Marathon Mid-Season 2 Patch: Ranked Winners and Losers

Update 1.1.5 lands July 21. Three changes carry direct ranked weight: the WSTR Combat Shotgun - Shotgun returns, the ⬢ D54 Battle Pistol - Pistol gets clipped, and grenade infil is capped at two. The Vault Breaker PvE mode and Cradle Evolution system round out the update, but those are secondary signals for ranked climbers. The competitive picture is what matters here.

“One patch resurrects a weapon, nerfs another, and forces every team to rethink their grenade kit.”

The WSTR Combat Shotgun is back in contention. Bungie confirms damage increases from 85 to 100, which restores two-shot down potential at close range. The precise falloff numbers are now official: a grey-tier WSTR two-shots a base shield Runner at 3 meters, and a fully invested WSTR extends that to 7 meters against base shields, or 4 meters against purple. The tradeoff is real — spread is up 20% across all stat tiers, aim assist falloff is tightened, and the precision bonus multiplier is removed entirely (Misriah inherits this change too). This is not the launch-era menace. It is a legitimate close-quarters tool again, but you must commit to CQB ranges to make it work.

The ranked shell that benefits most is ** Assassin - Stealth**. Shadow Strike already rewards attacking from close range and from invisibility — the WSTR is a natural pairing with the Shadow Strike core, which sources list as dealing greatly increased Utility Knife - Melee damage from invisibility. Adding the WSTR for the follow-up creates a burst window that did not exist before this patch. The Assassin's Shroud trait and Active Camo setup already close distance reliably. The weapon now justifies that commitment.

The D54 Battle Pistol is slower to kill. Bungie states the precision multiplier drops from 1.5x to 1.38x, and falloff ranges tighten across all tiers — maximum range stat falloff shrinks from 72 meters to 64 meters at the outer end. The practical read: downing a grey-shield Runner now takes three precision bursts instead of two, and a purple shield goes from three to four. That is one additional trigger pull in every fight. In ranked, where one extra burst can mean losing the trade, this is not negligible.

Any build that was leaning on the D54 as its primary damage dealer needs to reassess. The pistol's identity remains mid-range flex, but it is no longer carrying fights it has no business winning. If you were running D54 alongside a close-range secondary as a crutch for mid-range superiority, rotate to the Repeater HPR - Precision Rifle or the Impact HAR - AR depending on your shell's mobility profile.

Starting July 21, infil is capped at a combined total of two grenades across Bubble Shields, Chem Grenades, EMP Grenades, Flechette Grenades, Frag Grenades, and Heat Grenades. Scavenged grenades in-run are unaffected.

This is the quietest but most structurally significant change in the patch. Grenade-heavy entry strategies and Bubble Shield saturation have been the dominant pre-fight positioning tools in coordinated ranked squads. That is now gone at infil. Crews that relied on EMP into Bubble Shield as a standard opener need a new default. The Sentinel - Combat's Defender System becomes relatively more valuable in a lower-grenade environment — though the shell's overall ranked tier does not move on one patch alone. The Triage - Support Med-Drone and Battery Overcharge kit are unchanged.

- Add WSTR + Shadow Strike core to Assassin CQB builds. The damage baseline now supports the burst window. Pair with the ◈ MIPS Slug Converter - Barrel MOD - Prestige mod (listed as increasing rate of fire, stability, and aim) if you have access. - Drop D54 as a primary carry weapon. Route it as a sidearm or cut it. The Magnum MC - Pistol at 41 damage trades more cleanly in the roles the D54 was overperforming in. - Audit your infil grenade kit now. Two total. Choose one utility (EMP for shields, Bubble for cover) and one damage. Stack more once you're in-run.

Community reaction to 1.1.5 is not yet available — the patch preview just dropped. The actual ranked signal will emerge in the days after July 21.