Boring filler quests, often of the "fetch" variety, used to be derided – but in extraction shooters nobody seems to mind that they're rampant. Go here, scan this terminal, collect ten wotsits, find five doodads, spin around three times and return to base.
Of course, extraction shooters don't stand on the strength of their quests, and these objectives are welcome excuses to explore the map. I don't mind trekking to reach a quest marker if I find something surprising on the way, or an enemy team to fight when I arrive. But these quests cannot get in the way of the looting and shooting.
In Marathon, sadly, they sometimes do.
Not only are Bungie's quests, called "contracts", boring and fiddly, but they're at the heart of the game. Completing contracts is your progress. You cannot mostly ignore them and do your own thing, as I have for my 250 hours in Arc Raiders – you need to finish them to unlock new skills and better gear.
Let me be a bit more specific about their failures.
First, some of these contracts have multiple fiddly steps. An early quest on Perimeter, the starting map, commands you to visit North Relay, South Relay, and Overflow, scanning objects in the first two and downloading an "agricultural report" – try not to explode with excitement – at the third. You could not pick three locations more spread out if you tried.
Remember, every player in a squad will have their own contracts, likely in entirely different areas. Before you know it you've got six target locations: even if you meet friendly players who want to help, that's an impossible task.
These contracts are the only thing that could stop me loading in for run after run after runAt least for that particular quest, you can finish it across multiple runs. Some contracts demand completion in one round. A single distraction – a boss fight, running into a squad of runners, a teammate leading your squad to a different location – can spoil the run. I've died before because I couldn't convince my teammates to accompany me to the final step of a contract that would've reset if I'd extracted.
Marathon's UI doesn't help. On the Perimeter quest I mentioned above, I wasted five minutes searching for two Sparkleaf Bioprinters in North Relay and by the time I found one, it was time to extract. I know now, of course, that you can open your map and hover over a contract objective for more detailed instructions, such as the specific building to search. But why make players menu dive? Why not just put the exact locations front and centre on your map, or simply flag it on your screen as you enter a point of interest?
The tip about hovering over an objective does, apparently, appear in early hints but it's clearly eluded many players by (I've had multiple teammates asking for help finding those damn bioprinters).
My final gripe is linked to the penalty for leaving a match early after you die. In Marathon, your teammates can revive you even after you've been downed, finished, and stripped of your loot, and Bungie therefore wants players to hang around in case they're brought back from the dead. To encourage this, leaving while a teammate is alive incurs strict penalties – including losing any progress towards quests.
Fine on paper but oh-so-frustrating when, as happened to me yesterday, your remaining teammate is AFK. I was forced to watch a static screen for 15 minutes or repeat my contract in a different run. The same goes for teammates who, often rightfully, opt to flee the scene rather than revive you when a full squad is picking over your corpse: you can watch their round play out, or lose your contract progress.
I know this sounds like a big moan. Let me be clear: I'm still loving Marathon and its quirky heroes that set it apart from other extraction shooters. My annoyance with contracts isn't enough to put me off yet, and the fact Bungie plans to make objective markers clearer on your HUD in a future patch is promising.
But more invasive surgery is required. These contracts, which are the heart of Marathon, are the only thing that could stop me loading in for run after run after run.
If you’re just starting out on Tau Ceti IV, our Marathon Beginner’s Guide and Things to Do First should help you navigate your first few runs. Beyond that, we’ve got interactive maps and tips for Perimeter, Dire Marsh, and Outpost, plus expert early game builds for Destroyer, Recon, and Triage runner shells.
