Essential Runner Shells for Surviving in Marathon on Tau Ceti

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March 20, 2026: We’ve refreshed our character tier list for Marathon after diving deeper into the game and considering endgame activities like Cryo Archive and Ranked.

Marathon features seven unique characters known as Runner Shells, each equipped with distinct abilities. Even if you’ve participated in earlier playtests, the classes have evolved significantly for launch; they now function more like classes rather than traditional hero characters.

Below, I’ll break down each of the seven Runner Shells and highlight which ones are essential for surviving the challenges of Tau Ceti, a place notorious for its unforgiving nature, whether you’re facing robots, aliens, or other players.

There are seven classes to choose from, referred to as Runner Shells. Each option has its strengths, and while none are outright bad, some definitely stand out in terms of value and power.

Here’s my ranking of each Runner Shell, along with insights into my top-tier picks:

Rank	Runner Shell
S	Triage, Assassin, Thief
A	Destroyer, Rook
B	Recon, Vandal

Triage’s kit is incredibly valuable. Medical supplies can be scarce, especially in the early game, and you want to avoid wasting them on minor heals. Triage’s Med Drone keeps you and your team healthy during and between skirmishes, making it a crucial asset. These drones can also stabilize downed teammates and share healing effects.

Triage’s ultimate, Reboot+, allows for reviving allies from a distance or EMPing enemies. While I don’t often recommend using it offensively, the ability to bring an ally back from the brink during team fights is a game-changer. Given Triage’s team-oriented nature, this Shell may not shine as brightly in solo play.

Stealth is a game-changer in an extraction shooter, where being spotted often leads to a quick demise. The ability to create smoke clouds and turn invisible is a significant advantage, especially when paired with the right weapons for ambushing and repositioning. If you’re tackling quests solo, Assassin is the way to go.

Assassin also competes with Vandal for the title of best-looking Runner Shell, thanks to their stylish hood. Surely, their aesthetic alone earns them some extra points, right?

Thief is surprisingly effective, far beyond just being a looting specialist. At first glance, you might think they’re only good for snatching loot from others and spotting high-value gear through walls. While that’s true, they offer much more.

Their grappling hook is a superior version of Vandal’s mobility, allowing for agile plays without draining stamina or making noise. In skilled hands, it can lead to incredible maneuvers. Additionally, their drone excels at reconnaissance, arguably outshining Recon’s scan. Plus, you can use X-Ray vision, designed for loot detection, to track enemies through walls when needed.

At launch, there are seven Runner Shells available, each with a biologically printed body that includes a Prime ability (like an ultimate), a Tactical ability, and two Traits, which can be passive or weaker active skills.

You can customize these classes using Shell-specific Cores, which provide additional benefits. These cores come in various quality tiers, so keep an eye out for the legendary versions, as they offer significant advantages.

The Destroyer shell, previously known as Locus, is the most defensive Runner Shell on paper. However, their dash and ultimate ability open the door to some aggressive plays:

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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 focuses on mobility and disruption, but high Heat usage can make them feel inconsistent:

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

As the name suggests, Recon specializes in revealing enemy positions and tracking them, though Thief arguably does it better right now:

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

The Assassin is designed for stealthy takedowns and quick repositioning, making them ideal for both solo players and teams:

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 serves as the medic, keeping themselves and their allies healthy and even reviving teammates from a distance. They are often seen as a must-have in any team composition:

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

The Thief stands out as one of the most unique Runner Shells, excelling in looting and mobility, proving to be more useful in combat than one might expect:

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 occupies a unique niche, allowing players to restock on gear and supplies without risking their own. However, Rook does come with some limitations:

It’s still early, but Rook has the potential to become one of the best classes once leveled up. For instance, CyAc’s Carrier capstone lets you start with a Deluxe Backpack, while Arachne’s Boomstick capstone provides 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

Marathon best weapons tier list: Our top picks Marathon roadmap: What’s coming Marathon Lockbox Keys: How to get ’em Marathon upgrades: Which to pick Introducing NuCaloric: Grab the employee ID Introducing Traxus: Find the terminal