As game director Joe Ziegler departs from Bungie, Marathon is pushing ahead with its mid-season update. It adds the second experimental PvE mode, Vault Breaker, available from July 21st until August 4th for all players. Unlike the current expeditions into the Cryo Archive, this is PvE-only, but with a twist, as detailed in a new overview trailer.
At the start, players will pick up Cryo Key 01 or 02 and battle past the UESC hordes to find a Vault. Once opened, pay attention to the weird symbols on the walls and find the corresponding terminal. Once inside the Vault, you can loot different items, including Tier 1 Indexes. From there, you can opt to extract or continue looting more Vaults.
Running out of time renders everything null and void, but even if you exfil, none of the loot goes with you. Instead, the Indexes (now converted to Data) must be spent to improve your Vault Breaker Sponsored Kit. Those upgrades – including starting with an Enhanced Shield Implant and Vault Credentials – persist between runs. Delve far enough, and you may have a face-to-face with The Compiler.
Of course, you can also spend Vault Data to purchase gear and weapons to use in other modes. Even for those who don’t care about PvE, there’s some incentive to care about Vault Breaker. Head here for more details.
