Season 2 is here, and it brings the Marathon Runner Shell Cradle system for the Runners of Tau Ceti IV. This system lets Runners adjust their Shells to their liking, allowing them to enhance their shells with ease. Not only that, but it consolidates how Runners gain their Shell’s stats into one simple menu, unlike how it was in Season 1.
The Marathon Runner Shell Cradle system blows the old system out of the water, and there’s no competition. In addition to the consolidation, it also adds more upgrades for Runners that the old system didn’t have. And if you’re excited to find out how it works, then I won’t torture you any further, so let’s take a look at the new Cradle systems.
How The Marathon Runner Shell Cradle System Works
As stated, the Marathon Runner Shell Cradle system brings the fragmented faction stat upgrades of old into one place. The new system also adds more substance to how Runners upgrade their shells on top of the consolidation, but how can Runners use the Cradle in the first place? Well, that’s what our first topic answers, so come with me to find out.
How To Gain Cradle Levels
Ever wanted to do something with those items that collect dust in your stash but don’t want to sell them? Well, with the Matter Converter, you can do just that, as it allows you to earn experience points for the Cradle. Runners can now select items they’d like to convert into Cradle exp, which is where the multi-select system comes in handy.
Once a Runner has selected what they’d like to convert into Cradle experience, then they can enable the Matter Converter. Keep in mind that the amount of exp you gain is dependent on the item and its rarity, so the better the item, the more exp you gain. Though the Matter Converter isn’t the only way to gain Cradle levels.
Runners can also gain Cradle experience by completing various Contracts from the charming factions on Tau Ceti IV. The Contracts that give you Cradle experience are both the Standard and Priority Contracts. Once a Runner receives a Cradle level, we can proceed to the next step of the process of the Marathon Runner Shell Cradle.
The Cradle
After gaining a Cradle level from earning enough Cradle experience, Runners can finally spend that level on enhancing their Shell’s stats. The various upgrades the Cradle provides strengthen Runner Shells in a myriad of ways, and that’s the Runner’s choice to make. Runners can also respec their Cradle levels whenever they’d like for absolutely free.
The various upgrades and what they do in the Marathon Runner Shell Cradle are as follows:
- Strength
- Melee Damage: Increases the damage of your melee and knife attacks.
- Finisher Siphon: Increases the amount your shields recharge after you perform a finisher on a downed Runner.
- Recharge
- Prime Recovery: Reduces the cooldown of your prime ability.
- Tactical Recovery: Reduces the cooldown of your tactical and trait abilities.
- Dexterity
- Agility: Increase your movement speed and jump height.
- Loot Speed: Increases how quickly items get revealed when looting containers.
- Endurance
- Heat Capacity: Increases the number of movement actions (sprinting, sliding, and booster thrusts) you can perform before overheating.
- Fall Resistance: Reduces the amount of damage you take after falling.
- Support
- Revive Speed: Increases how quickly you can self-revive or revive downed crew members.
- Ping Duration: Increases how long your pings persist on hostile targets.
- Resistance
- Self-Repair Speed: Increases how quickly your consumables restore missing health or shields.
- Hardware: Reduces the duration of status effects (Immobilize, Overheat, Toxin, and Frost) that debilitate your Runner’s physical chassis.
- Firewall: Reduces the duration of status effects (EMP and Hack) that degrade your Runner’s electronic systems.
Each of these upgrade categories bolsters the various WEAVEworms that produce a Runner’s Shell. And each category upgrades your Shell’s stats by five per Cradle level spent. In addition to that, these upgrades are shared across all of your Shells, so don’t worry about how you spend your Cradle levels.
It doesn’t stop there, as the Marathon Runner Shell Cradle system has one more trick up its sleeve that trumps the old upgrade system by a mile.
The Perks of the Cradle
You may notice in the image above that each upgrade row has a box with an icon above the row. Well, those are the perks of the Marathon Runner Shell Cradle that the old system didn’t have. Each category of upgrades features three perks that you can acquire by spending a certain number of Cradle levels.
The perks of the Marathon Runner Shell Cradle system are as follows:
- Strength:
- Finisher Protection (6 Cradle Levels): While performing a finisher, you are more resistant to incoming damage.
- Close and Personal (11 Cradle Levels): Your melee and knife attacks generate less heat.
- Leech (14 radle Levels): Your knife attacks restore a small amount of health.
- Recharge:
- Head Start (4 Cradle Levels): You start each run with a portion of your tactical ability charged.
- Primed (10 Cradle Levels): You start each run with a portion of your prime ability charged.
- Leathal Amp (14 Cradle Levels): Downing a Runner grants you tactical ability energy, while eliminating a Runner grants you prime ability energy.
- Dexterity:
- Loot Siphon (5 Cradle Levels): Opening an unlooted container grants you bonus tactical ability energy.
- Slider (11 Cradle Levels): Your sprint slide generates less heat.
- Full Throttle (14 Cradle Levels): Gain the effects of Cardio Kick for a short duration after the beginning of each run.
- Endurance:
- Quick Vent (3 Cradle Levels): Your heat recovery begins more quickly after actions that generate heat.
- Heat Dissipation (9 Cradle Levels): Your generated heat recovers more quickly.
- Heat Purge (14 Cradle Levels): Eliminating a hostile reduces your heat buildup.
- Support:
- TAD Booster (4 Cradle Levels): TADs that you activate have an increased area of effect.
- Factory Reset (10 Cradle Levels): Reviving a crew member restores a portion of your health over time.
- Optimal Support (14 Cradle Levels): Increase the amount of health your down allies recover when you revive them.
- Resistance:
- Scab Factory (3 Cradle Levels): While downed, you bleed out more slowly.
- TCIV Resist (8 Cradle Levels): You take reduced damage from ticks, lightning, and Heat Cascade hazards.
- Field Medic (14 Cradle Levels): Your medical consumables take less time to use.
While upgrading your stats with the Marathon Runner Shell Cradle system is a game-changer, gaining these perks is definitely a great bonus. Some of these might seem minor enhancements to some, while others seem like major enhancements to some. It all comes down to playstyle, and that’s what the Cradle is for: to build into your playstyle.
Is That All For The Marathon Runner Shell Cradle System?
Season 2 is where we see the first iteration of the Marathon Runner Shell Cradle system, and it’s only going to get better from here. Bungie has created an amazing upgrade system for your Shell, and it’s certainly much better than before. I can only hope they move forward with this system instead of what came before.
Hopefully, Bungie will further improve the Marathon Runner Shell Cradle system with upcoming updates, and I’m excited to see what they do with it. Not only am I excited, but I’ll certainly be there for when it happens, and I hope you will be too. And when it does happen, then you’ll know where to look to find out about it and how it works.
Until then, a new fiscal season is here, Runner, so get to work!
For more information on games and Marathon, stay tuned with us.
