Marathon Classes Guide: Runner Shells, Abilities and How to Choose

Introduction

Welcome to our Marathon Classes Overview. Here you’ll find every Runner Shell, plus the four main ability kits, explained clearly so you can pick the right class for your raids.

In Marathon, your shell gives you 1 Prime, 1 Tactical, and 2 Traits. Your real power comes from builds through cores, implants, weapons, and mods.

All Classes in Marathon (Runner Shells)

Marathon launches with six Runner Shells and the scavenger-only Rook frame.

• Recon
• Destroyer
• Triage
• Vandal
• Assassin
• Thief
• Rook

Each Runner Shell in Marathon fills a distinct role, shaping how you approach combat, movement, and extraction. While the list above gives you a quick overview, the real value comes from understanding how every class actually plays in real raid scenarios.

In the following sections, we’ll break down each Runner Shell in detail, covering their abilities, traits, strengths, and ideal use cases, so you can decide which class truly fits your playstyle and squad composition.

Destroyer (Shell 1)

Combat specialist built to take space and force fights. Great for leading pushes, holding angles with cover, and locking targets during pressure windows.

Assassin (Shell 2)

Shadow agent focused on smoke, stealth, and timing. Best when you control the fight pace and punish mistakes instead of brawling.

Recon (Shell 3)

Intel specialist that wins fights before they start. You scan, track, and force movement so your team can rotate and commit safely.

Vandal (Shell 4)

Combat anarchist built for speed, verticality, and disruption. If you manage heat well, you create chaos and break setups.

Thief (Shell 5)

Covert acquisitions focused on loot efficiency. You find value faster, steal value faster, and leave before the lobby collapses on you.

Triage (Shell 6)

Field medic that keeps fights alive. You stabilize mistakes, extend pushes, and turn resets into wins when your squad plays together.

Scavenger Frame: Rook

Scavenger mode frame. Solo only, drop into matches in progress, bring nothing, risk nothing, keep everything you extract. Built for low-stakes learning and recovery runs.

Marathon Runners Abilities and Traits

Below are the four core ability kits with their full Prime, Tactical, and Traits.

Void (Stealth)

• Prime: Smoke Screen throws a smoke disc that creates a line of smoke fields and disrupts optics inside.
• Tactical: Active Camo turns you invisible. Offensive actions, damage taken, abilities, or consumables briefly reveal you.
• Trait 1: Shadow Dive slams a smoke disc into the ground while airborne, deploying a smoke field.
• Trait 2: Shroud auto-camos you when entering smoke, and invis persists briefly after leaving.

Glitch (Disruptor)

• Prime: Amplify boosts movement speed and weapon dexterity while reducing heat buildup from movement abilities.
• Tactical: Disruptor fires an energy projectile that damages and knocks targets back. You can overcharge for a larger, harder hit blast.
• Trait 1: Microjets gives an extra mid-air jump at the cost of additional heat.
• Trait 2: Power Slide grants a supercharged slide that generates extra heat.

Locus (Soldier)

• Prime: Search and Destroy activates missile pods. Sustained damage launches homing missiles that immobilize and deal damage on impact.
• Tactical: Riot Barricade deploys an energy barricade that blocks damage while draining tactical energy over time, with extra drain when hit.
• Trait 1: Thruster boosts you mid-air in the direction you’re moving.
• Trait 2: Tactical Sprint double-press sprint for more speed at the cost of added heat.

Blackbird (Recon)

• Prime: Echo Pulse releases sonar pulses that reveal nearby hostiles, including through walls as marked targets.
• Tactical: Tracker Drone deploys a microbot that hunts hostiles and explodes, overheating targets caught in the blast.
• Trait 1: Interrogation warns you when a hostile pings you. Finishing a Runner pings their crew.
• Trait 2: Stalker Protocol leaves a lingering holographic trail after you break a combatant’s shields.

Note: These kits define the baseline. Builds can shift the same shell into different roles through cores and implants.

Marathon Runner Shells Ranking

Best overall shells when you want consistent value across most raids.

• 1. Recon
• 2. Destroyer
• 3. Triage
• 4. Vandal
• 5. Assassin
• 6. Thief
• 7. Rook

How to choose your Class in Marathon?

• Recon is ideal for players who want to control engagements through vision, tracking, and pre-fight information.
• Destroyer excels at forcing pushes, holding sightlines, and creating safe space for the team to advance.
• Triage is the best choice for squads that rely on sustain, fast recoveries, and extended firefights.
• Vandal rewards aggressive movement, fast rotations, and players who thrive on disruption and chaos.
• Assassin shines in controlled, patient play where stealth, smoke, and timing decide fights.
• Thief is perfect for profit-focused runs, fast looting routes, and clean disengages.
• Rook is designed for risk-free scavenging, learning the map, and rebuilding your vault after losses.

Final thoughts

The best shell is the one that matches your raid goal. Pick for information, space control, survivability, or loot speed, then build around it with cores and implants.

Marathon Classes Overview - F.A.Q.

What’s the best class in Marathon?

Recon is the safest overall pick because information decides most fights.

How many classes are in Marathon?

Six Runner Shells plus Rook.

What are Runner Shells in Marathon?

Bioprinted bodies that define your Prime, Tactical, and Traits for each run.

Which is the best Runner Shell in Marathon?

For most players, Recon in squads and Destroyer for frontline pressure are the most consistent options.