The latest Marathon update looks like it will mean an easier time. UESC enemies have been made weaker, the frequency with which they chuck EMP grenades has been reduced, and free loadouts now come with even more ammo. Yet, after spending an hour over lunch being killed repeatedly in Maintenance on Dire Marsh, I can confirm that Marathon has not become a cakewalk.

Bungie have made a lot of balance changes that should reduce the number of times you’re caught with an empty gun or a piddling amount of health, particularly on Perimeter, the starting level. The update lists increased med cabinets and munitions crates on Perimeter, and a boost to the amount of ammo in the MIDA, CyberAcme, and Arachne free loadouts. None of these changes make Marathon easier, exactly, but they mean you both drop into the game better prepared and, after surviving a rough fight, you’re more likely to find the consumables you need to get back up to strength.

My first week with Marathon has featured a lot of running into fire to search the body of a downed robot for even just half a clip’s worth of ammo. Occasionally it makes for a dramatic story, more often than not it leads to an embarrassing death. So these changes may reduce my shame just a little. Many thanks for that, Bungie.

Though, what may have the most impact is that Bungie have “Reduced health of most UESC enemies and shield hp of UESC bosses by a small amount.” As Bungie note, this isn’t to make firefights less deadly so much as to ensure players aren’t running around Tau Ceti IV with empty guns. “We hope to alleviate some of the resource burden in both Solos and Crews when it comes to engaging UESC in combat,” Bungie say in an explanatory note. “The goal here is to allow your bullets and meds to go further without reducing too much of the UESC’s bite. We see the feedback loud and clear that players appreciate the friction that our UESC combatants provide and we have no plans to change that direction.”

After spending most of my lunch in failed attempts to loot scrap rods from crates in Maintenance on Dire Marsh, I wouldn’t mind just a little less friction. The crates I had to search through seemed to be located in a UESC arms convention, with robot reinforcements dropping in constantly as I was running in circles around the warehouse looking for unlooted crates. This was post-update and I can tell you that many deaths were had. Though, I am prepared to believe that is because I am not yet good enough.

Other changes, such as making objectives pop up on your HUD from further away and increasing the distance that the sound of gunfire and explosions travels are also much appreciated.

There are many other small changes that you might want to take a look at in the patch notes. For now, I’m going to go back to being killed by every runner that crosses my path, whether I have more ammo in my pocket or not.