Best Marathon faction upgrades to unlock first

Marathon is brutal. In fact, according to Server Slam statistics, Perimeter had a depressing 41.8% exfil rate and Dire Marsh clocked in at a bafflingly low 35.6%. In other words, most players who set foot on Tau Ceti don’t make it out, losing whatever loot they brought in or collected along the way.

The good news is that you’re not solely reliant on getting new, stronger gear (and holding onto it) to move up in the world. Similar to Arc Raiders’ skill tree, you can unlock permanent faction upgrades to give you a little boost, thanks to the generosity of the various corporations vying for control over Tau Ceti—and you.

Not all of these faction upgrades are made equal though, and you’ll need to pick and choose which ones you prioritise given how limited resources are at first.

Best Marathon faction upgrades to unlock first

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These are the faction skills I’d recommend you pick up first. Just keep in mind that you’ll need to complete contracts to level up each corporation’s skill tree:

Your end goal is to clear each faction board and unlock everything in the skill tree, as you don’t need to be too selective over what upgrades you pick—unlike Arc Raiders, where you have a finite number of skill points.

Best CyberAcme upgrades

I recommend starting with CyberAcme’s upgrade tree, not least because they’re the first faction you’ll have access to as a new Runner trying to make a living pillaging Tau Ceti.

Starting at rank three, you can purchase the first Expansion upgrade, which gives you eight extra rows in your vault. I hoard loot, and I know you do too, so this is a vital upgrade to nab early on. You can upgrade this bonus as you progress through five different tiers to further increase your ability to stockpile loot in fear of losing it.

Early on, you’ll also be on the verge of bankruptcy almost constantly due to the high consumption and cost of ammo and medical supplies. Besides getting better at nabbing valuable loot while on a run, you should also get the Informant.exe perk to increase how much you earn from data cards that you can find around the map. It’s nothing too substantial, but every little helps.

Perhaps the most vital skills of them all, though, are CyAc’s various Heat perks, beginning with Heat_Sink.exe, which increases stamina capacity. You can then work towards Quick_Vent.exe and Active_Cool.exe to recover stamina faster. These are invaluable upgrades, helping you feel significantly less sluggish while sprinting.

It’s not mandatory, but it’s also worth grabbing the Locksmith skill when you can, since this allows you to bypass RNG by purchasing Lockbox Keys to open caches instead of crossing your fingers and hoping you find one.

Best NuCaloric upgrades

Finding high-quality weapons and attachments isn’t actually that hard once you start not dying so much and completing events. But shields? Now those are annoying to keep a steady stream of—with Marathon’s wicked fast TTK, you don’t want to be caught without one.

That’s why I’d suggest you pick up the Shielded perk once you’ve completed the Introducing: NuCaloric priority contract. This simply lets you purchase Enhanced Shields (the green ones) from NuCal’s section of the Armory. You can upgrade this skill further to access higher-quality ones too.

If you’ve got the resources to spare, it’s also a good idea to pick up the Safeguard and Restore skills for daily free Shield Charges and Patch Kits respectively.

Best MIDA upgrades

Building on CyberAcme’s incredible Heat-related upgrades, I can’t recommend Flex_Matrix.exe enough. This raises your base agility by 20, which, if you haven’t checked out what each stat does, means you’ll benefit from increased movement speed and jump height. It’s really handy when you need to cover distance or quickly flank an enemy.

Best Sekiguchi Genetics upgrades

Generally speaking, SekGen’s upgrades are focused on unlocking specific Shell Cores for purchase in the Armory, which can be a great boost depending on which class you play. Take a look at the standard Enhanced Core upgrades and get the one for your favourite Shell. For example, the Assassin upgrade lets you buy two Assassin-specific Cores from the shop. This is handy because, at least in my experience, every Shell-specific Core I’ve found so far has been for a class I don’t play (thanks, RNG).

Best Rook upgrades

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I’d be remiss not to mention that you can upgrade Rook via capstone upgrades in each faction’s skill tree. Every five nodes you unlock for each faction, you’ll unlock a new capstone upgrade, a few of which significantly boost the power of the humble scav Rook, to the point where they’re genuinely a great character to pick.

I know I’ll be gunning for Arachne’s Boomstick capstone as fast as possible because the WSTR Combat Shotgun is one of the best weapons in the game. Getting that for free every run? Yeah, I can’t say no to that. Plus, with guaranteed free shields, Cores, and Implants, you’ve got everything you need to wreck face with it.