Marathon’s Outpost map is an extraction masterclass, largely on account of how the central Pinwheel location lulled gamers in with the promise of loot. Nonetheless, it wasn’t with out its points: the Destroyed Wing entrance needed to be disabled shortly after it launched, and it was total too straightforward to interrupt in as soon as gamers had found out the steps.
Bungie’s given the map an intensive move within the newest Marathon patch notes (1.0.5.2), and made some very fascinating, completely not controversial adjustments. Content material creator True Vanguard mentioned the adjustments “genuinely suck for solo play” earlier than returning 5 hours later after extra profitable runs to say “Holy frick, okay I lied”.
So what’s been performed to Pinwheel? Most significantly, the Destroyed Wing entrance is again on the menu with further steps concerned, and you may now want three crimson safety playing cards to enter the locked room within the Hub, up from two reds and a yellow. Plus, whenever you go to open the locked room, you may now face a wave of Ghost Commanders. In different phrases, it is considerably tougher to enter the Pinwheel than it was.
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When you’re contained in the strongboxes now transfer round from run to run, that means you may’t simply leg it to the loot and run away like earlier than. So it is also tougher to seize the loot and escape, particularly now that the ultimate exfil location (appropriately) spawns in numerous, random areas every match.
Nonetheless, in return for making Pinwheel rather more of an ordeal to interrupt into, Bungie has additionally generously upped the loot high quality.
Each the strongboxes and free objects are rather more invaluable now, with many gamers reporting constant finds of Cryo Archive keys, Status-quality implants, cores, weapons, and even Status-tier salvage objects. All in all, it is a treasure trove should you can attain it and escape, which is precisely what the Pinwheel is designed to be. “Improved total loot rewards” is a little bit of a imprecise understatement, do not you suppose, Bungie?
Nonetheless, True Vanguard and others commenting for the reason that patch elevate a superb level: it is a lot tougher for solo gamers to enter Pinwheel whereas trios doubtless nonetheless will not have an excessive amount of bother getting by way of the upgraded safety. Solo Outpost runs had been already a bit messy with all of the free loadouts and Assassins sneaking into Pinwheel with shotguns to piggyback off all of your onerous work, and that is solely extra incentivised now.
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As for the loot, one Reddit consumer referred to as it “meh” after wading by way of the “comically massive wave of enemies” solely to be rewarded with miscellaneous inexperienced and blue loot. Then again, one other participant referred to as the locked room buffs “insane” after bringing house a number of Status objects.
That is RNG, child. Bungie may have elevated the issue with out enhancing the loot. Maybe there’s an ideal equilibrium nonetheless to be discovered the place the necessities in solo queue return to their decrease values, whereas trios face the tougher model.
Marathon may already be very difficult at instances, making dropping your loot and attempting to recuperate routine. Upping the issue of everybody’s favorite loot haul, even whereas enhancing the rewards in flip, was all the time going to trigger points, I suppose. I feel it is a honest shakeup given how worthwhile Pinwheel could possibly be with out really being that tough, no less than in teams.
