Marathon Starter Tips

Welcome to Tau Ceti IV. Here are some tips to help you find your footing on the surface! 

FIRST STEPS 

1. If you breeze through the tutorial, skip “Perimeter (Beginner)” and go right to “Perimeter” in zone select for more PvP encounters 
2. Bring plenty of ammo and healing items. You won’t find a lot in-run. 
3. You’ll unlock cosmetics for free in the Codex as you play. Scan its pages for any that catch your eye and prioritize those objectives! 

TRAVERSAL 

1. Crouching makes heat dissipate faster
2. Everything makes noise. Moving, looting, activating exfils, opening doors, using items, healing, swapping weapons, and - of course - shooting things. Stay quiet or you'll give away your location. 
3. The world is littered with threats like tick nests and UESC claymores. The poison plants are especially deadly. 

COMBAT 

1. The Equipment radial (hold 5 / Left D-Pad) lets you use grenades, ammo crates, and other deployables regardless of which one you have currently equipped
2. Some weapons have Z / Left D-Pad functions like alternate scopes and gun shields
3. Smoke fully drops UESC aggro

SURVIVAL 

1. Smart Heal (4 / Down D-Pad) uses the most effective item for your situation. Manually use specific items by holding 4 / Down D-Pad and selecting from the radial. 
2. Depleted Patch Kits and Shield Charges don’t exfil with you, even for credits. Use them liberally and drop them at the end of the run to make space for other loot! 
3. Containers on the outskirts are more likely to have healing items 

EXFIL 

1. Exfils spawn semi-randomly throughout a match, not at fixed locations on match start 
2. Exfils take about a minute to warm up after activation. You don’t need to stand in them until the circle appears. 
3. Guarded Exfils spawn a UESC patrol when activated 

AMMO 

1. Keep an eye out for Ammo Crates, not just raw ammo 
2. Conserve ammo by knifing low-level enemies 
3. Containers on the outskirts are more likely to have ammo 

FACTIONS & CONTRACTS 

1. Want more mobility? Extra vault space? Better purchasable weapons? Read through each faction’s upgrade tree to pick which one to level up first. 
2. Some contracts are zone-specific. 
3. Hover over contract objectives on the map screen for info on where to complete them 

ARMORY & BARTERING 

1. Some items are bartered for loot, not sold for credits 
2. Track needed bartering loot (R / R3) to mark drops in-game 
3. Unstable Materials can always be traded in for ammo, Patch Kits, and Shield Charges 

BUILDCRAFTING 

1. You can freely swap cores, implants, and weapon mods in and out of run 
2. Inspect weapons out of run (V / Triangle / Y) to bring up a mod workbench 
3. Only Standard (gray) tier cores can be used by every shell. All others require specific shells to use.