What are all the Marathon classes? When you're trying to secure as much loot as you can physically hold, you need to pick the right class to ensure your team is equipped to tackle every scenario imaginable. Each Runner Shell has its own set of strengths and weaknesses, so you'll have to make a compromise.
With the Marathon release date slowly approaching, it's time to start preparing to take on rival squads in the multiplayer game. By taking a closer look at all the Runner Shells, you can assess which Marathon class suits you best. Whether you're playing with friends, fighting alongside a random group of players, or braving it alone, here's what you need to know about the Marathon Runner Shells and their abilities.
Here are all the Marathon classes (Runner Shells):
- Assassin
- Destroyer
- Recon
- Rook
- Thief
- Triage
- Vandal
Assassin
Sneak behind enemy lines using the Assassin's tactical ability to turn invisible, cloaking yourself in plain sight while retaining all your mobility options like sprinting and vaulting. There's a catch: the faster you move, the more visible you appear to other players.
Similarly, the effect is temporarily disabled if you take damage, heal yourself, or fire your weapons. Using the Dive Ability, the Assassin can negate fall damage, opening up exclusive routes that other classes may struggle to use effectively.
The Assassin's Prime Ability allows you to throw down a smoke grenade, instantly turning you invisible. This can be used both offensively and defensively depending on the situation, making the Assassin incredibly flexible.
Assassin abilities
- Smoke Screen (Prime Ability) - Throw a smoke disc that sends up a line of smoke in front of you, obscuring the vision of those who step into it.
- Active Camo (Tactical Ability) - Activate Assassin's camouflage systems, shrounding you in invisibility. Offensive actions, taking damage, and using abilities or consumables briefly disrupts it.
- Shadow Dive (Trait) - Activate while airborne to slam a smoke disc into the ground, deploying a smoke field.
- Shroud (Trait) - Automatically activates Assassin's camouflage when entering a smoke field, turning you invisibile. Invisibility persists for a short duration after you leave the field.
Destroyer
Designed as the aggressor, the Destroyer's goal is to be the first person to start firing shots. Equipped with thrusters, the Destroyer can run directly towards the danger and then protect themselves using a collapsible riot shield to block incoming fire.
Using its Prime Ability, Search and Destroy, you can hunt down targets using heat-seeking missiles. The missile pods are attached to your shoulders, meaning you can keep your target locked down while continuing to gun down mobs using your primary weapon.
Destroyer abilities
- Search and Destroy (Prime Ability) - Activate Destroyer's shoulder-mounted missile pods. Dealing sustained damage to enemies launches homing missiles, dealing damage and immobilizing the target on impact.
- Riot Barricade (Tactical Ability) - Toggles Destroyer's energy shield, blocking incoming damage at the cost of draining ability energy over time. Additional energy is consumed when taking damage.
- Thruster (Trait) - While airborne, activate to fire boosters that thrust you in the direction you're currently moving in.
- Tactical Sprint (Trait) - Double-press sprint to move faster, at the cost of generating additional heat.
Recon
With the Marathon map being so large, it helps to have someone on your team who can track enemies. The Recon class can seek enemies using a Tracker Drone, a spider-like robot that hunts down hostile players, exploding upon contact. The explosion deals burn damage over time and stops players from sprinting away, giving you the perfect opportunity to finish the job.
If you deal enough damage to break an opponent's shield, you will see their footsteps on the ground, allowing you to pick them off when they try to retreat. When a rival player pings you, you will be made aware of this, though you won't be given any indication as to where that player is.
Recon's Prime Ability repeatedly sends out pulses across the battlefield, scanning the area for any signs of danger. Once a threat has been scanned, it registers as a red marker that you can even see behind walls.
Recon abilities
- Echo Pulse (Prime Ability) - Activate Recon's advanced detection systems, revealing the location of nearby enemies.
- Tracker Drone (Tactical Ability) - Deploy a mechanized microbot that tracks down nearby enemies and explodes. Targets caught in the blast are overheated.
- Interrogation (Trait) - Automatically receive a warning in Recon's HUD when pinged by a hostile Runner. Performing a finisher on a Runner pings their crew.
- Stalker Protocol (Trait) - Enemies leave a lingering holographic trail for a short time after their shields are destroyed.
Rook
By selecting Rook, you're automatically placed into the solo queue, and you may even join a match in progress. You won't be allowed to bring anything as Rook, but on the flip side, you also risk nothing. Any rewards you gain during your solo adventure can be kept, making it a low-stakes experience compared to the other classes.
