons) in Journalism. Starting as a freelancer, Will contributed to startmenu and Game Rant before joining the GamesRadar+ team in August 2021. Since then, he has written hundreds of guides about a huge range of games, with shooters and action games being his areas of expertise. Outside of writing about games, Will hops between multiplayer shooters with friends, such as Darktide and Helldivers 2, and delves into whatever has been on his backlog for far too long. He also tries to get through his never-ending Warhammer pile of shame of grey Tyranids, Aeldari, and Chaos Space Marines.

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