The good old nerf has finally arrived in Bungie’s latest game following the latest update.

While Marathon is still struggling to attract new players, one of the most important factors keeping its 380,000 daily active users engaged is how quickly Bungie responds to player feedback. The Marathon 1.0.5.3 update is now available on the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. While it includes bug fixes, the most notable changes are balance adjustments and a significant nerf to one of Marathon’s most powerful weapons, the knife.

The Biotoxin Disinjector, the game’s main “endgame” weapon, which you receive as a reward for killing the Compiler at the end of the Cryo Archive, is Marathon’s most powerful weapon. It too has recently received a nerf that affects all players. When our weapons aren’t equipped, we carry a knife for melee attacks. When Marathon was released, players realized that they could defeat other players faster in melee combat with the knife than with a weapon.

They realized it was relatively easy to build a character whose knife could deal significant damage, so they started using knives in close combat rather than assault rifles or submachine guns. Unless they were using the WSRT shotgun, using the knife was almost always the smarter choice. With Bungie’s latest update, the maximum attack range for knife attacks has been reduced by 10%, and the bonus damage derived from melee damage stats against enemy runners has been reduced from 100% to 50%. However, damage against UESC bots remains unchanged.

“In Marathon, melee is intended to be a high-risk but potent method of countering close-quarters weapons, such as shotguns and submachine guns. However, the breakpoints for quick melee kills appear too early in the Melee Damage progression, meaning players don’t need to invest in a build to achieve maximum effectiveness. We don’t want to compromise on melee feeling powerful, but we believe getting to maximum output should result from meaningful build crafting and upgrade progression. Our goal with these changes, including the knife lunge changes mentioned above, is to keep the knife a powerful backup tool that requires more thoughtful play, both in and out of the run, to be most effective,” wrote Bungie.

Other notable balance changes include a slight nerf to one of the game’s most popular items: the Bubble Shield now has less health, so opposing players can take it down faster. However, it is no longer as vulnerable to Volt-based weapons. It has also become much more resistant to damage caused by UESC bots. Additionally, the “within one round” condition has been removed from the Traxus contract, Return on Investment 4/5, making it easier to complete.

Source: WCCFTech, Bungie