Marathon: How To Unlock All Factions

Discover everything you need to know about unlocking new factions in Marathon, including how to complete Priority Contracts.

Factions in Marathon are the groups that give you contracts for a run. When you complete these contracts in raids, you earn reputation, rewards, and upgrades with that faction. Each faction gives contracts like killing enemies, collecting items, sabotaging systems, or more. Think of them like traders or reputation systems in extraction shooters.

Reputation increases your Faction Rank and unlocks rewards like runner stat boost, cooldown reduction, weapon, and cosmetic rewards. Progress multiple factions at the same time, so don’t stick to one faction permanently.

What are Factions in Marathon?

Factions are the most crucial part of Marathon that helps your character grow better and stronger. They also make a lot of quality improvements for your game, like vault space. The ability to purchase good weapons so your runs when you die don’t feel as bad.

They are one of the main progression systems in the game. You complete faction contracts to earn reputation, unlock upgrades, and buy better gear rather than crafting or leveling. Completing the liaison contracts or specific objectives allows you to unlock new factions. You choose a contract from a faction before initiating a run.

How Factions Work

Killing enemies, runners, finding items or looting caches, hacking terminals, and extracting with certain loot are the objectives you have to complete in contracts. You must complete the contract objectives during the match.

Most of the time, you finish them during a single run before extraction. Turn in the contracts and get Rep, credits, gear, or upgrade after completing the match. Higher reputation allows you to unlock better weapons, stat upgrades, special vendor items, and equipment.

 The game doesn’t lock you into one faction, but you can work for multiple factions at the same time. Each faction gives different upgrades and gear, so rank the factions. Below are the steps you must follow for the factions in Marathon.

• Accept a MIDA contract to destroy crates.
• Get inside the match and destroy crates.
• Loot everything you find and extract safely.
• Turn in contracts, gain MDA Rep, and unlock gear.

I recommend jumping into a run while the contract is active to gain free progression and useful rewards.

Complete Introduction Contracts

You must complete the early missions before you can unlock any faction in Marathon. Welcome to Tau Ceti [1/2] and Welcome to Tau Ceti [2/2] are the contracts you must complete to unlock Liaison contracts. They are required to unlock every faction. Make sure to focus on these missions first, and extract quickly after completing the objectives.

To unlock a faction, you must complete its Liaison contract, like Introducing: Traxus. You only need one successful run to unlock it, so prioritize them. For example, the Traxus contract requires hacking a terminal, killing a UESC Commander, and scanning a shipping container. The progress resets if you die while completing the objective or fail the extraction.

Steps to Complete Introduction Contracts

Completing the “Introduction” Priority Contract allows you to unlock the next Faction contract. Below are the steps you must follow to unlock these contracts in Marathon.

• Choose the Faction tab and hit LMB on Establish Link.
• Activate the Welcome to Tau Ceti 1 Priority Contract and complete it.
• Once finished, move back to CyAc Faction and get your rewards.
• Repeat the process for Welcome to Tau Ceti 2 Priority Contract.
• Choose Decrypt on New Liason Contract! Tabs from the Contracts menu.
• You get two Faction quests that connect you with Factions in Marathon.

How to Rank Up Factions

Ranking up the faction requires you to earn Reputation for that faction in Marathon. Completing the faction contracts and extracting successfully allows you to gain Rep. Each faction comes with its own reputation progress, and higher ranks unlock better gear and upgrades. You need to always start a run with a contract, so never enter a match without a contract active.

Some contracts include multi-objective missions that are much harder to complete, but grant useful rewards. Each faction also gives Rep for certain actions like killing enemy runners, looting containers, and completing events.

You can gain extra reputation from team contracts when your squad completes objectives. Looting faction valuables during a run adds extra reputation.

How to Unlock All Factions in Marathon

Below are all the factions in Marathon that you can unlock by completing certain objectives.

Faction	Description	How To Unlock
CyberAcme	A tech corporation dealing with software and cybernetics.	Unlocked automatically at the beginning. It acts as the starter faction. Make sure to complete Welcome to Tau Ceti 1 and Welcome to Tau Ceti 2 to progress towards more factions.
NuCaloric	A corporation producing energy for colonies.	Find NuCaloric Employee ID and download employee data from the workstation.
Traxus	A powerful megacorporation dealing in logistics and weapons.	Hack a terminal at Intersection, Complex, and Bio-Research. Obtain a Shipping Manifest by killing a UESC Commander. Scan a nearby stacked shipping container.
Mida	Chaotic rebels focused on destruction.	Eliminate 15 UESC enemies across Tau Ceti IV and destroy 20 glass panels.
Arachne	A violent death cult faction focused on PvP and killing.	Deal 60 damage to enemy Runners and kill one Runner.
Sekiguchi	Specialists in biotech and Runner body regeneration.	Inject a Necrotic Sample in Southern Flight Control and approach the Southeastern Orientation to scan your Runner Shell.

Unlocking more factions in Marathon grants you upgrade options and armory purchases available to you.