Season Overview
Season 2: Nightfall
LAUNCHED JUNE 2, 2026 · UPDATED JULY 2026 · TIERLISTHQ
Season 2: Nightfall launched June 2, 2026 as Marathon's largest update since launch. Bungie described it as the game's "apology tour" for Season 1's rougher edges. New zone, new shell, new progression architecture, and a complete weapon balance pass. Here is everything that changed.
What Reset
Season 2 wipes almost everything. Plan accordingly.
Full reset items
Runner Level · Faction Levels · Faction Upgrades · Faction Contracts · Credits · Entire inventory · Entire vault
What carries over
Cosmetics — everything earned cosmetically in Season 1 remains. Any progress made during the Open Play Week (June 2–9) also carries into Season 2 for paid players.
Season 2 Timeline
June 2 — Season 2: Nightfall launches
Night Marsh, Sentinel, The Cradle, two new weapons, implant reworks, 100+ bug fixes. Free Open Play Week begins.
June 9 — Open Play Week ends
Free access period closes. Paid players only from this point.
June 11 — Cryo Archive returns
Boss content returns. Gives players roughly a week to build faction rep before Compiler becomes accessible.
June 14 — Ranked mode returns
Competitive ranked extraction becomes available. Patch 1.1.0 hotfix also drops on this date.
July 21 — Mid-Season Update 1.1.5
Vault Breaker, Marathon's first PvE-only mode, opens in Cryo Archive (runs to August 4). Weapon balance pass alongside. See the
Vault Breaker guide.
New Content
Sentinel Runner Shell
8th shell. Defensive territory anchor. Snare Mine, Defender System, Prey Tracker. Space control specialist. Best in Night Marsh. See the full Sentinel guide for mechanics detail.
Dire Marsh (Night) — Night Marsh
Same map geography as daytime Marsh with fundamentally reduced visibility. New anomaly enemies. Flashlight usage reveals position. Stealth and information shells gain value.
The Cradle Progression System
Replaces Season 1 faction grind. Convert any looted item to Energy. Invest Energy in six stat categories. Reset and reallocate for free at any time during the season.
New Weapons
KKV-9SD
Pistol-frame SMG with integrated suppressor. 1,200 RPM — the fastest fire rate Bungie has shipped. Excels at close range, specifically counters shotgun rushers. Prestige mod: Flechette Drum (heals on shield breaks). Takes pistol optic and pistol magazine mods.
D54 Battle Pistol
Fully automatic 3-round burst handgun. Flexes between Pistol and Magnum archetypes. High handling, medium rate of fire — strong sidearm for snipers and shotgun users. Prestige mod: Daredevil Stock (builds super burst stacks while folded). Community recommendation: try the D54.
Implant Changes
Implants are now defined by their perk first. Stats scale with rarity rather than being manually selected. Some implants — including Logic Bomb and Triage Cloaking Device — now only exist at higher rarity tiers. This changes how you target-farm gear for specific build goals.
Weapon Balance Pass
Bungie touched every weapon category in Patch 1.1.0. Key changes that affect how you play: Copperhead is now hitscan. The D54 Battle Pistol enters as a top-tier sidearm. Vector Rounds is a new sandbox-wide perk shipping on Superior magazine mods across weapon families. Full patch notes at Bungie.net.
Mid-Season Update 1.1.5 — Vault Breaker
Update 1.1.5 landed July 21 with Season 2's headline experiment: Vault Breaker, Marathon's first PvE-only mode. Solo, duo, or trio Runners push through progressively tougher Vaults in Cryo Archive using a free Sponsored Kit, earning Vault Data to upgrade the kit or buy Armory gear that carries into other modes. It runs to August 4 only — full mechanics, the two Vault Data tiers, and whether it's worth your time in the dedicated Vault Breaker guide.
The balance side of 1.1.5 stayed at weapon and perk level — the KKV's damage was redistributed away from pure headshot reliance (base damage up, precision multiplier down, same optimal TTK), the D54 was pulled back, the WSTR got another adjustment round, and a healing perk was cut to 0.8× Patch Kit speed with a cooldown. No shell kits were reworked, so the Season 2 shell hierarchy carries through the mid-season intact.