Bungie shows off Marathon's reworked "Runner Shell" classes, and I'm still worried about invisibility and wall hacks in a PvP-heavy extraction shooter

1. Games
2. FPS Games
3. Marathon

Bungie shows off Marathon's reworked "Runner Shell" classes, and I'm still worried about invisibility and wall hacks in a PvP-heavy extraction shooter News By Austin Wood published 15 January 2026

Bungie has been in the kitchen, I'll give it that

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Bungie) Share Share by:

• Copy link
• Facebook
• X
• Whatsapp
• Pinterest
• Flipboard

Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google

Unrolling another stretch of red carpet in front of the red carpet already rolled out for the long-delayed Marathon, Bungie released a new deep dive on the "Runner Shells," or playable classes, that its sci-fi extraction shooter will launch with. Compared to the early build we played at the studio, several significant changes and additions have been made, but I'm still worried that two profoundly powerful ability types threaten to swallow the sandbox Bungie's created.

Interestingly, the more hero shooter-like names once applied to these shells, like Blackbird and Glitch, have been dropped in favor of more descriptive terms. But these shells are still the "bio-printed bodies" you control when you jump down to the central planet Tau Ceti IV.

They each have a distinct look (with cosmetics) and a set of cooldown-based abilities that define their play style. Those abilities are grouped by traits (passive bonuses), tactical abilities (short cooldown), and prime abilities (ultimate, long cooldown). Bungie describes them as a foundation for buildcrafting, enlivened through equipable items like "cores" that can bring powerful passive bonuses to your loadout.

You may like

• The run-up to Marathon's release has been such a train wreck that it's easy to forget that the game might still be really good
• Marathon fans love that the FPS has decaying bodies, but the invisibility has them split: "Bungie, please reconsider"
• Presumably praying people have room for another extraction shooter after Arc Raiders, Bungie opens Marathon signups for December playtest

Marathon Developer Insights | Runner Shells - YouTube Watch On

"Equip cores that turn your double jump into a triple jump, and implants that increase your base movement speed, jump height, and improve your heat capacity [stamina bar]," Bungie adds in a blog post. Cores are "generally designed for one Runner shell," whereas "implants" are universal and provide bonus stats and random perks. "The highest-tier implants also have a bonus fixed perk, such the implant Ping+ V5, where your pings remain attached to enemies for a short period of time after breaking line of sight," Bungie explains.

One example core reads: "Knockback no longer deals self-damage, instead propelling you away from the blast." Another says: "Deal damage to nearby hostiles after long fall." Depending on the availability of these cores, and how deterministic that loot process is, I could see this type of buildcrafting distinguishing Marathon from other extraction shooters, which tend to find variance mostly in what weapons you equip. "They have hooks that go out into the other systems so you can create this crazy Rube Goldberg machine," says senior designer Mike Humbolt.

(Image credit: Bungie)

Here are all of the shells coming at launch, with more planned alongside other future content.

• Destroyer - A tanky, Destiny 2 Titan-like soldier with a riot barricade that you can carry while sprinting or rocket-thrusting around. Can fire a shoulder-mounted missile volley.
• Assassin - "Built for players who like to play slow and quiet." Has a dive to negate all fall damage and can deploy a veil to become invisible. You can sprint or climb without breaking the veil, but the faster you move, the more semi-visible you become. Healing, shooting, or getting shot will reveal you, but only briefly. Prime ability deploys a large smokescreen cloud that also grants invisibility.
• Recon - Called "fun police" internally. A deployable tracker drone seeks out players and explodes, dealing damage and overheating their shells to slow them and deal burn damage. Prime Scanner reveals nearby enemies, both AI and players. Dealing enough damage to break a player's shield causes them to leave footprints that reveal their movements, As a Recon, you are notified when you've been pinged – pings work similarly to Arc Raiders, Apex Legends, and others – by an enemy player.
• Vandal - A highly mobile shell with a double-jump and a longer slide. Prime ability overloads movement for enhanced agility. Arm cannon fires an AoE projectile that knocks enemies back.
• Thief - The "loot goblin" class. Can reveal nearby loot containers through walls and highlight enemies within line of sight. Deployable flying drone can be remote controlled and used to mark players or, using a whip-like wire, knock loot out of "both players and AI" and then collect it. Can fire a grappling hook, with a built-in hovering anchor to latch onto, for mobility. The more loot you're carrying in your bag, the shorter your grapple cooldown and the higher your base stats become.
• Triage - The healer class. Electric gauntlets can instantly revive downed allies. Deployable buddy drones follow allies and grant health and shields. Can overcharge gauntlets to amp up weapons, and cause energy weapons to trigger EMP bursts when you break a shield. When you use an item like a health shot, allies with healing drones attached to them will also receive that item's effects.
• Rook - A unique shell with more limited abilities. Can only play solo, and can only join matches in-progress with a free "starting kit" of basic gear. You cannot bring anything in with you. A new game mode on legs, designed for no-risk scavenging. Can make AI enemies non-hostile by equipping a camouflage face mask. "Get in, grab a little bit of loot, and then bail," says Humbolt.

