New Marathon patch seemingly makes the whole game a touch easier as Bungie nerfs UESC enemies, to fans' relief: "One of the best patch notes I've ever read"

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New Marathon patch seemingly makes the whole game a touch easier as Bungie nerfs UESC enemies, to fans' relief: "One of the best patch notes I've ever read" News By Scott McCrae published 11 March 2026

"Bungie seems to be very reactive and I love it"

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Bungie has released an update for Marathon, and the latest patch appears to make almost everything a bit easier.

Over on the Bungie website, the studio shares the details of Marathon Update 1.0.0.4, which is filled with your typical bugfixes and minor tweaks, but the balance changes are where things get interesting. Bungie has increased the number of Med Cabinets and Munitions Crates spawning on Perimeter, as well as increasing starting ammo in MIDA, CyberAcme, and Arachne free Sponsored Kits, which is sure to alleviate some of the stress.

The most significant change is a widespread nerf to UESC enemies with the health of most enemies and the shield HP of bosses being cut by a "small amount." Bungie includes a note with this change, saying: "With this change we hope to alleviate some of the resource burden in both Solos and Crews when it comes to engaging UESC in combat. The goal here is to allow your bullets and meds to go further without reducing too much of the UESCs bite."

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However, Bungie isn't planning to overcorrect, either, saying: "We see the feedback loud and clear that players appreciate the friction that our UESC combatants provide and we have no plans to change that direction."

Reacting to the patch on Reddit, fans of the game seem all around pretty happy with this patch. One user says: "Gotta say those are one of the best patch notes I've ever read in the sense that pretty much every single thing there is something I either personally struggled with or have seen multiple times mentioned on this subreddit." They add, "Bungie seems to be very reactive and I love it, hopefully they can keep this up."

"UESC nerfed, yes! One of my biggest criticisms by far," another writes. "Solos will be a bit less annoying now."

The only real complaint – aside from some PC performance issues – seems to be Bungie's decision to disable Broken Wing on Outpost, with one user saying: "I'm never going to financially recover from this." That being said, some are a little more understanding, with another saying, "I'm all for disabling the broken wing, until they find a more suitable way to implement it." They add: "Kinda made the other entry ways to much of a hassle."

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Bungie doesn't want Marathon to repeat Destiny 2's vaulting controversy: "It doesn't matter when you join, you'll still be able to play through the established questlines."

TOPICS Bungie CATEGORIES PC Gaming PS5 Xbox Series X Platforms PlayStation Xbox Scott McCraeSocial Links NavigationContributor

Scott has been freelancing for over three years across a number of different gaming publications, first appearing on GamesRadar+ in 2024. He has also written for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, VG247, Play, TechRadar, and others. He's typically rambling about Metal Gear Solid, God Hand, or any other PS2-era titles that rarely (if ever) get sequels.

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