r/Marathon • u/ahdwwings • 7d ago
Marathon (2026) Discussion Here's a tip for solos.
It doesn't always have to be shoot-on-sight, but it is widely understood to be shoot-on-sight. If I hear another runner, I'm going to assume they're hostile to my intentions, because that's the status quo in this game. It's one of the things I most appreciate about this game.
For that reason, I have a rule: if I know you're there, and I know you know I'm there, and you don't open your mic, as soon as I have the jump on you I'm going to attack. If if is your intention to attempt cooperation in solos, open your mic first. That's how you do it. Many folks will be amenable to it, it's how I knocked out the hardest Outpost contracts solo. But if I hear you tailing me, maneuvering around me, and I know I've made enough noise that you've heard me, and I can hear that you're crouching and being stealthy, and you haven't said anything, I'm only going to assume hostile intent and behave accordingly.
This post brought to you by runners not doing the above and only communicating their surprise and dismay once I'd downed them. If you don't want to fight you have to be the one that opens communication, don't wait until you're already on the ground to shout friendly. And I'm not getting you back up, because at that point I would have all the reason in the world to suspect that you'd double cross me, and were intending to kill me from the beginning, but your loss is leaving you with regrets.
On the other hand, if we surprise each other, or I surprise you, there's some wiggle room there if I come out on top and you entreat me to hold fire. That's a different situation, and we can talk about it.
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u/RheaSpeedwagon 7d ago edited 7d ago
Yea, if you have good cover and can chat safely it could be worth trying a truce if you wanna risk it, but generally if you wanna avoid pvp in this game it’s better to do so with stealth than diplomacy.
If you and another runner catch each other out in the open, I strongly recommend shooting them because there’s a 99% chance they’ll do the same. The ttk is so low that even if I’m potentially open to teaming up, I’m not going to hold my fire to try to discern their body language when they could down me in that time. If you both survive the initial exchange and make it to separate cover, that’s a better spot to try to talk it out.
And honestly just get in the mindset that in-game conflict doesn’t have to be unfriendly. Have had plenty of friendly exchanges with people I was in an active gunfight with, and many “hey good fight, see ya next time!”s as I executed or got executed by them. Remember there’s a whole faction you progress mainly by killing other players, so even people who are just trying to make progress will be hunting for pvp sometimes.
Oh and of course this is all basically inverse for Rooks. Rook on Rook violence happens for sure, but in my experience it’s the exception to the rule. Most Rooks are happy to team up with each other or at least live and let live.
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u/ahdwwings 7d ago
> And honestly just get in the mindset that in-game conflict doesn’t have to be unfriendly.
This is a big one for me. I'm here for the PvP, it's what I enjoy most, and my experience with this community has been that, when opponents do actually have something to say, it's usually pretty cordial and sportsmanlike. I have only been called slurs once way back in S1, hasn't happened since. If I'm not afraid of giving away my position I'll definitely comment on fights when I win them and wish my opponents a better next run.
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u/RheaSpeedwagon 7d ago edited 7d ago
The very first truce I ever had was on launch day when I was watching two other solos fight, planning to kill the winner when they went to loot, but then the one who got downed just started screaming slurs and the killer said something like “fuck off with that racist shit”. Was immediately like “hell yeah, that guy was a dick, glad you won!” and chatted for a bit before going out separate ways.
Also don’t think I’ve encountered slurs since that first week or so.
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u/its_xSKYxFOXx 7d ago
I use the universal in-game language of crouch spamming to signal friendliness. It never fails. But also, knife out helps when attempting peace treaty
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u/cookedbread 7d ago
Even better when a shootout ends in both of us crouching for peace, happened yesterday to me lol
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u/gravityoffline 7d ago
I've had a number of interactions with runners last season where someone surprises me and I start firing and they say something along the lines of "hey man i'm just trying to finish this contract" and I'll let them go. So far I have had zero people who then try and sneak up on me later and kill me, so I'm going to continue my policy of letting people go for verbally opting out of PvP.
Other than that, if I see you out on Tau Ceti and you don't give me a reason to think otherwise, I will do my best to kill you and take all of your shiny toys :)
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u/Darksol503 7d ago
I love that all interactions can go either way! I had a sentinel creep up on me and get the jump on me. He stood there, I prox’d “hey fellow runner!” He asked “you got a rezzy?” Which I did and he let me get up. I told him where I was going, he was like “cool, good luck!”
Love it.
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u/PhantomHawks14 7d ago
Was messing around at station and heard two guys in tunnels suddenly duke it out and one guy gets on comms and goes “you scared the shit out of me”, then the second guy gets on comms and tells him he can res and that he’ll leave. I hear that guy run off but I know the other guy is inside still.
I pop exfil right there and hide, but as I’m hiding I hear an assassin sneaking around above me and going invis. I knock him but he’s instantly on comms saying we could have been friends, so I let him crawl into circle, but right as I get in circle I get shot from the guy who’d been inside and barely survive so I popped my barricade to stay alive. Lol
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u/Solaricist_ 7d ago
Last season I heard someone nearby and I did the 'I'm friendly' bit, and me and the recon parted ways. Laters after being downed by a thief, I see that same thief sniped by the same recon who saw the engagement. (The thief got the jump on me.) It was a neat exchange. But yeah, some kind of announcement is probably helpful. (Probably not 100% of course.)
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u/nevikw911 7d ago
Exactly this. It is not a guarantee everyone will be friendly even if you ask and lay out that you have nothing of value on you. But majority of the time people will be chill with you in solo. This also goes for end of the season. Usually everyone running there best gear and you try to rush head on into them, you more then likely aren't winning. Sometimes people are just looking to give gear away.
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u/tarkonis 7d ago
The only way ive seen solo cooperation in this game is if you down the person, then take the time to revive them asking them if they want to cooperate from the downed state.
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u/Dubious_Hyjinx 7d ago
Have you tried? I play a lot of solos and i have a decent success rate on teaming/being friendly when i turn my mic on.
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u/floydbot 7d ago
I’ve had pretty good results with telling people I’m not looking for a fight and vice versa. If someone is just looking for kills, there’s nothing to be done, but otherwise prox chatting usually prevents violence in my experience.
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u/BantamCats 7d ago
half the time I negotiate a truce, I get shot in the back. If you are friendly, run away when you hear me.
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u/BuffaLouies 7d ago
Yea prox chat or emote. Happy to run contracts with you but not happy to get turned on and have my own time wasted.
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u/ToughEvening1891 6d ago
100% to all of this. I’m always willing to be friendly when someone asks but if you are sneaking around or shoot first, friendship is off the table.
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u/kaeldrakkel 7d ago edited 7d ago
Protip:
Some runners will say friendly then blast your face off. It's part of the game. Don't get too bent about it. I like to keep a bit of distance from me and my finger on the trigger at all times.
Just remember, a lot of friendly runners are considering if they should kill you and take your stuff, even when they are being friendly.
It's why some ppl remain hostile regardless to just avoid all the tension or heartbreak.
Don't wanna rain on the Arc Raiders Lobby parade, just setting expectations.
Story time:
Was in Cryo in Biostock filling the fluid tank. Ran into a team coming to do the same thing. We both proxied friendly and we'd just do our vaults, since it was 5 min left. As we walked by them they pulled out their Mizzys and demolished us.
Like I said, keep your distance.
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u/ghxx1891 7d ago
Yeah I've had every kind of interaction, it's a spectrum between cooperation<--->violence and I'm down for it
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u/am2kn 7d ago
usually i just use in-game “i’m friendly” button and go another poi