Marathon Mode in Tarkov, But There’s a Huge Problem

If there is one component of Tarkov that I would want to see happen more than arguably anything else, is seeing either open world, partial open world or some form of map-to-map travel be in the game. We’ve had conversations in the past, I’ve listened to so many passionate players express how amazing that would be, and have personally even dabbled in trying to create a mock up version in the past showing how it might work in addition to some other ideas as well. There are plenty of players who would be thrilled to have the ability to travel from one map directly to another without going to their stash. And to my surprise, BSG with patch 0.15 added a mode that we can play right now that gives us a taste of what that might look like on the future should they go through with it. Marathon mode is their attempt at testing the waters for map-to-map travel; allowing players to experience what it would be like going to as many maps in a row as possible without returning to your stash to restock on ammo, medication, food, and other important items. It’s a very stark contrast to normal Tarkov; not being able to go back to your stash unless you absolutely have to is quite an interesting way of engaging with the game. You have to prepare much differently than you normally do, because a raid can reasonable take anywhere from 10-45 minutes, but with marathon you might be out of your stash for over an hour if not longer. So, what you need to take is very different. But let’s go over the details of marathon mode, how it works, the differences between the two modes of play, the downsides and potential problems with it, and what it might mean for Tarkov in the future.

Marathon mode was added day one with the most recent patch and can be accessed by clicking on it from the map screen. There, the map turns orange and you are unable to choose the map you would like to play. Because in marathon mode, you are forced to go to only one location: ground zero. In marathon, everyone starts at Ground Zero and from there, you are able to travel to other locations. We’ll talk more about this later but I loathe this decision. After you load in, the first thing you’ll notice is that there is a new extract that is unavailable at the start. In marathon, you need to be in the raid for at least seven minutes before you try to travel to another location. You can still extract off the map normally should you so desire, but if you want to engage with the new mode and see what it’s like to go directly into another map, the seven-minute wait period is long and arduous. Especially being on Ground Zero, it’s extremely difficult to survive long enough to get to the next map being Streets. Once on Streets, the map travel choice opens up a little bit, and you have more than just a singular option to travel too. Along with the new mode, there are new quests that came alongside it that can only be completed in marathon. You might randomly get some components done for a quest, but to actually complete and turn it in you will need to be in marathon. They range in difficulty and requirements for completion but the general theme is needing to travel from one map to another, doing whatever arbitrary thing the trader is asking of you, and then either extracting from the raid or just leaving the map. The mode itself is pretty straight forward. You start on ground zero, survive for seven minutes that use the transit points to get to other maps. It’s really awesome, and with some iterations, this might be the mode I spend the most time in. But no new system is without its...kinks.

The number one problem for me personally from engaging more with marathon is that it starts on ground zero. As much as I love and praise the design of this map from a new player perspective, actually playing on it is hell. There are WAY too many people on this map for its own good. Especially in marathon, where your player level doesn’t matter. For both the pre and post level twenty lobbies, if it were up to me, I would halve the amount of PMCS on the map that spawn. There have been so many occasions even outside of marathon mode, where I spawn in turn a corner and instantly die because I don’t know the spawns well enough to account for the dude that is outside my building holding an angle because he knows I am in there. It’s so difficult to get the ball rolling and even travel to just one map. The number of times I have died on ground zero just waiting patiently for the timer to tick over so I can go to another map and then died on my way there is wild.

It’s also a shame that it seems like this mode might be going away at some point. I am unsure if that’s the case or not, but I hope it isn’t and this can stay at least for the duration of this wipe considering this one should be on the shorter end. Granted, other than the new marathon specific quests, there isn’t a huge incentive to engage with the mode. A simple one would be to just offer an exponentially growing exp boost for surviving more and more maps. To be fair, several of the quest rewards from this mode are very lucrative. Especially Fence’s should you manage to go all the way and cross every map in the game without dying or leaving early. The deeper you get into this mode, the riskier it becomes because you really begin to hemorrhage resources to keep you going. And while you’ll be able to find medication and food as you go along. Finding ammo, good ammo, and weapons that you can reliably use as a backup begins to become quite the challenge. Which is a good thing don’t get me wrong, and it might be my favorite part of marathon mode as a whole. You should have to scrounge around after being a couple different maps, and expending your resources. And having the ability to leave out of a normal extract early if you need to basically wave the white flag and restart because you’re HP is too low or you have completely spent all your ammo is good. I was worried we’d be forced to just keep going until a certain point, or only be able to leave from a transit location which all of them, regardless of location are locked for the first seven minutes of a raid.

One thing I haven’t sorted out yet, is whether or not player scavs can spawn in your raids. Because technically, you are in a separate queue; you are queueing for marathon raids, not normal raids. So, I am unsure if you will ever see player scavs spawn into marathon raids, or if it’s exclusively PMCs. I kind of prefer the latter, to be honest. Having to only deal with other PMCs makes the raids feel more controllable. You can better guesstimate how many people are still around before trying to either change maps, or just extract the normal way. I am also unsure if players can spawn late into an active raid, you are currently in. If you get to Customs and stay for half the raid, can more players spawn in after? Let me know down in the comments if you have answer because I would love to know.

But I guess the main question still is why should you even play this mode? There is way more risk involved with it, it’s harder to start because of ground zero, and the incentive doesn’t feel enticing enough. Well, just from the couple of times I have managed to actually get off ground zero onto at least streets, it kind of gives me older Tarkov vibes. I’ve used the word risk a handful of times explaining it, and that is something I really like about it. It kind of feels like a high roller table at a casino; you are going to risk a lot, because of how many more opportunities there will be for you to die. Granted, the reward right now doesn’t match the risk, and this is something BSG can easily improve. Preparation is paramount if you want to be successful in this mode. You need to take into consideration every situation you might be put in. In the footage you’re watching, I don’t have a flashlight. And that’s because I didn’t think it would be nighttime. So, I screwed up. Lesson learned for next time. I need a flashlight at least on my helmet otherwise it will be difficult to see what’s going. Doesn’t help the recording either, but I can adjust that in post a little, so no worries there.

This mode has a ton of potential and it just excites me for what might be on the horizon for Tarkov and its inevitable 1.0 release. If this is how the game will primarily operate, and there will be less ways of going straight back to the stash and more reasons to keep going and travel multiple maps in a single life, then count me in. Risk is something Tarkov has been sorely lacking over the years. With more and more ways of making money, acquiring good gear and ripping through the quests like a mad man, having something evoke those early days of Tarkov where every raid felt like it was the most important one, is very much a welcome feeling once again. Because while there are still moments where the stakes are high (finding a ledx or something), the consistent heart-pumping moments have since become a thing of the past. At least for me and all the other veterans who just want to fight other players. But I know there are still a ton of newer players who still get nervous with the game. But regardless of your skill level, I highly recommend everyone to try this mode at least a few times. It's going to be hard to get off of ground zero, but once you do, the sky is the limit, and you will truly become a marathon man. Thank you very much for taking the time out of your day to watch this video. Let me know in the comments what your thoughts are with marathon mode and be sure to subscribe for more videos about modes of methods of play that feel nostalgic in all the right ways. I hope to see you in future ones.