Does Marathon have duos? Matchmaking modes, explained

Marathon is finally out. After experiencing the server slam, tens of thousands considered the game worthy of their attention and have since hopped into the Tau Ceti system, ready to rake in some cash for nightmarish interstellar megacorporations.

But the game’s matchmaking system is rather ambiguous, and it isn’t very clear as to how people are matched with each other, nor if the headcount of your party impacts your matchmaking experience.

So, here is everything you need to know about Marathon‘s duos matchmaking.

Marathon duos matchmaking, explained

As things stand, Marathon does not have a dedicated duos matchmaking mode. The game, much like ARC Raiders at launch, released with an exclusive trios matchmaking mode, designed to match parties of three against each other.

Players can queue up alone or in duos by disabling the party fill option during matchmaking. However, they will still be matched against trios, and it seems the game doesn’t take your party size into consideration when creating a lobby, as opposed to ARC Raiders‘ system. I’ve run several solo matches so far (and the Rook shell is literally made to be played in solos) and have been met with teams of three countless times.

I also ran into solo players, so there is no rule to the matchmaking, it seems.

Although there is no duo queue in the game at the moment, Bungie confirmed that it has “heard” player feedback and requests regarding duos matchmaking and has passed the information to the development team for consideration. Odds are that a duo queue mode will be added to the game very soon, given that it’s one of the most popular matchmaking modes in just about every title that has competitive play.

In the meantime, Marathon can still be enjoyed by a couple of friends, who will have to face off with bigger parties, which is only a downside if you don’t look at it as an extra challenge and, in turn, an opportunity to hone your skills as runners.

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Slay the Spire 2 isn’t your typical deckbuilder, where you don’t have to take care of your health.

While there are five different characters to pick from, none of them is immortal. They will all take damage, and they will perish if you’re not careful. Taking damage is inevitable; no matter what you do, you’ll always end up receiving damage.

What matters is whether you’re healing your character at the correct moments.

How to heal in Slay the Spire 2

Healing is a premium activity in Slay the Spire 2. You can’t heal whenever you want, and restoring HP comes at a price. You’ll occasionally come across Rest Spots that appear as a campfire on your path. These spots can be found only sporadically, so you’ll need to plan carefully. Their locations on every run is compeltely random.

When you’re at the spot, you’ll have two different options: Rest or Smith. If you choose the latter, you can improve a card by applying different upgrades. If you choose the former, you’ll be able to recover a percentage of your character’s lost health.

You can also find different Relics and consumables on your run, and some of them might allow you to restore HP. Potions are one-time use, and you can have a maximum of three at a time. This method isn’t a guaranteed solution since all runs are random. It could happen that you might be unable to find an applicable Relic or consumable.

Slay the Spire 2 has five characters, and one of them has a healing ability. The Ironclad’s default relic, the Burning Blood, allows you to recover 6 HP at the end of combat. This is an extremely useful relic to have, which ranks him well on our characters’ tier list.

Outside of these methods, there’s no other way to recover HP and restore the health of your character in Slay the Spire 2. The same methods also apply if you’re playing co-op with your friends.

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