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Marathon: Items Explained – Mods, Consumables, Currency and More!
Learn how Marathon items work, from weapon mods and shell upgrades to consumables and utility tools. This page breaks down what each item type does, when it matters, and how it fits into your build.
The Important Details
- Items are part of your build, not just your backpack. Marathon’s customization loop is built around moddable weapons, implants, and core system upgrades tied to your Runner shell.
- Focus on swapping weapon mods, cores, and implants outside a run rather than in the heat of the moment…you never know who or what is lurking nearby.
- Consumables are your survival layer. Current guides consistently frame healing, shields, debuff-cleansing, and utility consumables as high-value inventory decisions during extraction runs.
March 10, 2026
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WHAT ARE ITEMS IN MARATHON?
- Items are the gear and support tools you bring into, find during, and extract from a run.
- They generally fall into a few main buckets:
- Weapons
- Weapon mods / attachments
- Cores
- Implants
- Consumables
- Ammo, loot, and other carried resources
- Marathon has a buildcrafting system built around moddable weapons, body implants, and core upgrades.
WEAPONS AND WEAPON MODS
- Your Runner shell is your foundation.
- Your cores and implants shape how that shell performs.
- Your weapons can be tuned through mods and attachments.
- Your consumables help you survive fights, recover, or counter threats mid-run.
- A few notes:
- You can swap cores, implants, and weapon mods outside a run.
- Inspecting a weapon outside a run opens the mod workbench.
- Not all cores are universal; only Standard (gray) cores work on every shell, while others are shell-specific.
WEAPONS AND WEAPON MODS
- Weapons are one of the main pillars of your loadout.
- In short…
- Mods let you tune how a weapon behaves
- Some improve consistency or handling
- Some lean into utility or survivability
- Some can push a weapon into a more specialized role
- Mods can influence a weapon’s overall rarity/profile, and some specialized mods appear to alter how the weapon functions rather than just nudging stats.
AMMO
- Typically used by standard, high-rate-of-fire assault rifles and SMGs (e.g., Overrun AR).
- They offer high stability but lower damage per hit.
- Used by high-caliber weapons like the Bully SMG or Demolition rifle.
- They offer high damage and significant stopping power but often come with higher recoil.
- Specialized ammo for high-damage, single-shot, or high-impact weapons, such as sniper rifles and shotguns.
- Used by energy-based weapons.
- Sprinting slowly regenerates ammo.
- Reloading a Volt weapon discards any remaining energy in the magazine.
- High-capacity, energy-based ammunition used for advanced, electrified weaponry.
- They function as magazines for energy weapons (like the V75 Scar or V00 Zeus).
- Sprinting slowly regenerates ammo.
- Reloading a Volt weapon discards any remaining energy in the magazine.
WEAPON MOD TYPES
- Customizable attachments that modify weapon stats and performance, with most weapons supporting 3-4 slots for components like Chip, Magazine, Barrel, and Grip mods.
- These attachments can be swapped in your loadout, increase weapon rarity (e.g., green/blue), and are essential for maximizing combat efficiency.
- Refer to the top left icons on the images below to understand which mods are for what weapon component.
- Mods can be swapped by pressing ‘V’ (or your keybind) while hovering over a weapon in your loadout.
- Mods can be found in the field or through supply drops.
- The rarity of a weapon is determined by the rarity of the attached mods.
- Universal slot providing direct, core performance stat boosts.
- Changes ammunition capacity and reload behavior.
- Influences range, accuracy, and handling.
- Improves stability and control.
CORES, IMPLANTS, EQUIPMENTS AND SHIELDS
- Cores are closer to shell upgrades.
- Implants are closer to passive perks and stat tuning.
- Together, they help determine how your shell plays before you even fire a shot.
- Not every core is universal, so shell compatibility matters.
- Class-specific, high-impact modifiers that change how your Runner Shell operates.
- You can equip two Cores per run.
- They often add new mechanics or drastically enhance existing abilities, such as allowing a Vandal to turn their arm cannon into a mobility tool for rocket jumping or letting a thief use a second grapple.
- They are usually locked to a specific Shell archetype (e.g., Recon vs. Triage).
- Universal, wearable tech that can be used by any Runner Shell.
- You have three slots (Head, Torso, Legs).
- They primarily boost base stats (e.g., higher heat capacity, faster agility) and provide a random perk.
- They provide raw stat enhancements rather than changing the fundamental mechanics of a skill, allowing for fine-tuning a build’s performance.
