Marathon update 1.0.5.3 patch notes nerfs the Knife and Bubble Shield

Bungie has also updated a Contract to remove the "in a single run" requirement.

by · Shacknews

Marathon has received update 1.0.5.3 and the patch notes highlight some major changes to the Knife and Bubble Shield. Players can expect the Knife to deal less damage, have a short lunge range, and a smaller targeting angle. On top of this, Bubble Shields are now rarer and have less health.

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Marathon update 1.0.5.3 patch notes

Source: Bungie

Marathon update 1.0.5.3 was released on April 7, 2026. The patch notes for this were made available by Bungie, and although they’re light, these notes make some major changes to how knife fights will work moving forward.

Combat

Knife

  • Reduced the maximum lunge distance by ~10% and trimmed down the targeting angle by ~20%.

Bubble Shield

  • Increased rarity from Deluxe (blue) to Superior (purple)
  • Reduced bubble HP by 33%
  • Removed vulnerability to Volt Weapon damage
  • Increased resistance to UESC damage by 17%

Runners

Stats

  • Melee Damage

    • Reduced bonus damage provided by the Melee Damage stat from a maximum of 100% to a maximum of 50% against enemy Runners. Damage against non-Runner targets is unchanged.
    • DEVELOPER NOTE: Melee in Marathon is intended to be a high-risk but potent method to contest close-quarters weapons like shotguns and submachine guns. However, the breakpoints for quick melee kills show up too early in the Melee Damage stat progression, which means additional investment into a build isn't required to get the maximum effective output. We don't want to compromise on having melee feel powerful, but believe that getting to that maximum output should be the result of meaningful buildcrafting and upgrade progression. Our goal for this change and the knife lunge changes above are that the knife remains a powerful backup tool, but requires more thoughtful play - both in and out of run - to be most effective.

Thief

  • Fixed additional Grapple-related slide cancel movement exploits.

Vault and Armory

  • Fixed an issue causing the Vault and Armory to sometimes appear to be empty.
  • Fixed an issue causing the Armory item refreshes and free daily items to not appear consistently.

Contracts

Traxus

  • Removed “in a single run” condition from Traxus Return On Investment 4/5.

Zones

Cryo Archive

  • Fixed an issue that would cause an exfil countdown to reset if the 1st crew member to enter left the circle, even if the other crew members were in the circle.

Players have already dug into the numbers and it looks like you will need to purposefully create a Knife build in order to pull off an attack combo that can kill another Runner quickly. Hopefully these Bubble Shield changes see fewer instances of two teams bubbling in Cryo Archive and throwing grenades at one another. Stay tuned to our Marathon Strategy Guide for more info.

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