Bungie adds Vault Breaker to Marathon, loot stays in vault

Bungie will add Vault Breaker to Marathon on July 21 as part of the Season 2 Mid-Season update. The experimental mode runs in the Cryo Archive raid map and supports solo, duo and trio teams.

In Vault Breaker, teams enter with a special Sponsored Kit unique to the mode and move through a series of increasingly difficult vaults. Players find gear and items during a run, but any equipment collected remains locked inside the vault when the run ends. Instead of carrying items out, players receive Vault Data based on performance; Vault Data is used to upgrade the Sponsored Kit for subsequent runs.

The developer described the mode as allowing players to “experience Cryo Archive without flooding the economy with low-risk, high-power Cryo loot.” Vault Breaker is an experimental playlist designed to provide a raid experience while limiting the spread of tradable Cryo gear.

The Mid-Season update also adds the Cradle Evolution System reset, which can be returned to zero to earn additional Energy points. Vault Breaker follows Sponsored Survival, an earlier experimental mode that placed players on Night Marsh in a PvP-lite match where Rooks arrive late to try to take collected items.

Bungie’s Season 2 launch encountered error codes and server outages that prevented some players from accessing the game. The developer is rolling out Vault Breaker and other changes with the Mid-Season update.