Marathon Update 1.1.5.2 Patch Notes (4th August 2026)

Bungie is walking back the Volt Thrower damage reduction from 7/24 in this week's patch, though not entirely. The weapon's damage climbs from 12.6 to 14.4, which sits comfortably below the pre-nerf 18 but signals that the previous adjustment overcorrected. The patch notes frame this as a 'partial revert', which matters: players who felt the weapon became unusable now have a middle ground, but those who complained about the original 18-damage version won't see a full return to that state. The weapon also gains a new tracking decay mechanic that gradually reduces its homing speed over 1.2 seconds, capping at 30% reduction, alongside a faster heat spin-down. These additions suggest Bungie is trying to preserve the Volt Thrower's identity as a tracking weapon whilst making it less oppressive in sustained fire.

The KKV-9SD gets a more straightforward treatment: base magazine size jumps from 23 to 28 rounds, with all other magazine tiers retuned to match. The patch also fixes a longstanding bug where certain magazine mods weren't granting their promised extra rounds, a quality-of-life correction that could subtly improve the weapon's viability across different builds. The V85 Circuit Breaker's Prestige Overlocked Delimiter mod, which had a stability issue, is now re-enabled, restoring a previously broken high-tier option. These adjustments affect players leaning into sustained-fire and magazine-focused builds, particularly those running Prestige-quality gear.

Vault Breaker, the experimental PvE mode, stays live until August 18 rather than ending sooner. Bungie has increased stock on limited offers to match the extended window, signalling commitment to keeping the mode accessible. The patch also corrects the Key Template Armory reward tooltip to specify it only awards Cryo Archive keys, eliminating confusion about what players actually earn. More significantly, Cryo Archive's reputation and XP gains, which had been disabled in an earlier patch, are now restored. Except for the Cryo Hatch exploit, which is now capped at once per match. This suggests Bungie identified unintended farming mechanics and chose surgical fixes over blanket disabling, letting legitimate progression resume.

A store display bug affecting bundle visibility in the Catalog section is fixed, and a Salvage/Schemas loss issue when purchasing Rewards Pass items with LUX currency is resolved. These are invisible to most players until they hit them, but they represent real friction in the monetisation flow. The patch is light on headline changes, leaning instead on reversions, bug fixes, and mode extension. That pattern tells you Bungie is listening to feedback on the Volt Thrower whilst still defending the core balance direction, and that Vault Breaker's reception has been positive enough to warrant a longer runway. What remains unaddressed is whether these weapon adjustments actually restore the Volt Thrower to a place where it competes with other tracking options, or whether the partial revert simply delays a larger balance conversation.