Question 1

How do faction upgrades work in Marathon?

Accepted Answer

In Marathon, each of the 6 factions (CyberAcme, NuCaloric, Traxus, MIDA, Arachne, Sekiguchi) has an upgrade tree with multiple tiers. You unlock tiers by spending credits and salvage materials collected during runs. Higher-rank upgrades require a higher player rank to unlock. Capstone upgrades are special passive bonuses that unlock automatically when you accumulate enough upgrade nodes.

Question 2

What are the best faction upgrades to unlock first in Marathon?

Accepted Answer

Early high-value picks are CyberAcme's Expansion (vault space) and Credit Limit (wallet cap), NuCaloric's Safeguard and Restore (free daily consumables), and Traxus's early weapon mod unlocks. Your best first upgrades depend on your playstyle — use the Runner Terminal progression tracker to set goals and see exactly which materials you need to farm.

Question 3

What materials do I need for faction upgrades in Marathon?

Accepted Answer

Each faction uses different salvage materials. CyberAcme uses Unstable Diodes, Gunmetal, and Biomass. NuCaloric uses Biomass, Biostripping, and Sparkleaf. Traxus uses Gunmetal, Altered Wire, and Deimosite Rods. MIDA uses Unstable Lead, Surveillance Lenses, and Dynamic Compounds. Arachne uses Unstable Gel, Drone Resin, and Reflex Coils. Sekiguchi uses Unstable Diodes, Fractal Circuits, and Storage Drives. Use the farming planner on Runner Terminal to find the best zones to collect what you need.

Question 4

Can I track my Marathon faction upgrade progress?

Accepted Answer

Yes — Runner Terminal's Faction Progression Tracker lets you mark upgrades as unlocked, set goals for upgrades you want next, and generates a personalized farming plan showing which zones to run and what materials to collect. Progress syncs to your Bungie account so it's available across devices.