Best Marathon characters tier list: All Runner Shell classes explained
There are seven characters in Marathon, known as Runner Shells, and each one comes with unique abilities to set them apart. Even if you’ve played old playtests for the game, the classes have changed quite a bit at launch—for one, they’re not characters in the ‘hero shooter’ sense anymore, they’re more like classes.
Below, I’ll explain each of the seven Marathon Runner Shells and which ones I’d recommend you use if you’re serious about your survival on Tau Ceti. It’s not known for being a forgiving, friendly place, whether you’re met by robots, aliens, or other people.
Best Marathon character tier list
There are seven classes you can choose from, known as Runner Shells. I’ll immediately point out that there are no bad options here, as each one brings something unique to the table. However, some are more valuable or powerful than others.
Here’s where I’d rank each Runner Shell, plus an explanation for each of my S-tier picks:
|
Rank |
Runner Shell |
|---|---|
|
S |
Triage, Vandal, Assassin |
|
A |
Recon, Rook |
|
B |
Destroyer, Thief |
Triage
It’s hard to overstate just how valuable Triage’s kit is. Medical supplies aren’t easy to sustain, especially early on, and you don’t want to waste any just to heal a smidgen of damage. Triage’s Med Drone keeps you and your team topped up during and in between fights, which really is a lifesaver. Plus, these drones can also be used to prevent downed allies from bleeding out and share healing effects between teammates.
Triage’s ultimate, Reboot+, can be used to revive allies from range or EMP enemies. I don’t often recommend using it to zap an enemy, but instantly bringing an ally back from the realm of the dead from afar is very powerful in team fights. Given the team-focused nature of Triage in general, but especially their ultimate, this Shell isn’t quite so strong in solo play.
Vandal
Vandal’s not only one of the coolest looking Runners, but they’re also very mobile thanks to their double-jump, enhanced slide, and speed-boosting ultimate. It might sound basic, but enhanced mobility is a big deal in a game with Marathon’s low default speed and limited sprint. At launch, Vandal is the pick if you aim to outmanoeuvre opponents on a dime.
Their Disrupt Cannon is similarly handy, effectively serving as a grenade on a cooldown. Cannon blasts deal decent explosive damage, but they also push anything (including yourself) a considerable distance. I love using it to flush enemies out of cover while they’re trying to heal.
Assassin
Stealth is a very useful skill in an extraction shooter, where being seen and shot at first generally means a quick death. Being able to create smoke clouds and turn invisible is unsurprisingly quite a perk, then, especially when you combine their penchant for ambushing and repositioning with the best weapons.
Assassin is also vying with Vandal for the best-looking Runner Shell, largely because of their cool hood. Surely their aura alone is bound to score them some bonus points, no?
All Marathon Runner Shells
At launch, there are seven Runner Shells to pick from, with each biologically printed body coming paired with a Prime ability (like an ultimate), a Tactical ability, and two Traits, which can be passives or weaker active ones.
You can then tweak these classes using Shell-specific Cores, which can be slotted to provide additional benefits. Like most other loot, these come in various quality tiers, so keep your eyes out and try not to lose them, as the legendary versions are a treat.
