I’ve been stuck in the Marathon hole since the pre-release server slam, and despite some of my better judgment, I’ve stayed loyal to my beloved Shell, Recon. In Bungie’s sci-fi extraction shooter, Shells are characters who function like Heroes in Overwatch or any other class-based game. And Recon has been regarded as one of the lower-tier choices, despite their unique capabilities for pinging enemies in ways others cannot. So, in an effort to make Recon a more appealing option, Bungie teased what seems to be some game-changing buffs to how the Shell functions when patch 1.0.6 goes into effect on April 14 as part of Marathon’s mid-season update.
Starting with Recon’s prime (ultimate) ability Echo Pulse, which pings all enemies within a certain radius of the player, it will soon be able to distinguish between hostile UESC bots (computer-controlled) and enemy Runners (real players). Additionally, Runners with an active Signal Jammer effect will be pinged to show up as a UESC bot instead. It’ll also be tougher to tell if you’re in range of an enemy Recon’s Echo Pulse (how that’ll work, we’re not sure).
Recon’s tactical ability Tracker Drone, which sends out an explosive spiderbot that chases hostile Runners along its path, will get a much needed buff as well. Oftentimes, the bot will crawl up walls and get stuck in corners without proper pathing, rendering it completely useless. Bungie says it’ll improve its tracking behavior, which includes latching onto a different target if its initial one escapes its range.
As part of our mid-season update planned for April 14, we’ve got some notable changes and updates on the way. But by popular demand we wanted to share just a few early – specifically, a preview of some of the Recon changes that are incoming.
⭕ Echo Pulse: This will now…
— Marathon Development Team (@MarathonDevTeam) April 2, 2026
This all sounds lovely as a Recon main, because they started to show limitations in Cryo Archive, the high-difficulty raid-like instance in Marathon. Echo Pulse was a non-factor in firefights where UESC and enemy Runners were all in the mix, and sometimes would cause more confusion. And good lord, the Tracker Drone can shift the tide of an encounter, but would more often it’d be a waste after getting caught in a pathing loop, especially in spaces with more complex geometry.
Why don’t I just pick a different Shell, then? For one, I’m loyal. Two, if you don’t know already, when Recon uses a melee finisher on an enemy Runner, the rest of the enemy squad’s position gets marked and tracked for you and your allies. It has other Traits like tracking enemy footsteps after breaking their shield or getting notified if you’re pinged, but a little more utility for the main abilities can go a long way. Every squad needs a Triage, so I’m just waiting for the praises of picking Recon (hopefully).
Of course, there will be much more changed in the upcoming patch 1.0.6 update and Bungie will share more closer to when it goes live on April 14. Earlier this week, the 1.0.5.2 update fixed a number of issues including an exploit where players could keep up the momentum of slide-cancelling when timing it with swapping equipment (and Bungie noted its design philosophy behind exploits like this).
For more on Bungie’s extraction shooter, check out our full Marathon review in which it earned a 9 on our review scale, with author Travis Northup saying, “The gunplay is everything you’d hope for from a Bungie game, the loot and progression systems have got me completely hooked, the maps continue to surprise me after dozens of hours, and the endgame activity and process of unraveling the unsettling lore has been absolutely worth sticking around for.”
Michael Higham is an editor at IGN who regularly contributes with reviews, previews, features, and news in written and video form. He’s usually entrusted with covering long RPGs and tech products, but he’s got range when it comes to games. You’ll also catch him at events and hosting video content, including IGN’s weekly podcast Unlocked.
