Marathon factions explained – all factions and rewards

How does the factions system work in Marathon? Tau Ceti IV is known as UESC territory, but that hasn’t stopped rival factions from trying to claim the colony for themselves. Each faction wants to rule Tau Ceti for different reasons, and the contracts they give you reflect their plans for the colony.

The factions in Marathon are essentially quest givers, so you don’t need to worry about having to permanently pick a side in the multiplayer game. By helping out the six competing factions, you can take on contracts that reward you with upgrades to help construct the best builds for each of the Marathon classes.

How do factions work in Marathon?

Every faction in Marathon has its own set of contracts, rewards, and upgrade trees that you can work your way through at any time. As you continue to complete contracts, your reputation rank increases, earning capstone rewards at every milestone. In addition, the items you earn while taking on contracts will permanently upgrade your baseline stats for the season, giving you an incentive to complete as many contracts as you can.

When you unlock a new reputation rank, you gain access to exclusive items. However, these items need to be purchased using both Credits and the materials you find while exploring the world. With seven levels of reputation to earn, it’s not yet known whether you can unlock everything all six factions have to offer within a season. The final capstone in each upgrade tree rewards you with a gold item to thoroughly strengthen your character.

Your Runner Shell preference will determine which faction you should aim to build a strong reputation with first. For example, if you’re playing as the Destroyer, you should aim to earn reputation from Traxus because they offer items that reduce the cost of shield implants in the Black Market.

Marathon’s creative director, Julia Nardin, confirmed in a post on X that the Marathon Codex features a Traxus-themed skin. This suggests that there are other unlockable faction skins, though only the Traxus skin has been revealed so far.

All Marathon factions

When it comes to official information about the factions, Bungie has been very quiet about most of them. Fortunately, we know what to expect based on previous alpha tests, though we should point out that this information is subject to change before the Marathon release date. Arachne, MIDA, and Sekiguchi weren’t featured in the closed alpha tests, so we’re unsure what rewards to expect from them.

Here are all the factions in Marathon:

• Arachne
• Cyberacme
• MIDA
• Nucaloric
• Sekiguchi
• Traxus

Arachne

Arachne is a death cult, and as you might expect from people who are obsessed with death, they want you to kill other Runners. From the teasers that have been published on social media, Arachne gives off horror movie-like vibes thanks to its blood-red aesthetic. It’s unclear what rewards Arachne offers for completing contracts. If we had to wager a guess, the rewards will most likely aid you in taking down Runners.

Cyberacme

Cyberacme is responsible for the systems that allow people to upload their consciousness into shells. By extracting valuable materials from Tau Ceti, Cyberacme will upgrade your shell, making you more durable than ever before.

You’re first introduced to the factions by Cyberacme System’s Onboard Navigational Intelligence, otherwise known as ONI. ONI sounds like a native Irish speaker trying to adopt Received Pronunciation, and while their tone seems gentle, their message is anything but. After you’ve had a chance to explore Tau Ceti, ONI explains that the UESC’s extreme hostility means “their destruction is therefore completely acceptable.”

MIDA

MIDA is one of the factions featured in the original Marathon trilogy, so we know considerably more about its motives. In the previous games, MIDA was a political party that transformed into a terrorist organization after years of feuding with the UESC.

As explosive experts, MIDA is obsessed with blowing things up, and its contracts revolve around destroying things. An example of a contract from MIDA in the ‘Visions of Marathon’ video talks about uploading malware into a UESC dropship, causing it to explode when it attempts to fly away.

Nucaloric

Nucaloric Agricultural is represented by Gaius: a plain, pink, expressionless head with a well-spoken voice. Gaius explains in-game that the company exists to “feed, clothe, and supply humanity with its most basic needs.” As major stakeholders in the colony, the contracts offered by Nucaloric require you to learn why the original Marathon expedition failed over a century ago.

Sekiguchi

Sekiguchi Genetics is similar to Cybeacme; it’s responsible for the Weaveform technology used to create the shell bodies worn by Runners. We don’t know Sekiguchi’s intentions as the faction is brand new to the Marathon universe. In the Visions of Marathon video, the Sekiguchi representative is Nona, a white, winged insect with red eyes and several arms.

Traxus

As the richest and most powerful faction in Marathon, Traxus uses its money to influence Tau Ceti from the shadows. Traxus makes its money by focusing on resource extraction, with various contracts in the alpha tests asking players to disrupt the UESC’s supply chain. Traxus’ contracts will primarily ask you to find specific weapons and weapon mods.

That’s everything we know about the factions in Marathon, but stay tuned as we’ll be updating this guide when new information drops. Until then, we highly recommend reading our Marathon map guide to learn all the zones you can explore when the FPS game finally drops.