Marathon‘s in-game progression in the second season has undergone a major change, and we can use the Cradle system to develop our characters. While the core objective is to improve the stats of your character (just like the first season), the progression now is easier to manage.
If you’re a new player, the Cradle system can be a tad confusing to understand, and this guide will ease those doubts.
Cradle system in Marathon explained
When you pick a shell (any for that matter), there will be six different stat categories: Strength, Recharge, Dexterity, Endurance, Support, and Resistance. All six stats have their progression tracks and different nodes. Once you unlock a node, you’ll get bonuses.
To unlock a node, you’ll need to spend energy. You gain this energy whenever you play the game and level up. There are two ways to gain energy: you can either exchange items from the Vault in the Matter Converter, or you can complete different contracts.
If you’re a veteran of the game, you’ll find some similarities with the previous faction system. Back then, we will gain upgrades by leveling up our faction standing (by completing contracts). While the system is still there in Season 2, its scope has been largely limited. You’ll still unlock different upgrades that allow you to improve the armory, find cores, and more.
However, you won’t have to depend on Factions to improve the core stats of your shells. So far, I am a fan of this new system as it makes it easier to upgrade our builds (completing certain contracts can take time and requires us to successfully extract, which might not always be possible).
How to level up in Marathon with the Cradle system
Based on the upgrade nodes we have in the game, we will need to reach level 84 to max out all trees. However, you don’t need to max out all the trees immediately. Instead, pick upgrades based on which Runner shell you’re using. You should upgrade stats that directly improve the strong points of your chosen shell.
How you build your runner shell is up to you. So far, I haven’t found a so-called ‘meta’ trick to follow. However, you should always emphasize investing sufficient points to unlock a node in a specific path first. The nodes are key to applying permanent upgrades on your runner shell, so that should always be your priority. Hence, don’t spread out points on multiple tracks; focus on the nodes that you want to unlock first and invest the necessary points to reap the benefits.
