Marathon 1.1.9.6: Sponsored Perimeter and Solo Rep Fix

Marathon Update 1.1.9.6 is three lines long. It scheduled Sponsored Perimeter for the weekend that began Thursday, 10/29. It fixes bonus reputation rewards that weren't paying out on certain contracts completed solo or in duos. It also fixes an issue on Night Marsh where an improperly spawning UESC dropship could down players. No weapon, shell, or mod numbers moved, so our tier list holds this cycle.

The official note doesn't say which contracts were affected or how large the missing bonus was, so we won't guess. What it does tell you is that some solo and duo players were shorted on faction progress. If you ran contracts alone or in a pair, check your faction standing. The note doesn't say whether rewards that were already missed will be restored.

The fix lines up with a broader solo-friendly tilt. The 1.1.9.2 notes cut UESC damage against runners by 20% in Solo playlists. The 1.1.9.5 notes give solo players 50% more Tier 1 and Tier 2 event currency in Vault Breaker, which runs through November 10. Solo play is getting cheaper to commit to.

The roadmap post says Sponsored Queues run Thursday through Monday and rotate Perimeter, Marsh, then Night Marsh. That cycle repeats until Symbiosis launches on December 8. This week's Sponsored Perimeter is the loop coming back around. The patch note only gives the date. It doesn't detail the rules of the Perimeter queue, so we won't assume any.

The last real balance changes landed in 1.1.9.2. Echo Pulse on Recon - Intel now fires as a cone in your aim direction, and the Interrogation alert is delayed by two seconds. Biotoxic Disinjector - Hybrid beam damage went from 13 to 16 per tick, which Bungie lists as the fastest non-shotgun TTK in the game. The Magnum MC - Pistol and ⬢ D54 Battle Pistol - Pistol took damage cuts. Patches 1.1.9.3 through 1.1.9.6 have been fixes and event scheduling. The only weapon touch since was a text correction on the Repeater HPR - Precision Rifle, which reloads 2 rounds at a time.

We're leaving every placement where it was. Our meta tier list reflects that.