Marathon's WSTR gets nerfed
- Bungie is nerfing Marathon's WSTR shotgun for a second time because it's dominating short‑range combat. - The WSTR has been the game's most used close‑quarters weapon since launch, prompting heavy community debate. - Bungie's balance moves come after a rocky launch that included a delayed alpha and artwork controversy (pcgamer.com) (en.softonic.com) (psu.com).
Bungie is nerfing Marathon’s WSTR shotgun again on Tuesday, April 21, after game director Joe Ziegler said it is crowding out other close-range weapons. (steamcommunity.com) The change means players with blue shields and stronger gear will no longer die to a two-shot WSTR burst, forcing shotgun users to reload or swap weapons in more fights. Ziegler said the goal is to bring the gun “more in line” with other short-range options. (steamcommunity.com) Marathon is Bungie’s player-versus-player-versus-environment extraction shooter, where crews loot a map and try to escape alive with gear. In that format, a weapon that wins point-blank fights too reliably can shape what players carry, where they push, and whether they risk entering tight indoor spaces at all. (steamcommunity.com) This is the second close-range balance pass in two weeks. Bungie’s April 7 update cut Combat Knife lunge distance by about 10%, narrowed its targeting angle by about 20%, and moved Bubble Shield from blue rarity to purple while reducing its health by 33%. (bungie.net) Community reaction has split along familiar lines. Some Steam players called the WSTR “unplayable” without on maps like Cryo Archive and Outpost, while others said the gun’s two-shot kills against high-tier shields had turned it into the default answer for close quarters. (steamcommunity.com 1) (steamcommunity.com 2) The weapon debate lands in a game that has already had a long reset. Bungie delayed Marathon on June 17, 2025, after a closed alpha in May drew mixed feedback, and the studio later returned to testing with a closed technical test held from October 22 to 27, 2025. (gamedeveloper.com) (videogameschronicle.com) That delay followed allegations that artist Antireal’s work had been used in Marathon assets, a claim Bungie said it was addressing after blaming an unnamed former employee. GameDeveloper reported the incident pushed Bungie to overhaul marketing materials that contained the disputed art. (gamedeveloper.com) Since launch, Bungie has kept shipping rapid-fire updates, including Marathon Update 1.0.6 on April 14, which added new contracts, voice-chat options, and Season 1 rewards items. The WSTR nerf now becomes another test of whether frequent tuning can widen the game’s viable weapon pool without slowing fights into the “pillow fight” some players fear. (bungie.net) (steamcommunity.com)