Destroyer
The Destroyer shell, previously known as Locus, is the most defensive Runner Shell:
|
Ability |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Prime: Search and Destroy |
Activate shoulder-mounted missile pods that automatically fire immobilising homing missiles at targets that you deal sustained damage to |
|
Tactical: Riot Barricade |
Activate a frontal energy shield that blocks damage. The shield’s cooldown time increases based on how long you have it deployed and the amount of damage it takes |
|
Trait: Thruster |
A quick lateral dash in the direction you’re moving that can be performed while airborne |
|
Trait: Tactical Sprint |
Double-press sprint to move even faster but generate more Heat |
Vandal
Vandal is all about mobility and disruption at the cost of high Heat use:
|
Ability |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Prime: Amplify |
Activate to temporarily gain increased movement speed, weapon handling, and reduced Heat generation from movement abilities |
|
Tactical: Disrupt Cannon |
Fire a projectile that deals damage and blasts enemies away from its impact area. The longer you charge the projectile, the greater the size and damage of the blast |
|
Trait: Microjets |
A double-jump that generates bonus Heat |
|
Trait: Powerslide |
You slide further and faster than other Shells, but generate additional Heat |
Recon
As the name suggests, Recon excels at revealing enemy positions:
|
Ability |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Prime: Echo Pulse |
Emit a series of sonar pulses that reveal the locations of nearby enemies (both other players and UESC), including those that are invisible |
|
Tactical: Tracker Drone |
Throw a spider-like robot that runs towards enemies and explodes. Enemies hit by the explosion are instantly overheated, limiting their movement and causing them to take small amounts of burn damage |
|
Trait: Interrogation |
You’ll be alerted when an enemy player pings you. Additionally, performing a finisher on an enemy player pings their teammates |
|
Trait: Stalker Protocol |
After breaking an enemy’s shields, they leave a trail of footprints for a short time |
Assassin
The Assassin is geared towards stealthy takedowns and frequent repositioning:
|
Ability |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Prime: Smoke Screen |
Throw a line of smoke grenades that impair visibility and disrupt the optics of those that step inside the cloud |
|
Tactical: Active Camo |
Become temporarily invisible. The faster you move, the more visible you become. Taking damage, using consumables, or attacking will disrupt your cloak |
|
Trait: Shadow Dive |
You can drop to the ground while airborne to create a smoke cloud on impact |
|
Trait: Shroud |
You automatically become invisible whenever you enter a smoke cloud, and the invisibility persists for a few seconds after leaving a cloud |
Triage
Triage is the medic, able to keep themselves and their allies healthy and even bring people back from the dead from afar:
|
Ability |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Prime: Reboot+ |
Charge tendrils to either revive downed allies or EMP enemies at range |
|
Tactical: Med-Drone |
Deploy a floating drone that attaches to yourself or an ally, restoring health and shields over time. You can have up to three drones active at a time, one for each ally |
|
Trait: Shareware.exe |
Healing from Patch Kits and Shield Chargers is shared between teammates you’ve placed Med-Drones on |
|
Trait: Battery Overcharge |
Activate to temporarily boost your weapons at the cost of generating heat. Breaking a hostile’s shield with a volt battery or volt cell weapon will EMP them |
Thief
Arguably the most unique Runner Shell besides Rook, the Thief is an expert looter, though that’s not going to come in clutch when you’re getting shot at:
|
Ability |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Prime: Pickpocket Drone |
Manually control a flying drone that can zap enemy players and UESC robots to knock the highest value loot from their backpacks, which you can then collect |
|
Tactical: Grapple Device |
Fire a grappling hook to pull you towards a location |
|
Trait: X-Ray Visor |
Activate to temporarily see loot containers through walls. Enemies within line-of-sight are also highlighted. The colour of the target will change based on the highest rarity of loot the highlighted object or enemy holds. Additionally, while X-Ray Visor is active, aiming at an enemy disrupts their vision after a few seconds |
|
Trait: The Finer Things |
Benefit from increased weapon handling and accelerated Grapple Device recharge rate, scaling based on the number of items in your backpack |
Rook
The Rook is a shell that belongs in its own category. It serves as a way to restock on gear and supplies without risking your own in the process. Rook has a number of limitations, though:
- No passive Traits
- Can only be played solo, and backfill into matches in progress
- You cannot progress contracts (but you’ll still earn rep from other sources)
- You can’t use gear from your vault, and will instead be given basic items, which can be improved via faction upgrades
It’s early, but I suspect Rook has the potential to be one of the best classes once you’ve levelled them up. For example, CyAc’s Carrier capstone lets you start with a Deluxe Backpack and Arachne’s Boomstick capstone gives you the WSTR Combat Shotgun for free.
Here are Rook’s abilities:
|
Ability |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Prime: Recuperation |
Activate to start slowly restoring health. This effect is interrupted if you take damage |
|
Tactical: Signal Mask |
Activate to become temporarily invisible to UESC robots. This disguise will be disrupted if you run or take damage |
