Marathon WSTR Nerf Incoming | Patch Notes April 2026

Game Director Joe Ziegler posted a direct community update on April 17 addressing one of Marathon's most talked-about balance problems: the WSTR has been running the short-range meta, and Bungie is doing something about it.

The change goes live Tuesday, April 21 at approximately 8AM PT. Per Ziegler's post, the WSTR will still be able to down a green-shielded target with two direct shots at short range, but blue shields and above will now survive that two-shot burst. The intent is to force a reload in those scenarios, opening up counterplay that simply hasn't existed while the weapon has been this dominant. In practice, that's a meaningful shift, if you're running WSTR into blue-shield targets right now and winning those fights clean, you'll need to rethink your approach come Tuesday.

It's a focused, clearly communicated change, and I appreciate that Ziegler spelled out exactly what's changing and why rather than dropping a vague damage number tweak. Whether it's enough to bring other short-range options back into the picture remains the real question for the playerbase to answer after the patch lands.

Full patch notes below.

We're gonna take a shot at bringing the WSTR more in line. Right now it's become a dominant option and is eclipsing a lot of the other short range options that exist in the game. SOOOOOO... as of Tuesday 4/21 (likely 8AM PT) the WSTR will no longer be able to down an enemy player who has blue shields or above with two shots. The ideal is that in a majority of cases this will force a reload in scenarios where the target has a blue shield, allowing for some more counterplay in these scenarios.

What Will Change:

Change will go live Tuesday 4/21 in the morning. Likely 8AM PT.
WSTRs can still down a green shielded target with 2 direct shots at short rang
WSTRs will no longer be able to down a blue and above shielded target with 2 shots at short range.

We're still keeping an eye on a variety of balance issues. Thanks for all the feedback, keep it coming and we'll keep hammering at it.

-Joe Ziegler - Game Director, Marathon

Marathon gameplay showing runners in combat with loot containers and zone environment.

Patch Notes

Marathon Update 1.1.0.2 Patch Notes (16th June 2026)

Bungie's bringing back the CyberAcme Runner Reinforcement Initiative with a new commendation system and weekly weapon showcases, plus fixes for loot quality and crew matchmaking issues.

Jun 16, 2026Nathan Lees6 min read