CyberAcme and other interested parties have aligned to establish a Runner non-aggression pact to combat the increased UESC security measures across Tau Ceti IV. No matter if you can beat them: it's better if you join them.

With the update just around the corner, we’d like to give some insight on Phase 1 of our new permanent cooperative PvE game mode: Expedition.

Expedition: Phase 1

Expedition is a fully PvE cooperative roguelite mode with a dedicated queue across Perimeter, Night Marsh, Outpost, and Cryo Archive. Whether you’re rolling out solo, duo, or with a full trio, you’ll work together with multiple Runner crews to confront the ever-evolving horrors that make Tau Ceti a dangerous, unforgiving frontier. And worry not, you’ll be able to complete Priority Contracts while in Expedition mode, so you’ll be able to uncover more mysteries at your own pace.

Featuring a whole new curated experience with bespoke rulesets, Expedition includes a new in-run upgrade system we're calling Flash Boosts. All in all, our goal is to make buildcrafting more interesting and make every run series unique, and an opportunity to test a new build out.

Each session will consist of three runs of escalating difficulty called a Run Series. Build up your shell, complete your series, push your limits and profits that would even make Traxus proud.

And this is just the start. We’ll reveal more about Expedition’s Phase 2 in March, then keep improving the mode with your feedback as we shape Marathon’s future.

Run Series

With this first iteration you’ll be set out on what’s called a “Run Series.”

Through a series, you’ll be tasked with completing three runs across Tau Ceti in succession with the final run being the pinnacle challenge or the “Critical Incident.” Here you can adjust the difficulty to challenge yourself and/or your crew for better rewards. If you’re looking for a higher-end challenge, you can also roll your current run series into a new one, so you can see just how far you’re capable of progressing.

Here’s a quick look at what your experience in Expedition might look like:

• Your first two runs are the foundation of your Run Series. You’ll explore, complete contracts, search for loot to shape up your build, and sort through your very first bevy of Flash Boosts. As you and your Crew work through these initial stages, you’ll be preparing for the Critical Incident – so be sure to keep careful track of who’s building in what direction.
• Your final run, the Critical Incident, is where that preparation pays off. Raise the floor on the difficulty to take on tougher activities, like solving Upper Complex in Night Marsh, accessing Pinwheel on Outpost, or testing your luck against a new enemy, the Tick Queen on Perimeter.

A run series can be reset at any point in the chain to cash out your current rewards, or if you didn’t get your build just right on the first attempt. Also, if you join a crew already in progress, the run series will pick up from the highest run in that chain. So, if a crew is on the final run you’ll be able to join them – however, you’ll only have access to your faction loadouts instead of being able to curate your own build run over run.

Perimeter, Night Marsh, Outpost, and Cryo Archive will be available for Expedition with similar scaling difficulties you would experience in Extraction, and you can freely choose the zone for each run in your series. Want to stick with the revamped Perimeter for each run? Go for it! Want to spread out across Tau Ceti and finish the series on the Marathon ship? It's your party, and you choose where to have it. That is, if you’ve managed to unlock all of them by increasing your Runner Level.

The Critical Incident will allow you to attempt the more complicated zone activities like Upper Complex in Night Marsh, or the Pinwheel in Outpost, or even some new challenges like fighting the Tick Queen in Perimeter.

If you’ve managed to survive your Run Series, you have the option to cash out your rewards or keep it going to see how far you can progress, so you can keep using that broken build you managed to source on your runs.

Looking to mobilize some extra gear for your next Extraction run? Be sure to bank your credits to purchase gear to take into your next live fire exercise and put some XP to use by buffing up your Cradle. All said and done, Flash Boosts and other gear that you pick up during Expedition, will be sold upon the completion of your Run Series – but, your credits and XP will still live on and help you in other, less survivable areas.

Run Kits

With Phase 1, each faction will have their own set of loadouts specializing in different playstyles and weaponry. Although the loadout will be locked per run series, weapons and items can be looted or improved on your runs until you reset the series.

You’ll start with basic faction loadout and as you progress, you’ll be able to unlock faction upgrades to continually improve your starting faction loadout.

Flash Boosts

Apart from your loadout, the main drivers for power progression and buildcrafting in the run series are your Flash Boosts. These can be looted from around the zones, killing a tough foe, or completing objectives. And each can be upgraded by stacking multiples of the same flash boost, increasing their rarity and potency.

Perimeter Gets a Glow-Up

Symbiosis introduces a revamped Perimeter swallowed by fungi and opening up two new major zones, Reservoir (shown above) and the Burrows. This new version of the map will be Perimeter’s new look and feel going forward, but worry not – you can still engage with all of the previous Contracts! Consider this more of a plus-up than anything else.

We'll be sharing a more in-depth look at Expedition and the Symbiosis update in our Dev Insights Part 2 launching on December 1^st. Keep an eye on our social channels for the latest updates on when that’ll drop.

That's it for now and thank you for your constant stream of feedback as we move into the future of Marathon.