Rook's tactical ability lets them blend in with the UESC mobs scattered across the map, giving you a massive opportunity to run into a fortified zone, grab what you want without being detected, and then leave without a trace. Rooks are seriously hampered due to their lack of abilities, so you should have no problems taking them out should you run into these players.
Triage
Triage is Marathon's primary medic class, capable of reviving downed teammates using tendrils that can be used from a short distance. It also has access to drones that follow you and your teammates, topping you up with health and shields whenever you're running low.
Battery Overcharge is the Triage's first trait, temporarily increasing your damage output by overloading your weapons with more energy. This effect is stronger using battery weapons, stunning enemies whenever you break their shields. The second trait is Shareware, giving any allies linked up using your healing drones instant access to any consumable items you activate.
Triage abilities
- Reboot+ (Prime Ability) - Ready Triage's defibrilator. Lock on to downed crew members or hostiles and fire the device at them, reviving crew or EMP'ing enemies.
- Med-Drone (Tactical Ability) - Deploys a floating drone that attaches to crew members, restoring health or shields, and preventing them from bleeding out when downed.
- Shareware.EXE (Trait) - Benefits from medical consumables are shared between crew members with Med-Drone attached to them.
- Battery Overcharge (Trait) - Boosts weapon performance at the cost of generating additional heat. While active, breaking an enemy's shield with a volt weapon EMPs them.
Thief
Equipped with a grapple hook that recharges rapidly depending on how many items you're carrying, the Thief is all about grabbing as much loot as you can. The grapple hook device throws out a dart before latching onto the target from a distance, meaning you don't need to rely on the environment to hook onto something. The Thief also has an X-Ray Visor that lets you see lootable containers through walls, as well as any nearby enemies within your line of sight.
The Thief's Prime Ability is the Pickpocket Drone, a butterfly-like device that can scope out the map, capable of pinging targets to share their locations with your squad. The drone comes with a mechanical whip to knock loot out of the enemy's hands, allowing you to vacuum up any dropped items and fly them back to your location.
Thief abilities
- Pickpocket Drone (Prime Ability) - Deploys a pilotable drone. While piloted, the drone can fire a hooked tether that can eject the highest-value item from target inventories, collect and store loose loot, and open doors. Exit the drone to return to the shell. At any point while the drone is active, reactivate the ability to continue piloting it.
- Grapple Device (Tactical Ability) - Launches a grapple in the direction you're aiming in, propelling yourself towards it.
- X-Ray Visor (Trait) - Activate Thief's visor, highlighting hostiles and containers in the color of the most valuable item they possess. Containers can be revealed through walls, while enemies require line of sight. While active, aiming at a hostile for a short time hacks their optics, disrupting their vision until you aim away.
- The Finer Things (Trait) - Gain increased weapon handling and accelerated Grapple Device recharge rate based on the number of items in your backpack.
Vandal
Another aggressive class, the Vandal has all the tools to engage in fights with its impressive mobility. The Vandal is equipped with microjets, allowing you to perform double jumps, and it has a power slide that travels further and faster than other classes.
You can also displace your opponent using the Vandal's arm cannon, sending nearby enemies flying with a large explosion. This can be used to force your opponent out from behind cover, and if you happen to be battling on a roof, you can send your opponents hurling towards the ground, dealing massive amounts of fall damage for easy kills.
By overloading the Vandal's movement system using its Prime Ability, you can temporarily use your mobility abilities without any cooldowns. This is a great way to initiate fights, as your opponents will have a difficult time tracking you as you dart around the arena.
Vandal abilities
- Amplify (Prime Ability) - Overcharges Vandal's movement systems, reducing heat generated from movement abilities while increasing both your movement speed and weapon dexterity.
- Disrupt Cannon (Tactical Ability) - Transforms Vandal's arm into a cannon that fires a high-powered energy projectile, dealing damage and pushing targets away. Overcharging your arm cannon greatly increases the size and damage of the blast.
- Microjets (Trait) - While airborne, activate to perform a second jump at the cost of generating additional heat.
- Power Slide (Trait) - Grants a supercharged slide that generates additional heat.
And that's all you need to know about the Marathon classes. Make sure your PC is up to scratch before launch by reading our Marathon system requirements guide to see if you need to make any upgrades. We also have the Marathon voice actors list to learn which big-name stars have joined the illustrious cast.