The latest entry into extraction shooters is here, as Marathon has broken onto the scene at long last. As fun as it is to loot and shoot your way through Tau Ceti, some direction is always nice, and for that, you’ll need to familiarise yourself with Factions.
There are six of them to work with in Marathon, but you’ll only have access to one of them out of the gates. If you’re looking to make some progress, you’ll want to unlock them all as soon as possible, as they each have unique offerings you’ll want to take advantage of.
Here’s how to unlock each of the six Factions in Marathon, as well as how to increase their Rank.
What Are Factions In Marathon?
Factions are essential to your progression whilst playing Marathon, with each one offering you selections of gear to purchase and Contracts to complete in return for a variety of rewards.
As you work your way through Marathon, you’ll quickly realise that Contracts are the biggest source of progression in the game, and there appear to be two varieties of them to complete, which are:
- Standard Contracts: Repeatable missions you can complete for the given Faction, which vary in difficulty and rewards
- Priority Contracts: One-time missions that are essential to the faction. These are tied to progression and help boost your Faction Rank, as well as offering significant story relevance
You can only have one Contract active at a time, and you must select which one you’d like to work on before going out on your next run. That means no multitasking—you’ll have to think about the purpose of every run you go out on.
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Each Faction offers a unique set of Contracts, but frustratingly, you won’t have access to them all out of the gate. You’ll need to unlock them all if you want to truly progress through Marathon, so here’s how you can get that done.
How To Unlock Factions In Marathon
If you want to unlock the other five Factions in Marathon, you’ll need to complete a special type of contract—the Liaison Contract.
You’ll begin to unlock these pretty early into the game; you’ll just need to complete the tutorial and the Welcome To Tau Ceti Contract.
Once they’re finished, you’ll unlock Liaison Contracts. These are unique Contracts that get you in touch with a new Faction, with each one having its own Liaison to complete. You’ll only have to do these once, as a Faction is unlocked permanently upon Contract completion.
That being said, it’s one thing to unlock the Faction, but you’ll want to rank up with them, too. The higher their Rank, the more useful they’ll be to you, so that should be your next priority.
How To Rank Up Factions In Marathon
To rank up Factions in Marathon, you’ll need to complete Contracts for each of the Factions, with different Contracts offering varying amounts of Rep.
Rep is the currency used to rank up Factions, though it’s utilised automatically. It’s important to rank the Factions up, as the higher the rank they are, the better gear you’ll have access to. Also, at certain milestones, you’ll unlock various reward packages, as well as new Standard Contracts.
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That’s not all, though, as each Faction has its own selection of Upgrades for you to invest in. These vary drastically between Factions, with some offering improved Vault Space, whilst others offer various permanent Stat upgrades for your Runner. You’ll want to look into these thoroughly, as they’re crucial to building your Runner to suit your playstyle, and you’ll need to know which resources to keep an eye out for on your next run.
Have you unlocked all of the Factions in Marathon? Share your thoughts and search for fellow Runners in the official Insider Gaming Discord Server.
For more Marathon content, check out how you can earn Twitch Drops, as well as whether it has crossplay.
Charlie is one of Insider Gaming's Guides Writers who's been in the gaming industry for a little over a year. Unfortunately for him, he enjoys every video game genre out…
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