Marathon nerfs the shotgun everyone is using, reverts sound back to normal, and sets the stage for Cryo Archive

Marathon's fourth map, the Cryo Archive, is close. So close, in fact, that Bungie comes right out and says it's already in the game as of today's update 1.0.5, but we can't yet access it: "Cryo Archive has been added to the game. Good luck getting there."

Community secret hunters have been hot on the case solving puzzles in and out of the game. These will supposedly unlock the new map once complete—for all we know, we could be playing it tomorrow. Bungie shared that queuing into Cryo will have stricter conditions than its other three maps. To gain entry you must:

• Reach runner Level 25
• Have all six factions unlocked (liaison contracts completed)
• Have a loadout value of 5,000 credits per run

Those first two are a non-issue for anyone who's played a decent amount of Marathon, but the 5k loadout requirement is huge. That means every run of Cryo Archive will require significant risk, and you can't even enter the map unless you're packing valuable guns or mods. I imagine that cutoff will be received differently depending on playstyle—I tend to hedge my bets with green guns and shields and only splurge on fancy guns on occasion, so this map will force me outside my comfort zone. That also means Cryo Archive can't be played with a sponsored kit or as Rook (unless the lone bot gets a special exception).

Elsewhere in patch 1.0.5 are a bunch of balancing adjustments that make sense on paper. The "Opportunist" mod that fed guns infinite ammo while shields were depleted now has an activation cooldown, so no more infinite WSTR shotgun. Speaking of the double-barrel delight, the one-shot-kill shotty that instantly became the most popular PvP weapon at launch got a significant range nerf. It'll still be a point-blank killer, Bungie says, but beyond that it's a paperweight.

WSTR Shotgun

• Reduced leftward motion in firing recoil
• Increased duration of spin ready required before it can be interrupted by weapon fire
• Redistributed damage falloff. It now retains near-max damage at point-blank range but falls off much more quickly
• Reduced aim assist cone size and reduced the influence of aim assist on pellet spread as they travel

Solo players will also appreciate that you can now activate exfil beacons while downed. I believe the default DBNO timer is short enough that you'd bleed out before the exfil completes, but you can presumably survive if you have a Triage drone attached.

The patch notes conclude with a single line that should make Dire Marsh runs less horrible: "Lowered the range that you can hear other players in combat."

This is a reversal of a change implemented last week that turned lobbies into a nonstop PvP fest.