Bungie outlines Marathon’s seven runner shells and customization systems

Kotaku reports Bungie released a new trailer and developer breakdown for Marathon that highlights each character class’s distinct playstyle, a follow-up to the game’s emergence from its 2025 playtest delay. According to a Bungie blog post, “Each Runner shell is built around a different gameplay archetype, such as intel gathering, combat disruption, or combat healing.” There are seven runner shells with the following main abilities: Destroyer (combat specialist with a personal defense barricade, missile systems, and movement thrusters); Assassin (shadow agent using synthetic smoke and camouflage); Recon (intel specialist using echo pulses, tracker drones, and holographic footstep trails); Vandal (combat anarchist with advanced movement and a knockback cannon); Thief (covert acquisitions with enhanced visors, a piloted butterfly drone, and grapple); Triage (field medic with deployable healing drones, reboot abilities, and combat buffs); and Rook (scavenger designed for a scavenger mode in which you drop into a match already in progress as a solo player without a loadout).

Bungie said each runner can be outfitted with class-unique cores and cross-matchable implants to create different builds—Bungie gave Vandal examples such as triple jump and speed boosts or an arm cannon for offensive options.

Key Topics

Tech, Bungie, Marathon, Runner Shell, Extraction Shooter, Cores