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Marathon: Factions & Upgrades Guide
Learn how Marathon’s six factions work, which upgrades matter most, what resources each faction uses, and where to focus your contracts each season for the strongest long-term progression.
The Important Details
- Factions are one of Marathon’s main seasonal progression systems, giving you stronger base stats, better Armory access, and more reliable recovery after bad runs.
- You can only bring one active contract into a run, so every run should have a clear purpose tied to the faction you want to progress.
- Faction upgrades require reputation/rank, credits, and specific salvage materials, so efficient progression means farming with intention instead of looting randomly.
- Faction progression resets each season, but your liaison unlocks carry over, so you do not need to re-unlock factions from scratch every season.
- Unlocking all six factions is now especially important because they are required for access to Cryo Archive.
- For early value, CyberAcme, NuCaloric, and Sekiguchi tend to offer the most reliable account-wide power and quality-of-life benefits.
March 21, 2026
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WHAT ARE FACTIONS?
- Factions are six mega-corporations that act as the primary engine for your long-term progression.
- Unlike traditional RPG factions, they function more like mercenary employers; you aren’t locked into one and can work for all of them simultaneously to unlock specific gear and seasonal upgrades.
- Each faction favors a specific playstyle and offers unique benefits:
- CyberAcme: Focuses on all-around efficiency. It is the best starting faction, offering upgrades like faster ability cooldowns, larger inventory space, and improved loot speed.
- NuCaloric: Dedicated to mobility and traversal. Upgrades improve your sprint speed, climbing, and vertical movement, making it excellent for stealth or map control.
- Traxus: A high-risk, high-reward option. It scales power late in the season, offering elite weapons, advanced mods, and superior shields.
- MIDA: Specializes in disruption and area control. Their contracts revolve around sabotage and explosives, granting access to tools like claymores and grenades to control the map.
- Arachne: Tailored for aggressive PvP. Rewards focus on combat stats, faster Time-to-Kill (TTK), and weapon attachments for high-intensity gunfights.
- Sekiguchi (SekGen): Best for recovery and resilience. This faction is ideal for solo players, providing “forgiveness” mechanics like reduced death punishments and faster health recovery.
HOW FACTION PROGRESSION WORKS
- Contracts: You advance with a faction by completing Contracts during a run. You can only carry one active contract at a time, requiring you to choose the goal of each run deliberately.
- Unlocking: You start with access to one faction (like CyberAcme) and must complete Liaison Contracts to unlock the other five early in the game.
- Seasonal Resets: Most faction progression, including rank-up rewards and stat bonuses, resets every three months. This keeps the playing field level and encourages you to try different faction paths each season.
CYBERACME
- CyberAcme is the AI and cybernetics giant behind the ONI systems installed in Runner Shells.
- It acts like the game’s most natural “starter backbone” faction, focused on stability, utility, and broad account progression.
- Its contracts and reputation sources line up with normal play: completing contracts, extracting, activating TADs, and participating in Intercept events.
- If you want a faction that improves your overall economy and comfort without forcing a niche playstyle, CyberAcme is the safest opening investment.
UPGRADE BENEFITS
- Expansion is one of the best early upgrades in the game because extra vault space pays off every single run.
- Informant.exe boosts data card credit value and helps your economy ramp much faster.
- Carrier / Carrier+ unlock Enhanced and Deluxe backpacks, which are extremely useful because good backpacks are not always easy to find naturally.
- Scavenger.exe improves loot speed, letting you clear containers faster and spend less time exposed.
- Heat Sink.exe improves heat capacity, making movement feel better during sprinting and sliding.
- Locksmith adds keys to your Armory options, giving you more control over locked loot access.
RESOURCES REQUIRED
- CyberAcme upgrades require faction rank, Credits, and salvage materials.
- The full CyberAcme tree is the most expensive overall at roughly 200,000 Credits.
- Its biggest material demands are Unstable Diode, Unstable Gel, Unstable Gunmetal, Unstable Biomass, and Unstable Lead.
- This is a strong faction to progress while doing general-purpose loot and exfil runs because its rep sources are broad and easy to layer into normal gameplay.
TIPS & TRICKS
- Prioritize Expansion early, then move into Informant.exe, Scavenger.exe, and backpack unlocks.
- Take CyberAcme contracts when you are doing “standard” loot runs rather than risky PvP hunts.
- This is one of the best factions for players who want smoother stash growth and less punishment after a rough loss streak.
- If you are unsure where to start in a fresh season, CyberAcme is the most forgiving first stop.
NUCALORIC
- NuCaloric is a consumer-goods and agricultural megacorp tied closely to humanity’s survival and the Tau Ceti mission.
