Marathon has 29 different weapons to choose from—and that’s before you factor in gear like grenades and your best friend, the knife, which can be hilariously overpowered. With so much on offer it’s easy to feel lost, unsure where to begin or which guns are actually worth your time.
Don’t worry; we’ve tested and shot them all for you. Our Marathon weapon tier list highlights the very best and most useful firepower in the game. Your only job is to fill your loadout with it.
Marathon is a live-service title that receives regular balance updates. Weapons can be nerfed or buffed at any moment, so treat this guide as a living reference.
Table of contents
How does the tier system work?
Save
Whether you’re grinding ranked or flying solo, you need to know which guns in Marathon come out on top. Every weapon in our tier list falls into one of four categories:
Tier S: The crème de la crème. These guns give you everything you want and more. Prioritize them above all else.
Tier A: Fantastic weapons that carry one or two minor flaws compared with Tier S.
Tier B: Decent shooters. You won’t rave about them, they may demand some skill, but they’ll get the job done.
Tier C: We’d avoid these like the plague.
We’re evaluating each gun in its vanilla state—no attachments. For dedicated PvE and PvP rankings, check the respective guides.
Tier S
Here are the weapons we place in the coveted Tier S.
Weapon
Type
Reason
Biotoxic Disinjector
Hybrid
Added in the “Cryo-Archive” update, this is the most broken gun in the entire game. The only catch: you have to beat the Compiler on that map to earn it. A weapon for truly skilled players.
Longshot
Sniper Rifle
A sniper so strong it’s a wonder it hasn’t been nerfed yet. Three quick shots, low recoil, massive damage.
M77 Assault Rifle
Assault Rifle
Pick your poison: M77 or BR33—both are interchangeable, but we love the raw damage this AR pumps out, especially against UESC.
BR33 Volley Rifle
Precision Rifle
Our favorite precision rifle thanks to the best stability and accuracy in its class. Burst weapons can be tricky, but start here.
WSTR Combat Shotgun
Shotgun
Land both shots before reloading and almost anything in front of you drops. To stay safe, enemies have to keep their distance or bring blue shields.
Missriah 2442
Shotgun
Prefer more than two shots per mag? Missriah’s your pick—an incredibly powerful shotgun.
Bully SMG
SMG
Not only the most accessible gun in this tier but also outrageously strong, and you can start using it in your first hour of play.
Tier A
Weapon
Type
Reason
Outland
Sniper Rifle
Our beloved Outland, you deserve better. Still, the low fire rate lands you in Tier A despite your raw power.
Stryder M1T
Precision Rifle
Very stable and each burst deals more than respectable damage. If you can land your bursts, you’re golden.
BRRT SMG
SMG
Master the low stability and you’ve got a powerhouse for close quarters.
V99 Channel
Sniper Rifle
The upside: a sniper that charges while you aim. Minor downside—you still need time to charge shots (or at least the first one). Get comfortable and you can bump it up.
Demolition HMG
LMG
If you like heavy machine guns, you can’t go wrong here. Best damage and fire rate in its weight class.
Twin Tap HBR
Precision Rifle
You’ll sacrifice range—it’s mediocre at mid-to-long distance—but Twin Tap dishes out very solid damage and has a great time-to-kill.
Magnum MC
Pistol
Can’t land headshots? Drop it to Tier B. If you can, you’ve got a powerhouse sidearm for PvP.
V11 Punch
Pistol
Excellent in PvP. Charge your shots to make them count.
Tier B
Weapon
Type
Reason
Hardline PR
Precision Rifle
A solid precision rifle that shines in PvE if you can consistently hit headshots.
V85 Circuit Breaker
Shotgun
Still a more-than-decent shotgun, but you need to charge shots to make them truly good—something Tier S options don’t demand.
Twin Tap HBR
Precision Rifle
It can delete enemies quickly, yet noticeable recoil plus middling range can make it feel a bit “short”.
Impact H-AR
Assault Rifle
Just a bit more fire rate and this gun would easily hit Tier A. As is, it leaves you at a disadvantage in close quarters.
V75 Scar
Assault Rifle
Uses volt rounds and lets you fire plenty of shots before reloading, but effectiveness drops off when enemies are farther away.
V66 Lookout
Precision Rifle
Great at long range, yet lacks the damage to break into higher tiers.
V00 Zeus RG
Railgun
Railguns aren’t popular in Marathon because of their charge mechanic and how unwieldy they are compared with almost anything else. Still, if you pre-charge and control the field, Zeus can deal respectable damage.
Conquest LMG
LMG
Requires several seconds of continuous fire to spool up to a decent fire rate. Very situational.
V22 Volt Thrower
Pistol
Not recommended for PvP unless you’re fighting an under-geared squad, but it’s fun and useful against UESC units.
Tier C
Weapon
Type
Reason
Overrun AR
Assault Rifle
Not terrible, just utterly unremarkable compared with other ARs. No reason to use it.
Retaliator LMG
LMG
Why is this LMG so heavy and its fire-rate pattern such a mess? We have no idea.
Ares RG
Railgun
Asks too much of the player between its stats and charge time. Not worth the effort.
Repeater HPR
Precision Rifle
Even if headshots deal okay damage, the overall stats are genuinely poor.
Copperhead RF
SMG
It will let you down in any fight that isn’t literally face-to-face, and even then the high fire rate can’t make up for the low damage. Terrible and expensive.
