TheRetroArcade
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Posts: 2,013
Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
"We are, of course, always iterating and are open to looking at other options in the future."
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Yesterday, Bungie revealed that both of Marathon's endgame activities, Ranked mode and the raid-like Cryo Archive, would be limited to the weekend. More specifically, Cryo Archive runs from Friday to Monday, while Ranked runs from Saturday to Tuesday each week. This tight schedule, plus overlap between the two modes, has already proven to be divisive.
In response, Marathon's game director Joe Ziegler released a lengthy post to expand on Bungie's reasoning. Ziegler opens by acknowledging the feedback so far and noting that the team is "always iterating and [is] open to looking at other options in the future". Right off the bat, it doesn't sound like a hill Bungie wants to die on, though Ziegler took the opportunity to explain why this weekly schedule was implemented. And you know what? I think the plan makes sense (with a few tweaks), even if it's somewhat awkward.
Cryo and Ranked are coming and we're excited to see players battle it out over Tau Ceti and traverse into the big scary moon-like ship in the sky. We've put out a few posts about Cryo, poured through the variety of comments and feedback we've seen so far, and wanted to take some…March 19, 2026
As Ziegler explains it, the weekend-heavy endgame schedule is structured around three core principles.
Bungie's reasoning is clear: the weekend schedule is intended to counter power creep, give players time to prepare so it's not just the hardcore players that can take part, and help queue times. When you think about it this way, yes, this structure is actually pretty smart. Instead of nerfing how rewarding the endgame is, Bungie's turned it into a loop of gearing up, getting OP, inevitably losing it, and doing it all over again. The minimum gear value requirements for both modes, being relatively high as they are now, are guardrails.
However, as Ziegler points out, "there are likely some who cannot participate" in either activity simply because they both take place over the weekend, give or take a day or two. If you can't make these days, then you can't play the endgame. That's a major pain point (for myself included), and I'm struggling to see a clear solution to this, other than perhaps making ranked mode last a few days longer so the overlap isn't quite so severe. If either mode were made permane...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
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Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
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Every Friday
GamesRadar+
Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
Yesterday, Bungie revealed that both of Marathon's endgame activities, Ranked mode and the raid-like Cryo Archive, would be limited to the weekend. More specifically, Cryo Archive runs from Friday to Monday, while Ranked runs from Saturday to Tuesday each week. This tight schedule, plus overlap between the two modes, has already proven to be divisive.
In response, Marathon's game director Joe Ziegler released a lengthy post to expand on Bungie's reasoning. Ziegler opens by acknowledging the feedback so far and noting that the team is "always iterating and [is] open to looking at other options in the future". Right off the bat, it doesn't sound like a hill Bungie wants to die on, though Ziegler took the opportunity to explain why this weekly schedule was implemented. And you know what? I think the plan makes sense (with a few tweaks), even if it's somewhat awkward.
Cryo and Ranked are coming and we're excited to see players battle it out over Tau Ceti and traverse into the big scary moon-like ship in the sky. We've put out a few posts about Cryo, poured through the variety of comments and feedback we've seen so far, and wanted to take some…March 19, 2026
As Ziegler explains it, the weekend-heavy endgame schedule is structured around three core principles.
Bungie's reasoning is clear: the weekend schedule is intended to counter power creep, give players time to prepare so it's not just the hardcore players that can take part, and help queue times. When you think about it this way, yes, this structure is actually pretty smart. Instead of nerfing how rewarding the endgame is, Bungie's turned it into a loop of gearing up, getting OP, inevitably losing it, and doing it all over again. The minimum gear value requirements for both modes, being relatively high as they are now, are guardrails.
However, as Ziegler points out, "there are likely some who cannot participate" in either activity simply because they both take place over the weekend, give or take a day or two. If you can't make these days, then you can't play the endgame. That's a major pain point (for myself included), and I'm struggling to see a clear solution to this, other than perhaps making ranked mode last a few days longer so the overlap isn't quite so severe. If either mode were made permane...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?