- Its whole identity revolves around sustain, recovery, and keeping Runners stocked with the basics.
- Reputation comes from contracts, looting Medical Cabinets and Tick Nests, harvesting plants, participating in Supply Drops, and extracting with NuCaloric valuables.
- If CyberAcme is about smooth progression, NuCaloric is about staying alive long enough to profit.
UPGRADE BENEFITS
- Safeguard, Advanced Shields, and Safeguard+ are some of the strongest early unlocks because they give you regular access to free shield consumables.
- Restore, Advanced Patch, and Restore+ do the same for healing, which saves Credits and stabilizes your prep between runs.
- Shielded unlocks Enhanced shield implants, giving you a much better baseline defensive setup.
- Recovery.exe improves self-repair speed, making healing more efficient.
- Self-Revive is a huge milestone unlock because reliable self-revives are game-changing and not something you want to depend on random drops for.
RESOURCES REQUIRED
- NuCaloric upgrades require faction rank, Credits, and biomaterial-heavy salvage.
- Completing the full tree costs roughly 85,000 Credits.
- The largest material demands are Unstable Biomass, Sparkleaf, and Reclaimed Biostripping, with later needs for Dermachem Pack, Tarax Seed, and Neurochem Pack.
- This is one of the more efficient factions to build early because many of its best benefits start paying you back immediately through reduced prep costs.
TIPS & TRICKS
- If you play solo or regularly recover from scuffed runs, NuCaloric should be high on your priority list.
- Push toward free healing and shield unlocks early, then build toward Self-Revive.
- NuCaloric is excellent for consistent players who value survival, economy preservation, and cleaner reset loops after death.
- Even if it is not your “main” faction, it is worth leveling enough to make your everyday loadouts cheaper and safer.
TRAXUS
- Traxus is an industrial and economic superpower focused on profit, tech, and high-value recovery.
- It is the most weapon and mod-driven faction, making it especially attractive to players who want better gun access and stronger buildcrafting.
- Reputation comes from contracts, looting Arms Lockers and Tool Carts, destroying UESC drones, completing Convoy and Lockdown events, and extracting with Traxus valuables.
- Traxus feels less like a starter safety net and more like a faction you chase when you want your loadouts to hit harder.
- Fun Fact: Vulcan is voiced by the amazing Morla Gorrondona, the voice of Eris Morn in Destiny and Empress Lilandra from X-Men ’97!
UPGRADE BENEFITS
- Traxus is loaded with weapon and mod unlocks, especially chip mods and higher-tier attachment options.
- Enhanced Heavy Submachine Gun gives you an early solid weapon option in the Armory.
- MIPS Sniper unlocks the Longshot Sniper Rifle, one of the most desirable Traxus unlocks for players who like ranged control.
- Its late progression improves access to Deluxe weapons and Superior weapon mods, giving it one of the strongest long-term offensive ceilings.
- If your goal is stronger combat loadouts rather than pure sustain, Traxus is one of the best faction paths in the game
RESOURCES REQUIRED
- Traxus upgrades require rank, Credits, and a more tech-industrial resource pool.
- The full Traxus tree costs roughly 62,750 Credits.
- Its biggest salvage demands are Unstable Gunmetal, Deimosite Rods, Altered Wire, and Plastic Filament, with later investments into rarer materials like Tachyon Filament and Predictive Framework.
- Compared to CyberAcme and NuCaloric, Traxus asks for a more deliberate farming plan if you want to progress it quickly.
TIPS & TRICKS
- Traxus is strongest once you already understand the maps and can survive riskier routes reliably.
- Treat it as a power spike faction for weapons and mods, not your first “stability” faction.
- Great for players who want stronger gun quality, more refined attachments, and better late-run lethality.
- It becomes much more valuable once your core sustain and stash management are already in a decent place.
MIDA
- MIDA is a radical anti-establishment movement that sees the UESC Marathon and the corporations around it as symbols of oppression.
- MIDA is about mobility, disruption, traps, gadgets, and area denial.
- Reputation comes from contracts, looting Lockboxes and Munitions Crates, finding coordinates and caches, completing Secured Resource events, and extracting with MIDA valuables.
- If you like fast repositioning, utility tools, and dictating space during fights, MIDA has a lot to offer.
UPGRADE BENEFITS
- Flex Matrix.exe increases Agility, improving movement speed and jump height.
- Sprinter, Graceful, and Survivor unlock some of the most practical implants for movement, landing control, and survival.
- MIDA also unlocks a large set of utility gear: Claymores, Trap Packs, Proximity Sensors, Ammo Crates, and multiple grenade types.
- Anti-Virus tools add more utility for dealing with environmental threats and pressure scenarios.
