Good news, runners: Bungie dropped Marathon update 1.0.0.4, the tidy little weekly patch that attempts to fix the things players screamed about since launch. The main complaints were ammo starvation, med-item scarcity, and thermal scopes turning everyone into glowing, easy-to-click targets. This patch moves on all three.

Smaller UESC health and boss shields

Enemies from the UESC were feeling a bit like romance novel protagonists: hard to kill and very clingy. The patch reduces the health of most UESC grunts and slightly lowers shields on UESC bosses. The goal: fewer wasted bullets and less scavenging for ammo, while keeping fights tense. Bungie also notes they don’t want to erase the challenge entirely, so don’t expect a cakewalk.

More healing items and supplies on Perimeter

If you kept getting stomped on Tau Ceti IV, you’ll be happy to hear the Perimeter now spawns more Med Cabinets and Munitions Crates. That should help new players and people returning from a break. Also, free Sponsored Kits for MIDA, CyberAcme, and Arachne now start with more ammo, so you can do budget runs without living on prayer and paper clips.

Thermal scopes toned down

Thermal optics were the go-to cheese for spotting invisible runners and bush-camping foes. Bungie turned down the volume. The visual clarity of thermal targets is reduced and the max highlight distances have been shortened, with snipers getting the biggest slap.

  • Pistols: now 40 meters (was 55 meters)
  • Rifles, LMGs, SMGs: now 60 meters (was 65 meters)
  • Precision rifles: now 80 meters (was 100 meters)
  • Snipers: now 100 meters (was 180 meters)

Rook’s WSTR Shotgun gets a catch

The Rook’s WSTR Shotgun will now spawn as Compromised, meaning you cannot extract it unless you find a Matter Fixative. Translation: you can no longer run Rook runs and pocket free shotguns like it’s Black Friday at a gun store. On the plus side, exfiling with Rook now gives increased CyAc reputation and keeps the usual solo run reputation bonuses.

Broken Wing entrance temporarily closed

The quick, switch-shooting route into the Pinwheel via the Broken Wing is disabled for now. Bungie is reworking that alternate entrance to keep the sneaky vibe while better balancing risk and reward. You can still get into the Pinwheel by other means; the shortcut is just on timeout.

Overall, this patch is the kind of small, sensible cleanup players wanted after a messy launch: less sponge, more supplies, and fewer thermal-powered killcams. Nothing revolutionary, but enough to make runs less infuriating.