Bungie has put a date on Marathon's first seasonal reset. Season 2: Nightfall begins on June 2, wiping a large slice of player progression while keeping cosmetics, several account-level unlocks and premium currency intact.
The reset is the biggest practical change Marathon players have had to plan around since launch. In Bungie's Steam news post, the studio says the goal is to put the community on equal footing when the new season starts.
Runner Level, Ranked Level, Faction Level and upgrades, credits, inventory items, Vault items, Schema purchases, mailbox gear rewards and Priority Contracts will all reset when Nightfall begins. LUX and SILK balances are exceptions, and players will also keep cosmetics, non-seasonal Codex challenge progress, faction unlocks, first contract completion for each faction and Rewards Pass progress.
Bungie is also trying to soften the restart. When Season 2 opens, players will be able to claim CyberAcme Sponsored Kits based on their final Season 1 Runner Level, with rewards at levels 10, 25, 50 and 75. Those rewards are additive, so a player who reaches Level 75 can claim all four kits.
Nightfall brings more than a wipe
Bungie is not giving the full Season 2 reveal yet, but it has confirmed the main shape of the update. Nightfall will add the Night Marsh zone, a new Runner shell, new weapons, The Cradle system for customizing Runner shell stats, faster faction progression, quality-of-life updates based on feedback and more. More details are due during the week of May 25.
The reset lands at a sensitive time for Bungie's extraction shooter. Sony recently wrote down Bungie assets after games missed expectations, with Marathon among the titles tied to the impairment loss. A clean seasonal relaunch gives Bungie a chance to bring players back with clearer rewards, faster progression and new content after the first season's rougher learning curve.
Season 1 ends with more loot and more chaos
Before June 2, Bungie is increasing the pace of Season 1. Update 1.0.9 is due on May 19 and will make map events guaranteed on every run, including Intercept, Lockdown, Warden spawns, Convoy and Anomaly. Wardens will also guarantee locked room key drops for the rest of the season.
UESC forces are becoming more active across Tau Ceti IV as well. Bungie says Wardens will appear at new points of interest in Perimeter, Dire Marsh and Outpost, while Perimeter will see more dropship flyovers and crash sites. Dire Marsh is also getting what Bungie calls a new threat.
Cryo Archive will be available every day from May 21 until the season ends on June 2, giving players more chances to chase vaults and Codex progress before the reset. Bungie will also send a free Cryo Archive Sponsored Kit to players' mailboxes every day during that period.
Ranked players get one last push too. Cryo Archive: Ranked runs from May 24 at 10 AM PT until May 28 at 10 AM PT, with emblem, title and style rewards tied to the highest rank earned in Season 1. Regular Cryo Archive will not be available during that Ranked Cryo window.
Marathon Season 2: Nightfall starts June 2, with the full reveal scheduled for the week before launch.