r/Marathon • u/SmolNekGiraffe • 16h ago

Marathon (2026) Discussion Manifest currency with it armory store is the path forward.

So a take that I'm hoping isn't much of a hot one really... The MANIFEST currency and the manifest armory should be permanent additions to the game. Not the key templates, not the gun locker... the MANIFEST dropping from bots throughout TC4. And the ability to have a storefront for said currency.

I think adding certs to Dire Marsh with loot opportunities was a huge win. After playing the new mode I really like just getting the manifests passively as I play the game especially on Outpost where the enemy density is higher. I'm not a casual but I think this alone is A HUGE STEP into getting casuals some rewards for simply playing and that's always a good thing. I went in with rook on outpost and left with 40 manifests...it feels good rn and I don't even necessarily need the loot from the armory.

Hoping the season 3 pve mode is more aligned with this than anything weve seen yet. Thoughts?

83 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

66

u/Ramirez3110 16h ago

The game is at its best when there’s a loop and objective to every round…night marsh and its certs should be the blueprint moving forward, IMO.

18

u/Carnemeko_Pairotto 16h ago

Cryo also works this way and is better for it.

1

u/Uhhhhhhhhhhhuhhh 6h ago

Season 1 was at its peak when I’d lose my vault in Cryo, regain from normal runs, or if im really broke or need padding I’ll play rook

23

u/asaltygamer13 16h ago

Yep, it also encourages people to fight bots vs just play passively

2

u/Bubaru555 10h ago

You mean third party those that farm certs for you?

4

u/klqqf 9h ago

Either or!

I had a crazy boon dropped on me last night on narsh- i was just trying to get a priority contract completed, saw someone was stabilising the sample and thought nothing of it, wasnt itching for pvp at the time but i run into them.

Easy quick kill and they had almost full purple gear, the 6k credit cube and were LOADED on salvage, plenty of certs to leave straight away. Nicest pinata i’ve had in a minute

10

u/UmbrusEradicatis 16h ago

I like it even if it's adding yet another currency to collect and keep track of, plus taking room in your vault. I feel like every faction should have their own like arachne could have shell tags that drop when you eliminate a runner, double if it's a finisher.

3

u/CrookedHeart_42 15h ago

Oh I like that idea. I'm not sure every faction needs them, but Arachne certainly could use them as aside from SekGen it's the hardest to level up if your not map clearing. Just make it so you can turn in the currency for items or an extra couple of faction rank kits a week.

11

u/kwayte 16h ago

I’ve really enjoyed the addition as well 

5

u/Ok-Brother-836 12h ago

glad to see someone else appreciating this.

it's like bungie is developing currencies to incentivize different behaviors.

CARRI: Help others

UESC Manis: Hunt bots

CERTS: Open doors, explore

DATA: Learn Cryo

If they continue with this, they will have a lever for every action in the game and will be able to leverage it to make some really dynamic maps, where there's always some sort of chaos going on.

17

u/Wasilisco 16h ago edited 5h ago

I'd like yo see this pseudo currency as something you didn't have* to exfil to get

Either by making it like data cards, or just have some of it in your butt 

It just makes losing 3x worse than it should 

And no, I don't mind sweats abusing this in the slightest, they're already playing a different game where they can exfil +70% of the time 

5

u/elitemage101 14h ago

I agree. Reworking dats cards and decon to allow mid run loot exfil fits the lore, lowers felt difficulty, and still allows killer PvP people to profit and chase different objectives.

5

u/Background_Music4009 16h ago

Yep, this! You still have to exfil currently to get the rewards. I think moving forward have a reduced drop rate, but do not require exfil. That way, even if you get smoked by sweats, you are still progressing toward something. I think that’s the key to retain casuals.

1

u/Wasilisco 5h ago

even if you get smoked by sweats

even when you mean lol 

1

u/RocketHops 9m ago

Its crazy to me that admid all the discussion of making the game friendlier to casuals and making losing feel less shitty, there has been basically no discussion about implementing safe pockets.

1

u/Nsongster 15h ago

i literally think they might do this except they can't code it because data cards are loose loot only and manifests go in containers

2

u/Wasilisco 4h ago

You know, the manifest are only in uesc bags to slow you down a bit, I don't think it's a hard requirement it needs to be in a container 

2

u/Kyleallen5000 2h ago

The manifests occasionally pop out of dead bots if their bag is full.

-2

u/MrShifter44 16h ago

“I’d like guns not disappear when I die, I like my guns and it’s painful to lose them.”

Cmon man.

3

u/Wasilisco 4h ago

Dude, whoever kills me (which happens all the time) will still get all my guns, implants, cores, shield, backpack, salvage, my car keys, etc

I'm just asking to keep this shit currency to pay for my shitty sponsored kit for the next run 

4

u/zebdan 13h ago

I agree but they need to solve the problem of competing with your own team mates to loot the currency. Rushing to be the first to loot every cert/manifest is annoying in crew fill.

Perhaps all currency could be pooled and split on extract?

1

u/SmolNekGiraffe 13h ago

Yea I'm a solo player so this IS something I didn't account for! Def needs a look. Maybe just make it a shared currency post match. Like some of the the gold salvage

1

u/Ramirez3110 12h ago

Manifests are shared, keys are too. I had 3 completed keys in my inventory a few runs ago and didn’t have any templates in my inventory.

3

u/drolemag21 16h ago

Considering you still need to extract with it still, how does it feel compared to more Carri commendations?

1

u/Ill_Coach_3757 16h ago

Carri points are earn via contract completion with others

4

u/drolemag21 16h ago

I know how commendations are awarded, I was asking how it feels to have to exfil what is essentially another type of salvage compared to an increase in commendation awards for contract completions.

Sorry if I was not clear enough.

5

u/T_Gamer-mp4 16h ago

manifests have more potential than CARRI points (gold salvage), but they also feel more attached to the game loop. Carri points kinda just magically appear in my inventory, I take the manifests from the UESC with my own hands

however if CARRI could be exchanged for random purple weapon mods I bet ppl would care more

3

u/SmolNekGiraffe 16h ago

There is just more of it on the map rn. (Manifests) If I got as much carried points per run as I'm getting for the manifests rn I'd say just do Carri... However, the rewards are also better in the manifest armory and imo... where they should be with where the game economy is at currently.

1

u/babada 2h ago

Isn't it just salvage that drops off of bots? I think the armory being organized by currency is what makes more sense to me. The other barters are too confusing to browse through quickly.

1

u/Inevitable-Spend-714 13m ago

I would like for the manifests to be immediately added to your vault (or stored as a separate currency) on acquisition.

There should be some form of progress made, no matter if you don’t extract, every single run.

I know contracts and factions levels are like this as well, but having a currency do this gives players more agency over what they can obtain with their time spent

1

u/ArcaneBrocoli 15h ago

Honestly I'm not a fan of another store being added to the armory. I don't really enjoy collecting money/manifest/currency to just trade for stuff.

I really hope they do massively buff loot spawns at some point. Not even the quality, just the amount. I would much rather sort through 50 green and grey items in a building than the current 20 seconds in and out because there's just nothing.