- Late in the tree, MIDA adds access to Bubble Shields, reinforcing its role as a disruption-and-control faction rather than a pure damage faction.
RESOURCES REQUIRED
- MIDA upgrades require rank, Credits, and a utility-focused salvage mix.
- The full tree costs roughly 59,250 Credits.
- The biggest material demands are Surveillance Lens, Dynamic Compounds, and Unstable Lead, with later investments into Volatile Compounds, Thoughtwave Lens, and Biolens Seed.
- Because so many MIDA unlocks are equipment-based, you get a lot of practical value from even partial investment.
TIPS & TRICKS
- MIDA is especially useful for players who like controlling chokepoints, extraction zones, and vertical routes.
- Prioritize Flex Matrix.exe and the core movement implants if you want value immediately.
- Then decide whether you want to lean harder into grenades, traps, sensors, or anti-virus utility.
- MIDA rewards smart players who win fights before the shooting really starts.
ARACHNE
- Arachne is a shadowy death cult obsessed with violence, death, and pushing Shells to their limit.
- It is the most openly PvP-oriented faction in the game.
- Reputation comes from contracts, looting other Runners, downing Runners with precision damage, securing finishers, and extracting with Arachne valuables.
- If you prefer hunting players instead of simply looting around them, Arachne is built for that mentality.
UPGRADE BENEFITS
- Hard Strike.exe boosts melee and knife damage, which matters more than many players expect in close-range, low-noise fights.
- Cutthroat.exe improves Finisher Siphon, giving you more shield return after a finisher.
- Reboot.exe speeds up revives and self-revives, which is extremely useful in aggressive squad play.
- MIPS Shotgun unlocks the WSTR Combat Shotgun, one of Arachne’s standout weapon unlocks.
- The faction also adds strong access to LMG, railgun, and shotgun mods, reinforcing its kill pressure identity.
RESOURCES REQUIRED
- Arachne upgrades require faction rank, Credits, and combat-focused salvage.
- The full tree costs roughly 69,000 Credits.
- Its biggest material demands are Unstable Gel, Drone Resin, and Drone Node, with later asks for Biomata Resin, Enzyme Replicator, and rarer components.
- This faction is easiest to justify if your playstyle already revolves around PvP pressure and confirmed downs.
TIPS & TRICKS
- Arachne shines most in squads that actively look for fights instead of avoiding them.
- Prioritize Hard Strike.exe and Reboot.exe early if you want practical value before diving deeper into weapon unlocks.
- If you are not consistently securing downs and finishes, this faction can feel slower and less rewarding than CyberAcme or NuCaloric.
- For confident PvP players, though, Arachne can snowball hard and turn aggression into sustain.
sekiguchi
- Sekiguchi Genetics is the company behind biomata Runner Shells, using WEAVEworm and neural-sync technology to create controllable synthetic-organic bodies.
- Through Nona, Sekiguchi treats Tau Ceti as both a field lab and a proving ground for Shell technology.
- Reputation comes from contracts, looting Bioprinters and Core Storage, engaging with Anomalous Extraction, completing Targeted Treasure events, and extracting with Sekiguchi valuables.
- This is the faction for players who want their chosen Runner Shell to feel stronger, faster, and more specialized.
UPGRADE BENEFITS
- Sekiguchi’s most important unlocks are the Shell-specific core tracks, which add enhanced and later deluxe cores for your favorite Runner.
- TAC_AMP.EXE reduces the cooldown of Tactical and Trait abilities.
- PRIME_AMP.EXE reduces Prime cooldown, supporting more frequent major ability use.
- Head Start.exe is a standout quality-of-life upgrade because it starts your Tactical half charged at the beginning of a run.
- Harvester and Capacitors improve access to ability-focused implants, while upgrades like SCAB_FACTORY.EXE and LETHAL_AMP.EXE further support survivability and ability snowballing.
RESOURCES REQUIRED
- Sekiguchi upgrades require rank, Credits, and advanced tech-biometric salvage.
- The full tree costs roughly 71,500 Credits.
- Its biggest material demands are Fractal Circuit, Storage Drive, and Unstable Diode, with later requirements for Amygdala Drive, Neural Insulation, and Paradox Circuit.
- Because the tree covers every Runner Shell, it can become expensive fast if you try to unlock everything too early.
TIPS & TRICKS
- Do not try to buy every Shell core path right away unless you truly play everything.
- Focus on the one or two Runner Shells you use most, then branch into cooldown and implant upgrades.
- Sekiguchi is one of the best factions for players who want more consistent ability uptime and stronger class identity.
- It is also one of the strongest long-term investments once you know which Shell fits your playstyle best.
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