(Image credit: Bungie)

A lot of these shells sound compelling on paper; I'm especially drawn to the Triage and Thief shells which weren't available in my test session. Rook is an interesting spin on free loadouts, too. But Assassin's invisibility and Recon's wall hacks sound tough to beat.

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

These two classes completely warped many of my (again, old) sessions. Invisibility seems especially powerful in solo mode, which has now been added to Marathon alongside proximity chat, while Recon sounds borderline essential for squad play. There are ways to balance around this, like giving these shells weaker neutral game or lower health, or just making the other shells that much stronger in their own combat niche, but the information war – I can see you, you can't see me – feels like a change in kind for an extraction shooter that's really pressing the PvP pedal. It's a new and exclusive axis of play. That was certainly the vibe I got back when Recon was called Blackbird. But I stand ready to be proven wrong by the healer, tank, or more aggressive shells.

Former Destiny artist and Marathon art director leaves Bungie following fallout from its now-resolved controversy.

CATEGORIES PC Gaming Xbox Series X PS5 Platforms Xbox PlayStation Austin WoodSocial Links NavigationSenior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.

Show More Comments

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Logout Read more The run-up to Marathon's release has been such a train wreck that it's easy to forget that the game might still be really good    Marathon fans love that the FPS has decaying bodies, but the invisibility has them split: "Bungie, please reconsider"    Presumably praying people have room for another extraction shooter after Arc Raiders, Bungie opens Marathon signups for December playtest    Over 2 hours of new Marathon footage leaks as Bungie's answer to the likes of Arc Raiders shows how far it's come since Sony indefinitely delayed the troubled extraction shooter earlier this year    Arc Raiders gives Escape from Tarkov a run for its money, and the secret is making the shooter feel like an RPG that you can "almost play as a single-player game"    "The Bungie team is fantastic": Academy Award-winning artist behind Marathon cinematic says the shooter's stolen art "was genuinely a mistake," and "blown out of proportion"    Latest in FPS Games Halo: Reach devs "had to fight tooth and nail to keep space combat" after Bungie wanted to cut it    Battlefield 6 Season 2 release date and everything we know so far    Battlefield 6 Season 2 delayed because EA wants "extra time" for development "as a result of community feedback"    Multiple reports suggest Wolfenstein 3 is finally in development    "Steam Charts don't measure fun": Splitgate dev says don't sweat player counts after Splitgate Arena Reloaded mess    Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford says Vince Zampella would "create mischievous joy" and trolled Eli Roth in Borderlands    Latest in News Bungie shows off Marathon's reworked "Runner Shell" classes, and I'm still worried about invisibility and wall hacks    GOG director fears regulation for live-service shutdowns might lead to "fewer cool games for gamers"    TV never changes: Amazon is making a Fallout Shelter reality show where Vault Dwellers compete for cash prizes    Pretend to be surprised: New Life is Strange game confirmed for this year, with more details coming in an official livestream in just a few days    Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's title of Metacritic's highest player-rated game is under threat from Cory in the House    Super Smash Bros creator Masahiro Sakurai confirms those food JPEGs heal more based on how many calories they contain    GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS

1. 1Looking for a good 2-player board game? This superhero adventure is worth suiting up for
2. 2Trails Beyond the Horizon review: "This JRPG's thrilling real-time and turn-based combat evolves Metaphor ReFantazio's hybrid battles, making up for a poorly paced adventure"
3. 3This alt-history board game is still a gold standard for modern strategy
4. 4Skate Story review: "A beautiful and unique skateboarding game with great, stylized visuals set in a grungy underworld"
5. 5Octopath Traveler 0 review: "The strongest entry in this retro-styled JRPG series yet, I love the greater focus on tactical battles"

1. 128 Years Later: The Bone Temple review: "The wildest and weirdest entry into the franchise yet"
2. 2Avatar: Fire and Ash review: "Still a technical marvel, with some of the year's best action filmmaking"
3. 3Five Nights at Freddy's 2 review: "We have waited two years for a Five Nights at Freddy's 1.5"
4. 4Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery review: "Brings Knives Out back to its roots for a sequel that's almost on a par with the original"
5. 5Wicked: For Good review: "Builds to an incredibly cathartic conclusion, but isn't quite as captivating as Part 1"

1. 1Starfleet Academy review: "It may feel a little different to what we're used to, but this is Star Trek through and through"
2. 2A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms review: "This Game of Thrones spin-off is a heartfelt and fun return to Westeros"
3. 3Stranger Things season 5 finale review: “Shows off both the best and the worst of Hawkins”
4. 4Stranger Things season 5, Volume 2 review: “All set up for a finale that has so much to deliver”
5. 5Fallout season 2 review: "A hell of a lot of fun despite being overcrowded and convoluted"