Hey, Daily Quest readers.
Bungie just dropped a massive Runner Shells ViDoc, and the star of the show isn't the heavy-hitting Destroyer—it’s the Rook. Designed as Marathon’s version of a "Free Loadout," the Rook is a zero-risk, high-reward scavenger class. But unlike ARC Raiders, Bungie is baking in two specific "punishments" that have the ARC community begging Embark for a copy-paste.
The Rook Blueprint: High Stealth, Low Priority
The Rook is essentially a ghost in the machine. It comes with a built-in NPC Cloak that makes AI enemies ignore you, but it’s balanced by two heavy-duty social and mechanical restrictions:
The Late Spawn: Rooks don't drop at the start of the match. They enter mid-game, meaning the "Prime Loot" is likely already gone or being guarded by geared-up trios.
The Enforced Solo: You cannot squad up as a Rook. It is a strictly Solo-only entry into Trio lobbies.
Morality Test: Senior designer Mike Humbolt calls the Rook a "morality test." Since they are easily identifiable by their silhouette, players have to decide: do you adopt the "little brother" Rook into your squad, or do you blast them for their scraps?
The ARC Raiders Salt: "Freebies are Too Strong"
In ARC Raiders, the Free Loadout (featuring the infamous Stitcher and Kettle) is a different beast. Currently, these "rats" can spawn right at the start of a match, often in full squads, with zero cooldown.
The Problem: Geared-up players are losing legendary kits to "zero-risk" squads who can rush high-tier loot zones just as fast as anyone else.
Watkins' Response: Embark Design Lead Virgil Watkins recently acknowledged the frustration, admitting that even he uses free loadouts to "skip the menus." While they don't want to segment the player base (i.e., making "High-Value only" queues), Watkins hinted that changes to free loadout slots and weight limits are on the table.
Marathon Rook vs. ARC Raiders Free Loadout
| Feature | Marathon: Rook | ARC Raiders: Freebie |
| Risk | Zero (Free Shell) | Zero (Random Gear) |
| Spawn Time | Late Entry (Mid-Match) | Full Start (Immediate) |
| Team Size | Solo Only | Full Squads Allowed |
| Ability | NPC Cloak (Stealth) | Standard Abilities |
| Cool-down | Reported "None" | None |
My Take: The Late Spawn is the Fix
The ARC Raiders community is right on this one—the "Late Spawn" is the silver bullet. If free loadouts dropped in 10 minutes after the raid started, they would be true scavengers picking over the remains of the Buried City rather than "rats" waiting at the extract with a high-DPS Stitcher.
Will Embark follow Bungie’s lead and lock free loadouts to solo-only? Or is the "zero-risk" squad chaos part of the ARC charm? Drop your extract stories in the comments—I want to hear about the worst rat-attack you’ve survived!
Share this with your squad (unless they're ratting), and stay locked for more Marathon coverage.
Stay questing!
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