- In-match tools (tactical gear) for survival or navigation.
- These are generally items that directly aid in looting, survival, and escaping the map rather than modifying your character’s abilities.
- Typically limited per run; there are various grenades and claymores, some for damage or survival, like smoke.
- The primary defensive layer for your Runner Shell, crucial for surviving high Time-to-Kill (TTK) encounters.
- These occupy a specific, often missed, slot in your loadout.
- They protect your health bar and can be upgraded for higher capacity (e.g., Enhanced Shields).
- While implants provide minor survival buffs, the Shield is your main protection against damage.
CONSUMABLES EXPLAINED
- Consumables are your emergency tools during a run.
- Some restore health or shields.
- Some clear dangerous status effects or software disruption.
- Some boost mobility, cooldowns, or stealth.
- It is recommended to bring a mix of health, shield, and cleansing consumables per run.
MEDICAL, SHIELD AND SURVIVAL CONSUMABLES
- Patch Kits restore health.
- Shield Charges restore shields.
- Higher-tier medical items are stronger, faster, or more complete recovery tools.
- Self Revive is especially valuable for solo play.
- ONI Tip: Bring healing if you want your loot to survive longer than your optimism.
- Restores your health.
- Higher rarity medical consumables restore more health.
- Recommended to have on every run, if available.
- Restores your shield.
- Higher rarity shield consumables recharge your shield to full, and faster.
- Allows for self-revive when downed.
- This can be found around the maps, or sometimes purchasable via the armory once completing the Introducing NuCaloric Priority Contract and unlocking the Self-Revive item in the NuCal’s skill tree,
- It can take up to 10 seconds to revive yourself with these consumables.
- Extremely beneficial to have on hand if downed by a PvE combatant.
- Fully restores health, fully recharges shields, and removes hazardous status effects.
- This includes removing negative effects like toxins and frost!
UTILITY AND CLEANSING CONSUMABLES
- Some consumables fix problems instead of restoring health.
- Mechanical cleanse tools remove physical or environmental effects, like getting hit by spores.
- Software cleanse tools counter hacking or EMP-style disruption.
- These are more situational than healing, but can save a run in the right zone or fight.
- Helps remove OS debuffs such as the effects of being hacked or from an emp blast.
- Maximizes your Firewall stat for a duration, with added benefits the greater the rarity.
- Helps remove hazardous effects such as frost, immobilize, overheat and toxin.
- Maximizes your Hardware stat for a duration, with added benefits the greater the rarity.
- This allows you to safely enter the “Big Red Lockdown” force field zones without taking instant damage.
- It acts as a protective buffer that slowly depletes while active, allowing runners to navigate high-threat, restricted areas, clear corruption, and secure high-tier loot.
- It mitigates, but does not completely eliminate, the damage over time, allowing for temporary survival in restricted areas.
- Temporarily scrambles your visual profile, obscuring your appearance to hostile Runners, UESC, and various sensors.
- It allows you to safely pass through enemy mines, such as Claymores, and is ideal for escaping or sneaking past squads while carrying high-value loot.
PERFORMANCE AND STEALTH TOOLS
- Some consumables are about momentum, not recovery.
- Use them to move faster, recharge abilities, or avoid detection.
- These tools are often strongest when used before a push, escape, or extraction attempt.
- Provides a massive burst of stamina, allowing you to quickly rotate around a flanking squad or outrun a closing threat.
- Temporarily spikes your Agility (movement speed) and Heat Capacity (stamina/overheat management).
- Helps in chasing down enemy players or to get the frak out of intense combat.
- Increases the recharge rate of your Runner’s primary and tactical abilities, the greater amount the higher the rarity.
- It is ideal for use just before or during a heavy fight to allow for spamming abilities.
- When paired with specific upgrades, it can allow for sustained, high-uptime abilities (e.g., permanent invisibility with certain builds).
- Is your build ability-focused? Stock up on these!
HOW TO THINK ABOUT ITEM VALUE
- Not every item is worth keeping.
- Prioritize gear that supports:
- Survival
- Your shell build
- Your weapon setup
- Your extraction goal
- Treat some low-impact consumables as “use now” items instead of stash items.
- Backpack space matters, so every slot should justify itself, especially in more difficult maps like Outpost.
WHY ITEMS MATTER ACROSS SEASONS
- Item knowledge will matter more over time, not less.
- Marathon’s seasonal model expands the available gear and build options.
- Understanding item roles now makes it easier to adapt when new metas and loadout paths emerge, especially at season resets.
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