Marathon‘s Update 1.1.9.2 reshuffled nearly every gun’s numbers, which means some of the loadouts you were running before the patch are now actively worse than the alternatives. Here’s what to run now, with the exact numbers behind each change.
Vault Runner: the new close-range standard
Pair the Repeater HPR with the Biotoxic Disinjector for aggressive Vault clears. The Repeater HPR’s fire rate jumped from 85 to 90 RPM and its base magazine grew from 9 to 12 rounds, while its empty reload dropped from 6.84 to 5.2 seconds and now reloads two rounds at a time — it can sustain a fight far longer than before the patch, and its extended falloff ranges mean it no longer falls off a cliff at mid-range. Back it up with the Biotoxic Disinjector’s beam mode, whose per-tick damage rose from 13 to 16, cutting the 200HP time-to-kill from 0.92 to 0.75 seconds; save the grenade launcher, now semi-automatic instead of a 3-round burst, for finishing a downed Runner or clearing a doorway.
Precision Strike: the long-range pivot
If you’re running Vault extractions where fights open up at range, lean on the KKV-9SD. Its base damage rose from 9 to 10.5, and while its precision bonus dropped slightly (1.29 to 1.1), the number of precision hits needed to reach its optimal 0.85-second kill time fell from 15 to 11 — a real buff once you account for how much easier those hits land with the new numbers. Pair it with the CE Tactical Sidearm, which picked up a +10% aim assist and magnetism falloff buff alongside a roughly 70% tighter initial hipfire cone, for a loadout that rewards clean precision play over spray-and-pray.
What to drop from your loadout
Retire the D54 Battle Pistol and Magnum MC as primary damage dealers for now. The D54’s base damage fell from 16 to 14, and Bungie specifically removed the hidden 15% damage bonus on its Daredevil Prestige mod, which closed off the one-shot-shield interaction that made it a top pick — it’s now a backup weapon at best. The Magnum MC’s nerf is steeper: base damage down from 41 to 35, pushing its optimal time-to-kill from 0.87 to 1.3 seconds, which is a big enough swing that it no longer trades favorably against most primaries. The Hardline PR isn’t dead, but its falloff end range dropping from 150m to 62.4m (and 195m to 120m at max) means it only belongs in loadouts built around close-quarters pushes, not as a general-purpose rifle.
If you’re farming the Vault Breaker event (October 20 to November 9) or stocking up for Ordnance Heist (November 10 to 23), these loadouts hold up well against the tougher UESC resistance you’ll run into in both. Keep some Steam credit on hand for Armory restocks — a Steam Wallet Code (US) or Steam Wallet Code (Global) code covers you either way — and check our Extraction Guides section for more extraction shooter breakdowns as the meta keeps shifting.
