Bungie
Marathon players are calling for thermal scopes to be nerfed ahead of the full launch, as they’re allowing enemies to snipe them from across the map with ease.
For many players, Marathon’s Server Slam was their first opportunity to get hands-on time with Bungie’s long-awaited extraction shooter. Despite some hate online, there was plenty of positivity too, and it saw the game overtake Arc Raiders in the Steam best-sellers chart and rack up a solid player count for what is essentially a beta.
Over the course of the trial, Bungie made constant adjustments based on player feedback, such as raising the number of players in a match to encourage more PvP fights.
However, there are still some outstanding issues that fans want to see addressed in the final release on March 5, and one of the biggest is thermal scopes.
Marathon players say OP thermal scopes need a nerf
Towards the end of the Server Slam, players started to realize just how overpowered these attachments are. Marathon’s atmospheric maps and artstyle can make it tricky to see too far into the distance, but a thermal scope cuts through all the effects,
On a Sniper Rifle, which can one-shot if the target has weak shields, they’re particularly effective, allowing you to pick off Runners uncontested.
Thermal Scopes on Snipers might be busted in Marathon…
This was 10 seconds into the run, via @Nirvous_ pic.twitter.com/1JoS6DweTk
— Marathon HQ (@MarathonGameHQ) March 1, 2026
This has led many players to call for a substantial nerf, or possibly even their removal.
“Thermal scopes being added to Marathon might be the worst game design choice in a pvp game I have ever seen. They are just SO OP,” explained gmeiners on X. “The game plays at completely different ranges for players w/ the same weapon depending on [whether] you have thermal or not. If anything, it should be extremely rare. But I think they need to be removed.”
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“Thermal basically makes it able to spot people across the map,” said streamer ModernWarzone.
“I can certainly say that thermal sights provide an inherent and egregious advantage to anyone who uses them,” wrote another frustrated player on Reddit. “You stand 0 chance in any engagement, even if you have a non-thermal sniper yourself.
It’s worth mentioning that thermals can be countered using Signal Jammers, which make you temporarily invisible to them. However, this requires you to anticipate when an enemy is targetting to you, which isn’t always possible.
It remains to be seen if this issue is addressed before Marathon arrives, as Bungie is expected to release a day-one update, but it hasn’t confirmed what changes will be included.
